Bitcoin, Sui and Solana Gaming Handhelds: Here's How They Stack Up
The BitBoy One and SuiPlay0x1 are coming to join the Solana Saga smartphone—a look at the portable crypto crypto gaming devices.
By Andrew Hayward
Apr 12, 2024
6 min read
SuiPlay0x1 vs. BitBoy One vs. Solana Saga. Image: Decrypt
Suddenly, crypto gaming handhelds are a thing.
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Last week, the Bitcoin-centric BitBoy One gaming handheld and hardware wallet was revealed—and that was followed on Wednesday by the announcement of the SuiPlay0x1, a Steam Deck-like portable PC gaming device built for crypto games on Sui and beyond.
Add last year’s Solana Saga smartphone to the list—and next year’s “Chapter 2” successor—and you’ve got options if you want a portable device that plays games while also playing nice with crypto.
But which is the one for you? Some of these devices aren’t out yet, so we certainly can’t give you a firm verdict today. But here’s our early look at how these devices compare based on available details and how they’ve been positioned. And you can bet that Decrypt’s GG will be keeping tabs on the upcoming launches, so stay tuned as we’ll update this roundup over time.
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BitBoy One
The BitBoy one gaming handheld. Image: Ordz Games
While not an “officially branded” device like the others on this list, the BitBoy One is clearly built around Bitcoin. Borrowing the core design from Nintendo’s classic Game Boy but with a bold, translucent orange shell, the BitBoy One is part gaming handheld, part Bitcoin wallet, and part miner for decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs).
Developed by Ordz Games, a Bitcoin-centric gaming project, the BitBoy One promises to support various play-to-earn games, plus it’ll run emulated retro games from the original PlayStation era and earlier. It’ll be a Bitcoin hardware wallet too, letting you manage assets on the chain, plus Ordz says you’ll be able to tap into DePIN mining and potentially earn crypto just for leaving the device running.
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This looks to be a relatively low-powered device. It uses a processor seen in some third-party emulation handhelds, and the PlayStation-era target should give a sense of what it might be able to handle—basic 3D graphics, but nothing super modern or lavish. An Ordz rep said to expect a price point around $500 and a rollout by year’s end.
SuiPlay0x1
SuiPlay0x1. Image: Mysten Labs/Playtron
Sui network creator Mysten Labs is teaming up with handheld gaming OS startup Playtron to launch the SuiPlay0x1, a Steam Deck-like portable gaming PC that’s specifically primed to handle crypto games.
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Due out in 2025, the SuiPlay0x1 looks to be a pretty lavish device, though we don’t have a specs sheet just yet. During an interview with Decrypt’s GG, Playtron co-founder and CEO Kirt McMaster talked about how the company is working with “desktop-grade silicon,” including AMD and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors—and the target is to play modern PC games, much like Valve’s Steam Deck does with solid success.
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And the crypto angle is that the SuiPlay0x1 will have native Sui network integration, pairing assets to a user’s device account and letting them bridge assets over from other chains too. It’ll also play PC games from Steam, Epic Games Store, and beyond, including crypto games that aren’t on Sui.
No word yet on price, but Mysten Labs told Decrypt that they plan on offering incentives to make the handheld seem like an appealing value. Whether these will take the form of tokens or other benefits has yet to be finalized. McMaster said to expect an “incredibly good price.”
Solana Saga + Chapter 2
The Solana Saga in the wild. Image: Decrypt
Now here’s a device we’ve actually put through its paces. While the Solana Saga isn’t dedicated to gaming, this Android-powered smartphone has Google’s Play Store, and thus access to just about every major mobile game on the market today.
But the real benefit, of course, is the deep Solana integration, which helps it play nice with crypto games. The downside at this point, however, is that developers haven’t brought a lot of native Solana games to the Saga dapp store yet, so the concept still feels a bit theoretical even after a year on the market.
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The Saga is strongly capable, however, with flagship hardware—granted, the chips are from two years ago when the phone was first introduced—and a large, crisp display. The original $999 price point didn’t convince too many buyers, but by the time it dropped to $599, buyers bought up the rest of the stock to claim a meme coin airdrop that was worth more than the asking price.
We’ll see how the ecosystem develops as Solana Labs returns with next year’s “Chapter 2” model, which will be cheaper (pre-orders started at $450) than the original release and aimed at a wider market. If the Solana phones can find a sizable market, then we ought to see more and more games built to run natively on them.
Head-to-head
It’s more than just network choice that sets these gaming devices apart. They’re very different in terms of processing punch, form factor, and feature set.
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The Sui device appears poised to be the most powerful and likely versatile gaming handheld of the bunch, but we’ll have to see how the price point works out—and whether the promised incentives help boost the value. Also, it’s not yet clear how well games from other chains will work on this Sui-centric device.
SuiPlay0x1 Preview: Everything You Need to Know About the Crypto Gaming Handheld
Crypto games aren't going away—they're on the go! SuiPlay0x1 is an upcoming handheld device that will let you play crypto games, following in the footsteps of the Solana Saga smartphone as a network-branded device but with more of a gaming focus. Entering a market with competitors like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, gaming startup Playtron is looking to shake up the game by bringing "seamless" Web3 functionality. The price point hasn't been announced, but Decrypt's GG was told that it'll b...
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The BitBoy One comes across as a jack-of-all-trades Bitcoin device. It’ll run simpler games and retro titles, hold Bitcoin assets, and apparently mine airdrops from DePIN networks. But will that all add up to a device that’s compelling at $500? Emulation devices with this kind of power usually sell for under $100, but maybe play-to-earn rewards and airdrop farming will add up.
And the Solana Saga? It’s a capable phone that can play loads of mobile games very well, but hasn’t really done a whole lot on the crypto gaming front just yet. But with a cheaper second model due out next year, the Solana Mobile ecosystem could become a lot more compelling in time.
Stay tuned to Decrypt’s GG, because a lot of this is still developing.
