Gamesir's excellent Pocket Taco Game Boy controller is finally at Amazon, but the price is weird

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Heads up, the GameSir Pocket Taco is finally live at Amazon, and the first result is no longer tortillas you can fill with beans and cheese. Instead, you'll find an excellent controller that transforms your phone into a retro handheld for Game Boy classics, albeit with a weird discount that throws its full price into question.

According to Amazon, the GameSir Pocket Taco comes in at $44.99, but you can currently grab it for $34.99. The issue is that this "discount" come with a "lowest price in 30 days" badge when it's only been live at the retailer since April 15, not to mention it's been either $35 or cheaper at other retailers and marketplaces before now.

GameSir Pocket Taco: was $44.99 now $34.99 at Amazon

Yes, Amazon says this is the Pocket Taco's "lowest price in 30 days," but that can't be true when it's only been live at the retailer since April 15. I'm not sure what the deal is there, but you're basically getting the Game Boy style gamepad for its going rate, so it might be worth grabbing in case GameSir actually hikes things up to its supposed MSRP.

UK: £34.99 at Amazon

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I'm going to level with you and say $45 is too much for the Pocket Taco. It's a fantastic controller for emulating some of the best retro consoles from the '80s on your phone, yes, but it feels like $35 / £28 should be the ceiling for what is a fairly basic d-pad and buttons strapped to a battery.

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That's not to say I wouldn't pick it up at its current $35 ticket, but we'll have issues if it ever actually sits at full price. While I don't have an MSRP for its upcoming 8Bitdo Flippad rival yet, I'd be surprised if it shows up in the summer for more than $30 given the controller maker's general pricing. If that happens, GameSir's Game Boy buttons could be in trouble, and the extra built-in battery and Bluetooth capabilities won't save it.

Those potential full price gripes aside, though, the Pocket Taco really is the best Game Boy-style gamepad I've tested yet. Believe it not, there haven't really been many controllers that clamp to the bottom of your phone to provide a vertical handheld feel, and it friction grips to devices without slipping or feeling clunky. Better still, its 600mAh battery and Bluetooth abilities mean you can use it with your Switch, PC, or even the docked Analogue Pocket if you've got the fancy FPGA portable.

The format sticks to four standard face buttons, compact shoulders, and a d-pad, so it's really geared towards playing 2D outings. I'd also argue that while the inputs are tactile and responsive, the Game Boy layout and smaller body means that, unless you're using it attached to your phone, it'll be mainly contributing vibes to your larger screen sessions.

If you'd rather use your gaming phone for everything, but have a hankering to play an actual Game Boy, the Pocket Taco makes for a solid middle ground solution. If the price actually returns to $45, I'll find it hard telling players to pick it up when you can get a whole Anbernic RG28XX with the same layout for $46.99, and having just tested the 8Bitdo M30 for Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, picking the Bluetooth version up instead for playing 8 and 16-bit classics on bigger screens makes far more sense.

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Phil HaytonHardware Editor

Phil is the Hardware Editor at GamesRadar+ who specializes in retro console setups, choosing the latest gaming handhelds, and navigating the choppy seas of using modern-day PC hardware. In the past, they have covered everything from retro gaming history to the latest gaming news, in-depth features, and tech advice for publications like TechRadar, The Daily Star, the BBC, PCGamesN, and Den of Geek. In their spare time, they pour hours into fixing old consoles, modding Game Boys, exploring ways to get the most out of the Steam Deck, and blasting old CRT TV visuals into their eye sockets.

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