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History of video games/Platforms/Adafruit PyGamer

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History

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The Adafruit office in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City, the provenance of the PyGamer.

The Adafruit PyGamer was released on May 21st, 2019 for $39.95.[1][2]

In July 2019 the system attracted media attention for a media player developed for the system that displayed GIFs of noted actor Keanu Reeves.[3] The previous month Keanu Reeves had gained widespread attention in the gaming community for announcing his role in Cyberpunk 2077.[4]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic Adafruit shifted focus to manufacture and distribute vital personal protective equipment under New York State Executive Order 202.6.[5][6] As a result non-essential orders for products such as the PyGamer were routed through distributors such as DigiKey.[7]

Though niche, the system had an enduring legacy, and was well known for it's good software support.[8]

Technology

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Compute

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The PyGamer is powered by an 32 bit ARM Cortex M4 ATSAMD51J19 processor clocked at 120 megahertz with 192 kilobytes of RAM and 512 kilobytes of flash storage.[9][10] The processor can be overclocked to at least 200 megahertz for increased performance.[11]

The PyGamer has eight megabytes of flash storage.[9] A microSD card slot is used for expanded storage.[9]

Hardware

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The PyGamer has a color 1.8" TFT LCD with a resolution of 160 by 128 pixels.[9] This screen was backlit, and had adjustable brightness levels.[9] The PyGamer also has five "NeoPixels", which are individually addressable RGB LEDs.[9]

The PyGamer sports a 3 axis accelerometer and a front facing light sensor.[9] This allows some motion controls for games, as well as to dynamically adjust screen brightness or use ambient light as a game input.

A feather socket is used for expansion wings.[12] This gives compatibility with a number of feather add ons.[13] Such wing add ons include things like IR cameras,[14] or additional displays.[15] Additionally the PyGamer has three JST ports for expansion through that standard.[11]

The PyGamer board is compliant with the ROHS3 standard.[10] The system includes hardware for managing LiPo batteries, but notably did not ship with a battery by default.[2]

Instructions for a DIY crank controller add on were released.[16]

Software

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The Arduino IDE, one of the programming environments available for the PyGamer.

Programming environments supported include Arduino, Python, and Microsoft MakeCode Arcade.[17] TensorFlow Lite was ported to the platform.[11]

Games

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The Adafruit PyGamer loads games from Makecode Arcade, including those shared by other users through the service.[18]

References

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Wikipedia has related information at Adafruit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adafruit Industries

  1. ↑ "NEW PRODUCT – Adafruit PyGamer for MakeCode Arcade, CircuitPython or Arduino". Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. ↑ a b "The Adafruit PyGamer Is a Brand New Maker-Friendly Handheld Console". Hackster.io. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Someone Made A Portable Keanu Gif Player And I Need It Now". Gizmodo Australia. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Keanu Reeves Showed Up at E3 to Say He's in 'Cyberpunk 2077'" (in en-us). Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/keanu-reeves-e3-cyberpunk-2077/. 
  5. ↑ Torrone, Phillip (22 March 2020). "Adafruit Industries, Essential service and business: NYC – Executive Order 202.6 Capabilities and more #NewYorkTough #NewYorkStrong #adafruitchronicles @adafruit". Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!. https://blog.adafruit.com/2020/03/22/covid/. 
  6. ↑ "How To Place an Essential, COVID-19 Related Order at Adafruit". Adafruit Learning System. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Adafruit is open, safely ... and shipping all orders". www.adafruit.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Pounder, Les (23 October 2021). "Pimoroni PicoSystem Review: Tiny Console for Big Ideas" (in en). Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pimoroni-picosystem-review-tiny-console-for-big-ideas. 
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g "Introducing Adafruit PyGamer". Adafruit Learning System. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  10. ↑ a b "1528-4242-ND". Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  11. ↑ a b c "Machine Learning That’s Light Enough for an Arduino" (in en). IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/machine-learning-thats-light-enough-for-an-arduino. 
  12. ↑ Verma, Adarsh (3 June 2019). "PyGamer Is A Fully Open Source Handheld Gaming Console". Fossbytes. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Introducing Adafruit Feather". Adafruit Learning System. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Industries, Adafruit. "Adafruit AMG8833 IR Thermal Camera FeatherWing". www.adafruit.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Industries, Adafruit. "Adafruit 2.13" HD Tri-Color eInk / ePaper Display FeatherWing". www.adafruit.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "PyGamer - Gaming Handheld Crank". Adafruit Learning System. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Adafruit PyGamer". Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Introducing Adafruit PyGamer". Adafruit Learning System. Retrieved 13 November 2020.


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