We love our handhelds here at Retro Dodo. Heck, it’s one of the main reasons you guys come to us, to get a measured and honest opinion on tech that we use day in, day out.
The team has recently been delving into the retro benefits of the Steam Deck when it comes to emulating old consoles, and I’ve really enjoyed wayching our video producer Rob playing around with Valve’s behemoth machine.
In the world of handheld gaming, operating systems are everything. You might remember the whole debacle with the AYANEO Next Lite claiming to have SteamOS and ending up with Windows instead, and how dissapointed the handheld community was.
I’ve played with Android handheld games consoles reproducing retro games as well as consoles running Raspberry Pi, but when it comes to the main PC handheld competitors, everything feels a little closed off. There’s nothing really like the Android format that can be used as loosely between different machines that is powerful enough to play both retro and current-gen titles.
SteamOS and Valve are such good friends that they don’t seem to ever want to part, and Nintendo doesn’t want to let anyone else which leaves Windows as the other main player.
And, just like back in 2001 when Nintendo and Sony thought that they were in the clear, a new challenger is entering the market and looking to shake things up.
Playtron cold be the answer to AYANEO’s woes, an operating system that, while based on Linux like the Steam Deck, could be moved between different handhelds, consoles, and eventually to your mobile and even cars.
Essentially, it would be like the Doom of the modern gaming world, cropping up everywhere that’s powerful enough to house it, and for a much more affordable price too.
With a marketing plan like that, it’s hard to not sit up and take notice.
The Future Of Playtron And The ‘Core Casual’ Gamer
Playtron are a new name on the scene, but according to their website, the team of 18 employees bring experience from companies such as Sega, PlayStation, Call of Duty, and Google, to name but a few.
Information provided by The Verge tells us that the former CEO of autonomous tech company Cyanogen is heading up proceedings, and with 10 million dollars of funding behind them, they’ve got pretty solid foundations.
In short, these guys are serious about making change and they have the knowhow to do it. Their website boasts an impressive manifesto too.
They’re going after the core casual gamer, the gamer that plays consoles and PC and on their phone. You know, the jack of all trades kind of guy… me, for example.
With their mission to tackle phone, laptop, handheld and basically all forms of gaming, they’re hoping to not just make a dent in Microosft’s plans, but wipe out the competition completely.
Playtron state that “only 10% of total gamers globally represent the core gamer base. Roughly 400M people are PC and Console gamers. For the 1st time this segment goes mobile. Playtron enables billions in new revenue for creators over the coming years.”
Playtron have big plans for the next 12 months, with direct publishing for Indie Developers dropping later this year and a rollout of 5G handhelds in 2025. That’s pretty ambitious, but as I said above, this team certainly isn’t inexperienced and has the firepower to make this happen, along with an investment
What Could This Mean For Retro Gaming?
Playtron is obviously designed as an alternative to Windows and SteamOS for more powerful gaming handhelds, but as we’ve proved in our video on Steam Deck emulators, there’s a market for using pc gaming handhelds to play our favourite retro game on.
This new operating system could, in time, allow for seamless emulation of PS3 and Xbox 360 games, for example. Having the option to flit between playing games like Death Stranding and A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS, for example, would make for a machine that essentially covers every gamer’s needs. A one stop shop for both nostalgic and modern gaming, as it were.
Playtron are essentially opening up the field and providing a cost-effective OS that could let companies like Anbernic and AYANEO really achieve their full potential, as well as allowing other 3rd party devices to play games from the Epic Games store, for example.
It’s all a little up in the air at the moment as Playtron find their feet, but we’re looking forward to seeing where this goes over the coming months and to follow their progress as they work towards meeting some of their challenging goals.
