In case you’re not familiar with the brand as of now, AYANEO has grown to be one of the biggest names in retro gaming hardware, thanks to its large selection of handheld gaming devices, a lot of which run on Android and sometimes custom operating systems. That in mind, the company recently announced its latest device, the AYANEO Pocket Play, which based on its design alone looks very familiar.
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As seen on these promotional device renders, it’s no secret that AYANEO has based the Pocket Play’s design on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, which itself was based on the PSP Go from many moons ago—all of these use a sliding mechanism, which allows the device to hide its controls underneath a screen. Like the Xperia Play, the Pocket Play is also a smartphone which runs Android which should make it ideal for emulation and retro gaming in general.
Available in black and white, the Pocket Play also comes with a mostly sleek look, and the same can be said for its control setup—it’s clear that AYANEO’s experience in developing handheld gaming devices has translated to the Pocket Play, which comes with a rather complete control setup. Sure, it is missing a pair of analogue sticks, but given the limitations of the device the touch pad input somewhat makes up for it. There’s also a large display in front with just a bit of bezel to accommodate the front earpiece and camera (it is a phone, after all).
On the edges of the device, you’ll find a volume rocker and power button, although you also get a quadruple trigger button setup, which includes L1, L2, R1, and R2 buttons. The bottom meanwhile houses your speaker, microphone and sim tray, a common setup found in most smartphones nowadays.
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With all that being said though, AYANEO has not mentioned any details regarding pricing, specifications, and such. While the Pocket Play is now live on Kickstarter, all we know is that the phone can play games, has built-in controls, and a sliding mechanism. There’s obviously going to be considerable hype for this device, but until AYANEO gives us more info, it’s best to keep some reservations for the pocket play.
