Rating 3 Stars ( * * * )
It is amazing when a new product comes out how fast the Facebook groups post about it. One such product is Wazeshare Game Hat. It list on their page for $39.99 with shipping it totals out about $45.99. It can be found on Amazon for about $52.99 and as high as $67.99.
What comes with the with it
1) Two acrylic pieces, a bottom, and top.
2) Game Hat that has the following
A. 3.5 IPS Screen 480×320, that does 60 FPS, no loss and works very well, that connect via an HDMI plug to the Pi.
B. Onboard speakers, with a head jack with Stereo output.
C. Buttons, Start, Select, A,B, X, Y, and TL and RL. ( Kinda like a Gameboy Advance. )
D. Analog Joy Stick that huge.
The first impression, the unit is a weird feeling. Though its a bit bigger than the Sony PSP. It’s twice as thick. The acrylic is rough, it feels like it cutting a bit into the hands. The weight is a bit heavy as well. There are 3D print kits that will help with the acrylic issue.
Nowhere is it print that Wazeshare image is needed to run the game hat. It would be nice if it was noted as it caused a bit issues, thinking that the game hat was broke as it wouldn’t boot image that wasn’t theirs. They do include a few roms to show gameplay on the until. Recommend attaching a wireless keyboard because, with some menu on RetroPie, you can’t access them or give input without it. It appears that only the base RetroPie games are installed, none of the others are. So expect to run the RetroPie setup for other games.
The LCD is nice, crisp and clean. The backlit is nice, so you can do a lot of nighttime play. One thing that was cool, Kodi playback on the unit was nice, and it cool to have a unit that does both.
The sound is a bit loud, but to some, that will be nice.
The thing is hard to get use too is the analog joystick, not sure why they went with a joystick over a D-Pad, but the joystick is a bit hard if one is not used to playing with one. Maybe if the joystick didn’t stick out so much, and the play wasn’t so wide it would feel better.
The unit will charge the battery, which is a plus. The led are nice as it shows the battery level. One thing is a bit strange when on the 5V/3 A power adapter the lightning bolt does happen a lot, it happens less on the 3.7V 3600 mAh battery.
The Waveshare menu buttons will take some getting use too.
A great project to get kids uses to building kits.
The cost, though it issued at $39.99 it needs up being $136.
Wazeshare Game Hat $39.99
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ $34. 99 ( can use a cheaper board. )
18650 Lithium Rechargeable Button Top Batteries $25
64 GB MicroSD Card $20
5 V/ 2.5 A Micro USB Power adapter $10.99
Overall, this is the second unit to review. Feeling are mixed because getting a 7″ Screen, Igega Controller, Pi, would be better and about the same cost. With the iPega might be alot better playback. The Odroid-Go is a nice unit and the only other one I can compare it too, the Wazeshare makes up in the number of Emulators you can play based on the Pi you run with it.
I like to see if Waveshare could make it work with the Asus TInker Board, as they have pretty much the same GIO Pinout.
Who knows, maybe Waveshare will release another Game Hat with a D-Pad, a bit smaller. Overall not bad if you want a simple to do it yourself unit for retro gameplay.
Video and Pictures to come.