GamerCard is a grab and go retro handheld

The GamerCard is a true grab and go retro handheld, designed to be the size of a retail gift card. You can grab it “straight off the peg” at a store and begin playing your favorite retro titles.

Accessible or not, some things are so cool and so unique they’re worth sharing and talking about. That’s precisely how I would describe the GamerCard. It’s a thin, grab and go retro handheld powered by the Raspberry Pi. The idea is that it’s ready to play right off the shelf. You scoop it up, maybe in a grocery store or retail store line “straight off the peg,” power it on and start playing. It matches the shape and size of a retail gift card. How is that possible? Engineered with stacked PCBs it has a Raspberry Pi and a high-resolution 4-inch square IPS display on the front running at 254 pixels per inch.

It’s not just conceptual, it’s a real product from Grant Sinclair. The first models will ship in eight to ten weeks to early buyers. The product page claims it’s “over 80% smaller and lighter than market-leading handhelds,” and from the images, that certainly looks to be the case.

What else is inside the GamerCard grab and go retro handheld?

Starting with 128GB of internal memory, it’s powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2-watt system. A 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor runs at 1GHz. Moreover, it has 512MB of SDRAM, Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi built-in. A 1600mAh Lithium-Polymer rechargeable battery is tucked inside with USB-C charging.

It has proprietary cooling to keep it running optimally, with an ultra-thin passive heat sink radiator, plus sapphire glass protection for the front screen. It’s fully expandable via HDMI for HDTV compatibility, you can connect a keyboard and mouse via USB-C, and the Qwiic port offers break out and modification opportunities.

There are sub-mini loudspeakers and two monoblock amps with audio codec IC for stereo sound integrated inside the system. Basically, it has everything you need to pick up and play your favorite retro titles. It’s pretty damn cool, in my opinion. Although, maybe that word doesn’t mean anything anymore.

No word on games included. I’m not sure if there are any pre-installed or what, if anything, comes ready to play. A legal section does state: “It is the responsibility of the individual user to ensure they are complying with all applicable copyright laws and to verify the legality of downloading, owning, or using emulators or game files in their country or region.“