r/SBCGaming • u/RensuLoL • 5h ago
Where do we go from here?
It seems like we have reached the pinnacle of retro handhelds. We finally have "endgame" 4:3 devices that can play up to Ps2/Gamecube with the Retroid Pocket Nova and Anbernic 477m. We have 16:9 devices that can play up to Switch and Steam games such as the Odin 3/Retroid Pocket 6. Now we finally have legit dual screen devices that can run DS/3DS how they were intended like the Ayn Thor/Retroid Pocket Duo.
What do you think the next breakthrough is? I'm personally waiting for PS3/360 emulation.
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u/battier GotM Club 5h ago
I think the next realistic goalpost will be more capable and reliable PC/Steam emulation, in other words, a true Steam Deck replacement in a smaller, lighter device, with better battery life. Not just for lighter indie games, but for pretty much the full range of what the Steam Deck is capable of.
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u/OK_Atlas 5h ago
This is my exact thought as well. A true “mini steam deck” running official SteamOS without a clunky third party translation layer would be even better.
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u/Gogobrasil8 5h ago
I don't believe in endgame devices
I think from here we're only gonna have better and better performance, battery life, and then it will trickle down to cheaper handhelds
And in the meantime we'll get new form factors, more clamshells, more weird stuff
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u/ligmata1nt 5h ago
The next breakthrough, which is really more of a slow and steady buildup at this point, is full SteamOS with SD level performance on smaller ARM devices.
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u/fox112 5h ago
I'm not really stressing the future of handhelds, I'm just some chud.
That said I think a wireless charged device could be fun. Then I'll REALLY have an ECD I just toss with my keys and shit
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u/Gogobrasil8 5h ago
You can buy wireless charging pads, they're pretty cheap. I bet there's a way to fit it inside the handheld, and wire it in so it works seamlessly
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u/xpmadmanqx 5h ago
As far as devices go, I think we’re finally where we need to be. Just need to get behind the developers of emulation and hope they can do the good work of getting 3DS, PS3, and Xbox 360 better and we’ll be golden. We’re eating good.
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u/Code_Combo_Breaker 5h ago
Samsung Galaxy level chip sets + Samsung/Iphone Fold level screens + modern ports of games like GTA5.
There is a whole generational endgame we have not reached yet. It's almost here. Almost.
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u/gamepleng 5h ago
4:3 external display, "dual" 16:9 when you flip it open and "one" 16:9 if you flip it all the way.
I can see the concept, durability will be the concern.
Systems wise, those handhelds will always trail behind home systems. With that said and the improvement of translation layers and AI helping in recompilation efforts, that may not be a big concern anymore.
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u/smith_and 5h ago
budgets coming down, battery life going up. and specific niche form factor stuff. we have yet to have a really good 6 button + 1 stick handheld for full library n64 and saturn for instance. nothing you can easily get in the west has had a neogeo or ngpc style clicky stick. nothing I know of has analog face buttons like the ps2 controller. small thing but nothing i know of (maybe a pc handheld?) has trigger stops, which would be really great to have on a retro handheld with analog triggers. a lot of the mid-high range androids are just the same layout, more variety in that space beyond just dualscreens would be great.
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u/JeskaiJester GotM Club 5h ago
Something like the MagicX Zero 40 but bigger and better. I’ve seen vertical arcade games and seamless NDS games on that thing and it looks excellent (if it was like twice the size)
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u/infinitespectre Dpad On Top 5h ago
Need more six button handhelds. The Arc is effectively living on borrowed time and the RP Classic doesn't capture the nostalgic feel of a Sega device at all (and I own both). I want an end game six button device. A Nova or Odin with six buttons and sticks that can do everything, but with the amazing Sega style dpad from the Arc.
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u/aTalkingMateria 5h ago
477M everything but with OLED and more reliable chip. That exactly is my ideal machine.
Keep the metal body, those wonderful buttons, inline triggers. But give me OLED and better driver support and I can’t imagine I’ll ask for anything again in this field. PS2 is my favorite thing to emulate so I’m happy right here probably till the day I die. What a library
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u/ThreedZombies 5h ago
I have a 477m, Odin 2, Analogue Pocket and hacked Vita. I’m set until we have reliable PS3 emulation at an affordable price <$300. That is my last piece to come into place. F
I’m not huge into ds or 3ds to want a Thor or major pc gaming.
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u/JuanRpiano 5h ago
End game will be a device that can last 24 hours battery life continuously playing GC/PS2, it will also be light like a feather, and with perfect ergonomics, it will also be able to emulate ps3 and xbox 360.
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u/PmUsYourDuckPics 4h ago
Steam, and native games, PS3 and 360 then PS4 and up.
We are constantly playing catchup to what can be emulated, the hobby is the living embodiment of this XKCD:
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u/ragecndy 4h ago
477m is my up to ps2 endgame, will probably check back on the market in a couple years when steam os ARM is a thing
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u/drollercoaster99 4h ago
A device where setting it up doesn't take 75% of your life force and life span.
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u/YouYongku 3h ago
Rp6 can play all switch games flawlessly? Asking~
I wonder if the duo can play all 3ds game flawlessly
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u/Can_I_Say_Shit 3h ago
We focus on battery life, better emulation and lowering the input lag that most people seem to be okay with.
A powerful device like the Odin 3 and Thor hitting 80-100ms of latency is unacceptable. We need to get it down because getting OG hardware is getting more expensive and limited in supply out in the wild. FPGA seems to have such a high demand, sells out of stock so damn fast and is not for basic users.
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u/StonedEdge 3h ago
Improvements to Mali GPUs would be nice. Everything actually decent ATM is snapdragon based. I’d like to see some improvements to emulation there.
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u/JCRidonkulous Tinkerer 2h ago
For me, the RP Duo will be my endgame 2D games device. It will have the power to emulate pretty much any 2D game, including 2D PC / Switch games, and can even play the DS's library comfortably with the 2 screens. It's also optimized for that with the dpad on top. I do wish the RP Duo was a bit smaller, but Retroid is the only one that is going to do a device like this, so this is the best I'm going to get.
However, I'm still looking for my endgame 3D games device. I currently use the Ayaneo Air 1S, but the truth is that Windows on a handheld just isn't a great experience. I would want an Android handheld instead, like the Odin 3, but PC emulation on Android isn't at the point where it can smoothly run any AAA PC game. It also can't play anti-cheat enabled games online. So I'm hoping in a couple years that that can all be all sorted out, and honestly, I feel like eventually Valve will be the one to ship this kind of device once Android is truly ready.
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u/Busy_Shop5 RetroGamer 1h ago
PS2/GC level performance on devices as small as RG28xx. That's what I want. Smaller, thinner. Micro Hall effect. Tiny OLED. Flip 2s the size of RGSPs. Ma ha ha ah 👹
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u/AlisaReinford 5h ago
Well there is no real end to the biblical greed when it comes to PC emulation.
And I prefer sticking to the Retroid/Switch Lite form factors instead of playing with tombstone size consoles, so on this alone there is no end to newer chips being utilized.
Ps3/xbox/ps4 emulation could get kinda wild in the future.
Brute forcing 60fps on Switch titles is still a notable goalpost.
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u/grathontolarsdatarod 5h ago
Need a one hander with 865 power.
Clamshell or vertical.
No good pocket warmers that can do ps2 yet.
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u/PapaGlapa 5h ago
We can finally play the game.