Sipeed Takes On the Mighty MiSTer with Its Tang Console FPGA Development Board

Embedded and hobbyist electronics specialist Sipeed has announce the latest entry in its popular Tang line of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development boards, this time targeting those looking to experiment with gaming projects: the Tang Console.

"The Tang Console is a revolutionary FPGA platform designed for versatility, performance, and affordability," the company claims of its latest creation. "With two capacity options — 60k and 128k LUTs [Look-Up Tables] — this compact powerhouse offers incredible capabilities while fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. Measuring just 65×56mm [around 2.56×2.2"], it's half the size of the MiSTer making it the perfect choice for developers and gamers alike."

Specifications vary, as you would imagine, according to the model of Tang Console chosen and their corresponding GOWIN Semiconductor GW5AT-series FPGA fitted: the 60k variant includes 468kb of synchronous static RAM (SSRAM) and 2,124kb of block SRAM (BSRAM), 4Gb of DDR3 on a 16-bit interface, and no hard-core microprocessor; the 138k variant has 1,080kb of SSRAM and 6,120kb of BSRAM, 8Gb of DDR3 on a 32-bit interface, and an AE350 RISC-V hard processor core.

In either case, you get the same system-on-module (SOM) on a compact carrier board, which includes two 40-pin general-purpose input/output (GPIO) headers, two PMOD ports, a battery connector, and speaker connector, one USB 2.0 Type-C and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, an additional USB 2.0 Type-C port for JTAG debugging and UART serial connectivity, an RGB LCD connector plus an HDMI output for an external display, and a 16-pin connector providing access to a single PCI Express Gen. 3 lane for high-speed peripherals allowing the board to be used as a Raspberry Pi 5 HAT add-on.

While the Tang Console can be used as a general-purpose FPGA development platform, its name provides a hint as to Sipeed's focus with its design: the company offers an acrylic case styled to look like a compact Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console and promises FPGA cores for emulating the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and Commodore Amiga, with development underway for Sony PlayStation, NeoGeo, NeoGeo Pocket Color, and MSX cores. The company has also promised a portable all-in-one games console variant, the Tang Retro Pocket, though without offering pricing and availability.

More information on the Tang Console family is available on the Sipeed website; pre-orders have opened at a discounted $69 for the Tang Console 60k and $99 for the Tang 138k, rising to $89 and $119 respectively with bundled SDRAM expansion, basic acrylic case, and SNES-inspired game pad, or $109/$139 with SDRAM, console-like case, two game pads, and a microSD card. The company is also offering free "early prototypes" for anyone developing retro-gaming FPGA cores, with details on the product page.