So anybody looking to pick one up can back that campaign and get theirs shortly after its completion.

But what is the Pixel Artboard?

Well, as the name suggests… this new handheld device from Minbay (China) is a dedicated pixel art tablet to be used for retro style image creation.

Why Would You Want The Minbay Pixel Art Handheld?

So, why would you want a device like this when you can do the same thing with an app on your cellphone (as one Instagram follower impertinently asserted to me)?

Well, this is a device for people like me who enjoy cool handhelds and photographing them for social media posts.

People who carry Game Boys or one of the Best Handhelds Under $100 in their bag for both fashion and function

Yes, you absolutely can do the same thing on your phone if that’s what you prefer.

But to me, that’s like saying “why play a Game Boy when you can play a Nintendo Switch?”.

Similar devices from Divoom, such as their Pixoo-64, are focused on displaying pixel art on a desktop or bookshelf and use a separate app to create images. That device sells for $149.99usd.

To me, it is not a matter of which is better or worse. It’s more about what you hope to do with it. They are just made for different uses.

What’s It For Then?

The Pixel Artboard is for people who want to play around with some pixels on a dedicated device without the endless distractions of a cell phone.

I really enjoy playing on my Pixel Artboard and recreating some of my favorite game characters from retro games as well as from my own game The Mayor of Sanctuary.

The limited palette of 100 colors means that your images will mostly have a retro vibe.

Admittedly, this color limit is also a bit frustrating at times, as it feels like it’s missing some important variations.

But clearly Minbay intended this to be a retro focused device, and the color choices will feel similar to the NES which only had 56 colors.

I have yet to use mine to create new images, but the Pixel Artboard is also intended for the purpose of creating new works of pixel art on the go.

Their (not so well translated) tagline is “The desire to paint must be satisfied anytime, anywhere”.

The Pixel Artboard can certainly fulfill that purpose.

Pixel Artboard Specifications

Let’s take a look at what the Pixel Artboard has under the hood!

The Minbay Pixel Artboard measures 114.4 × 103.4 × 14mm (a little smaller than the size of a CD case) and weights 160g (feels dense, but not heavy).

The screen is a 3.95 inch TFT-LCD screen at 480×480 pixels.

Touch sensitivity is not great, so you will often have to redo pixel placement. Not sure if this is due to the screen used or the software.

The ABS shell comes in yellow, white, and transparent black for the front and transparent black on the rear of all models revealing the beautiful PCB inside. It also feels very strong!

Inside is a 2000mAh battery with USB Type-C charging and computer connectivity.

It also contains a Bluetooth chip to connect to their app for image backup and to share your images on social media.

Oh, and it has stereo speakers for some reason. Not sure why, but it looks nice!

The OS has some cute sounds when you use it, making the experience a little more premium.

You can create up to 20,000 paintings on the device’s 500mb hard disk, and your paintings can be at 16×16, 24×24, or 32×32 pixels.

Their OS is clean, simple and intuitive.. but not the best performance. Don’t worry; I’ll go into more detail on that below.

How Did I Discover The Pixel Artboard?

I discovered the Pixel Artboard when it popped up on my Instagram feed as an ad, which lead to their Kickstarter campaign. It looked cool to me, so I clicked on the link.

After reading more and seeing more images, I was impressed. I nearly purchased one, and sent the link over to Brandon Dodo…

Coincidentally, Minbay had just reached out to us for an early review. So my timing was perfect.

  $109 

The post Minbay Pixel Artboard is a Pixel Art Handheld by Anthony Wallace appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

The EVERCADE EXP is the second handheld retro gaming device from Blaze Entertainment and continues the incredible rediscovery of physical cartridges and the classic gaming experience.

The new all-white EVERCADE EXP levels up the retro gaming experience with a premium quality and performance specifications on par with home console release, the EVERCADE VS. Meaning complete parity at home or on the go.

Following on from the hugely successful Evercade Handheld in 2020, and following the reviews and feedback from that console, this device brings multiple new features to the design and also has full support for the existing Evercade cartridge library of over 30 cartridge collections and over 300 games.

In addition to this, the EVERCADE EXP will come with a new arcade collection in the box. IREM Arcade 1 brings 6 classic games from the renowned arcade developer to Evercade in our traditional numbered clamshell case, full colour manual and physical cartridge. Games include arcade hit shooters R-Type and In The Hunt, classic titles Moon Patrol and 10 Yard Fight, and fan favourites Battle Chopper (Mr Heli) and Lightning Swords.

The EVERCADE EXP features a high resolution 4.3” IPS screen that provides an incredibly bright and colourful retro gaming experience and allows for great viewing angles, wherever you are. The 800×480 screen is also covered with a tempered glass bezel for a clearer view and strong protection.

In addition to the screen, the EVERCADE EXP features a new TATE mode. The console is designed to be rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise in order to play vertical-orientated games the way they should be played. Rather than stretching the screen or having a very small area, TATE mode allows the screen to be used as the original developer intended, making it perfect for arcade shooters and more. The EVERCADE EXP features two buttons on the left hand side that allow for comfortable play when using TATE mode. The full controller set has also been expanded to include L2 and R2 trigger controls.

Updating your console is now easier than ever with the EVERCADE EXP’s built in WiFi. Charging is also improved with USB-C support and our mini-HDMI 720p TV output has been redesigned to help cable stability.

The EVERCADE EXP is also on a par with the specs of the Evercade VS console. Meaning that the 1.5Ghz processor and 4GB of built in memory will rival the experience you can get with a fixed home console device, but on the move.

We have more announcements to come with the EVERCADE EXP console with additional bonus content. Full details of that content will be revealed in September 2022 and will only be available on EVERCADE EXP consoles.

Included in the box is the EVERCADE EXP console, the IREM Arcade 1 cartridge collection, a USB-C Charging cable and a quick start guide. The EVERCADE EXP will be available in Winter 2022 at £129.99, $149.99 or €149.99. Pre-Orders will open in September 2022.

There will also be an EVERCADE EXP LIMITED EDITION console package available exclusively at our partner retailer, Funstock.co.uk. This console comes completely in a black colour variant with all the features of the standard edition. With the package you will also receive an exclusive hard carry case for the EVERCADE EXP, several art cards, a poster, a certificate of authenticity, a keyring and other fun extras, and the inclusion of a second cartridge collection – TOAPLAN ARCADE 1*.

This cartridge collection includes eight great games from the giants of arcade shooters. Including: Flying Shark, Alcon (Slap Shot), Tiger-Heli, Truxton and Zero Wing, alongside deep cut platformers Guardian, Snow Bros and puzzler Teki-Paki. The Toaplan Arcade 1 will also come in a physical box, cartridge and a full colour manual which features exclusive interviews with developers Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura.

The EVERCADE EXP LIMITED EDITION console will be limited to 5000 units, and will also be released in Winter 2022. However, Evercade fans can secure their units early with pre-orders for this exclusive package opening at 17:00 BST** on June 1st 2022. This is exclusively available at Funstock.co.uk and will be priced at £179.99.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXOZhBngnE0

WEBSITE: https://evercade.co.uk/exp

The post A NEW HANDHELD RETRO GAMING SYSTEM FROM BLAZE ENTERTAINMENT appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

My first impression when seeing the eBay ad was something I had to have for my collection. It came with the original box and in pretty good condition.   The concept felt easy yet addicting.  To catch the bouncing light that was being “served” to the opponent. There are 3 sections the ball could go to and you need to catch the ball before it hits the number.  If you miss the timing and the ball hits the number, the opponent gets the point.  There is a timer that is turned which gives the game a stopping point and a winner when the timer stops.   Of course, the Gameboy generation and iPhone apps gamers will think this device is boring and poorly built.  But remember, in the 1970s gaming was not that popular except for the pinball world.  This device was ahead of its time and is a great keepsake of history.

The game itself is in a plastic case with a translucent screen.  The timer is the key to start the game which in turn starts the springs of the light up ball which can be controlled by the 3 buttons on each side.   Movement of the LED was ostensibly random but a player was capable of memorizing the movements of the LED and recognize patterns which would enable the player to better anticipate where the “ball” would land. TO power the unit, you can use two “AA” batteries.

I admit the game did get boring after a while and repetitive.   But I get to show my kids what technology was like back when I was a little kid.   This item was a good find and can be found on eBay or other auction sites.    The one I purchased is in good condition with the box.

The post BLIP! BLIP! – A Game? appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Enter the Tiger Electronic handhelds, games that were officially licensed and about $15-$20 a pop meaning these machines were way cheaper than a Game Boy.  Here’s the kicker though, these games got boring quick.  For those who don’t know or don’t remember the handhelds, the Tiger games were LCD games in the same vein of Nintendo’s Game and Watch line.  Simple games with simple graphics where the goal is really to see how long you could last and set a high score depending on which handheld you got.  What got kid’s attention though was how many different games there were.  Tiger got licenses for all types of pop culture icons ranging from movies, comic books, cartoons, and even some video games.  Anything could become a Tiger handheld and most everything did.  I remember the aisle these were sold in Toys R Us and almost everything that was popular at the time had a Tiger game to it.  Multiple Disney games, a few Jurassic Park ones, and the sports ones.  You didn’t have to switch cartridges to play certain games, you had to buy a whole new unit to play a new game and of course that got kids wanting so many different games, myself and my brother included.

My Tiger collection wasn’t big, we had about 5 or 6 games and the ones I can remember vividly are Sonic 3D Blast, Batman & Robin, Godzilla, Mars Attacks, and my Dad’s Football one.  The ones I played the most were Football, Sonic, Godzilla and Mars Attacks since Mars Attacks had a version of a light gun that worked decently well from what I can remember.  However these games barely held myself or my brother over in terms of playability.  They were good time killers but we only wanted to play them for a few minutes tops, and the sound would drive my parent’s up a wall.  The sounds for these games were very basic chip tunes that would sound a bit like the original theme of whatever game you were playing.  Nowhere near the quality of a Game Boy or Game Gear.  Yet why would I constantly ask my parents for one?  Because they were cheap and it was easier to get than a Game Boy at the time.  Having any sort of video game at my house in the late 90’s was a luxury but our parents also saw that we wouldn’t play with these games much and even called us out on it a few times.  They were right, after a while these games get boring quick, and when we did get our Game Boys and Pokemon that was it.  We only would touch our Tiger games for about 5 minutes then stop and move on to something else.  That was one other thing about these games, you didn’t want to sink a whole lot of time into them unlike other games.

Nowadays the Tiger electronics are just a thing in the past.  I’ve seen a few games here and there at conventions and trade shows but only for about $5 or less depending on the condition.  Hasbro did release 4 this past year and I got the three you see in the top image for Christmas as a gag gift from my podcasting buddies (you can watch our Holiday Special where I unwrap these presents right here).  They got them for my because I mentioned that I now hate the Tiger games and sadly that’s true.  I liked them when I was younger but that was the only source of gaming for me for a good long while.  Once I got my Game Boy and handheld systems became more advanced the Tiger games became space wasters.  I would play the games for a bit but I would be confused as to what I would be doing in the game.  I wouldn’t know if I was winning or loosing and the chip tunes would irritate even me.  I may not think the games are good, but I do recognize how important these were to kids like me who didn’t have a Game Boy or Game Gear.  Also I can appreciate the parents who wanted to get their kids something but couldn’t afford the higher end systems so these were the way to go.  Are they completely obsolete now?  Yes.  Were they ever good?  Maybe?  Did they bring joy to kids who didn’t have much?  Absolutely.  Love them or hate them, you can not deny how big these games were to the kids that played them.

The post Tiger Electronics: The Handheld on a BUDGET. appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.