PlaySolana debuts first handheld console on SOL

Solana ecosystem players have eyed mobile devices since the Saga phone, and a $SOL-based team just announced its web3 gaming bet.

Less than twenty-four hours before Solana ($SOL) Breakpoint in Singapore, a $SOL-native team called Play Solana announced the first handheld gaming console built atop the layer-1 blockchain. The startup calls its gaming device the “Play Solana Gen1” or “PSG1.” Some social media users have noted that it looks like retro gaming machines, such as the popular Nintendo Game Boy.

The gaming device will ship with support for $SOL’s decentralized network, though the specific web3 games that users will be able to play have not yet been revealed. PlaySolana also mentioned that the device may differ from images displayed in promotional mock-ups, and the launch date remains undisclosed.

More blockchain development teams are exploring mobile devices as web3 adoption expands globally. The $SOL Saga phone successor, dubbed “Seeker,” surpassed 140,000 presales after emerging from stealth.

In the gaming arena, Mysten Labs, the entity behind the fellow layer-1 chain Sui (SUI), also announced a console. The SuiPlay0X1 claims to be the world’s first web3-native handheld gaming device. Units of this Sui device are scheduled to ship as soon as the first half of 2025.

It’s unclear how successful these respective blockchain gaming ventures will be. As crypto.news reported, an Elympic study found that platforms like Telegram predominantly spurred web3 gaming adoption in 2024.