The entirety of the tech world is focused on Las Vegas for CES 2025, with more incredible gadgets than you’ll find in Bruce Wayne’s garage being announced and displayed for the world to see. I’ve been following all the releases and announcements incredibly closely and have come across some weird and wonderful accessories, from electric salt spoons to a full-body chair that looks like Bumblebee from Transformers crossed with a cryogenic tank that’s designed to massage you from head to toe.
While the world is focusing on robots that pick up socks, autonomous farming equipment, and smart glasses, I’ve been looking out for all the announcements surrounding retro gaming products and gadgets that invoke maximum nostalgia coming out of the convention center. I’ll be listing all of the retro gaming products and retro-inspired gear mentioned at CES 2025 and updating this article daily as the announcements drop. So, if you’re fed up with seeing self-charging keyboards and want something that feels like it’s dropped straight from the 90s, then you’re in the right place!
Table of Contents
1 Atari X My Arcade Gamestation Go
Let’s kick things off with an exciting collaboration between Atari and My Arcade and a handheld that we’ve been expecting to see for some time now after it was initially revealed last year and seemingly left on the back burner. I know we’re all excited about the Nintendo Switch 2 dropping and that many people are still hoping Doug Bowser might get on stage and announce the new console before the event finishes, but the Gamestation Go will more than keep me occupied until then.
Atari announced that they were going to ‘do what they do best’ and concentrate on retro when they brought back Infogrames last year, and looking at the images of their new handheld, they could well have created the most unique retro handheld of all time. The Gamestation Go is set to provide the closest experience to using a retro arcade cabinet while relaxing on your back on the sofa (although if you want to play a cabinet, then keep reading!).
An icon, reimagined. 🕹️ #atari #GamestationGo #CES2025 pic.twitter.com/XOnWLpXhRb
— My Arcade (@MyArcadeRetro) January 2, 2025
Let’s start with the numeric keypad, a feature that die-hard Atari fans will have no doubt used on previous Atari consoles and also a means of playing Intellivision games, which if you’ve been following your retro gaming news you’ll know Atari now owns. It’s situated on the right-hand side of the console where you might find a camera-angle joystick and is easily accessible by your thumb for some quick-fire number-crunching.
On the left-hand side of the handheld, there’s a small Atari Trak-ball reminiscent of the larger versions on classic Aracade cabinets like Centipede and just like the Atari 2600 peripheral. There’s also a paddle control, giving the Gamestaion Go more bells and whistles than the PlayDate!
2. GAMEBABY
We were incredibly excited to be one of the first publications to get hold of the BitmoLab GAMEBABY for a review, an iPhone game case built exclusively for Retro Gamers to enjoy playing their favourite games on the go. The GAMEBABY has been in development for some time now, and at the same as we launched our video of their early prototype, Bitmo Lab were setting up their stall at the convention centre to show their product off to the masses.
Since Apple allowed emulators into the App Store last year, Delta has quickly become one of the most downloaded apps of all time, a fact that Riley Testut was incredibly proud of when we spoke to him on the Retrospect Podcast. As you can see from the video above, the GAMEBABY is comprised of two pieces; a protective case that stays fixed to the top half of the back of your phone, and a lower piece that slides off and reattaches to the front of your phone. Instead of pressing virtual buttons on your phone, you can actually press physical buttons that connect with your screen, giving you that original hardware feeling no matter where you are and in between Facetiming your dad to tell him how to work the dishwasher and using your calendar to book in meetings.
You can find out more about the GAMEBABY in our official review, and don’t forget to check out our Retro Dodo skin for Delta of which all the profits go to charity!
3. Govee Retro Gaming Pixel Light
Remember the Lite Brite? It was one of the most sought-after toys in the 80s and is still loved by nostalgia hunters everywhere. Intuitive lighting company Govee have released a WiFi-connected gadget called the Gaming Pixel Light that aims to give your workspace, games room, or living room an 8-bit feel.
In a nutshell, the Gaming Pixel Light is an LED Display that you can either have designs on or use as a display to keep up to date with important notifications or updates. You can even create custom images if the pre-made images don’t take your fancy, and it utilises AI to create lighting shows to accompany you as you play your favourite retro games. Imagine going into beat Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time while this thing blinks away next to you setting the tone for a fantastic adventure. You can even hook up multiple devices too!
4. SEGA & MyArcade Mini Arcade Cabinets
Not content with just announcing a team-up with Atari, My Arcade have also announced during CES 2025 that they’re collaborating with SEGA with some new mini arcade cabinets. Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, and Shinobi are all arriving in miniature cabinet form with Outrun and Streets of Rage joining the fray too.
As you can see in our dedicated news article, there will be two variants based on the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, with each cabinet concentrating on a different play style using different button layouts and joystick sizes. The Shinobi and Golden Axe cabinets will also arrive in the same style too, and the Outrun cabinet is even equipped with a tiny steering wheel. That means I will no longer have to go to the local NQ64 bar to show my mate Josh that I’m the best Outrun player in Yorkshire. If you’re reading this Josh, it’s on brother!
These arcade cabinets are going to look so good on your desk, giving your work setup a retro twist and providing you with an excuse to procrastinate heavily every time an annoying email comes through. The attention to detail on these things is perfect too and the Sonic cabinet above really takes me back to the days of playing the interactive Sonic Mountain pinball game I had as a kid!
5. Gadhouse COSMO Solar Turntable
I’m a huge vinyl fan and have been slowly building my collection of records over the last couple of years. We’ve reviewed some incredible retro gaming-related records in that time too, and now Gadhouse have announced a retro-themed turntable that you can slot seamlessly into your games room for kicking back and listening to the Mortal Kombat soundtrack while button-mashing on the SNES.
The COSMO Solar Edition has built-in speakers for those short on space or can be hooked up to external bookshelf speakers if you need a little more bass (which as a self-certified vinyl nerd I would wholeheartedly recommend). It’s been announced as costing $199/£199 and will be releasing in three colours, all of which are planet-themed which should come as no surprise. Choose from Neptune Blue, Venus Red, and Jupiter Green!
6. MCON Magnetic Gaming Controller
I recently did a news post on the MCON Magnetic Gaming Controller, the all-in-one mobile gaming solution that could well put Backbone out of business. Streamlined to look more like a DS when folded up and a unit that works via Bluetooth with any smartphone regardless of whether it has MagSafe capabilities or not, it features Hall-effect joysticks, silent buttons, flip-out arms to give you a more ‘standard controller’ feel, and a flip-up mechanic to allow you to go from phone mode to game mode in seconds like you’re holding a Swiss Army knife.
While Ohsnap! announced the MCON before CES and I’ve watched it become one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns I’ve seen in a long while, I know the team are currently there showing their new creation at the convention and will be sitting comfortably showing how easy it is to play more demanding emulator games such as N64 and PlayStation titles as well as pulling up PS5 games such as Ghost of Tsushima without having to cart around a bulky Playstation Portal. The MCON is currently priced at $99 on Kickstarter with an RRP of $149 once the campaign finishes.
