Raspberry Pi-powered retro handheld console, the eNcade

If you want to make a new handheld retro gaming console, where do you go? Kickstarter of course! And that's where you'll find the Raspberry Pi-powered eNcade as it's crowdfunding campaign comes to a photo-finish close.

Although the 3D printed prototypes might look a bit rough around the edges right now, this console has some features that'll get any retro gamer's thumbs itching.

The brains of the eNcade consist of the popular, hobbyist computer-in-a-fag-packet, the Raspberry Pi. A great choice, as it's already adept at emulation and is ridiculously affordable. Accompanying it will be a 2.8-inch display, HDMI output, two analogue thumb sticks, a d-pad, four control buttons and a couple of shoulder buttons.

But what's really exciting is the custom-made retro platform that sits seamlessly on top of the Raspbian Linux distro. By making use of the included wi-fi adaptor you'll be able to play your retro games with full online multiplayer. Initially the SNES, NES and Mega Drive/Genesis will be supported for online multiplayer, with a host of other systems working happily in offline mode.

A username system will allow you to connect with other gamers via invites, and an additional voice chat function is also in the works so you can smack talk while you go head-to-head on Street Fighter II, or talk strategy while battling it out in a co-op game of Streets of Rage 2.

This alone makes the ~£130 handheld very desirable, so head on over to the Kickstarter page now to help push it over the impressively frugal $6,500 goal.