Start-up 8BCraft has once again taken to Kickstarter to fund a portable gaming device. Unlike the first time around, however, this version is designed to be used (nearly) out of the box.
The RetroStone, which closely resembles a 1990s-era Nintendo GameBoy, features a 3.5-inch color LCD display, quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, an HDMI and four USB ports. It comes with an 8GB SD card, which the company said can hold hundreds of ROM files.
It can also be connected to a TV via the HDMI port and used for gaming with multiple people. The battery life is said to be up to five hours.
Games are downloaded using the Retropie emulation software — which does not come preinstalled — and the company firmly states the RetroStone is designed for use only with ROMs consumers already own.
See: Public Knowledge To Copyright Office: Free ‘World of Warcraft’
The device has already reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, and it’s slated to be available to ship to retail in July. Pricing will be around $180.
This is the second Kickstarter go-round for 8BCraft. The Paris-based company first funded the DIY Raspiboy gaming device on Kickstarter in 2017, and founder Pierre-Louis Boyer said he was inundated with queries from consumers who wanted a preassembled version.
Unlike the Raspiboy, the RetroStone is geared toward both tinkerers and those who simply want to play their old games on a portable device.
