Lynx III, third time's the charm

[PictureElement]

I know I'm not the only one who's spent some time entertaining the fantasy of a new and improved Atari Lynx. I'm sure the topic has come up before, but a picture's worth a thousand words, right? In "building a better Lynx," there are a number of things I would like to see implemented, portrayed to the best of my ability below:

 

 

This thing would be smaller and thinner than the Lynx II, as shown underneath for comparison. Also note the bigger screen and stereo speakers, and improved battery life would be a must as well. I'd also considered moving Option 1 and 2 to a more accessible position...underneath the A/B buttons, or even as shoulder buttons (these would have to be mirrored at the buttom of the unit too). I only wonder if placing the screen off-center like that is too much of an eyesore.

 

Now if only I could build it... But dreaming is fun too.

[Ferris]

or even better yet....

[okto]

No, Ferris, I think he wants to play video games on the go, not watch load screens and charge batteries all the time.

[Agent X]

Good thing the PSP is really proficient at playing video games on the go, then.

 

Actually, Ferris hit on a pretty good idea. Out of all of the major handhelds released over the last few years, the PSP is the closest match to the Lynx in terms of control configuration. It would be awesome to see a commercial Lynx emulator released for the PSP. They could either sell a physical disc with a collection of games, or they could sell individual Lynx games (along with the emulator to run them) as downloads on their soon-to-be-revamped Connect store, which is supposed to be offering downloadable PSP games at some point later this year. Perhaps they could even implement ComLynx multiplayer over Wi-Fi--supporting online play, even!

 

PictureElement did a great job with his Lynx mock-up picture (good first post, by the way). I'd trim a bit off the top and bottom, so that the screen and make the joypad and buttons slightly smaller than they are now, since the unit as a whole would be smaller). I'm also tempted to suggest retooling Option 1 and Option 2 into trigger buttons, a pair on both the top and bottom edges (so that the 180° flip would still be usable).

 

A new Lynx would have to be PSP-sized or smaller to get anywhere in today's market. With today's technology, they could probably shrink it down to something as small as Game Boy Micro. The problem with making something that small is that the screen is just too small to be practical. Therefore, you'd need to find a middle ground. I'd suggest it be about the size of the original Game Boy Advance. It would be smaller than the PSP, larger than the GBM, but still have a big enough screen to be visible. If the screen is about the size of the GBA screen, then it would be smaller than the screens on the earlier Lynx models, but the benefit is that the relative blockiness of the Lynx's rather low screen resolution wouldn't be quite as apparent.

[Ferris]

Wow Agent X, you really got what I was trying to say. A new Lynx Mark III would either have to be much like the PSP or the Micro. Although he did do a very nice job with his artwork : )

[okto]

Good thing the PSP is really proficient at playing video games on the go, then.

Is that why it's underselling the DS worldwide and has fewer titles?

 

Picture Element, excellent Photoshop on your post.

[pynew]

I noticed you removed power off button.Always wondered why you needed a seperate off button.It does look good!

[walter_J64bit]

Isn't there a Lynx emulator for the PSP now?

[Serguei2]

Well

 

If the Lynx was rereleased, it needs more stuff than just shrink the unit. It needs more resolution (320x202), more power to compete with DS and PSP and still compatible with the Lynx games.

[Turbo Laser Lynx]

Yes, there is a Lynx emulator for the psp now, and it´s pretty sweet! Check this topic: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82371

 

You just have to remember to adjust the clockspeed of the psp from within the emulator. Most games 265mhz (´cause at 333mhz the games start running to fast).

 

With improved sound emulation, supporting ALL games (most run by now) wifi multiplayer, normal screenmode and lynx lcd emulation screenmode there would not be a need for a lynx III anymore. the Lynx games look fantastic on the big psp screen, the controls works nicely and the psp is not undersized as many complained the gba was. Even the slick black design and "too powerfull, expensive and batteryconsuming" image of the psp reminds of the lynx image back in the days

 

Besides there´s no loading times playing with the lynx emulator and much longer battery life as the lynx emulator + games are on the memorycard and not on a um-disc.

 

I really like my DS (and its humorous game & watch design), but if you´re into Lynx or oldschool gaming, PSP is definitely the way to go because of the many great emulators that runs on it.

[PictureElement]

Thanks for the replies! Agent X, I had some of the same ideas and would like to portray them with a more extensive Photoshop job (if my skills are up to par, that is).

 

I would also LOVE a PSP, but my wallet just isn't fat enough! The DS is cool too; I even hear there's a homebrew/emulator scene for that platform as well.

[dgnadt]

Meh, I prefer the lynx emulator on the GP2x.