Let's take a trip down memory lane: first we met CHIP, a nine-dollar mini computer that set Kickstarter on fire. Three months later we discovered PICO-8, a virtual console where anyone can play and develop their own projects. Today, both come together under PocketCHIP, a small but powerful console based on the original CHIP hardware, with a 4.3-inch touchscreen and the PICO-8 system preinstalled.
A Console Built for Creativity
Video game consoles, whether portable or "stationary", have given us countless hours of entertainment. There's no need to talk about generations, graphical performance, controls, or connectivity. What truly matters is our relationship with them, the titles we've enjoyed alone or with friends, and of course, all the fond memories. However, a console can only "be a console". From a certain point of view, a traditional console "reproduces", but it doesn't let us "create". Now, imagine a console whose strongest point is precisely creativity. A console with an environment where you modify sprites, load your own audio files, configure controls, and study changes on the hardware. A mix between a portable console, a development kit, a programming platform, and an artifact made by a mad scientist. The best part? That mix exists, and it's called PocketCHIP.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/W3qkdB5bzLYFrom Kickstarter to Your Hands
If the name sounds familiar, it's because its creators are responsible for CHIP, the nine-dollar mini computer whose Kickstarter campaign has already delivered more than 30,000 units, good news considering what happens with other projects (although there are still complaints about isolated deliveries that didn't happen). Technically, the PocketCHIP was one of the higher-tier 'rewards' of the CHIP. For an additional sum, backers not only got the original hardware, but also a touchscreen, a keyboard (to a certain extent), battery, and case. In short, the PocketCHIP makes the CHIP portable, but another of its advantages is that it provides access to PICO-8, which normally costs $15 on its own.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kTqBYDyY_wYPrice and Availability
The price of the PocketCHIP remains the same as it had in the original Kickstarter campaign: $49. What can you do with it? Well, that depends on you. On the official blog, its masterminds went as far as loading a Virtual Boy emulator and connecting it to a Google Cardboard-like device to create something called 'Pockulus'. Yes, it's basically an April Fools' joke that became real. Want a PocketCHIP? Then hurry up, because it won't keep that price for long.
