Best Handheld Consoles for Pico-8 Gamedev
Creating another experience through the platform itself
Within the last 3 years we (as consumers) experienced an interesting shift at the way we played videogames with the release of Steam Deck, it wasn’t only the format of the platform as Nintendo Switch has been with us since March, 2017.
But it was the number of possibilities we have with a device coming with SteamOS as it’s heart, where we can customize the whole system, add emulators of our beloved platforms and actually play every single game we own.
There are many people now taking advantage of owning a portable system to play anywhere and anytime. So nothing better to create, iterate and deliver your games for handheld systems.
In order to provide many options, I’ve decided to create my TOP 3 ranking
3. Steam Deck
Technical Specs
The Steam Deck features a custom AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, and various storage options (eMMC/NVMe SSD) with microSD expansion, running SteamOS on a 7-inch (or 7.4-inch OLED) 1280x800 display, offering PC gaming power in a handheld form factor with robust controls and modern connectivity like Wi-Fi 6E (OLED).
Key differences between LCD and OLED models include the OLED's brighter, more vibrant HDR screen, faster refresh rate (90Hz), better battery life (50Whr), Wi-Fi 6E, and lighter weight.
Why?
Flexibility and power, those are the main words that defines Steam Deck as device. You can easily run PICO-8 and many other emulators, including Picotron and even games released with bigger engines like Godot and Unreal.
How?
Where can I buy it?
2. Miyoo Mini Plus
Technical Specs
The Miyoo Mini Plus is a popular retro handheld featuring a 3.5-inch IPS 640x480 screen, an ARM Cortex-A7 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 128MB DDR3 RAM, and a 3000mAh battery for 5-6 hours of play.
Running on Linux with popular custom firmware like OnionOS for expanded features, and includes WiFi for box art scraping and updates, all in a compact, pocketable design.
Why?
The dimensions of this device is one of the strongest point, with its small size, measuring only 108mm x 78.5mm x 22.3mm, and a light weight of just 162 grams, it's incredibly portable.
D-Pad and buttons are also excellent for platforms like PICO-8, it feels great running those small games on this tiny device, the only counterpart is the form factor of the screen (640x480) — Which could be perfect for PS1 and other emulators but doesn’t perfectly match with Pico-8 Scaling (128x128)
How?
Where can I buy it?
1. RG CubeXX
Technical Specs
The Anbernic RG CubeXX is a Linux-based retro handheld with a square 3.95-inch 720x720 IPS screen, powered by an H700 quad-core CPU and 1GB RAM, featuring dual joysticks, RGB lighting, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, a 3800mAh battery, and ports for HDMI and USB-C, excelling at systems like PS1, NDS, and Game Boy due to its unique form factor and controls
Why?
Form factor and screen ratio are the first things you could fall in love in with on this device, the screen being 720x720 is a perfectly scalable resolution for Pico-8 (128x128)
The console factor being with horizontal distribution (symetrical) similar to retro consoles like Game Boy Advance is another win for me (personal choice)
RG CubeXX CPU is significantly more powerful and modern than Miyoo Mini ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.2GHz, offering a 64-bit architecture.