This Is an Awesome PICO-8 Handheld Console Design

I really love PICO-8, which is a “fantasy console” developed by Joseph White and first released back in 2015. It runs on low-power hardware, makes games easy to program, and gives you access to a big catalog of games from the community — I even programmed a couple. You can play PICO-8 games right in your browser, but the experience is more fun on a dedicated console. There are many existing designs to choose from, like this handheld console just released by UncleStem.

UncleStem created this handheld console specifically for PICO-8. You could use it for other games, including emulation of real consoles like the NES and Sega Genesis. But UncleStem’s hardware choices were made with PICO-8 in mind.

For example, PICO-8 has a square game screen, so UncleStem selected a 720×720 IPS LCD screen to match the aspect ratio. The controls are also tailored to PICO-8. There is a d-pad, two action buttons, a start button, and a select button. That is actually more than PICO-8 requires (it doesn’t need start or select), but the additional buttons help with system control. As a bonus, they match the NES, if you do want to use the console for some emulation.

The brain of the console is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, which is far more powerful than what PICO-8 needs to run well. But once again, that gives you the option for emulation. Power comes from an 18650 lithium battery cell.

To tie that hardware altogether, UncleStem designed a custom PCB. He ordered the PCBs from JLCPCB and even sprung for full-color screen printing, which looks really cool. The PCB is hidden within the enclosure and so nobody will see it, but it still adds charm.

That enclosure is pretty special, too. UncleStem 3D-printed the prototype versions until he nailed the design down, then had JLCPCB CNC-mill the final enclosure from aluminum. They also gave it a nice satin finish, which looks pretty incredible. It leaves the Raspberry Pi exposed on the back, so access is easy. Of course, if you’re replicating this project, you can stick with a 3D-printed enclosure if you prefer.

UncleStem uploaded the design files to a Google Drive folder, so you can grab those if you do want to build your own dedicated PICO-8 handheld console.