Now I've seen everything – this MagSafe power bank is also a retro games console

Charge your phone while playing 300 retro games – the Mobile Boy is brilliantly bonkers

Mobile Boy retro games console and powerbank
(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))
Quick Summary

The Mobile Boy is a rather unique retro gaming handheld in that it's also a MagSafe compatible powerbank for mobile phones.

Currently in a crowdfunding phase in Japan, it's rather inexpensive too – around the £44 / $58 / €50 mark.

The current retro gaming trend has resulted in a huge selection of different devices and handhelds, which come in all shapes and sizes. Some are pretty bizarre, while others are so powerful that they can even run Nintendo Switch games.

I've pretty much seen them in in recent times – own many of them personally, in fact. However, I've not encountered anything quite like the Mobile Boy before. It's definitely a one of a kind.

Currently going through a crowd funding phase on Campfire (via Hiconsumption), the device by Japanese tech firm Oscar Japan is not just a retro gaming handheld with 300 games preinstalled, it also acts as a 5,000mAh MagSafe compatible powerbank.

The idea is that if you run out of battery power on your iPhone or Android device with wireless charging, you can pop it on the back and enjoy a game or two while you wait.

It comes with Game Boy style controls – a D-pad and A, B, X, Y buttons – and you can play any of its games on the full-colour LCD display. An LED panel on the side also tells you how much juice in left in the can, so to speak.

Mobile Boy retro games console and powerbank

(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))

The Mobile Boy comes in black, silver or pink, and is actually very reasonably priced. It'll cost ¥11,200 when fully released in December, but is currently offered at ¥8,960 during the crowd funding phase.

That's around £44 / $58 / €50 at today's exchange rate. Even when the final prices come into affect, that only raises to around £55 / $73 / €63.

Mobile Boy retro games console and powerbank

(Image credit: Oscar Japan (via Campfire))

Sadly though, there's no guarantee the device will ever make its way out of Japan. And as it doesn't seem you can add or replace any of the preinstalled games, it's almost certain that many of them will be Japanese language only.

Still, it's nice to see a company trying something a bit different with the form factor. Both in the gaming handheld space and wireless charging.

Rik Henderson
News Editor

Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.

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