Handheld gaming market keeps growing and high-end PC gamers ain’t the only ones with choices! Retro gaming fans have a ton sleek emulation machines, with some new ones with neat specs and cool designs.
Let’s start with the Odin 2 Mini. Just got announced by Ayn, a Chinese company. It’s a smaller version of their handheld. It’s got a Snapdragon 8 Gen2 Processor and mini-LED touch display for gaming and emulating all the way up to PlayStation 2 and Wii-ears. The battery’s smaller but hey, if you’re into PlayStation Vita-style handhelds and still mad at Sony for ditching portable gaming, this might be for you. The white one looks real clean. Price is high at $340 but it’s already sold-out.
Next up, the AYANEO Pocket Micro, paying tribute to tiny Nintendo handhelds like Game Boy. It’s got D-pad, face buttons, and even two analog sticks. It’s a bit bigger than the old Nintendo version. AYANEO promises resolution four times better than Game Boy Advance and a screen that won’t make old games look weird. Digging the simple design and layout. No idea about the price yet, but there’s more info coming later.
Lastly, the AYANEO Pocket DMG, taking a shot at the popular Analogue Pocket. This one plays original Game Boy games, no emulation needed. The Pocket DMG will rock a 1240 x 1080-pixel OLED screen and an analog stick on a touchpad. The design is a bit all over the place, not as nice as the Analogue version, but it should be good for emulating a wide range of games. No word if it’s running Android yet.
No one’s needed these handhelds, but who cares! It’s cool to see companies making fancy stuff like that. Like how some fancy Kindle knock-offs popped up. These handhelds like Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, MIYOO Mini Plus Portable, ANBERNIC RG405M, they all offer something different for retro fans to get into.
They might not match a Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally in power and options, but that’s not why you drop $300 for playing old RPGs on a super-powered Game Boy from another dimension!
