A lot has been made about the death of physical media in gaming recently, with Sony announcing that it is to stop releasing PlayStation games on disc, and Xbox hinting that it will follow suit. But the Hyperkin SupaBoy is proof positive that physical media will never truly die.
Retro gaming enthusiasts will already be very familiar with the handheld – it's actually been around so long, it's arguably a retro classic itself. However, I'm not one of those who imported one originally and it's only now being officially released in the UK and Europe.
That's why it was all new to me when I finally got to play with one (two, in fact) at Gamescom in Germany this week.
We're getting the Hyperkin SupaBoy Prime model in the UK, which comes in a colourway that pays homage to the PAL Super Nintendo, so I focused on that. There was also the Crimson version at the show, but that is sadly destined for other regions only.
Where the SupaBoy differs from most other retro gaming handhelds is that you don't load it with countless, legally-questionable rom files. Instead, it is more like the Analogue Pocket or ModRetro Chromatic in that it takes original games cartridges.
However, while they are essentially modern versions of the Game Boy – a handheld itself – the SupaBoy has a slot for SNES cartridges (PAL or NTSC). This makes for a wacky-looking, chunky device, but also something fun and unique.
Owners of original Super Nintendo hardware will also appreciate that there are joypad connectors on the front, so you can hook up the SupaBoy to a TV and use it with the original gamepads for up to two-player action.
But it also works well as a handheld, save for the sheer size of the unit. It's a beefy boy, that's for sure.
I'm be reviewing one of them fully in the coming weeks, but from my 10 minutes or so with it at Gamescom, I soon got used to the girth. And the 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 screen is a highlight. It's nice a bright and has a physical button to switch the display from 4:3 to 16:9 – the latter for those who don't want black bars and don't mind stretching the pixels a touch.
It's 4:3 all the way for me (well, a slightly stretched 8:7) and I particularly liked the shader being used on the demo unit – it looked resolutely CRT-like. I was instantly taken back to the early 90s, and to when I loaded Super Mario World for the first time.
The controls are the same ones used since 2015, I understand, so have a slightly spongy feel to them but are accurate and authentic. And we even had an issue with one of the cartridges initially, having to blow on its pins to get it to work. Anyone around back then will know exactly what that means.
And that's why, even with such a little amount of time with it, the Hyperkin SupaBoy already stands apart as one to watch – especially if you have access to a decent library of Super Nintendo games.
I'm looking forward to reviewing it in full, with several of my own classic carts. At the very least, it puts the switch to a digital-only future to shame.
It'll be available in the UK and Europe this autumn, priced at £119.99 / €129.99 per console. You'll also be able to get the new version(s) in the US for $129.99.
