To preface, I’ve had a bit of a ‘thing’ for the various Chinese PSP-knockoff handhelds for quite a while.  Been gaming since pong (yeah, bitches!), so the classics will always hold some good entertainment value for me.

So I’m looking for a new gadget, and there’s certainly no shortage of cool stuff out there.  Unfortunately, for anything with decent capabilities, they’re damned expensive (at least from my budgetary standpoint).  By the time you find something droidish with wi-fi, you’re looking at some dough.  Unfortunately, this still leaves a bit of a gap, as the lower-tier devices simply can’t run the more advanced emulators due to hardware limitations.  The multi-console consoles are neat, but not portable and still leave cartridge/disk acquisition costs and frustration.

Then it hits me: I’ve got cellphones laying around that blow most handheld specs clean out of the water.  Lo and behold, bluetooth tech has come a long way, and one can now get a variety of gamepads that will sync up pretty well.  Throw in an HDMI out, and one has a most portable multi-platform gaming console that only needs access to a TV to wreak some old-school havoc. 

One can get by with basic onscreen controls, but as I’m always on the road in service to my corporate overlords, a greater capability is needed for downtime at the hotel.  Been busy rebuilding my ROM sets this weekend, and some fruitless hunting locally for hardware to round this concept out.  Even MOGA controllers are scarcer than hen’s teeth at retail, with price tags that simply do not justify the functionality.  ($70 for a fucking controller?  No thank you.)

Luckily, there are much more reasonably-priced options available online, so I’ll have some hardware on the way real soon.  Have to say, I’m quite looking forward to getting the whole kit together.

Any other Planeteers getting jiggy with Android emulation? Looks like I’m starting out with ClassicBoy as a multi-emu, with SNESoid, Reicast, and Yabause rounding things out from an app standpoint.  May add some MAME as well, to cover the arcade game segment. Will likely use my old LG Optimus Pro as hardware, as it’s got a hefty screen and what should be plenty of horsepower to run it all.    Once I can get this all lined up, that leaves the entire world of Android games to segue into as well.  Looking forward to some Bard’s Tale, and maybe Baldur’s Gate II for some RPG goodness on that front.  Should be some satisfying gaming goodness all around.

So, Planeteers, what are y’all playing on your devices?  Got a sweet controller?  I’m interested in hearing what direction others are taking this.