Comparing Makecode Arcade handhelds

Makecode Arcade is a platform for anyone to code and create awesome 2D games. These games can be played in the browser but for the best experience you can get various dedicated handheld consoles to play them on. In this video we compare several of these.

**Note, mentioned later in the video is that we don't have adafruit options available out here in Asia, I will import these 2 models at some point to test**

Prices in the video are what we paid in Hong Kong for these, mostly ordering through China. The prices in the US or Europe are higher than this it seems, see below.

Links:

[WoofWoof]

I have two of those Adafruit PyGamers and I love them! They have nice controls and stuff and they can handle a lot of sprites and stuff. Recently I finally made a project big enough that it doesn’t fit on my console and it was over 2133 lines of code long with like nine images and 15 levels and just getting rid of the images allowed it to run just fine. 100% would recommend the Adafruit PyGamer, just mind the price.

[ilyayudovsky]

Thank you for the video! Especially for the Elecfreaks Retro part - I've thought of buying one.
Two additional consoles are listed on the makecode site as compatible - Adafruit PyGamer and Xtron Pro. And I must say, PyGamer looks very promising and very reasonably priced.

[lovemadeinjapan]

Thanks for the overview, made me curious on the Kittenbot Bridge (can't find that anywhere) and the inner workings of the Retro (no specs available).
Which makes me stick to the Kitronik and the PyBadge (not in this video). That is because you don't discuss the software side, and that is actually quite important.
For the Kitronik & PyBadge I know that they both run on a ATSAMD51, which is a powerful chip (200MHz, 32 bit, 192kB RAM, 2560 kB flash, FPU and 2xDAC for sound), with much more oomph than a nRF52 in the Microbit V2 (64MHz/128kB RAM/512kB Flash). And those 2 run on 1) MakeCode, 2) circuit Python and 3) my favourite C++ through the Arduino IDE or Visual Studio Code to get some serious performance out of it. I agree the buttons on the Kitronic are not the best, but the fact it is cheap, with short delivery times and made in the UK for a decent price (35€) and the Adafruit made-in-NYC for 30€ with plenty of 1 day ship options in the EU make it my favourites. Do you have any tech specs on the ones you showed?

[jdonwells]

This review seems to be the only one. So thank you for that.

I got one of the Elecfreaks Retro Arcades. It is too slow. Any game of any complexity just doesn't run on it. At about 18 sprites games just stop cold. Space Invaders won't run on it. Break Out won't run on it. Snake won't run on it. So many types of games just won't run on it.

Some kind of performance test would be good to see.

[brandonbell]

Can you do a 2024 version? There’s been more devices published and also RAM upgrades. Would be helpful. There’s also been a few ones from kickstarter as well

[Jaxonstv]

the problem with the d-pad was fixed with the retro

[fred.chapman]

KittenBot Meowbit vs. TinkerGen GameGo: Yes, the GameGo is louder, but the Meowbit has a micro:bit connector which lets you control electronics projects in addition to running MakeCode Arcade games. Also, the softer speaker of the Meowbit may be a feature rather than a bug: do you really want a classroom of 30 students all playing games at the same time with the volume on full blast? 😱

[urassari]

that thinkbox thing actually has the same exact case for a really popular fake Nintendo NES emulator console and you can actually connect it to the tv using a special adapter thing.

[temurromanyuk]

noice! now I Can play my funni lil games in a funni lil controller in school with nobody noticing





although I don't think the meow bit has enough to play the fallen void, (game I've been working on)
or it might crash or smthn,

[sph]

I have a question. The thinkbot has x and y buttons, do they actually work? And if they do are they their own buttons, or just work as secondary a and b buttons?

[daltrui]

Hi Stu! Love the video, it was exactly what I was looking for. Just curious, what is your impression of the Thinkbox 7 months later? Also, any links or resources that you can recommend for a DIY version? Cheers!

[AlAzrak]

Thanks sir, the link you put for Think Box doesn't go nowhere. and Please ¿ can you explain how to run makecode arcade binary on Raspberry Pi console? 👍

[Dudjdychehryfkdkw]

There was an update to it that makes the d-pad better check it out

[sarahbean]

Hi Stu! Thanks for the video! Did you ever end up trying to fix the Elecfreaks device? I that one seems like the best option for me, but only if I can easily fix the buttons. TIA!

[Datendo]

one question about the thinkbox is does it store games?

[BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I am curious, with the Think Box one how you added games. I have cheap handheld retro game which looks exactly like that I picked up for $12, and served me well for some mindless distraction when I traveled more for work, playing some classic NES games here and there. Never really considered what was under the hood. I assumed a Famiclone on a chip setup. Now I wonder if their might be a way to cheat the hardware into running something else, like MakeCode Arcade. I'm thinking about getting a couple compatible handhelds as my kids have actually been coding their own games in their STEM school, and I'd love for them to keep at it. Also, I've coded a couple of my own games, and kind of want to see them run on actual hardware.

Thanks for the rundown of these systems.

[leekvideo]

*Hello everyone, I am the manufacturer of thinkbox*