So the Anorexic GBSPCLON36364943HDHDEKDJRDBD4 arrived. And just from getting my hands on it, Anbernic has come a LONG way since the last time I tried to use one. (Last year sometime)
This device has a build quality worlds ahead of the last time I tried them, and is FINALLY at a price I'd be happy to pay for myself. (Around $100 with post) I'll have to keep looking into it, and try and play a few games, but even just the initial impressions are so much better than the older devices. All the buttons are uniform for a start. The plastic feels better and it doesn't feel like the device will fall apart after 1 game.
The Open Handheld Thread
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
Well I've been playing with it, and I'm quite impressed.
Impressed enough to buy one for me too.
Perfect for various old games in bed, and even if you're tired and drop it on your face it's so light it doesn't hurt.
But the best thing:
Soul Calibur is playable on it. Beat arcade mode in sub 4 minutes playable.
It's obviously not ideal for Dreamcast in terms of compute power or that it lacks an analogue stick. But Pal Soul Calibur maintained it's frames.
Getting games on it is easy enough, but I did have some trouble making a backup SD card and getting it to work, so that might need some tinkering.
When your choice is one of these for $100, or a beat up shitty Gameboy with no battery cover or plastic screen surround and the worst game on the system for $120... Well I'll take the anorexic GBSPCLON3DHDUROFBDS any day of the week.
Impressed enough to buy one for me too.
Perfect for various old games in bed, and even if you're tired and drop it on your face it's so light it doesn't hurt.
But the best thing:
Soul Calibur is playable on it. Beat arcade mode in sub 4 minutes playable.
It's obviously not ideal for Dreamcast in terms of compute power or that it lacks an analogue stick. But Pal Soul Calibur maintained it's frames.
Getting games on it is easy enough, but I did have some trouble making a backup SD card and getting it to work, so that might need some tinkering.
When your choice is one of these for $100, or a beat up shitty Gameboy with no battery cover or plastic screen surround and the worst game on the system for $120... Well I'll take the anorexic GBSPCLON3DHDUROFBDS any day of the week.
Hugh Man!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
It may look like an AI creation, but the PowKiddy V10 is a decent budget handheld. In this video, we take an in-depth look at the new PowKiddy V10.
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
I've gone and ordered the new ANOREXIC RGPSXPRFHDHSDN-H++(382HH.
I was going to get myself the GBASPclone, but since that's come out there has been 204 new Anbernic models released, so I've decided to try the ANBERNIC RG40XX H.
Mainly because it was roughly the same price (about $100 shipped) but also because it's a little wider, so longer sessions should be a little bit more comfortable with it and it has the bonus of tiny little joysticks, so will be more useful for the occasional PSP, PS1 or 64 game when I can't be bothered with the real thing or at a desk.
If it sucks, I'll go back and order the GBASP which is getting cheaper all the time.
I was going to get myself the GBASPclone, but since that's come out there has been 204 new Anbernic models released, so I've decided to try the ANBERNIC RG40XX H.
Mainly because it was roughly the same price (about $100 shipped) but also because it's a little wider, so longer sessions should be a little bit more comfortable with it and it has the bonus of tiny little joysticks, so will be more useful for the occasional PSP, PS1 or 64 game when I can't be bothered with the real thing or at a desk.
If it sucks, I'll go back and order the GBASP which is getting cheaper all the time.
Hugh Man!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
It's been getting good reviews and it looks nice.
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
Have your 5 arrived yet?
I'll give it a quick write up when it gets here.
I'll give it a quick write up when it gets here.
Hugh Man!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
I'm not getting one of these. The Miyoo Mini Plus and the RG35XX SP are good enough for me right now.
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
A likely story!
You can't fool me by saying you don't already have one.
I bet before Anbernic even announce them they send them all to you for either a thumbs up where they release it or a thumbs down where they scrap it forever.
You sit in the chair made out of copies of impossible to find Japanese RPG's and judge every gaming device... It's your pleasure, but also your burden!
You can't fool me by saying you don't already have one.
I bet before Anbernic even announce them they send them all to you for either a thumbs up where they release it or a thumbs down where they scrap it forever.
You sit in the chair made out of copies of impossible to find Japanese RPG's and judge every gaming device... It's your pleasure, but also your burden!
Hugh Man!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
In this video we try out a few retro handheld consoles from Aliexpress like the new M25 that looks like the the PS portal, RG556 android handheld and the RG28XX.
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
Spent a few days using the ANBERNIC RG40XXH as mentioned above.
Initial impressions are fairly good, but there's a few things here and there that let you know it's a budget device.
The moulding on the plastic shell isn't as good as it was on the SP clone, there's parts where the grain changes and it looks like a cheap device. It doesn't feel cheap in the hand to play with, but the boring beige one I got looks cheaper than the SP clone. There's parts where it looks like the plastic is raising but it's all just the angle you look at on.
The face buttons and d-Pad all feel nice, springy and squishy but not mushy. The d-Pad isn't perfect, but it's pretty good, if a little too hard compared to the buttons. Considering only Nintendo ever made the perfect D-Pad on the SNES and N64, and the entire industry has been failing to match them on every single device ever since, this criticism of the D-Pad is really only very slight.
The clicky shoulder buttons also feel good.
The screen is pretty nice albeit with some very slight light bleed at the bottom. This is probably my biggest mark against it. I won't call it bad, the screen is crisp and bright and still a great thing to play old games on, but there was no bleed at all on the last device I tried. So to have even the smallest amount at the bottom of this one is a bit of a disappointment.
In terms of the out of the box experience, it's improved.
Was Able to play Gran Turismo and a few dreamcast games straight from the box to an acceptable level before I settled into mainly Gameboy advance games.
No tinkering at all so far, only play. We'll see how it goes before a proper review.
I don't need to keep looking for cheap emulation handhelds, this thing is doing pretty good so far.
For $105 posted I'm very happy after 2 days of play. If it holds up, it'll turn out to be the best Gameboy advance ever.
I got roughly 4 hours of Gameboy play on mid screen brightness and according to the indicator I only used about half of it, but further testing is required.
I couldn't recommend at $135 plus postage, but at the same price as the SP clone? I'm glad I took one of these instead.
Initial impressions are fairly good, but there's a few things here and there that let you know it's a budget device.
The moulding on the plastic shell isn't as good as it was on the SP clone, there's parts where the grain changes and it looks like a cheap device. It doesn't feel cheap in the hand to play with, but the boring beige one I got looks cheaper than the SP clone. There's parts where it looks like the plastic is raising but it's all just the angle you look at on.
The face buttons and d-Pad all feel nice, springy and squishy but not mushy. The d-Pad isn't perfect, but it's pretty good, if a little too hard compared to the buttons. Considering only Nintendo ever made the perfect D-Pad on the SNES and N64, and the entire industry has been failing to match them on every single device ever since, this criticism of the D-Pad is really only very slight.
The clicky shoulder buttons also feel good.
The screen is pretty nice albeit with some very slight light bleed at the bottom. This is probably my biggest mark against it. I won't call it bad, the screen is crisp and bright and still a great thing to play old games on, but there was no bleed at all on the last device I tried. So to have even the smallest amount at the bottom of this one is a bit of a disappointment.
In terms of the out of the box experience, it's improved.
Was Able to play Gran Turismo and a few dreamcast games straight from the box to an acceptable level before I settled into mainly Gameboy advance games.
No tinkering at all so far, only play. We'll see how it goes before a proper review.
I don't need to keep looking for cheap emulation handhelds, this thing is doing pretty good so far.
For $105 posted I'm very happy after 2 days of play. If it holds up, it'll turn out to be the best Gameboy advance ever.
I got roughly 4 hours of Gameboy play on mid screen brightness and according to the indicator I only used about half of it, but further testing is required.
I couldn't recommend at $135 plus postage, but at the same price as the SP clone? I'm glad I took one of these instead.
Hugh Man!
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pixel
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
Here's a weird one: GameStop is partnering with some company named ModRetro to release their own Game Boy Colour clone. I stumbled on this when I saw that GameStop is promoting new retro-themed stores.
https://www.gamestop.com/consoles-hardw ... 14295.html
https://www.gamestop.com/consoles-hardw ... 14295.html
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
That's a lot of money for something that can't even play GBA carts.
$199. That is nearly 300 dollarydoos!
Surely a screen mod on a gameboy color or advance would be better, and cost less, and be easier to order than going to the local GameStop, and will offer the retrowank crowd a more "Authentic" experience...
But it is a gaming device, and people are idiots who apparently have too much money... They've secured the future of the company for years to come.
$199. That is nearly 300 dollarydoos!
Surely a screen mod on a gameboy color or advance would be better, and cost less, and be easier to order than going to the local GameStop, and will offer the retrowank crowd a more "Authentic" experience...
But it is a gaming device, and people are idiots who apparently have too much money... They've secured the future of the company for years to come.
Hugh Man!
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melancholy
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
That’s both weird and stupid. As Ian said, you can get a LCD modded one for cheaper than that. I guess one bonus will be picking one up super cheap once they don’t sell and GameStop clearances them out.
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
FPGA, cheaper than the Analogue Pocket, it's not that bad. It's good for people that want something that's closer to the real thing but with modern improvements.
It's still pricey though.
It's still pricey though.
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ian
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
I think the problem with that is people who will pay out the ass will want the real thing and perfection or indeed spend 600 weeks and $27,000 making their perfect Gameboy.Dr. Zoidberg wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2024 1:24 pm FPGA, cheaper than the Analogue Pocket, it's not that bad. It's good for people that want something that's closer to the real thing but with modern improvements.
It's still pricey though.
... People who want a hit of some Gameboy without 4 years to tinker and just wanna play a bit of Pokemon will be looking for something a lot cheaper, and won't care that a $50 device isn't perfect. Most people buying these handhelds don't even know what FPGA is, let alone care why they should spend $300 to have it.
When nerdy friends bring up FPGA even I get bored, and I'm a nerd. But outside of nerdy friends, most of my gamer friends couldn't give a shit about even looking up what FPGA stands for on google.
I just don't get the market for this, especially when it's priced higher than the real thing including mods.
The only way this device makes any sense whatsoever is targeting the people who collect game consoles like Pokemon, or targeting people with too much money. Both of those crowds seem fairly small.
But because I don't get it, I'm sure it'll be huge. And prove my point that people are idiots with too much money.
Hugh Man!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
FPGA can replicate hardware configurations, so it's sort of hardware emulation. It's more accurate than software emulation.
Because Intel are the one that sell the boards, it's expensive. Taki Udon, whose videos appear in this thread, is working on a cheaper version of it. Less than half the price.
He's also making a handheld with it.
Because Intel are the one that sell the boards, it's expensive. Taki Udon, whose videos appear in this thread, is working on a cheaper version of it. Less than half the price.
He's also making a handheld with it.
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pixel
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
I am interested in Taki's FPGA hardware, but I have so much stuff that already does great software emulation. I'm at a point where a QLED TV at 120hz with a docked Steam Deck is all I need. The FPGA stuff is really enticing if I wanted to hook up to a CRT TV, which is something I'd like to get set up in the future.
Back to the GameStop Gameboy, it's very odd how little it has been publicized. Granted, it comes out in December but there's a whole community of hardware folks that should get their hands on one. It gives me a strange vibe that there will be bugs or shortages. Like melan said, the only value it poses right now is if they go on deep discount.
I do think there's a nascent market for accessible retro hardware, especially systems that play original media. It looks like GameStop wants to essentially reboot the Game Boy Colour on clone hardware. Could that be a viable long-term business with companies rebooting other classic hardware? Or is it just a quick fad?
Back to the GameStop Gameboy, it's very odd how little it has been publicized. Granted, it comes out in December but there's a whole community of hardware folks that should get their hands on one. It gives me a strange vibe that there will be bugs or shortages. Like melan said, the only value it poses right now is if they go on deep discount.
I do think there's a nascent market for accessible retro hardware, especially systems that play original media. It looks like GameStop wants to essentially reboot the Game Boy Colour on clone hardware. Could that be a viable long-term business with companies rebooting other classic hardware? Or is it just a quick fad?
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
I think that Taki's FPGA will be fun to play around with, but unless you are really anal about emulation accuracy, what people already use for emulation will be good enough to keep them happy.
Just on the Chromatic price though, the Game Boy launched at US$89.99 in 1989, which was considered cheap. US$89.99 1989 in today's money is US$228.
Just on the Chromatic price though, the Game Boy launched at US$89.99 in 1989, which was considered cheap. US$89.99 1989 in today's money is US$228.
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
Anbernic!
In this video, we take look at and test out the new RG40XXV, a standout in the world of handheld gaming consoles?With its fantastic D-Pad and a bigger screen, this device promises to elevate your retro gaming experience. Join us as we explore how the RG40XXV compares to its predecessors like the RG35XX , We'll also discuss its ergonomics, performance, and why it's considered one of the best vertical handheld emulators on the market. Whether you're a fan of Anbernic handhelds or just looking for the ultimate retro console, this review will guide you through everything you need to know about the RG40XXV. Don't miss out on our insights and find out if this is the perfect addition to your gaming collection!
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Dr. Zoidberg
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Re: The Open Handheld Thread
It's that time of the month again. New Anbernic handheld time!
Also Retro Pocket 5 and Mini
- Screen: 5.5” 1080P AMOLED 16:9
- Video Output: DisplayPort 1080p60
- SoC: Snapdragon 865
- OS: Android 10
- RAM: 6GB (4GB of the internal storage can be allocated to use as virtual RAM, bringing the total RAM up to 10GB)
- Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 + TF Card Slot
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Size: 19.9cm x 7.8cm x 1.56cm
- Weight: 280g
- Wi-Fi 6 & BT 5.1
- 3D hall sticks
- Heat Dissipation: Active-cooling
- Colours: 4 (Black, White, GC, 16Bit)
- Early Bird Price: $199 / Pre-order Price: $209 / Retail: $219
- Screen: 3.7” 960P AMOLED 4:3
- Video Output: DisplayPort 1080p60
- SoC: Snapdragon 865
- 6GB RAM (4GB of the internal storage can be allocated to use as virtual RAM, bringing the total RAM up to 10GB)
- OS: Android 10
- Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 + TF Card Slot
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Size: 16.5cmx7.7cmx1.7cm
- Wi-Fi 6 & BT 5.1
- Weight: 215g
- 3D hall sticks
- Heat Dissipation: Active-cooling
- Colours: 5 (Saturn, Orange, Black, SFC, 16Bit)
- Early Bird Price: $189 / Pre-order Price: $194 / Retail Price: $199
Also Retro Pocket 5 and Mini
- Screen: 5.5” 1080P AMOLED 16:9
- Video Output: DisplayPort 1080p60
- SoC: Snapdragon 865
- OS: Android 10
- RAM: 6GB (4GB of the internal storage can be allocated to use as virtual RAM, bringing the total RAM up to 10GB)
- Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 + TF Card Slot
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Size: 19.9cm x 7.8cm x 1.56cm
- Weight: 280g
- Wi-Fi 6 & BT 5.1
- 3D hall sticks
- Heat Dissipation: Active-cooling
- Colours: 4 (Black, White, GC, 16Bit)
- Early Bird Price: $199 / Pre-order Price: $209 / Retail: $219
- Screen: 3.7” 960P AMOLED 4:3
- Video Output: DisplayPort 1080p60
- SoC: Snapdragon 865
- 6GB RAM (4GB of the internal storage can be allocated to use as virtual RAM, bringing the total RAM up to 10GB)
- OS: Android 10
- Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1 + TF Card Slot
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Size: 16.5cmx7.7cmx1.7cm
- Wi-Fi 6 & BT 5.1
- Weight: 215g
- 3D hall sticks
- Heat Dissipation: Active-cooling
- Colours: 5 (Saturn, Orange, Black, SFC, 16Bit)
- Early Bird Price: $189 / Pre-order Price: $194 / Retail Price: $199