Last year, we had the opportunity to be the first publication in the world to test the GAMERCARD, Grant Sinclair's (yes, that Sinclair) latest invention.
It's a very unique handheld, due to its 6.5mm thickness, 4" 720p IPS display, 1600MAH battery and the fact its using a Raspberry Pi Zero for its internals, turning it into a low-powered portable games console with a twist.
Pair that with Sinclair's history in creating unique electronics, and the fact that it features silicone-circled pads instead of a D-PAD and action buttons, this is a device that has received a lot of attention last year.
Those who have pre-ordered are still waiting on their device, and that's because, unfortunately, after talking with Grant's team, they have been hit by "ongoing memory shortage problems".
This is affecting a lot of the industry. Recently, Retroid increased the prices of their Pocket 6, and Analogue's latest restock sees the Pocket handheld price rise too.
Not only does this mean the GAMERCARD has yet to ship, but it also means its price has increased to £149 from £129.
After talking with their team, they are also making minor iterations to the device in the meantime. The prototype unit that we reviewed was an early sample, but the following changes will be made to customer-ready units when they begin shipping, according to GAMERCARD.
Minor Changes To The Device (In Comparison To The Sample We Tested)
- Front silicone keypads have been refined for easier pressing and noticeably quieter operation.
- Side silicone push buttons now have a smoother more responsive click and feel.
- Rear silicone push buttons will be improved for easier activation.
- The internal heatsink will be enhanced to keep the device cooler during extended gameplay.
- The chassis has been upgraded to a thermally conductive polymer for extra cooling
- Expanded languages. Now several supplied games support Japanese and Chinese languages.
- Corrected matte-body finish (meaning it will look sleeker than our sample unit).
- New fast-track Quit function, which means pressing the START and SELECT side buttons together brings up a quick-access menu with options to Pause, Quit or Resume any app.
These updates are great to see, because a few of them I mentioned to Grant directly after I tested the GAMERCARD and Grant has even gone as far as telling me that he's made some adjustments based on my comments too.
It's sad to see the industry be so affected by the memory shortages and price increases, likely due to AI consumption, but what I do know is that the team behind the GAMERCARD are working relentlessly to get these out into people's hands.
I'm excited to see this on the market. Grant has a big vision for this, and although I am skeptical at how well this will do and if the zero-packaging marketing stunt works when this is on the shelves, I am genuinly happy to see it come to light.
We need crazy folks like Grant to push the boundaries of handheld gaming, even if it is in incredibly niche ways. We will hopefully have a full review of the GAMERCARD when our customer-ready unit arrives.
As of now, there's no official release date, nor have they shared this information with me directly; all we can do is wait or follow our free newsletter to keep updated with industry news.
