I don't mind being patient, but it has been like 3 years since a firmware update. Can we call the Zero a dead console yet?
They just released Psx. Wouldn't it be a bit unfair to call it "dead"?
I feel like this thread should be erased before Devs are like, "ok..f^*% this I'm out"
Many volunteer developers feel alienated due to the expectation they are obligated to deliver. In reality, they don't have any obligation whatsoever to any of the people buying the devices (you pay for the hardware, you don't pay for development).
The GCW Zero was slated to be the spiritual successor of the Dingoo A320 with the intention of using OpenDingux to maximize compatibility with previous software releases. The developers aren't working for GCW LLC and have done tremendous amounts of work that are completely invisible to the eyes of users.
The reason why hardware like this is hard to support is due to the notoriously bad Linux support by Ingenic (the GCW Zero uses the Ingenic jz4770 SoC)
Developers don't always work on high profile issues. Sometimes you wouldn't even notice the work that is being done because it's working as intended. It's usually only after things break down that the work developers are doing becomes visible.
Follow
https://github.com/gcwnow/ if you want to see what developers are working on. Recent work included moving to devicetree and efforts are being done to get all drivers upstream in the Linux kernel. If you want people to work on HDMI and tv-out you'll have to find a developer with enough spare time to write a
KMS driver.