Anbernic, one of the leading makers of emulation handhelds, has said it will be suspending all orders to the United States following President Donald Trump's introduction of tariffs on Chinese-made goods (thanks, Gizmodo).

"Due to changes in U.S. tariff policies, we will be suspending all orders shipping from China to the United States starting today," says Anbernic, which has produced a long line of portable devices focused on retro emulation. "We strongly recommend prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse, which are currently not affected by import duties and can be purchased with confidence."

Read the full article on timeextension.com

While Steam Deck's humble sales have illustrated that the handheld gaming PC market is smaller than many believed, that doesn't mean there's not an appetite for these monstrously powerful portable beasts.

Before Valve entered the market with its aforementioned device, we'd already seen several examples from the Chinese firm AYANEO, and the company has been a truly innovative force in this sector of the market since then, producing handlers with sliding keyboards and dual screens.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

The world of emulation handhelds has given us numerous clones of the Nintendo Game Boy, but Sega systems have been curiously underrepresented. Sure, Anbernic gave us the Saturn-style ARC, but we haven't had all that many devices that take inspiration from Nintendo's bitter '90s rival—until now, at least.

The $99 Game Kiddy Bubble ($99 from MechDIY) is clearly inspired by the Game Gear, Sega's answer to the wildly successful monochrome Game Boy. Released in the early '90s and based largely on the 8-bit Master System hardware, the Game Gear offered a full-colour illuminated screen but suffered from the same shortcomings as the Atari Lynx and NEC PC Engine GT: battery life.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

When it comes to creating appealing emulation handhelds, one typical objective seems to be to make the device as similar to a previous system as possible. This is a solid tactic; nostalgia is a powerful tool, and consumers are more likely to take a punt on a product that reminds them of a beloved piece of gaming hardware.

To this end, we've seen many classic Nintendo portables cloned by Chinese manufacturers, with Anbernic in particular producing imitations of the Game Boy (RG35XX) and Game Boy Advance SP (RG35XX SP).

Read the full article on timeextension.com

While the majority of handheld emulation systems have been pocket-friendly without being too tiny, there's been a growing trend in recent years to make these devices as small as possible.

The FunKey S, for example, is small enough to be attached to your keys, as is the Anbernic RG Nano, a diminutive console with a premium-style metal casing. Now, it's the turn of Game Kiddy (also known as GKD), which has just launched its $90 Pixel handheld.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

Originally announced back in 2017 as the RetroBlox, Polymega has endured a fairly tumultuous journey to market. While the system's objective has always been the same – to offer players the chance to access software for a wide range of cartridge and CD-based retro consoles in one place – we've seen a lot of changes over the past few years. FPGA support was dropped early on, something which caused a lot of consternation amongst potential buyers accustomed to the impeccable performance of Analogue's excellent Super Nt and Mega Sg, and then the system missed its proposed 'early 2019' release window.

Pre-orders opened, but the launch was pushed back again and once more at the close of 2020, and then there was the double-whammy of the Coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest in Myanmar – the Southeast Asian location where California-based Playmaji, the team behind the Polymega, has chosen to manufacture the console. As a result, the system has been hindered by crippling component shortages and frustrating delays.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

Earlier this year, we reviewed the Anbernic RG35XX, a Game Boy-style mini handheld that offered decent 16- and 32-bit emulation for a low price. It certainly wasn't the perfect device – it lacked power when compared to its rivals, for example – but it was a reasonably solid foundation to build on, and that's precisely what Anbernic has done with this iterative upgrade, the RG35XX Plus.

A casual glance might lead you to assume this is the exact same product, but there are some key physical differences, even before you turn it on. The most obviously is the fact that the 3300 mAh battery is now user-serviceable, which bodes well for the longevity of the system. Secondly, the shoulder buttons are arranged in a slightly more comfortable 'slanted' fashion, allowing them to rest more naturally on your fingers.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

Funnyplaying, the company behind various Game Boy-related upgrade kits and accessories, took everyone by surprise recently by launching its highly anticipated handheld, the Retro Pixel Pocket, pretty much without warning (thanks RetroDodo for the spot!).

The Game Boy Pocket-style device went on sale recently for $79.90 (a reduction from its base price of $99) and has already sold out unfortunately. We're certain, however, that more units are on the way, with the store page encouraging those interested to sign up to its mailing list for updates, and RetroDodo sharing an image of the box sourced from the Discord user WebandMe that teases more colours beyond the "SFC grey" included in its first run. These will include blonde, deep blue, Game Boy grey, white & red, and black & green.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

Of all the emulation-focused handhelds released in recent years, the Miyoo Mini is the one that perhaps punched above its weight the most. Compared to its rivals, it was incredibly dinky, yet it was capable of playing NES, SNES, Mega Drive and even PlayStation games.

A commercial smash hit, the device was so popular that its manufacturer eventually had to discontinue it because it could no longer source the required LCD screens. Thankfully, Miyoo hasn't closed the book on this concept and has instead revived it in the form of the Miayoo Mini Plus, a slightly larger variant which uses a more common IPS panel – which hopefully means it won't vanish from store shelves in quite the same way as its predecessor.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

Playmaji's Polymega console is, in many ways, the dream retro gaming system. It uses emulation and optional modules to replicate the performance of systems like the SNES, Mega Drive / Genesis, PlayStation and Saturn, and has a massive built-in database which allows you to 'dump' your collection, iTunes-style.

The big issue with the Polymega at present is that the machine is incredibly hard to get hold of. Following lengthy delays, it finally started shipping out to those who had pre-ordered a few years ago, but many are still waiting for their system and communication between customers and Playmaji has been inconsistent at best.

Read the full article on timeextension.com

If you’ve been keeping your eyes on these pages, you know that we’re keenly interested in Polymega, the new retro console by Playmaji, Inc. We tracked down Bryan, the company’s founder on the E3 show floor last week to talk about, and more importantly, actually play the thing.

The Polymega is a sight to behold in the flesh; it looks every bit as beautiful as the professionally-made product shots would lead one to believe. Whether it’s sporting the dust cover, which is pictured attached to the console at the top of this page, or one of the element modules — plugins which allow players to use their original cartridges from either the Sega Mega Drive, TurboGrafx 16 or Neo Geo — this thing is an absolute joy to behold. Its striking lines contrast with the muted, matte black surface and there's just a small pop of colour in the logo to evoke an aesthetic that is simultaneously retro and modern. It’s just lovely.

Read the full article on timeextension.com