Anbernic is releasing a new emulation handheld called RG34XX. Here are the details:
- Supported Platforms: Over 30, including PSP, N64, DS, DOS, Dreamcast, PS1, etc.
- Screen: 3.4-inch IPS with a resolution of 720x480
- OS: 64-bit Linux
- Features: 5G Wi-Fi, HDMI-out, and Bluetooth 4.2
The RG34XX will be available in four colours: indigo, green transparent, red transparent, and black.
What do you think about the fact that they’ve mimicked the design of the GBA so closely?
No analogue stick, so a significant number of Dreamcast, PSP and N64 will be directly affected. It probably has 8 buttons (4 face, 4 shoulder), but the video never shows anything other than the front. I’m basing this on the other models the company sells. Also, considering several other models come with 2 analogue sticks, I’d say this one is a pass, unless you want something that’s easy to put in the pocket
BTW, the GBA SP form factor is already for sale as the RG35xx. From the looks of it, all these portables run EmuELEC
Looking at the photo, it doesn’t seem to have an analogue stick? In which case its appeal for PSP, N64, DC and PS1 all dip considerably imo
Idk I dont see the advantage of this over the RG35XXSP. I guess if you really like the gba form factor but tbh this seems like they’re banking on nostalgia while doing very little new. Every few months Ambernic releases a new one of these with very little improvements and a different form factor. Me personally I would love to see them try a Steam Deck style handheld with a low end embedded ryzen processor for $150-$200.
Looks awesome. On a side note, why does an Anbernic have a worse naming scheme than USB?
The detail that stands out the most about this is its screen resolution: 720x480 is both a perfect 3x integer scale of GBA’s 240x160 and a good 1x fit (with small black bars) for NTSC video.
GBA games scale particularly poorly on most of their other devices’ screens. On 640x480, the closest integer scale is 2x which makes the image fill only 50% of the screen area, otherwise you can use 2.667x scaling to fill the width (11% of height being letterboxing) at the expense of blurriness from non-integer scaling.
The last time Anbernic released a screen well-suited for GBA games was four years ago with RG351P/RG351M. Their 480x320 screens are a great 2x fit for GBA but an awful fit for every other system. 720x480 is a lot better for NTSC content while still being integer scale for GBA.
Unfortunately the lack of analog sticks ruins the compatibility improvements it’d otherwise have over RG351 thanks to the screen and newer CPU. Best to see this as like a GBA that can also play SNES games and not much else. I’d rather have a system that includes the inputs it needs than one that imitates a classic system’s design.
One of the perks of RGblahblah is that it has a vertical form factor and is GB pocket sized. This seems like a step backward.
Some people (me included) prefer horizontal handhelds. That said, I already have an RG Cube and a Steam Deck, I’m not buying any more.
Almost every handheld nowadays is horizontal, vertical ones are great for playing 2D games.
And there was some doubt they weren’t going to make the 12/12 mo model announcements in a year. Impressive honestly. How many designers and engineers do they have to keep up this mad pace?
Their previous SP variant looks more interesting.
