Games

Get nostalgic with the R-Kaid-R retro portable video arcade

Get nostalgic with the R-Kaid-R retro portable video arcade
Swedish design firm Love Hultén's R-Kaid-R is an elegant retro arcade that you can fold up and carry around (Photo: Love Hultén)
Swedish design firm Love Hultén's R-Kaid-R is an elegant retro arcade that you can fold up and carry around (Photo: Love Hultén)
View 15 Images
The R-Kaid-R resembles a cigar box when closed (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R resembles a cigar box when closed (Photo: Love Hultén)
You can put games for a variety of old-school systems on an SD card and play them on the R-Kaid-R (Photo: Love Hultén)
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You can put games for a variety of old-school systems on an SD card and play them on the R-Kaid-R (Photo: Love Hultén)
Great care went into the design of the R-Kaid-R, which sports lovely brass hinges (Photo: Love Hultén)
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Great care went into the design of the R-Kaid-R, which sports lovely brass hinges (Photo: Love Hultén)
You can order an accompanying leather satchel to keep the R-Kaid-R safe as you carry it around (Photo: Love Hultén)
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You can order an accompanying leather satchel to keep the R-Kaid-R safe as you carry it around (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R's 5 V battery charges via USB (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R's 5 V battery charges via USB (Photo: Love Hultén)
It doesn't matter what angle you look at it from, the R-Kaid-R is a work of art (Photo: Love Hultén)
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It doesn't matter what angle you look at it from, the R-Kaid-R is a work of art (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R fits snugly in a custom leather satchel (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R fits snugly in a custom leather satchel (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R's joystick and buttons can be unscrewed for easy care and maintenance (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R's joystick and buttons can be unscrewed for easy care and maintenance (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R's joystick also doubles as a lock and handle for the case (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R's joystick also doubles as a lock and handle for the case (Photo: Love Hultén)
You can order the R-Kaid-R in a variety of colors, including emerald green maple (pictured) and a sleek black ash (Photo: Love Hultén)
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You can order the R-Kaid-R in a variety of colors, including emerald green maple (pictured) and a sleek black ash (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R also comes in a plain walnut, for those who like a simpler finish (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R also comes in a plain walnut, for those who like a simpler finish (Photo: Love Hultén)
It looks rather like a miniature 1950s TV attached to an old game controller, but on the inside the R-Kaid-R is all modern (Photo: Love Hultén)
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It looks rather like a miniature 1950s TV attached to an old game controller, but on the inside the R-Kaid-R is all modern (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R sure gets to travel in style (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R sure gets to travel in style (Photo: Love Hultén)
Swedish design firm Love Hultén's R-Kaid-R is an elegant retro arcade that you can fold up and carry around (Photo: Love Hultén)
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Swedish design firm Love Hultén's R-Kaid-R is an elegant retro arcade that you can fold up and carry around (Photo: Love Hultén)
The R-Kaid-R looks great in black (Photo: Love Hultén)
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The R-Kaid-R looks great in black (Photo: Love Hultén)
View gallery - 15 images

The humble video game arcade may now be a shadow of what it once was, but Swedish design company Love Hultén is letting gamers take a nostalgic step back in time with its beautiful R-Kaid-R. The portable arcade system comes with built-in support for MAME and a variety of retro console and computer systems, including the Neo Geo, Atari 2600, Super Nintendo, and all of the point-and-click adventure games playable in ScummVM.

The handmade wooden box features brass detailing and packs an eight-way joystick, 10 buttons, an 8-inch LCD screen, SD card slot, USB connectivity, rechargeable battery, and a built-in mono speaker. It runs on a custom operating system and comes with the game Cave Story pre-installed on an included 16 GB SD card. Its 5 V rechargeable battery should be good for eight hours of retro gaming. Its real selling point is not the feature set, though, but the care that's gone into its creation.

Great care went into the design of the R-Kaid-R, which sports lovely brass hinges (Photo: Love Hultén)
Great care went into the design of the R-Kaid-R, which sports lovely brass hinges (Photo: Love Hultén)

Hultén says the R-Kaid-R is meant to "breathe new life into a fading culture," and stands out in stark contrast against the mass produced designs of modern consoles. This loving approach shows in the gentle curvature of the screen and the way the joystick can be unscrewed from its slot and used as a handle when the device is folded closed.

Hultén's work puts a new spin on the argument that games are art with elegant designs like this and the R-Kaid-42 two-player mini-arcade cabinet. Such craftsmanship doesn't come cheap, however, and the R-Kaid-R will set you back a pretty penny.

It's slated to ship in September for €2,499 (US$3,400), and you can pre-order it in any of five different finishes, with or without a leather satchel.

Check out the video below to see it in action.

Source: Love Hultén

View gallery - 15 images
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