TL;DR: Hyperkin is releasing two new colorways of its SupaBoy portable retro console, Crimson and Prime, shipping this fall for $129.99.
Physical media diehards, this one’s for you. Hyperkin just announced two new colorways for its SupaBoy portable retro console: Crimson and Prime, both shipping this fall.
The SupaBoy plays original Super Nintendo and Super Famicom cartridges directly, no emulation, no ROMs, and no downloads involved. It works with PAL, NTSC, and JP cartridges without worrying about region lockouts, so you can plug in whatever you’ve got and go. There’s also an AV-out port for hooking it up to a TV and two controller ports if you want to turn portable play into a full couch session.
On the hardware side, the SupaBoy packs a 4.3-inch IPS screen and a rechargeable Li-Ion battery rated for up to 10 hours of play.
The two new colors are all about nostalgia: Prime uses the pastel colors of the Japanese and European Super Famicom, while the limited-edition Crimson pulls from the original Japanese Famicom. Both come in a translucent shell, which, let’s be honest, is doing a lot of the collectible appeal here.
Credit: Hyperkin
Hyperkin product developer Nathan Perez said the company built the new colors around what longtime gamers actually want: a way to keep the excitement and collectible feel of game cartridges alive, letting the growing retro audience own their software and play without WiFi, delays, or interruptions.
Mashable Deals
Prime marks the first release in what Hyperkin says will be a yearly cycle of new SupaBoy colors, so this won’t be the last time your shelf gets more crowded. The consoles are also launching in Europe for the first time with this release.
Both the SupaBoy Prime and Crimson replace the current models and are expected to ship this fall for $129.99.
