It’s amazing how much gaming systems have developed over the years to get to where we are. Thanks to advancements in hardware engineering, we can fit tech into smaller packages; in this case, a thumb-sized retro-styled keychain in the form of TinyCuircuits creation, Thumby.
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Despite its seemingly impossible size of 29.5mm x 18mm x 8.5mm, Thumby is run with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 Processor and has a monochrome OLED display, an operational 4-way D-pad, and two action buttons. This rechargeable device can also last around 2 hours of gameplay.
The device is already preloaded with five retro games that are instantly playable out of the box:
- TinyBlocks: a puzzle game
- Space Debris: a space shooter
- Annelid: a snake game
- TinyKnight: a dungeon adventure game
- Saur Run: a sidescrolling, running dinosaur
Thumby incorporates a built-in menu system that enables you to pick the game to be played when you power it on and save numerous games in its 2MB of internal memory for you to choose. Users can also download their games on the device and create their own programming by using a micro USB cable to connect with a computer. It also has multiplayer support via its Thumby Link cable. Apart from that, the device is programmable using MicroPython in a web browser to build your games.
According to TinyCircuits’ creator, Ken Burns, this idea of a tiny Game Boy has been brewing for around 5-6 years already. However, it was set aside back then because TinyCircuits had other priorities then. Thankfully, they were able to go through with the project this year.
The Indigogo campaign for Thumby has been a huge success, with over $200,000 raised. As of now, the device with the classic, light gray color will cost $19 each. if you want to choose a different color, it will cost a bit more as it’s priced at $24.
YouTube: Thumby Launch Video
Photo credit: The images used are owned by TinyCircuit and have been provided for press usage.
