[computer-go] chess/go for handhelds

[Ben Shoemaker]

>> Ian wrote:
>> 
I'm 
surprised 
that 
the 
big 
names 
in 
Go 
programming 
a 
decade 
ago
>> 
haven't 
ported 
their 
programs 
to 
the 
small 
handheld 
platforms. 
I 
only
>> 
know 
of 
AI 
Go 
for 
the 
Nintendo 
DS 
(Many 
Faces). 
In 
the 
chess 
arena,
>> 
Richard 
Lang 
ported 
his 
last 
Mephisto 
program 
from 
the 
80s 
(Roma) 
to
>> 
the 
Palm 
and 
then 
to 
the 
PocketPC.  
Chess 
Genius 
is 
now 
one 
of 
the 
top
>> 
selling 
games 
of 
any 
kind 
on 
these 
platforms. 
The 
authors 
of 
the
>> 
strong 
programs 
Shredder 
and 
HIARCS 
have 
also 
followed 
suit. 
I 
would
>> 
have 
thought 
this 
a 
vast 
untapped 
market, 
especially 
in 
Asia 
where
>> 
gadgets 
are 
so 
prevalent.

>Don wrote:
>You 
would 
think 
that,  
but 
Ogo 
sold 
only 
a 
few 
hundred 
copies, 
and 
most
>of 
them 
in 
Europe 
and 
the 
USA.  
  
I 
don't 
know 
if 
this 
is 
true, 
but 
I
>heard 
that 
Asian 
markets 
are 
difficult 
to 
penetrate 
and 
that 
even 
with
>the 
internet 
you 
cannot 
expect 
to 
get 
many 
sales.  
  
I 
did 
get 
SOME
>sales 
from 
those 
places,  
but 
very 
few 
relative 
to 
Europe 
and 
USA.

I used a Palm for many years.  I believe Chess Genius was a great success because it was quite fast (nearly instant response time) yet it was strong enough to give the average user a good game.  All the Go programs I played on the Palm were either too slow and/or too weak.  I believe AIGO for Palm was the most enjoyable overall, but it was quite weak, even for me (I am only 18kyu).  (It was also available in a Japanese language version.)  I tried OGO, but it was incredibly slow on my Palm, and not significantly stronger than AIGO.  

The new handhelds (WindowsMobile/PocketPC, Smartphones, and iPhones) can all run versions of GnuGo which I are much faster and stronger than anything that was available for the Palm platform.  If they can't already support the latest version of GnuGo, they will soon enough.  I just don't see the Palm platform being able to compete, since it is hardly used anymore.

Gnugo for WindowsMobile/PocketPC and Smartphone: http://vieka.com/gnugo/
Gnugo for iPhone: http://www.robota.nl/products/iPhone%20iGo.html

I say keep developing for the general CPU and wait for the handheld platforms to catch up to your requirements.

Ben.



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