Retro handheld emulator consoles

[67426ff0c7d69voodoo47]

technically not an emulator console, but too insane to not share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9FhIZkm4cw

[67426ff0c7f25Dark-Star88]

I've gotten quite interested in the Raspberry Pi recently, and among the many things it can do is emulate all kinds of old consoles.

...only problem is it requires a MicroHDMI adapter to even connect to a monitor , by which time I might as well be using my actual gaming rig.

[67426ff0c80afKolya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdF3CnFvxg4

https://play.date/

[67426ff0c820fvoodoo47]

can it run Doom though?

it's been announced a while ago. but not quite sure whether they are getting this right - what is the target market? kids? yeah that crank will be off in 24 hours. old geeks? they will want to hack it. normies? they are good playing fruit ninja on their phone.

and what about the price? you'll be competing with cheap chinese handhelds, which, while not perfect by any stretch of imagination, are quite capable of handling most of your retro needs, and they're getting better with each iteration released. so if your schtick is a crank, a walled garden and a hundred buck pricetag, you are probably going to have a bad time.

[67426ff0c831fKolya]

um, it's not a walled garden. Sideloading games is supposedly very easy and they're releasing an SDK for Windows/Mac/Linux to create your own games.

I think this is targetted at nostalgic adults. And I like the idea of releasing these little games on schedule, because you will have a common experience to talk about.

[67426ff0c8488voodoo47]

I didn't actually bother to check, and it's been a while since I've watched the first video, so I stand corrected, I suppose. still, finding their niche in today's oversaturated retro handheld market may prove difficult.

for example, the RG300 has a really nice 3.0 ips display, the shell is great, the firmware is good and community maintained, and it plays everything up to PS1 2D (including) pretty much perfectly, for as low as 45 bucks. so why would one go for the playdate? I much doubt it's going to have more power, and I doubt the cost will be less even more. so again, who is the target here? people who like cranks and monochrome graphics? talk about a niche audience.


//googled the price, $179. aaand we are done here.

[67426ff0c876bOlfred]

The concept reminded me of https://meditations.games/ where you basically get a new game every day, that you can (theoretically) only play for that day.
If you want to play it again, wait a year.

But the pricepoint is just too high for a small novelty item. I might have been intrigued at first, but with that pricepoint I lost interest.

[67426ff0c88cavoodoo47]

they actually have a wiki - ok, I'm all in for trying weird concepts in an attempt to create something interesting, but looking at the specs, the price, and seeing they themselves do not believe their product can carry its own weight without crutches, it's crystal clear this is DOA.

[67426ff0c89cbOlfred]

This might belong here
https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

[67426ff0c8ac5voodoo47]

well, at least I can't complain about subpar hardware this time.


..but I could have 3 playdate consoles for that price!

[67426ff0c8cdcJDoran]

The Steam Deck might be exactly what I've wanted all these years. I've always wanted a PC handheld that has really good controls, a good screen, and can play all of my favourite PC games and emulators (though for emulators, I suppose native Linux based emulators would do, too).  The price seems acceptable too (albeit a little much for the extended storage versions, though I will want lots of storage on mine, so...) is the Steam Deck really is as good as I'm hoping.

It's a pity it's not due out until next year, and even then it would be smart to wait a couple of months, to see what users say, what problems (and hopefully fixes) there are, and if (as is probably the case) it's worth waiting for a not too distant revision of the hardware to fix any faults such as overheating or whatever.

Still, at least now there is a possible end in sight for the search for the perfect handheld gaming system!

[67426ff0c8dfdvoodoo47]

not really something I'd have a use for - as far as handhelds go, my interest ends with gen5 (think 2D stuff), everything newer (3D) I'd just emulate on a proper pc.

also I like cheap things. unless it's uncommon (mostly) 3dfx hardware - then I like expensive rare things engineered by lunatics, because those are awesome.

[67426ff0c8f08JDoran]

For me, something like the Steam Deck would be brilliant as I could play my favourite PC games, and emulate my favourite console games, whilst commuting (I can't drive, so I have to commute to work), or otherwise killing time away from home.

[67426ff0c9259sarge945]

The main reason I'm excited for the Steam Deck is because a lot of handhelds tend to be cheaply made and have a very very bad user experience. Even if they play the games (sometimes that's a bit of a stretch too), often the menus are extremely lackluster and laggy, often with multiple duplicates of the same games in the menu under different names. I've seen a lot of false advertising too, such as products that claim to emulate the PS1, but which do so at about 2 fps. And of course refunds can be hard to get as oftrn they are sold through sites like Alibaba and eBay by potentially disreputable sellers. Even if someone wanted a cheap emulation device, and someone could recommend a good one, I'd still advise people to be cautious as there is a lot of crap out there.

The Steam Deck looks like it's going to be really simple to use. While it's not the first device of it's kind, and certainly not the only usable, good quality experience out there (GPD Win, anyone?), it's main attraction to me is the price point. Usually you either get total garbage, or an extremely expensive (think $1000 or more) but good quality handheld.

That price point is the biggest incentive for me, since I do intend to play more recent games on it. I can't wait to have to entire Dark Souls trilogy and Sekiro in the palm of my hand, and I'm happy to make some concessions on power and storage as I don't intend to play Cyberpunk, Call of Duty or any other super modern big blockbuster titles.

[67426ff0c93e6voodoo47]

yeah, if you want it cheap, you'll definitely want to do your homework beforehand - as long as you check a few youtube reviews to find out what consoles can the device emulate properly, and make sure the firmware can be updated, you should be good.

because while they are starting to get the hardware right, they can't code for crap, and they are simply unable to resist lying about their products in the description.

[67426ff0c951avoodoo47]

an example of a gimmick done right;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y29QOXltIFI
it's stupid, but it's cheap, so I can imagine people will buy this just to have a good laugh or two. you could even buy that other version which has an extra large battery and a charging port, and connect them together so the fan would last longer for even more laughs.

[67426ff0c9668ZylonBane]

I like how that guy is so lazy that instead of editing in web content in post, he just looks them up on his phone and films his phone screen.

[67426ff0c973dvoodoo47]

well, if it's stupid, but it works..

[67426ff0c981cZylonBane]

It doesn't work very well.

[67426ff0c990bvoodoo47]

well, the price is readable. ought to be enough.

[67426ff0c9a29sarge945]

Most YouTube videos are extremely lazy. Filming your phone is the product review equivalent of "I'm going to sit in front of a webcam and spout my uninformed opinion for a while" videos.

The lowest effort possible on YouTube is probably reading out an article. The are so many "political" and "gaming" channels that basically just do that.

Also that product looks awful

[67426ff0c9b29voodoo47]

yes, but that's kind of the point - it's so dumb and useless that you actually may buy it just for the laughs (as it's about 15 bucks, who cares about one large pizza). stupid/awful done right, if you will.

[67426ff0c9c08sarge945]

A fool and his money, I guess...

[67426ff0c9d82voodoo47]

snooped around youtube a bit, and a few of the bigger names seem to like it quite a bit, oddly enough. the comments are also mostly positive - the "almost switch lite" price is not well received though.

to each their own, I suppose.


also, bootlegging an unreleased, niche, possibly failed on arrival product, how so very chinese;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSLqYU5FwVk
30 bucks, and it can play Doom.