While the Nintendo Switch presented itself as a portable console, Thumby arrived as a new Super Smash character: A new competitor appears!
Less than 25 cents, hardly 10 cents bigger, Thumby definitely very, very much very portable. It’s not for nothing that it comes with a small carabiner because you can lose it very easily!
Show
The metric dimensions of this console are 29.5mm x 18mm x 8.5mm. Next door it doesn’t look like a Game Boy Micro microphone What is this!
The Thumby is so small that my phone’s camera is struggling to focus on it! Also note that the black bar is not actually shown and the screen is very nice.
The four directions of the D-Pad as well as the B and A buttons operate in red. Powered by a Rasberry Pi Pico RP2040 processor, this little machine can run for two hours on a single charge.
Its 2MB internal memory still allows it to support several games at the same time. Everything will be broadcast on a black and white 72 x 40 pixel OLED screen. It is little!
There is even a small speaker that is not loud, but you can hear it quietly. But, let’s say, calm calm. very calm!
Add and remove games (or even schedule some!)
Thumby comes with some games pre-installed. We won’t hide that most of them are copies of games that already exist. We find in particular a version of Pong and Tetris.
If you want to remove or add more, just go On their website And follow the instructions. Everything is only in English and the site is not the clearest on the planet, but once you understand their logic, everything is simple.
In order to keep the package as slim as possible, the Thumby doesn’t come with the microUSB cable needed to charge or connect it. Let’s say he brought a big fight into my house to find one!
The system contains a file Passage Where other players submitted their code. Adding these games to Thumby is very simple and done in two clicks.
The bravest can venture into programming. Closer to the old ZZT of RPG Maker, microPython is used to create or modify code. The site is accessible to everyone Tutorials And from here documentation For those who want to mess around there.
You can also venture into Arduino C/C++ and the site also provides FAQ here. If you ever run into any issues, the community on Discord is ready to help you.
The small size of this console is incredible. It’s a bit wider than the microUSB cable it’s attached to. It is amazing!
The system suggested by Thumby developers is on a webpage. Let my Mac recognize it.
An emulator is offered in this interface to avoid always having to load our game on the mini console to test it. From what I’ve seen, everything seems very simple. My years in programming are behind me, I leave that to others!
critical
When I say my camera had difficulties with the size of the Thumby, I wasn’t kidding! Here is the clearest picture of this game that I managed to get after about forty tries!
By the way, I wanted to show you my favorite gang game. Brickd, the Arkanoid clone is the most comfortable to play in my opinion.
The limitations of such microcomputers force programmers to be imaginative. We see that someone was inspired by This famous scene from the office!
One of Thumby’s great strengths lies in its simplicity. The drop-down menu is easily accessible and the selection of games is natural.
Free from a bunch of home screens, one can play a game very quickly unlike contemporary games. (and by contemporariesI’m even talking about Acclaim logos on Super Nintendo that have been on forever!)
But in my opinion, its main strength is that you are cute enough oh my god!!! This is the most beautiful thing I have held in my hands in the last decade!!!
Good. You can imagine that such a small screen with microscopic buttons does not offer an extraordinary gaming experience in the history of gaming. Especially given the simplicity of the games that are bordered by such a small box.
The good news is that it wasn’t made for that. Actually, yes, but no. I think this little tool is mainly used as a little object to talk about. as explained In my Instagram storiesThe reactions were so many!
Next, this mini console is really practical for people who love programming or want to get started. You can show your creativity to your loved ones when you see them and that’s great.
Basically, it’s a simple $30 thing that can keep us busy for a moment in a queue or we can serve to friends at the bar. I’ve already paid a lot for things that serve me less!
thumb It comes in four colors, including the original Game Boy. You will be able to convince your friends that you have found a machine Baby I shrunk the boys!
