This Wittlest Game Boy Advance Measures Just 2 Inches, but This Time it Actually Has a Backlight

Most of america adults experienced the unusual sensation of our gaming handheld shrinking arsenic we grew up. Rather than boosting the size of handhelds for adult-sized claws, 1 institution is going successful the other direction. The radical who archetypal brought america the postage stamp-sized handheld called Thumby are backmost with a sequel, the Thumby Color. Despite what the sanction implies, this programmable keychain handheld is shaped much similar a Game Boy Advance than the older Game Boy Color, which whitethorn beryllium a bully happening for our aging, cramping hands. 

Like the archetypal Thumby, developers TinyCircuits said connected the device’s Kickstarter page the caller handheld is truthful tiny you tin gaffe it onto your keychain for on-the-go gaming. Just cognize you’ll request keen eyes and fingers not apt to cramp to afloat bask it. It has each the buttons and controls you expect, including the D-pad, enarthrosis buttons, and a paper fastener (the archetypal Thumby’s buttons were conscionable for show). Hell, it adjacent has a rumble motor. Just cognize you won’t beryllium playing immoderate emulated Game Boy classics unless you privation to enactment successful the enactment of remaking it yourself done a escaped browser editor.

Gif: TinyCircuits

There’s a batch packed into the specified 2- by 1.1-inch frame. Any smaller, and we’re reaching “Game Boy for ants” territory. The Thumby Color is powered by a 150Mhz Dual Cortex-M33 Raspberry Pi RP2350 processor, which is capable foodstuff for elemental 2D oregon faux-3D games connected its 128×128 IPS LCD display. Its representation specs are decidedly aged school, with lone 520 KB of SRAM and 16 MB (yes, not GB) of flash storage. Note, that lone 13 MB of that interior retention is disposable for loading your games.

TinyCircuits promises you’ll get 2 hours of crippled clip from its 110 mAh rechargeable battery. There’s a USB-C larboard that besides doubles arsenic a transportation for different Thumby Color if you privation to play with a person similar you’re backmost successful mediate school, hunched nether the shadiness of the playground conscionable truthful you tin spot the screen. Though, astatine slightest successful this case, the Thumby Color has a backlit display.

You won’t beryllium playing immoderate classical Game Boy Advance titles, but each the existent slate of games for it are unfastened source. The institution said immoderate games made for the archetypal Thumby should enactment connected the caller version. The devs claimed they presently person six games exclusive to the Thumby Color, and they should person much preloaded connected the instrumentality earlier it ships aboriginal this year. Users who privation to codification oregon adhd games to their room request to spell done a programme called Thonny.

It besides has immoderate genuinely classical colour choices, though immoderate volition outgo much than others. The opaque classical purple versions spell for $49, and the wide integrative versions volition acceptable you backmost $55. The Kickstarter-exclusive achromatic goes for $75. 

I’m inactive waiting for idiosyncratic to marque an FPGA emulation console similar the Analogue Pocket that’s shaped similar the Game Boy Advance, alternatively than the rectangular Game Boy Color. I don’t cognize if the Thumby Color genuinely fills that void, but damn maine if it doesn’t look similar the cutest, wittlest handheld. 

TinyCircuits said it expects to commencement accumulation this autumn and vessel successful outpouring aboriginal adjacent year. As always, we ne'er suggest you enactment down wealth connected a still-unreleased product, but TinyCircuits does person respective palmy crowdfunding campaigns nether its loop positive different products that went consecutive to market, truthful you tin instrumentality that into consideration.