Modder and YouTuber Taki Udon has now announced his new project – an open source handheld, set to compete with the slew of handhelds on the market.
Taki Udon is well-known in the retro gaming community for his drive to make FPGA gaming more affordable with his $99 MiSTer console. Now he has turned his attention to another part of retro gaming, focusing on handhelds.
His latest project is not related to his previous work on MiSTer technology, but Taki Udon is maintaining his emphasis on giving broad access to retro gaming. As such, the new handheld will be entirely open source.
The entire development process has been filmed and fully documented, and Taki Udon confirms it is now almost at the point where he can begin to share details of what he has been working on.
Interestingly, in a post on Twitter/X he says: “Anyone with any skill level can get involved.” This does suggest that familiarity with a soldering iron and programming languages is not required.
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I've been working on an open source gaming handheld for over two years, with the entire process filmed and documented from A-Z. I am happy to say the project is almost at the point where I can start to share what I have, and how anyone with any skill level can get involved.
— Taki Udon (@TakiUdon_) July 26, 2024
Perhaps multiple versions of the handheld will be available, one in a fully assembled form, and another sold as a DIY kit.
Taki Udon has remained elusive on the details, only posting a few small teasers on his Twitter and YouTube channels. One of these shows the intro which says “3D render for handheld games console“, but does not show the console design.
Another teased image has Taki Udon attending what he described as a product design review meeting. He said his “Vice President” would be in attendance for the first time before showing an image of what seems to be his son. Udon then said that his “Vice President” would have the final say on the color of the handhelds.
Few other details on Taki Udon’s project are currently available, so we do not yet know what CPU or any other specifications. It is also unknown if this will be a retro-style handheld with an FPGA similar to an Analogue Pocket, or something emulator-based like the Ayn Odin 2 Mini.