Quick Summary
The Space Invaders: My Play Watch is a simple smartwatch with one big trick.
It lets you play retro games on your wrist, and it's crowdfunding right now.
As team-ups go, this wasn't one we saw coming – retro gaming giant Taito, the originator of Space Invaders decades ago, has teamed up with a small design studio to create a unique smartwatch.
The Space Invaders: My Play Watch is crowdfunding through Kickstarter now, starting from just $60/£45 for a watch, but it's not quite as simple as that price point might suggest. While you could think this is just a low-cost smartwatch with some Space Invaders branding, you'd be wrong.
The watch, in fact, actually hosts a specially designed version of Space Invaders that you can play right there on your wrist, using either the watch's touch screen or the little dial on one of its sides (one of a few Apple Watch-like touches). This makes it perhaps one of the smallest retro game consoles we've ever encountered.
With a few different colours of watch available to pick from, and each coming with a pair of themed straps, it's certainly not a very stealthy option. That said, it's also a celebration of one of the most famous games ever, so who cares?
Aside from its gaming chops, the watch is interestingly disconnected – it does have a 1.68-inch screen and looks for all the world like an Apple Watch, but it won't connect to your phone and therefore isn't one for notifications or being able to reply to messages or anything like that.
Rather, it'll collect some health data that you can review only on the watch itself, making for a really minimalistic approach compared to most other wearables at the moment, which tend to pack in as many features as possible. Of course, this could also be about keeping costs down to ensure that the price being asked isn't too off-putting.
That early bird price doesn't last much longer, though, and will hop up to $75/£57 once the first 48 hours of crowdfunding are over. It's already surged past its funding goal, though, meaning there's clearly enough of an audience to see it hit full production.
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
Max is T3's Staff Writer for the Tech section – with years of experience reporting on tech and entertainment. He's also a gaming expert, both with the games themselves and in testing accessories and consoles, having previously flexed that expertise at Pocket-lint as a features editor.
-
Apple allegedly planning major changes to App Store that make so much sense
Apple might be making a one-stop shop for its best games.
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Xbox rolls out the red carpet for Call of Duty with new accessories
Xbox has a bunch of accessory designs to celebrate the arrival of Black Ops 6
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
How to watch the new Xbox Games Showcase this week
Xbox's new online presentation is all about games, games, games – here's how to watch it live
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Huawei launches world's first medically certified smartwatch, and it monitors your blood pressure 24 hours a day
The Watch D2 is Huawei’s most cutting-edge smartwatch to date
By T3.com Published
-
Playing games is good for you, it's official – well, one game in particular
Powerwash Simulator chills you out
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Your Xbox gets a neat new trick that could save a lot of time
Updates will finally be a bit easier
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
The SNES is about to die all over again
Nintendo's ending repairs again
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Amazon gives Garmin’s toughest adventure watch a (very) healthy discount
It’s only on for a limited time though, so be quick!
By Bryony Firth-Bernard Published