New Blockchain Handheld Announced, Will Likely Cost $500

Ordz Games has revealed a new retro-inspired handheld gaming console that will allegedly let players earn Bitcoins while playing games that are connected to the larger blockchain network. The console isn’t out yet, but will likely cost around $500, according to the company behind the device.

Sure, in 2024 the new hot thing among most large tech companies and Silicon Valley investors is AI. But there are still some folks out there dedicated to NFTs, cryptocurrency, and the blockchain. Despite the rollercoaster stability of all this crap—Bitcoin prices dropped $5,000 last week—there still seems to be a market for this stuff. So, say hello to the BitBoy One.

Revealed on April 5, the BitBoy One is an upcoming handheld gaming console that is designed to also be a crypto wallet. It will also be able to play classic games—assuming you provide the roms—and will let you earn Bitcoin cryptocurrency by playing specific blockchain play-to-earn games. If the device looks very familiar, that’s because it seems to be heavily based on similar retro devices like the Miyoo Mini and Anbernic RG35XX. In fact, the BitBoy One shares a lot of the same internal specs as those popular mini-retro handhelds. However, those devices cost between $60 to $100. Meanwhile, Ordz Games tells GamesBeat that the BitBoy One will likely cost around $500.

“This device is very deeply rooted inside of Bitcoin,” said the person behind the device, “entrepreneur” z3th. “So the whole design language, the naming, is Bitcoin. It’s all going to come with a 3D rendering of the physical device, which will be in an ordinal.”

What’s an ordinal? Well, here’s how GamesBeat describes them:

Ordinals are a way to create Bitcoin NFTs by attaching data such as images, videos, and more to an individual satoshi (the smallest form of Bitcoin currency) on the base Bitcoin blockchain.

Apparently, these Bitcoin/NFT hybrids have been around since January 2023 and will be a key part of the BitBoy One. The creator also claims you’ll be able to mine Bitcoin using the device, but admits that the weak, tiny BitBoy One won’t be able to actually earn much.

“The mining power of the physical device is very, very weak. It will take years to mine,” said z3th. “You’re not going to make real money from it. But it’s for fun.”

If a lot of this sounds a bit wishy-washy and not really specific, that’s because—as with most blockchain products and plans—it’s all very vague. Z3th is making lots of promises about earning money and Bitcoins and ordinals using the device. They say it will also mine coins and be a wallet for you. And there will be multiplayer support and the ability to play old games against friends to earn cryptocurrency, too. But nothing concrete on when to expect the BitBoy One, the actual price, or why most people would pay $500 for this device when similar retro handhelds can be bought for less than $100.

Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong and this device will be incredible and make me a believer in NFTs and crypto. But uh, I won’t be pre-ordering it anytime soon.

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