It seems that every retro console wih a optical drive is getting into the ODE game – Optical Drive Emulator! The first Console to have this addition was the Sega Dreamcast (gdmenu) , which allows you to play your games running from a micro sd card and replaces the optical cd Rom Drive with a sd card reader. This solution can come in handy especially if you have a dead Cd Drive that no longer works.
Other Optical Drive Emulators just to name a few have hit the market for retro consoles such as the Fenrir (Sega Saturn) , Phoebe (Sega Saturn ) and the Terraonion (Can be use with the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast). They all have one thing in common, they replace the Optical Drive for a micro sd card loading solution! Therefore giving you the ability to back up all your games into a easy fast loading set up! How cool is that!
Developer Robert Neumann who goes by ramapcsx2 on Twitter have came up with a solution for the PlayStation 1 console- Xstation! Just like the ODE solutions that are out there, the Xstation replaces the optical drive and allows you to run games from the micro sd card! The developer also points out that it is 100% compatible with all PS1 games!
Here are the features as well as the compatibility with certain PS1 models:
Compatibility:
The XStation can be installed in SCPH-100x, SCPH-5xxx and some SCPH-700x series consoles. Specifically, motherboard models that are supported are: – PU-7 – PU-8 – PU-18
Early SCPH-700x models come with either a PU-18 or PU-20 motherboard. Please check before purchasing. PU-20 is NOT supported.
Net Yaroze and other special models are potentially compatible but have not been tested.
Launch Features:
100% compatibility with the PlayStation 1 library.
Full Redump drag and drop support
Multi-disc support and easy swapping
Return to the Loader by holding the reset button for 1 second
PS1Digital Compatibility and IGR support through PS1Digital’s OSD menu
microSD cards of any size are supported
ExFAT and FAT32 support
Simple drag and drop card setup
Supports .iso, ccd/img, cue/bin (single and multiple)
Integrated PSNee, for automatic region-free operation
Automatic 50/60Hz switching
Loading times are similar to an original drive in good condition. You may notice slightly faster loading times due to reduced seek times while loading
Easy firmware updates by simply dragging and dropping an update file to your microSD card.
No registration necessary for updates, ability to revert to a previous firmware.
Upcoming Features
Over-the-air updates with the use of the integrated Wi-Fi module
Selective dither enable/disable per game on-the-fly
Further use of the wireless capabilities possible
Refreshed Loader GUI (planned to be overhauled)
No release date as of yet but Castlemaniagames.com has listed the item up for preorders soon, so if you want to get notified I suggest you head on over to the site and sign up since there may not be that many during the first batch of release.
Will you be getting the Xstation for your Playstation 1? Let us know @hackinformer.com