Atari Lynx 3

[Guest]

hi,

 

I Was wondering if it wouldnt be cool. if someone made an atari lynx 3. an handheld that just doesnt eat as much power as the original lynx. by replacing the hardware components with new more less power consumption ones?

 

that would be an good idea right?

 

 

 

best regards,

 

Vyeyendra ramnares

[TheBizDude]

That was of the main concerns addressed when the Lynx II was released.

They made significant improvments in power consumption.

I don't have any problems with 6 'AA' batteries lasting me at least 4-5 hours in my Lynx II.

There's always the 'D' pack that supposedly lasts 14-16 hours - have one, just never used it.

Then there's always this ni-cad:

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/lynx_bp.htm

I think the price has been lowered on this - I don't recall them being $20.

Ni-cads have shelf-life, so you might want to be careful on that purchase.

[/url]

[Guest]

O_O' 6 aa batteries for 4,5 hours. you dont mind??????

 

 

HOLY CRAP! SWEET JEZUS!!!!! THATS NOT AN PROBLEM! THATTS AN MONSTER!!!!

 

 

 

 

best regards,

 

Vyeyendra ramnares

[Video]

4-6 hours was typical of handhelds back in the day (with the exception of the GameBoy, which used a monochrome, non back-lit screen to save power.

 

I do think it would be awesome to update the lynx again. Get it a smaller form, move the buttons all to the top right (which would allow for more complex game programs) And use a newer backlit, or front lit TFT screen, like GameBoySP's or a modern Notebook computer.

 

Problem is, cost. Nobody company wise would invest in shrinking the lynx down cause there's simply no mianstreem market for it.

[Atariman]

Problem is, cost.  Nobody company wise would invest in shrinking the lynx down cause there's simply no mianstreem market for it.

 

I dunno. I think if the lynx were changed enough and a few new games were developed for it, the lynx could have a place in the market. It would probably be crushed by the gameboy (again ) but it could be made to appeal to newer gamers once again.

 

If it were to be redone, I would imagine it would be kinda like the 7800 in that it plays all of the old favorites (from the Lynx I and II), but would also play games that have higher resolutions, etc.

 

But you're more than likely right -- no company would touch the Lynx with a 10 foot pole.

[Atariman]

O_O' 6 aa batteries for 4,5 hours. you dont mind??????

 

 

HOLY CRAP! SWEET JEZUS!!!!! THATS NOT AN PROBLEM! THATTS AN MONSTER!!!!

 

 

 

 

best regards,

 

Vyeyendra ramnares

 

Yeah, but the screens were lit up EXTREMELY well -- I remember my friend and I using his gamegear (similar backlighting setup) as a reading light. lol. I doubt you'll see someone doing that with a GBA SP anytime soon.

[Guest]

hmm..what if.

 

it could be done just like the gp32? open source. everybody could create games for it.

 

the development kits would be availble. more easier made. better screen, replacing the parts with newer once. better resolution ofcourse.

 

 

just an tought

 

 

best regards,

 

Vyeyendra ramnares

dragonforce

[eric_ruck]

You could also develop for Nokia's forthcoming NGage, which also has free tools and docs you can download, and they're even official. Actually Palm and PocketPC are somewhat viable game platforms.

 

And if the price scares you, you can get a reconditioned Zaurus off eBay for around $200. Can't get any more open than it's Linux OS.

 

Eric

[Guest]

hi,

 

yes i know about the ngage.

 

but you are not allowed to store it on cartridges unless nokia license you. and believe me. that isnt fun.

 

and about the poket pc. i did develop for that one. but didnt had time anymore. so that wasnt an option.

 

but still. Mircosoft eMbedded Visual tools 3.0 isnt an bad tool. if you want to start creating games for it. there is an huge market in the pocket pc market.

 

it's just that atari is my thing. and not nokia, compaq etc. (Actually sega is my thing. but i cant show my games too the public >=(.) (BOoooooo!!)

 

 

 

best regards,

 

Vyeyendra ramnares

[Willard]

I was reading a post from january 8 2003, it stated that a lynx III was in developement. Does anybody know what happened to it?

[cryptik76]

Yeah, but the screens were lit up EXTREMELY well -- I remember my friend and I using his gamegear (similar backlighting setup) as a reading light. lol.  I doubt you'll see someone doing that with a GBA SP anytime soon.  

 

Have you played a GBA SP? The screen is surprisingly bright. I even use it as a makeshift flashlight to find other GBA cartridges when I play it in the dark. Sorry, I hate to plug a non-Lynx system in this forum (I still own and love my Lynx), but I had to mention it.

 

When I got my Lynx, I was happy with the battery life because the only handheld system I had previously was a Sega Game Gear, which gets about 3 hours out of 6 AA's instead of the Lynx's 5 hours.

[chris_lynx1989]

i was working on this idea and all back in the dark ages of the lynx in 1995

/96.i could get no gamer support back then for this to come to fruition for

the lynx masses.atari interest was going south and the jag was coming up

for death like the lynx saw at atari 1993/4, so i just shelved the idea.you

would have to have the interest and a new dev to get this off the ground

for it to happen like i had it mapped out,none of this was there to further

it.hence no lynx three unit.i've toyed with the idea of doing this just for my

use only but have not devoted the time to it.i was told by my partner that

it was not worth the effort and expense and very few would care about it

if we ever did a limited release of these even/ever.too bad the lynx mark-

et is so niche oriented nowadays.wasn't it always this way though?hmmm.

oh well.--the ultimate atari lynxer

[Guest]

but its possible now is it?

 

 

best regards,

 

vyeyendra ramnares

[chris_lynx1989]

sure.anything is possible,i guess.the interest and user support are not there still though to even attempt this undertaking,in my opinion anyway.

the lynx market is "very" nichey nowadays and sales of lynx games are at

an all time low(!).there is no groundswell of lynx support out there to even

begin this again in any small way.my lynx partner has talked me out of

attempting to resurrect this idea several times in the past due to these

facts now and in the past few years being like this for the lynx.we see no

end to this lynx happening,either.it will stay stillborn with us it seems.it is

a nice dream to want to further the lynx, but it is not a practical idea to

really bring to fruition.no lynxers out there really care about it or new lynx

game releases at all.if a lynx game gets released it only sees a maximum

of 200 units being sold! what's the profit in that?? none. not really worth

the effort at all for anyone.there is no market left or money to really show

the way for "any" of us to do lynx stuff for the small,small market and the

interest there is left in it.so,most lynx things remain stillborrn out there for

the lynx masses that still exist.sorry.--the ultimate atari lynxer

[cryptik76]

sure.anything is possible,i guess.the interest and user support are not there still though to even attempt this undertaking,in my opinion anyway.

the lynx market is "very" nichey nowadays and sales of lynx games are at

an all time low(!).there is no groundswell of lynx support out there to even

begin this again in any small way.my lynx partner has talked me out of

attempting to resurrect this idea several times in the past due to these

facts now and in the past few years being like this for the lynx.we see no

end to this lynx happening,either.it will stay stillborn with us it seems.it is

a nice dream to want to further the lynx, but it is not a practical idea to

really bring to fruition.no lynxers out there really care about it or new lynx

game releases at all.if a lynx game gets released it only sees a maximum

of 200 units being sold! what's the profit in that?? none. not really worth

the effort at all for anyone.there is no market left or money to really show

the way for "any" of us to do lynx stuff for the small,small market and the

interest there is left in it.so,most lynx things remain stillborrn out there for

the lynx masses that still exist.sorry.--the ultimate atari lynxer

 

Chris I think there are a number of problems here that keep the sales of new Lynx games low; I wouldn't necessarily blame it all on the current Lynx user base, though.

 

Problem #1: The Lynx, like you said, is still a very niche-y (is that even a word?) market. I think a large percentage of retrogamers and Atari fans don't really have an interest in the Lynx. It's not really old enough to appeal to the true "retrogamers," and yet it's not new enough to appeal to those looking for flashy graphics and sound. Few people outside of the small handheld or Atari community even know if its existence. You should see all the blank stares I get when I try to tell people I work with about the Lynx. When they think of Atari all they can think of is the 2600.

 

Problem #2: Many Lynx users are not willing to pay $40-$50 for most homebrew titles because (A) there are still dozens of original Lynx titles that you can get cheaper than that, and (B) people are suspicious about the quality of these homebrews, or even if they are complete products. For instance, some of us weren't thrilled about the release of Centipede because first of all it's not even complete, and secondly the ROM is floating around out there.

 

I think there could be a larger user base for homebrews but a lot of us are not willing to pay $40 for an incomplete game burned onto a game card.

 

Problem #3: Some of us are pretty strapped for cash. The economy (at least in this country) is not strong, we're paying close to $2.00 a gallon for gas, cable TV rates are going up, etc. If I had more money to allocate towards buying games on the Lynx, I would. It doesn't mean I don't care; it just means I can't spend that much money on the Lynx right now.

[Video]

Here would be some Ideas for a Lynx 3, as I said, move all the buttons to the top right. Give it some sholder buttons, make it backwards compatable to the original lynx, give it a huge new processor (remember, the lynx was so powerful because it had at the time what would have made a decent console processor) Make it Backwards compatable, quadruple the resolution (make it 208H by 320W) that way you'd get a high resolution picture with new games, and old games would simply light up a cluster of fourpixels for each original game pixel (easy to transfer screen resolution between old and new system that way) Perhaps even add a new card slot? That way you could either use a different kind of cart as new games, or use the second slot for extra goodies (like a save card)

 

When I wrote my original reply, a new atari system would have been impossible. However, if you could get enough people to show intrest, peraps you could get the new Atari to build one?

[Gregory DG]

I also wondered where the Lynx would be today if the line had continued. Maybe we'd be playing Skyhammer on the the Lynx V?

[Jasoco]

Even if it failed, it'd make another great collectable for you guys. And since you already seem to foresee its failing, you'll pick up two. One for now and one for the retirement.

 

Actually, I didn't know there was a Lynx 2 until about a minute ago.

[cryptik76]

Actually, I didn't know there was a Lynx 2 until about a minute ago.

 

http://www.ataritimes.com/lynx/features/fe..._lynxvsgba.html

 

The link above has a picture of both the Lynx I and Lynx II at the top of the article. The Lynx II is the slightly smaller, more common Lynx that you'll find.

[Jasoco]

Actually, I didn't know there was a Lynx 2 until about a minute ago.

 

http://www.ataritimes.com/lynx/features/fe..._lynxvsgba.html

 

The link above has a picture of both the Lynx I and Lynx II at the top of the article. The Lynx II is the slightly smaller, more common Lynx that you'll find.

Ok, maybe it was the Lynx I I didn't know about. I remember seeing the II all over. The I is HUGE! Or at least Wide.

[Video]

I think the Lynx sales problem stems from a few things.

 

1. Short lifespan. The Lynx came out in 89, and was canned in what? 94 or something. Sure, five years is huge in console years, but as no folowup system was made, people simply don't know about the lynx. No real lynx production for the past 8 years means few people will know about it. It never was a huge mainstreme game system.

 

2. Cost/Quality of new games. Look at Lynx games that are new. What are most of them? Old school arcade titles like Centipede, tetris, and pong clones. Some of them aren't even finished games. And for this you pay $40-$60 a game? Except extreme oldschool fans, or diehard atari fans, nobody will pay that when you can buy new GameBoy Advance games for $30-$40 and get games closer to what Jaguar has. And even most diehard atari and arcade fans will probably spend cash to buy cheap common lynx games.

 

Basically, Lynx is a nich console, because no producers really take it seriously. But if it was remodeled, pumped up, and put out with some marketing, it could be huge. Oh, and don't be like certain other companies, like Sega "Oh, we only sold like 10 million systems, it's a total failure, lets pull the plug."

[Jasoco]

You mean "Niche"?

 

I still look back on the days I had the chance to buy old new in box systems for $20 each.

 

The Virtual Boy in 1996 at Toys 'r' Us, the TG 16 and Sega Genesis and Sega 32x and such at Toy Liquidators in 1998. Damn. I really passed up a lot of good deals. And all for $20 each, I must be an idiot. I even thought REAL HARD about "Why do I want these? Should I get them? They're cheap!" [Kicks self]

[chris_lynx1989]

you're saying some of the same things i've been stating on the lynx proto-

type topic on this forum.things in the u.s. are very iffy now for many of us

americans.

the lynx is an unknown system out there.yes,jack brought this about in

many,many ways for us lynxers(jaggers too!).if the lynx had gone to the

big n to develop in to the unit we all know now as the lynx it would've been

far,far different.jack let the game boy take over the u.s. and world market

because atari did not have the sony or nintendo ad budgets to do more.i

have talked to game boy enthusiasts that have not heard of the lynx at all.

when i have my lynx with me sometimes on trips people are seeing a new

system that they never knew existed or they vaguely remember it was out

there but never knew anyone that had one.the lynx was a nichey product.

so was the jaguar.jack did this to all of us! makes one wish nintendo or

sega had signed that deal with epyx back in the summer of 1989,doesn't it? too bad for all us atarians out there.it might have been great if they had

bought atari computer back in 1983,too!! we all got real "jacked" on that

deal!! the 7800 on down the line were all fiascos for us atarians.we all got

some real raw deals.--the ultimate atari lynxer

[mos6507]

The Lynx could have been resurrected before the GBA came out, but the GBA has more powerful hardware than the Lynx, and a higher res screen.

 

Even though Nintendo owns the handheld market, other systems that blur the line between game console and PDA or cell phone are coming out that will provide a viable GBA alternative, let alone Sony's pending offering.