Published , by Blake Morse
Published , by Blake Morse
Retro gamers and collectors got a special treat from My Arcade as the company revealed some of the latest additions to their product lines at CES 2019. The company, known for making portable hand-held and playable mini desktop arcade cabinets, had a few surprises up their sleeve including new offerings from Taito and Bandai Namco’s respective catalogs as well a brand-new portable retro console.
At some point in 2019 players will be able to get their hands on Ms.Pac-Man, Bubble Bobble, and Elevator Action Micro Players. According to the press release the Micro Players are, ”The same arcade cabinets that gamers know and love, scaled down to 6.75” for desktop play. Each Micro Player features artwork inspired by the original arcade cabinets as well as a full color, 2.75” screen with volume control and 3.5mm headphone jack.” Each arcade Micro Player has an MSRP of $34.99.
The more portable Pocket Player line of arcade hand-helds will be adding several new titles to its line up including Ms.Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, and Bubble Bobble. Along with all those titles, My Arcade is also bringing the Japanese arcade game Don Doko Don and its sequel to the US in the form of a pocket player. Each Pocket Player retails for $34.99 and features a “2.75” full-color screen and ergonomic design.”
Probably the most unexpected announcement from My Arcade would be their Retro Champ console. The Retro Champ is a portable unit that plays both US NES games as well as their Japanese Famicom counterparts. Each unit comes with a 7-inch screen and rechargeable battery that should go for about 35 hours per charge. While the unit is portable, players will also be able to plug them into their TVs via an HDMI port and purchase wireless controllers separately for more of a home console experience. The Retro Champ has a planned MSRP of $79.99.
If all that wasn’t enough, My Arcade also revealed their Turbo Gamepad for the PlayStation Classic. The controllers come with built-in chargeable batteries and will have programmable turbo modes for players to customize to their preferences and will retail for $24.99.
While I can’t speak for their controllers, I have several of My Arcade's Micro Players and they’re a great (and surprisingly functional) collector's item for anyone who has ever dreamed of owning an arcade. I’m very curious to how their venture into retro consoles plays out with the Retro Champ as well since I could see it coming in handy when haggling over old NES games at the flea market or just nerding out on the road. All of My Arcade’s new products that are being shown off at CES 2019 should be available later this year either at their website, Amazon, or other select retailers.