We have seen many projects with RaspBerry Pi, but this new casing of Experimental Pi It is one of the most interesting accessories that we have seen lately for all that it is capable of offering. Were you looking for a new excuse to have another portable console? This PiBoy is what you are looking for.
PiBoy DMG for Raspberry Pi 4
This product probably reminds you of something. Several months ago we had the opportunity to analyze the Retroflag GPiCase, a very interesting box for the Raspberry Pi Zero that, with an ingenious design based on a cartridge, imitated the action of inserting games into the console.
The result was great, and it works great, however, it was limited by the potential of the Raspberry Pi Zero and the use of batteries. On this occasion, what Experimental Pi proposes to us is a very similar project, but solving all those limitations that we saw in the RetroFlag product.
https://youtu.be/LZiflsLATV4
As you can see, the box has an integrated analog stick, six action buttons and two rear L and R buttons that can be optionally placed. Aesthetically it is very similar to the original GameBoy, although the extra buttons break the magic of the aesthetic aspect a bit (something that the GPi Case took great care of).
The ETA PRIME YouTube channel has been able to take an in-depth look and test its capabilities, finding great performance in PlayStation, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 emulation, all thanks to the use of a Raspberry Pi 4 board and with RetroPie as base software for all emulation.
How much does it cost?
The manufacturer is currently preparing the product to begin completing the first orders between August and September, so for now it only accepts reservations until shipments begin. They offer three options when buying the product, and that is that you can order the dry box ($89,95), the box with the battery included and a fan for the RPi 4 ($119,95), or the product already fully assembled with a Raspberry Pi 4 inside ($179,95).
If you want to get one of these PiBoy DMG boxes, you just have to book one of the models on the manufacturer's website and wait until they have everything ready to start shipping.
Emulation and even Steam Link
One of the tests that ETA PRIME has been able to carry out with the device is to verify compatibility with Steam Link, a function that allows us to play remotely using our computer as a transmitter, and that this PiBoy DMG accepts perfectly. In order to play with Steam Link, all you have to do is install the experimental Steam Link package compatible with vintage foot, and as you can see below, the performance is spectacular, being able to play the Gamecube emulator, Halo 3 on PC and even Forza Horizon 4. Who wants one? We might be able to get something smaller with the Raspberry Pi Pico, but we would not get the full potential that this configuration offers.
https://youtu.be/8s3m2XhdmSs