Honestly have never found the AGB form factor terribly appealing, a bit too chonky and I prefer vertical handhelds by a wide margin. Still, this one looks nice and I watched Russ' review yesterday...
Honestly have never found the AGB form factor terribly appealing, a bit too chonky and I prefer vertical handhelds by a wide margin. Still, this one looks nice and I watched Russ' review yesterday and the attention to detail on this is pretty impressive.
I think Russ hit the nail on the head with his assertion that this device is really aimed at nostalgia factor. I had the original GBA in white (shipped directly from Japan on launch day!), and so...
I think Russ hit the nail on the head with his assertion that this device is really aimed at nostalgia factor. I had the original GBA in white (shipped directly from Japan on launch day!), and so this thing definitely gives me all the feels. I don't think I'll be picking it up, though, because I do think there are ultimately better devices out there in this price range (some of them even from Anbernic).
Same here, and I suspect that the form factor is a big reason why when the GBA SP came out in the clam shell form factor instead, it was much more popular.
Same here, and I suspect that the form factor is a big reason why when the GBA SP came out in the clam shell form factor instead, it was much more popular.
Personally I feel like the lit screen was the bigger improvement than the clam shell design. I had a GBA and my younger brother got a GBA SP. I didn't like the buttons or want the clam shell...
Personally I feel like the lit screen was the bigger improvement than the clam shell design. I had a GBA and my younger brother got a GBA SP. I didn't like the buttons or want the clam shell design, but I was super envious of his ability to play games in the car after it got dark. I eventually got a light for my screen, but it was clunky and I had to deal with screen glare.
We returned to the GBA form factor with the DS line of handhelds, and now the switch. A folded DS/DS Lite was roughly the same size and dimensions as a GBA, and now the Switch Lite is basically a GBA with extra buttons. The GBA SP sold half the units of the original GBA, although it only had one year before it was competing with the DS.
I had totally forgotten that the original GBA didn't have the front lit screen, that is a very compelling feature. As an aside, I h9 the original form factor of the GBA and I ended up selling my...
I had totally forgotten that the original GBA didn't have the front lit screen, that is a very compelling feature. As an aside, I h9 the original form factor of the GBA and I ended up selling my DS because it was uncomfortable for me to use (gave me wrist pain). It is also why my switch never leaves the dock.
I would be interested in picking up an ARM handheld that can fit in a pocket, has decent battery, and can run PC games and ports. I know portmaster has a pretty good spread on PC ports on ARM and...
I would be interested in picking up an ARM handheld that can fit in a pocket, has decent battery, and can run PC games and ports. I know portmaster has a pretty good spread on PC ports on ARM and in the absence of a Steam Deck Mini, I think it's about as good as we can get for now.
You can sort-of do this with an Android based handheld. I picked up an Anbernic RG405m in August, with my primary goal being pocketability, which it absolutely is. There's no portmaster on it, but...
You can sort-of do this with an Android based handheld.
I picked up an Anbernic RG405m in August, with my primary goal being pocketability, which it absolutely is. There's no portmaster on it, but it does have decent battery life, it has Android ports of PC games (I've been playing a heavily modded KOTOR 2) and you can run DOSBOX on it (I've been playing Normality and a bit of Might & Magic: World of Xeen on it).
It's not perfect and takes some tinkering, but it's slightly smaller than my phone and so it comes everywhere with me. Though I did just buy a TrimUI Brick, as I'm a huge fan of small, vertical handhelds.
Yeah, I have a Kishi V1 that I have to take the case off of my phone to use, and it can work well enough. And I have a Playdate already, and returned an RG35XX SP that I got on a black Friday sale...
Yeah, I have a Kishi V1 that I have to take the case off of my phone to use, and it can work well enough. And I have a Playdate already, and returned an RG35XX SP that I got on a black Friday sale because I already had enough crap lying around. But surely this piece of plastic and circuit board will be the one that makes me happy...
This feeling needs a name! My Playdate is the coolest, most interesting desk accessory I’ve ever bought. You wouldn’t know it plays games from how long it’s spent just sitting there, looking cool...
But surely this piece of plastic and circuit board will be the one that makes me happy...
This feeling needs a name!
My Playdate is the coolest, most interesting desk accessory I’ve ever bought. You wouldn’t know it plays games from how long it’s spent just sitting there, looking cool in its case.
A smartphone dedicated to games with physical controls. Phone games are great if they are built around a touchscreen with minimal physical input otherwise. When you try and translate something...
A smartphone dedicated to games with physical controls. Phone games are great if they are built around a touchscreen with minimal physical input otherwise. When you try and translate something with gamepad controls to a touchscreen, there's usually something lost.
I still can't justify getting anything past my Anbernic ARC if all's the same under the hood. I'll buy something that plays Saturn properly at some point, but until then, I don't get the need to...
I still can't justify getting anything past my Anbernic ARC if all's the same under the hood.
I'll buy something that plays Saturn properly at some point, but until then, I don't get the need to have different versions of the same device.
Honestly have never found the AGB form factor terribly appealing, a bit too chonky and I prefer vertical handhelds by a wide margin. Still, this one looks nice and I watched Russ' review yesterday and the attention to detail on this is pretty impressive.
I think Russ hit the nail on the head with his assertion that this device is really aimed at nostalgia factor. I had the original GBA in white (shipped directly from Japan on launch day!), and so this thing definitely gives me all the feels. I don't think I'll be picking it up, though, because I do think there are ultimately better devices out there in this price range (some of them even from Anbernic).
Edit: Here's that review by Russ at Retro Game Corps btw, in case anyone wants to follow along. :)
Same here, and I suspect that the form factor is a big reason why when the GBA SP came out in the clam shell form factor instead, it was much more popular.
Personally I feel like the lit screen was the bigger improvement than the clam shell design. I had a GBA and my younger brother got a GBA SP. I didn't like the buttons or want the clam shell design, but I was super envious of his ability to play games in the car after it got dark. I eventually got a light for my screen, but it was clunky and I had to deal with screen glare.
We returned to the GBA form factor with the DS line of handhelds, and now the switch. A folded DS/DS Lite was roughly the same size and dimensions as a GBA, and now the Switch Lite is basically a GBA with extra buttons. The GBA SP sold half the units of the original GBA, although it only had one year before it was competing with the DS.
I agree. I modded my original GBA with an Afterburner for precisely this reason.
I had totally forgotten that the original GBA didn't have the front lit screen, that is a very compelling feature. As an aside, I h9 the original form factor of the GBA and I ended up selling my DS because it was uncomfortable for me to use (gave me wrist pain). It is also why my switch never leaves the dock.
I would be interested in picking up an ARM handheld that can fit in a pocket, has decent battery, and can run PC games and ports. I know portmaster has a pretty good spread on PC ports on ARM and in the absence of a Steam Deck Mini, I think it's about as good as we can get for now.
You can sort-of do this with an Android based handheld.
I picked up an Anbernic RG405m in August, with my primary goal being pocketability, which it absolutely is. There's no portmaster on it, but it does have decent battery life, it has Android ports of PC games (I've been playing a heavily modded KOTOR 2) and you can run DOSBOX on it (I've been playing Normality and a bit of Might & Magic: World of Xeen on it).
It's not perfect and takes some tinkering, but it's slightly smaller than my phone and so it comes everywhere with me. Though I did just buy a TrimUI Brick, as I'm a huge fan of small, vertical handhelds.
Yeah, I have a Kishi V1 that I have to take the case off of my phone to use, and it can work well enough. And I have a Playdate already, and returned an RG35XX SP that I got on a black Friday sale because I already had enough crap lying around. But surely this piece of plastic and circuit board will be the one that makes me happy...
This feeling needs a name!
My Playdate is the coolest, most interesting desk accessory I’ve ever bought. You wouldn’t know it plays games from how long it’s spent just sitting there, looking cool in its case.
Naming it requires that I acknowledge it exists. I refuse! 😂
Hey the RG405m is metal and plastic with some circuit boards, maybe this is the one!
So...a smartphone?
A smartphone dedicated to games with physical controls. Phone games are great if they are built around a touchscreen with minimal physical input otherwise. When you try and translate something with gamepad controls to a touchscreen, there's usually something lost.
I still can't justify getting anything past my Anbernic ARC if all's the same under the hood.
I'll buy something that plays Saturn properly at some point, but until then, I don't get the need to have different versions of the same device.