STMicroelectronics has announced a new Cortex-A SoC and Linux- and Android-driven processor. The STM32MP1 SoC intends to ease the transition for developers moving from its STM32 microprocessor unit (MCU) family to more complex embedded systems. Development boards based on the SoC will be available in April.
Aimed at industrial, consumer, smart home, health, and wellness applications, the STM32MP1 features dual, 650MHz Cortex-A7 cores running a new “mainlined, open-sourced” OpenSTLinux distro with Yocto Project and OpenEmbedded underpinnings. There’s also a 209MHz Cortex-M4 chip with an FPU, MPU, and DSP instructions. The Cortex-M4 is supported by an enhanced version of ST’s STM32Cube development tools that support the Cortex-A7 cores in addition to the M4 (see below).
Like most of NXP’s recent embedded SoCs, including the single- or -dual Cortex-A7 i.MX7 and its newer, Cortex-A53 i.MX8M and i.MX8M Mini, the STM32MP1 is a hybrid Cortex-A/M design intended in ST’s words to “perform fast processing and real-time tasks on a single chip.” Hybrid Cortex-A7/M4 SoCs are also available from Renesas, Marvell, and MediaTek, which has developed a custom-built MT3620 SoC as the hardware foundation for Microsoft’s Azure Sphere IoT framework.
As the market leader in Cortex-A MCUs, ST has made a larger leap from its comfort zone than these other semiconductor vendors. NXP is also a leading MCU vendor, but it’s been crafting Linux-powered Cortex-A SoCs since long before it changed it named from Freescale. The SM32MP1 launch continues a trend of MCU technology companies reaching out to the Linux community, such as Arm’s new Mbed Linux distro and Pelion IoT Platform, which orchestrates Cortex-M and Cortex-A devices under a single IoT platform.
Inside the STM32MP1
The STM32MP1 is equipped with 32KB instruction and data caches, as well as a 256KB L2 cache. ST also supplies an optional Vivante 3D GPU with support for OpenGL ES 2.0 and 24-bit parallel RGB displays at up to WXGA (1280×800) at 60fps.
The SoC supports a 2-lane MIPI-DSI interface running at 1Gbps and offers native support for Linux and application frameworks such as Android Qt and Crank Software’s Storyboard GUI. While the GPU is pretty run-of-the-mill for Cortex-A7 SoCs it’s a giant leap from the perspective of MCU developers trying to bring up modern HMI displays.
Three SoC models are available: one with 3D GPU, MIPI-DSI, and 2x CAN FD interfaces, as well as one with 2x CAN FD only and one without the GPU and CAN I/O.
The STM32MP1 is touted for its rolling 10-year longevity support and heterogeneous architecture, which lets developers halt the Cortex-A7 and run only on the Cortex-M4 to reduce power consumption by 25 percent. From this mode, “going to Standby further cuts power by 2.5k times — while still supporting the resumption of Linux execution in 1 to 3 seconds, depending on the application,” says ST. The SoC includes a PMIC and other power circuitry such as buck and boost converters.
For security, the SoC provides Arm TrustZone, cryptography, hash, secure boot, anti-tamper pins, and a real-time clock. RAM support includes 32/16-bit, 533MHz DDR3, DDR3L, LPDDR2, LPDDR3. Flash support includes SD, eMMC, NAND, and NOR.
Peripherals include Cortex-A7 linked GbE, 3x USB 2.0, I2C, and multiple UART and SPI links. Analog I/O connected to the Cortex-M4 include 2x 16-bit ADCs, 2x 12-bit DACs, 29x timers, 3x watchdogs, LDOs, and up to 176 GPIOs.
OpenSTLinux, STM32Cube, and starter kits
The new OpenSTLinux distribution “has already been reviewed and accepted by the “Linux community: Linux Foundation, Yocto project, and Linaro,” says ST. The Linux BSP includes mainline kernel, drivers, boot chain, and Linaro’s OP-TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) security stack. It also includes Wayland/Weston, Gstreamer, and ALSA libraries.
Three Linux software development packages are available: a quick Starter package with STM32CubeMP1 samples; a Dev package with a Yocto Project SDK that lets you add your own Linux code; and an OpenEmbedded based Distrib package that also lets you create your own OpenSTLinux-based Linux distro. ST has collaborated with Timesys on the Linux BSPs and with Witekio to port Android to STM32MP1.
STM32 developers can “easily find their marks” by using the familiar STM32Cube toolset to control both the Cortex-M4 and Cortex-A7 chips. The toolset includes GCC-based STM32CubeProgrammer and STM32CubeMX IDEs, which “include the DRAM interface tuning tool for easy configuration of the DRAM sub-system,” says ST.
Finally, ST is supporting its chip with a four development boards: the entry level STM32MP157A-DK1 and STM32MP157C-DK2 and the higher end STM32MP157A-EV1 and STM32MP157C-EV1. All the boards offer GPIO connectors for the Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno V3.
The DK1/DK2 boards are equipped with 4GB DDR3L, as well as USB Type-C, USB Type-A OTG, HDMI, and MIPI-DSI. You also get GbE and WiFi/Bluetooth, and a 4-inch, VGA capacitive touch panel, among other features.
The more advanced A-EV1 and C-EV1 boards support up to 8GB DDR3L, 32GB eMMCv5.0. a microSD slot, and SPI and NAND flash. They provide most of the features of the DK boards, as well as CAN, camera support, SAI, SPDIF, digital mics, analog audio, and much more. They also supply 4x USB host ports and a micro-USB port. A 5.5-inch 720×1280 touchscreen is available.
HTC is launching the Vive Focus Plus this year, complete with 6DoF controllers
HTC Vive has announced that the Vive Focus, its business-focused standalone VR headset, is getting an upgrade through the freshly revealed Vive Focus Plus.
The Vive Focus Plus comes with the same focus on HTC’s enterprise customer base, but adds in upgrades like new controllers with 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) capability built in, a more comfortable design, and a handful of hardware improvements.
In a press release, HTC Vive notes that the changes introduced with the Plus aim to make the stand-alone device more easy and comfortable to use while the 6DoF features ultimately make it easier for devs to port their PC VR projects to the Plus.
“At Vive, the announcement of Vive Focus Plus furthers our commitment to rapidly iterate and refine the VR market for both businesses and consumers,” said HTC Vive’s American GM Daniel O’Brien. “This rollout of Vive Focus Plus leads the way for deeper immersion, more realistic training, and simulation, and easier porting of experiences from PC to the stand-alone category.”
Though the original Vive Focus launched in China before getting a worldwide release, the Vive Focus Plus is due to release in 25 countries during Q2 2019.
Valve Is Removing Steam Video Section; Retiring Non-Gaming Content
Valve has announced it's retiring the Video section from the Steam store. You'll keep any videos you've already purchased from Steam, though, so you don't have to worry about losing anything you've bought.
"In reviewing what Steam users actually watch, it became clear we should focus our effort on offering content that is either directly related to gaming or, is accessory content for games or software sold on Steam," Valve wrote in a blog post. "As part of this refocus, we have retired the Video section of the Steam Store menu with an expectation that video content is discovered via the associated game or software store page, or through search, user tags, recommendations, etc."
As part of the company's renewed focus on gaming, in the next few weeks, Valve will be retiring "a number of non-gaming videos" which "will no longer be available for purchase." As stated above, you'll still have access to these videos provided you've bought them already. Otherwise, they'll be gone from the Steam Store for good.
Steam's domination of the PC gaming marketplace has been challenged by the arrival of the Epic Games Store. Epic--creator of the popular battle royale game Fortnite--has managed to carve out a chunk of the PC gaming landscape by offering developers a larger cut of their profits in comparison to Steam. Already, Epic has managed to secure the exclusive distribution for the PC versions of several indie games, like Ashen and Journey, as well as some notable triple-A titles, such as Metro Exodus and The Division 2. Exodus, specifically, caused quite a bit of controversy, as its movement from Steam to Epic angered both Valve and fans of the Metro franchise.
Metro Exodus launched to several positive reviews, including ours--Michael Higham gave it an 8/10. If you prefer consoles, the game is also available on Xbox One and PS4.
Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 23rd)
Ah, Saturday. Quite possibly the best day of the week; certainly in the top five. It’s been a busy week despite the post-Direct lull. News that Reggie Fils-Aimé will be stepping down in April had us rewatching classic clips with a tear in the eye. Enough of that nonsense, though. Reggie wouldn’t want us moping around – he’d want us playing the very best games that Switch and 3DS have to offer, so that’s what the Nintendo Life team are going to do! These are our game-based plans and we’d love to hear yours, so get involved in the poll and comments. Have fun!
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, after Reggie’s announcement, I’m honestly just looking for comfort and warmth in a world of utter darkness. I think I’ll stick to my favorites – finishing off the DLC in Breath of the Wild, unlocking some new characters in Smash Ultimate, playing a few rounds in Splatoon 2. I’ll probably pick up the old 3DS as well, and knock back some Animal Crossing & Pokémon. I’m feeling sad, people, so all I wanna do is play games that I know and love. I’ll also be rewatching “best of” clips of Reggie on repeat via the YouTube app on Switch – does that count?
Gavin Lane, staff writer
It’s been a busy week and I’ve only managed to squeeze in thirty minutes with the latest Tetris game to arrive on Switch. Those thirty minutes were enough to confirm two things: firstly, I’m absolutely rubbish at Tetris, and secondly, I need to be careful that Tetris 99 doesn’t suck away all my weekend hours.
Assuming I can avoid that particular pitfall, I’d really like to get into Ikaruga. I got the game, I got the Flip Grip but I just haven’t had the chance to play the thing, much to the chagrin of my fellow Nintendo Life staff. I’m on the case, team! Let’s just hope I’m better at shmups than Tetris…
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
There is so much shooting to be done this weekend courtesy of the eShop! The excellent Rock n’ Roll Racing spiritual sequel BlazeRush, the solid Cybernator-inspired mech action of Gigantic Army, becoming the aliens in X-Morph: Defense and even WW2 dogfighting and air base management in Warplanes: WW2 Dogfight. But the most shooting of all will be done in Gameloft’s surprisingly impressive Modern Combat Blackout, proof that you don’t really miss Call of Duty until Activision simply stops releasing it in your Nintendo console of choice and every other FPS out there is now some sort of F2P Battle Royale thingamajig.
Game of the week goes with little surprise to Protoculture Game’s appropriately titled horizontal shmup Devil Engine! A love letter to retro shmups where you will have as much fun testing your skills to a non-stop barrage of action while also picking up Easter eggs references to other shmups such as Thunder Force IV and Last Resort. Time to pick up a 5th microSD card I guess…
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer
This weekend I’m going to be playing a LOT of Anthem. However, when I’m not flying about shooting grabbits in my javelin, I’ll be taking Trials Rising on Nintendo Switch for a spin. I’ve loved the series since it debuted way back on Xbox 360, so I’m hoping this port will live up to the hype. I imagine I’ll be swearing my head off when a mistime a jump for 100th time, but that’s Trials! Look out for my review on the site next week.
Liam Doolan, news reporter
This weekend I’m playing more Tetris 99, more Wargroove and more Hollow Knight. I’ve also managed to finally rip myself away from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to spend some well overdue time with Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s another one of those games I bought in launch week and never got around to properly playing due to the busy time of year. When I’m not playing any of these titles, I might give the Trials Rising beta another go. I’ll admit the Switch version definitely isn’t the best-looking one, but it hasn’t been enough to detract from the overall level of fun I’ve had with the game so far.
What games are you playing this weekend? (311 votes)
Ori And The Blind Forest For Switch Spotted In UK Wholesale Database
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you will have no doubt heard about the ongoing rumours regarding a possible partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo.
According to multiple sources, Microsoft has plans to bring an Xbox App, Game Pass, cloud technology and even some Xbox exclusives to the Nintendo Switch at some point this year. This rumour began when it was discovered Microsoft would be discussing its plans to make Xbox Live compatible with multiple platforms at the upcoming Game Developers Conference.
In the latest development, Gematsu is now reporting a Switch version of Ori and the Blind Forest has appeared in “at least one” United Kingdom wholesale database. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of the actual wholesaler or photographic evidence. Apparently, though, the game will be distributed by THQ Nordic, which would make sense as it has worked with Microsoft in the past to publish games on the digital distribution platform, Steam.
This isn’t the first time this game has been mentioned. Yesterday, Direct-Feed Games name-dropped the 2015 release and French gaming website Jeuxvideo supported these claims while also referencing the platforming boss-battler, Cuphead.
Are you convinced yet? Would you like to play Ori and the Blind Forest on the Switch? Tell us down in the comments.
As previously revealed, volume one will arrive next week on 28th February. It includes the new playable character Shinobu Jacobs, who is played by Kimberly Brooks, and also the new Badman Strikes Back Adventure.
The second DLC pack, Bubblegum Fatale, is set to follow this and will be released on 30th April. It includes the new playable character Bad Girl, an additional stage and another new adventure.
As we’ve already mentioned, the Season Pass is available for $9.99 / £8.99 / €9.99 – although this is included in physical copies of the game and some digital bundles.
Did you buy this game in the end? Has this DLC got your attention? Tell us below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 02-24-2019, 12:31 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Reggie Fils-Aime Retiring From Nintendo; Doug Bowser To Take Over
Reggie Fils-Aime, the longtime president and COO of Nintendo of America, will retire this spring, he and the company announced in a joint statement on Thursday. Taking over his role will be the company's current senior vice president of sales and marketing, Doug Bowser, a man whose name requires a "yes, really" after every mention.
Fils-Aime has been in this role for more than a decade, having gotten the job in May 2006 following a three-year stint as the executive VP of sales and marketing. He has effectively served as the company's face in North American territories for much of his tenure as president; he's often seen in Nintendo Direct streams and was often the primary presenter back when the company did live E3 media briefings. Fils-Aime stood out both due to his Terminator-like stature and meme-friendly antics, like when he danced in an attempt to convince a western audience to take notice of Yo-Kai Watch.
"Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever," Fils-Aime said in a press release revealing his departure. "It's a part that is filled with gratitude--for the incredibly talented people I've worked with, for the opportunity to represent such a wonderful brand, and most of all, to feel like a member of the world's most positive and enduring gamer community. As I look forward to departing in both good health and good humor, this is not 'game over' for me, but instead 'leveling up' to more time with my wife, family and friends."
In addition to that message, Nintendo shared a video from Fils-Aime on Twitter in which he thanks fans for their support. "I wanted to reach out directly to you, the Nintendo community, because there's one thing I really want to say: thank you," Fils-Aime said. "Thank you for your never-ending support, and for your passionate love of Nintendo. And personally, for giving me a Mushroom Kingdom full of incredible memories that I will never forget, ever." In addition to this, there's also been an outpouring of well-wishes on Twitter from various members of the games industry.
"I really appreciate everything Reggie has done for Nintendo," said Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. "Inside and outside our company, Reggie is known as an exceptional leader. We are grateful that he is leaving the business in good shape with strong momentum. While we will miss him and we wish him the very best in his retirement, we are also pleased to have such an able successor ready to step into that role. Doug Bowser and the rest of the team will ensure a seamless transition and continued momentum for Nintendo."
Fils-Aime will officially step down on April 15, at which point Bowser will assume the title of president of Nintendo of America. Prior to his current position at Nintendo, he worked for EA. When he was first hired at Nintendo, he tweeted an image offering his thanks but--with a nod toward his surname--Mario and Luigi plushes discreetly tied up in the background.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 20, 2015
Bowser also had a comment to share in the press release regarding Fils-Aime's retirement. "It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America," he said, before going on to menacingly promise, "And rest assured, we will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendo's global mission of creating smiles. There are millions more of those to come."
Analogue Mega Sg To Feature Unreleased Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Game
When Analogue released its modern reimagining of the NES, the Analogue Nt, it was a thing of beauty. The premium $500 price, though, meant it was destined for the serious enthusiast market only. Its follow up, the Analogue Nt Mini, trimmed a couple of features but came in at a far more realistic pricepoint for the average gamer.
Then followed the Analogue Super Nt, doing for the 16-bit SNES what it had done for the console’s predecessor. Every console also came with an extra special gift – an exclusive Director’s Cut of Super Turrican featuring material that had to be cut from the original cartridge due to memory restrictions. With the upcoming Analogue Mega Sg – an equivalent modern interpretation of Sega’s Mega Drive/Genesis – fans were hoping there’d be a similar present awaiting them on the new console.
From the look of that trailer, they’re not going to be disappointed! The company posted the above video showing off Hardcore, a run-and-gun shooter from Digital Illusions (or DICE as they’re better known) that was cancelled in 1994 in a 99% complete state. Apparently the only known source code came from “a single, dead hard drive that was barely recovered”.
Analogue go on to describe the game thusly:
Hardcore is a fast paced, euro-style run’n’gun, space base thriller. We’re dedicated to preserving this piece of video game history and Hardcore is included digitally on each Mega Sg system.
The game will go by the name Ultracore ‘due to licensing reasons’, but whatever it’s called, it looks absolutely terrific. It’ll be a treat to tuck into a game from the era – not a remake, not an homage; a genuine 25-year-old Mega Drive game that had been ‘lost’.
The console is on pre-order for $189.99 from Analogue’s website and is scheduled to ship in April.
As you can probably tell, we’re quite excited – it’d be a massive shame if the game turns out to be rubbish! Does this make the Analogue Mega Sg a more attractive proposition? Share your thoughts below.
Four More Xbox One Backwards Compatible Games Out Now
Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has announced four more games are now backwards compatible on Xbox One. The first three are all a part of the Lost Planet series, while the fourth is a Resident Evil game.
All three of the mainline Lost Planet games--Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Lost Planet 2, and Lost Planet 3--are now backwards compatible, as is the gold edition of the first game, titled Lost Planet: Colonies. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, an extended cut version of a game that originally released on Dreamcast, is also now backwards compatible.
Published by Capcom, the Lost Planet franchise consists of a series of shooters that follow the struggles of different protagonists that all live on a planet that's in the midst of an ice age. Gameplay evolves throughout the series, but each title primarily focuses on survival in the harsh environment, as well as shootouts with alien creatures or soldiers from corporations hell bent on controlling the planet. At the time of its release in 2007, we enjoyed Lost Planet: Extreme Condition--calling it "a great action game because it focuses on tense, thrilling battles." We weren't quite as fond of Lost Planet 2 or its sequel, criticizing the former for its "broken, tedious, or downright frustrating" missions and the latter for struggling to maintain the series' identity.
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X continues the series' survival horror gameplay, following the story of siblings Chris and Claire Redfield after the events of Resident Evil 2. In our Resident Evil Code: Veronica X review, Joe Fielder gave the game a 9/10, praising it for its visuals and soundtrack while also commending the storytelling in spite of some cheesy moments.
To play any of these four games on Xbox One, you'll either need to own their respective physical Xbox 360 copy or buy their digital versions from the Xbox Live marketplace. We've outlined the full list of Xbox One backwards compatible games, and also highlighted some of our favorites.
