👋 Hello and welcome to the weekly roundup edition of The Memory Core!

It was a big week for news across the board, so there should be something for everybody here. I’ve also got another dev interview coming this weekend, so keep an eye on that, especially if you’re a fan of RetroAchievements.

On an unrelated note, this week Spotify Wrapped rolled out, and my listening profile was fittingly “Archivist” (seen above). My listening age was also more than twice my actual age. I’m not sure if that makes me an old soul or hopelessly out of touch with the times.

Anyway, here’s my totally-not-antiquated newsletter.

P.S. If you haven't already, consider signing up to get every new edition in your inbox, free of charge.

Handheld highlights

🆕 ANBERNIC finally revealed the RG 477V, although we already knew most details from previous leaks. It’s set to be the largest and most powerful vertical handheld the company has ever released, with an all-glass front like the RG 476H. Expect more details next week. [YouTube]

💪 AYANEO showcased the Next II for the first time, and it’s shaping up to be another extremely powerful Windows handheld. It stopped short of revealing pricing and configurations, but we now know it will have the same 9.06-inch OLED panel as the REDMAGIC Astra tablet, an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, and a huge 115Wh battery. [AYANEO]

📦 Speaking of AYANEO, the Pocket AIR Mini is finally close to shipping. In an update on Indiegogo, the company revealed that the delays are mostly due to Indiegogo’s new platform and policies, which prevent campaigns from collecting shipping information until the platform reviews and approves a request to proceed. [Indiegogo]

FPGA Focus

🫧 The crowd-funded, open-source FPGA handheld Game Bub has been pushed from February 2026 to May 2026, but it’s not all bad news. A new LCD has been chosen, with better VRR support to improve compatibility with non-standard refresh rates found on many retro gaming consoles and handhelds. [Crowdsupply]

🎮 ModRetro’s big announcement last week was a little less exciting than I had hoped, but we did get a good look at the new controller. It retains the trident design of the original, but swaps the unusual joystick for a more modern Hall effect component. It will be available in the same translucent colorways as the console, although you will be able to swap out the shells for custom designs. [ModRetro]

The Emulator Report

🛰️ In case you missed it, I interviewed Miguel Soto, the developer behind the new emulation frontend NeoStation. It’s still in alpha, but the combination of built-in save syncing via the cloud and full RetroAchievements support make it one to watch. [The Memory Core]

💰 Last week, FEX revealed that Valve has been bankrolling the x86 to Arm translation layer since its inception in 2018. In an interview with The Verge, a Valve engineer detailed the company’s plans for the future with SteamOS and Arm, which is also worth a read. [FEX] [The Verge] [Non-paywalled]

⚽ Metroid Prime 4 was released yesterday, and both Eden and Citron are making huge efforts to get the game running via emulation. Check out the latest nightly builds if you want to try your hand at playing your own, legally-acquired dumps. [Citron] [Eden]

🕹️ MAME 0.283 dropped last weekend, with some minor updates focusing primarily on the Sega Model 2. Check out the patch notes for the full list of changes. [Patch notes]

👀 As promised last week, iiSU’s first public alpha build is now available for testing. It’s still very much a work in progress, but it shows some promise for the ambitious project. Just don’t press the dual-screen button on a non-dual-screen device, or you’ll have to delete everything and start over. [GitHub]

Retro archives

🍺 The sixth N64Brew Game Jam is officially underway! Well, sort of. It officially started on Dec 1st, but the theme still hasn’t been announced. Sign up to participate on the official Discord, or just wait a few months to enjoy some new N64 games on your fancy new Analogue 3D (or M64?). [YouTube] [Discord]

🧱 LEGO revealed another gaming-focused set called the Retro Gaming Console. Unlike the Game Boy set released a few months ago, this one seems to be a mish-mash of dollar store game console designs. It’s a cheap 3-in-1 set, though, so you can also build an arcade cabinet or retro PC. It will cost $20 and launch on Jan 1. [LEGO]

🔫 Unreal Tournament 2004 is back, baby. The OldUnreal team got Epic Games’ blessing to revive and modernize UT2004, fixing bugs and adding quality-of-life improvements along the way. The team is now inviting the first batch of testers. [Reddit] [Discord]

🪕 Banjo-Kazooie is now available on the PS4 and PS5, thanks to a dedicated group of developers and the now-abandoned Dreams platform. Mumbomania is only a single level and development has now ceased, but more than 17 years after the last Banjo-Kazooie game, I’ll take what I can get. [X]

📖 Pocket Codex is a new iOS app that brings all of your retro game guides into a single place. It’s kind of like an e-reader, but for game booklets and GameFAQs guides. It’s only available on iOS for now, but hopefully an Android release is somewhere on the horizon. [YouTube]

🍿 A new documentary called Pixels to Pages tells the story of the iconic video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, and you can watch the whole thing for free on YouTube. The collaboration between Game Sack and My Life in Gaming has been in the works for years, so it’s nice to see it finally finished. [YouTube]

😔 Finally, I’m sad to say that Retro Gamer’s Features Editor, Nick Thorpe, has passed away at the age of 38. He will be missed. [Bluesky]