Ordz Games launches blockchain-based gaming handheld device BitBoy

Ordz Games launches BitBoy, a handheld retro gaming device reminiscent of the Game Boy. But it will allow players to earn Bitcoin while playing games on the blockchain network.

The Hong Kong-based company will launch its first Gamefi + DEPIN device (DEPIN stands for decentralized physical infrastructure network) sometime this year, its founder said.

Ordz Games will launch the handheld gaming device BitBoy One at the Web3 Game Expo in Hong Kong this weekend, followed by a launch event at Paris Blockchain Week. Customers may start pre-ordering in mid-April.

BitBoy is expected to sell for about $500, but the exact price has not yet been determined. I haven’t seen a prototype yet and there’s a lot to be wary of. But it’s an interesting idea, aimed at crypto bros and others keen on Bitcoin prices surging again.

inspiration

Inspired by the original Nintendo Game Boy from 1989, the BitBoy name itself is a portmanteau of “Bitcoin” and “Game Boy.” It was started by a first-time entrepreneur who calls himself “z3th.” I spoke with him in an interview. z3th said that he became involved in the cryptocurrency field in 2017 and founded the company in 2021.

It features a stylish translucent orange design with the goal of creating DEPIN a new era of Web3 games that offer a unique blend of nostalgia, innovation, and community. Players can return to their childhood by earning Bitcoins through retro-style money-making games.

“This device is deeply ingrained within Bitcoin,” s3th said. “So the whole design language, the naming, is Bitcoin,” he said. “This will all be accompanied by 3D rendering of the physical device, which will be an ordinal number.”

BitBoy’s NFT is a digital collectible that is part of a limited edition and part of the device.

“Cryptocurrency is a very intangible thing. I don’t think anyone has done a crypto hardware gaming device before,” he said. “There are hardware wallets, crypto credit cards, and Solana has phones. But we are a tangible gaming crypto hardware device,” s3th said.

Through BitBoy’s native applications connected to the Bitcoin blockchain, users can play a wide variety of video games that will forever be engraved on the Bitcoin blockchain as “ordinal numbers.”

Serialization is a method of creating Bitcoin NFTs by attaching data such as images, videos, etc. to a single Satoshi (the smallest form of Bitcoin currency) on the underlying Bitcoin blockchain. Ordinal NFTs were launched on the Bitcoin mainnet on January 20, 2023 by developer Casey Rodarmor and are a new way to create NFTs on Bitcoin. It seems like a cool idea for z3th to combine this digital asset (ordinal numbers) with hardware.

Choices range from HTML games to on-chain emulators and ROMs. Of course, Ordz Games may have to develop a legal strategy when dealing with Nintendo, who may not like emulator/ROM functionality.

“Emulation is an issue. I think most of the legal disputes are over devices that are currently being sold by these gaming companies. I don’t think they’re going to spend much time looking at past hardware that’s no longer sold or even supported.” When I asked z3th about the legal risks, he said.

s3th stated that legally you must own a copy of the game in order to play the ROM.

BitBoy is also able to play any retro game released before the PlayStation 1 era through off-chain emulation, which is tracked and synced with the cloud, earning tokens and NFT rewards.

Challenge your friends with built-in multiplayer support via Bluetooth. Playing two- or four-player retro games, or even MMORPGs, over a WiFi connection opens up a whole new world of possibilities for community and competition.

But the company says the BitBoy is more than just an old-school gaming fanatic’s dream handheld device, it’s also a full-featured hardware wallet that supports popular Bitcoin wallet apps like Xverse, Unisat, and Oyl Wallet. Users can then manage the wallet from within BitBoy to earn, collect, trade and exchange directly from the device.

BitBoy also acts as a miner powering the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DEPIN), allowing users to earn points and airdrops simply by running the device. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to earn that many Bitcoins with a device with that much computing power. But it’s a great idea, and it’s likely to get crypto fans excited.

“The mining capabilities of physical equipment are very, very weak. Mining takes years,” z3th said. “You’re not going to make real money from this. But it’s for fun.”

The device also features NFC compatibility for future trading card games. The device will support cross-physical and digital experiences, such as scanning trading cards to play within the device, seamlessly blending the physical and digital gaming worlds.

BitBoy is a device that exists both physically and virtually – each device is bundled with a one-to-one 3D rendering of the physical device in the form of a serial number inscription, which can be viewed in a VR headset such as the Apple Vision Pro, and will It can be played on the project’s website.

Origin and ordinal

“I played games when I was a kid. I played Chinese games and Nintendo games,” z3th said. “A lot of it has to do with COVID-19. I live in Asia and things are really bad here. During the lockdown, I played games and became obsessed with retro gaming. I collected Game Gear and retro gaming gear.”

In early 2023, he learned about Bitcoin ordinal numbers.

“That means you can now put NFTs on Bitcoin. Bitcoin is much bigger than Ethereum. It’s definitely a huge opportunity. So we decided to go all in,” he said. “People figured out you could make a video game on ordinal numbers. Someone carved Doom on it.”

He started thinking about the types of games that could be put on the Bitcoin blockchain, and it became clear that their memory would have to be lightweight—less than 4 megabytes. This means the game needs to be a retro game that doesn’t consume too much memory.

“It’s tired of Bitcoin culture because Bitcoin is the oldest blockchain and has the smallest block size. We started writing games on Bitcoin,” z3th said.

Subsequently, a fungible token called “brc-20” appeared on Bitcoin.

“That was the starting point for all these games last year,” he said. “We have a playable PFP.”

z3th said he is pleased that the company has survived Bitcoin’s three-year bear market cycle and that the market has now recovered ahead of Bitcoin’s “halving.”

“I like to experiment,” he said.

big plan

All of this sparked the idea of ​​making a handheld retro gaming device that could have the collectible capabilities of a modern cryptocurrency. The team decided to design their own console from the ground up. The prototype is now ready, z3th said.

Of course, there is much to be wary of in this regard. We don’t know the supporters. We haven’t seen the specs yet. So this is a company that still has a lot to prove itself.

Yesterday, the company posted an image of BitBoy on the Bitcoin chain on Twitter, with the sixth largest sequence number ever at 3.93 megabytes. The company previewed it today at the Web3 Gaming Expo in Hong Kong and will show off more during Paris Blockchain Week on April 11.

The device comes in a translucent orange color to match the color of Bitcoin. The DEPIN part is like a hardware device and is part of the blockchain network.

“Our slogan is play games and earn bitcoins,” z3th said. “The incentive to play games will come in the form of Bitcoin.”

The hope is to get the devices into people’s hands by the end of this year, with larger batches to follow next year.

z3th indicates that the company has 15 people. He said the company had raised a new round of funding, but the exact amount was not disclosed. The device will likely be manufactured in China.

“We are not at the forefront of hardware. We are not making the most advanced mobile phones. In the market, we do not want to compete with the most competitive market segment in the hardware field.” z3th said. “I would say retro gaming gear is a blue ocean. It’s not super competitive. And no one is bringing this hardware to Web3. We’ve found an interesting niche to mix it up in.”

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