India's Sony PSP... the Mitashi GAMEin Thunder Bolt! This “Manly console” is the successor to the previous “Manly” Mitashi GAMEin Thunder Android gaming device that hopes to satiate all your gaming needs by luring you with Android openess with a PSP style device. But does it really work?

Mitashi has been rolling out low-end handheld gaming devices for quite many years with Mitashi Smarty, Chotu and Touch series, only last year they came out with an Android (2.3) version based handheld console which gets an update this year with different hardware and Android 4.0.4 (ICS) system update.

Check out the Video Review:

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions
First, the company Mitashi doesn't exactly instill same sort of confidence as a Sony when it comes to quality. Second, when you look at the device, it confirms why nobody thinks quality when looking at the Mitashi Game In ThunderBolt. Interestingly, Mitashi Game In Thunderbolt looks like a smaller version of its Chinese cousin Megafeis G600 with similar specifications and looks.

The Build
The handheld gaming console is made of glossy plastic which isn't exactly a looker, but does a decent job of being sturdy enough. The buttons and feedback are strictly ok but don't expect tactile feedback of Sony PSP.

The Screen
The screen is large enough at 4.3 inches with a 5-point multi-touch capacitive input. The touch response is pretty ok, but don't expect anything remotely close to that of a decent touchscreen phone or tablet. With a screen resolution of a mere 480 x 272 pixels and a screen density of 160 dpi, you can discern individual pixels on the screen. We weren't looking for an HD screen mind you as that would be counter-productive but would've preferred a better screen at this price point.  The screen's viewing angles are no winners either. Expect extreme colour shifts with the slightest tilting of the device.

Gaming
Now this is what we are here for; this is where the rubber meets the tarmac. And... it is a weird mix bag of electronics. It's almost a phone or a mini-tablet without calling functionality which works like an Android Gaming Console with Identity Crisis. You basically have a handheld gaming console with games loaded to the brim. “That's awesome!”, you’d say, well, not exactly. The upside is that the console is loaded with games but of the 80’s/90’s 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit era, and the downside is that you get free versions of Android games pre-loaded minus the Google Play Store.

 

But Who’d Want This?
I can only imagine two kinds of consumers wanting such a handheld gaming console:
1. Consumers looking for an economical handheld gaming console.
2. Geeks who’d like to play with this console with the know-how of ROMs and APKs

Let’s take the first point “economical”. The console is not exactly cheap with a price tag of Rs 6,800. The only other console at this price point is Sony PSP (which consequently this console apes). So the economical part comes in only when you look at the recurring costs, the games. Sony charges us Rs 700 to 1000 a game, while Mitashi charges us nothing. And no, it is not out of the goodness of their hearts, but lack of an ecosystem.

This brings us to the second point of “ROMs and APKs”. The only way one can load a game into the Mitashi’s console is by downloading the game illegally and loading it in. Mitashi has blocked access to Google Play Store, so no chance of downloading games or apps, nor updates of any kind. This means if you do insist on getting a game into this console, you will be forced to access it from websites that give you APK installation files (which most developers do not readily give); so we know most of you will be heading straight for “Top Android Gamez And Appz Pack 33 Ultimate Collection” on torrent websites.

Secondly, the pre-loaded ROM games can get boring as not all the popular ones are in it. This means going to one of the infamous ROM websites and downloading them. Luckily ROM files are a lot cleaner and more readily acceptable by companies, so you are in sort of neutral territory of legality, so to speak.

In any case, either of these routes needs a certain geeky understanding of which APK to run under the hardware (forget Dead Trigger unless you like slideshows) and also know-how of selecting and correctly placing ROMs in the right folder. Not something everyone can understand nor is it intuitive but am sure everyone will learn to load their favourite game.
 

Gameplay And Performance
The game emulators combined with the D-pad and buttons work button mashingly perfect. After all, these games were meant to be played with a proper controller. Funnily I spent many a frustrating minute, trying to locate the tiny START and SELECT buttons on the top. These deceptively look like volume control buttons. A tutorial to get familiar with this device would have been great.

The emulators do a great job at gaming, allowing flexibility and smoothness when playing on this Android device. You have all the options here to remap keys as you deem fit. A word of caution here, there are two set of speakers on the device which is cool, but running game ROMs with Midi sound in them at full (default) volume actually is ear piercing.

But unfortunately this is where the goodness ends, as the same great button mashing controls do not lend themselves to Android games at all. Yes, there is actually a tutorial here to help you configure the buttons, but God help you if you attempt to figure it out. Firstly,  I couldn’t understand at all what the tutorial was trying to say. After a while when it did strike me, I quickly realized that the actual controller mapping is almost next to impossible to configure, and would only work for a few select games that offer onscreen controls. The only game here that is also included in the tutorial is Samurai II Vengeance where remapping the keys is like a mini-boss battle itself, minus the fun.

In Mitashi’s defence, no hardware driven gaming company can configure hardware controls for Android games especially since these games are meant to be played on a touchscreen. This would be next to impossible and incredibly tedious especially for the likes of Mitashi that basically rebrands and sells in India.

For those who'd like to see actual hardware performance numbers, Mitashi managed to get between 2400 – 2990 in Antutu and in Quadrant about 1436 - 1736. So what do the numbers mean? That this gaming console is to be thoroughly avoided.

Would I Recommend This?
Certainly not! I am ready to accept the games part of it and the un-intuitiveness of it all but certainly not at the price point it offers of Rs.6,800 or the street price Rs.6,200.

At this price point you get…
1. Sony PSP - best gaming handheld with WiFi, which yes, is a different ball game and has recurring costs associated with it in terms of games, but the quality of games is way more superior. You also get the best in your hand, no questions asked gaming console. On another note, you also can get the older generation Sony PS2, if it isn’t handheld that you are bothered about.
2. At this price point, there are far too many Android phones flooding the market with better screen and hardware that will any day give you more mileage than the Mitashi e.g. LAVA Iris 405 (4 inch screen + 1Ghz Dual core processor) or Karbonn Smart A12 (4.5 inch screen + 1Ghz processor).
3. The emulator games that this console is betting on can easily be downloaded for any Android mobile. The only thing you don't get are the hardware controls.
4. The console let's you do pretty much what an Android phone does, surf internet, social network, watch movies, read PDF's, but really why wouldn't I buy an Android phone with a better screen again?
5. If you are thinking “but the price will surely drop”, it unfortunately won't drop enough to make it a good buy. Just look at its predecessor, after a year or so of release, it still costs Rs 5,000.
6. If it's a portable console for 8/16/32-bit ROMs that you seek, we'd rather recommend Mitashi's very own Smarty Pro 2.0 which lets you play all the Rom games to your heart's content and that too for around Rs.3000.

That's it from us. What do you think of Mitashi GAMEin Thunderbolt? Do you think it would be something you'd want to go for? Let us know what you think, right here in the comments below.

Features: 2/5
Design And Build Quality: 2/5
Performance: 3/5
Value For Money: 1/5
Mojo: Really?
Overall Rating: 2/5

Specifications
- Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- 4.3" screen with 5-point multi-touch capacitive input and pixel dimensions of 480x272.
- 1 GHz single-core Amlogic CPU, Mali-400MP GPU.
- 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage, Up to 32 GB microSD support.
- 2 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front camera.
- Wi-Fi, 3.5 mm audio jack.
- Warranty: 6 Months

TAGS: Gaming