Retro gaming has seen a massive resurgence over the last 12 months and we don’t expect interest to slow down as we head into the holiday seasons. Obviously, Nintendo has carried the torch with its Classic remake consoles that have been one of the hottest ticket items in 2017. But smaller, lesser-known brands, are also making their own push.
The latest retro creation comes from Gamebuino with its new META handheld console. Recently launched on Kickstarter, it promises a day’s worth of battery life so you can enjoy all of your favorite vintage titles for hours on end. All of which happens on a color display that’s wrapped in one of the most interesting cases we’ve seen.
Resembling a Game Boy Micro from yesteryear, Gamebuino ships in a plastic case with a faux wood wrapping. There is the usual d-pad along with two action buttons and start/select. A “high-quality” feel is promised for an on-the-go gaming experience with great tactile feedback.
As you can tell, the display isn’t exactly going to blow you away. It’s just a few inches in size, but the color functionality does add a nice touch that has been missing from similar alternatives that we’ve seen recently. There is an internal storage component, although that hasn’t been detailed at the time of our coverage. Most games will be stored on an external microSD card, which “can fit more games than there will ever be.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtJD66QPHuA
The Gamebuino META is a retro console designed and made in France. Play all the games you loved with a fresh, new experience. Above all, it will allow you to make your own games and learn programming.
There won’t be official retro titles supported here, but the unit will ship with Tetris and Pac-Mac recreations that are very similar to the originals. You can see more games in action on the campaign page.
Strangely, there are a number of details missing from the Kickstarter listing, such as which operating system Gamebuino will be utilizing. But we do know that it will interestingly double as an Arduino-powered hacking tool. There aren’t many details here either, but like Raspberry Pi, users will be able to use the gaming console to jump start a wide-range of DIY projects.
Interested? You can currently back the Gamebuino META for $93 at Kickstarter. Units are expected to ship to backers in December if the campaign is able to raise the remaining $10,000 needed to surpass its $38,000 goal.
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