Still on the same day after his meeting with Ryo Miyagi, Zaboru quickly returned to ZAGE Tower, wasting no time as he made his way straight to the 51st floor—his personal development and planning zone. He moved with a sense of urgency, his thoughts still buzzing from the conversation he had just had. The reason for his rush was clear: now that the battery technology from Miyagi Batteries had taken a leap forward, he finally had the missing piece to begin designing and brainstorming the specifications for ZAGE's next-generation handheld console.
A couple of months prior, Zaboru had already informed his internal team that a new handheld project was in the works. However, at the time, the plan was vague and open-ended. There was no firm roadmap, no deadlines, and most importantly, no reliable battery tech that could power the kind of hardware he envisioned. Without that, everything else was just theory. He needed real performance benchmarks to build around, and until now, the battery dilemma had kept the entire project in limbo.
Now that piece was falling into place—and Zaboru wasn't about to waste a second.
Zaboru arrived at his desk and grinned. "Now that 1200mAH batteries are possible, I can finally elevate the performance of my next handheld even further," he muttered to himself with excitement. He was genuinely impressed by how far Miyagi Batteries had come—he hadn't expected them to produce such efficient, high-capacity rechargeable batteries so soon. These new 1200mAH units weren't just a technical achievement; they represented a leap beyond what the original Game Boy Advance used in his previous life, which had significantly weaker battery output by comparison.
With these new batteries, Zaboru saw the opportunity to push the limits. The idea of building a handheld console with performance near that of the PSP—something that didn't even release until 2004 in his previous life—no longer felt like a distant dream. True, the PSP used 1800mAH batteries and had more years of tech evolution backing it, but Zaboru believed he could craft something in the same spirit, even if it wouldn't reach the full specs. It might not be a one-to-one match, but the fact that he could begin approaching that territory in 1997 was staggering despite the tech are moving way faster in this world.
Of course, he knew that if he were willing to wait another year or two, Miyagi Batteries could probably engineer something even closer to PSP-level battery capacity. But time wasn't a luxury he had. Demand for handhelds was soaring, and the market was hungry for innovation. The timing was right, and Zaboru didn't want to miss the wave. He was ready to move forward and turn this newfound battery capacity into a concrete, next-gen product.
ZAGE's only handheld on the market right now is the ZGB, an 8-bit device that, while still charming and capable in its own right, was originally released back in 1992. That means it's already five years old—a considerable age in an industry that evolves rapidly. Although the ZGB still holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of many gamers, its hardware is beginning to show its limitations, especially compared to newer offerings.
Meanwhile, the competition has surged ahead. The ZUSUGA 16-bit handheld, known as the Reborn 16, has been dominating the market without much resistance. With superior specs, fresher game libraries, and no serious rivals in its category, Reborn 16 is thriving. Despite there are many 3rd party studios release their game on ZGB the Consumers looking for modern handheld experiences are flocking to it, and ZAGE is at serious risk of losing relevance in the handheld space unless they deliver something new—and soon.
"Well, for now, ZAGE's next-gen handheld should fall somewhere above the GBA level and just below PSP level. Something in the range of the Tapwave Zodiac—that kind of performance benchmark. Well, minus the touchscreen, of course," Zaboru said with a chuckle, reminiscing about the Tapwave Zodiac from his previous life.
The Tapwave Zodiac had been a rare beast—ambitious and powerful for its time. It was one of those devices that had the potential to shake the industry, but due to poor marketing and a lack of brand recognition, it never found the audience it deserved. It had been overshadowed quickly exactly a year by the looming giants of the PSP and Nintendo DS. Even though the device itself was solid, featuring a unique mix of multimedia capabilities and decent specs, it simply couldn't survive the flood.
Zaboru had always admired it for what it tried to be. It was ahead of its time, for sure. The build quality was premium, and the software vision showed promise, but the timing and execution had been all wrong. Now, standing in a world where he could rewrite history, Zaboru saw a chance to bring a version of that same concept to life—but better.
He wouldn't bother with the touchscreen, not yet. Despite the existence of touchscreen technology even in this world, the current state of hardware and screen durability didn't lend itself well to portable, mass-market devices. The responsiveness, the clarity, and the energy efficiency of modern touchscreens just weren't there yet.
Instead, Zaboru focused on raw performance, comfort, and battery life. He wanted to replicate what made the Zodiac promising while avoiding the pitfalls that doomed it. A sleek, premium-feeling handheld with power just enough to surprise the market, but accessible enough to scale. That was his goal.
"As for the Nintendo DS kind of stuff, hmm… I think that'll be for the next handheld after this one," Zaboru said with a chuckle. He thought about how the dual screens, touchscreen interface, and microphone input of the DS were still a bit too advanced and niche for this generation. He hadn't explored those technologies in depth yet, and integrating them would require a whole new approach in both hardware and software. Not to mention, mass-producing such features in a cost-effective and reliable way would be extremely difficult with current manufacturing capabilities.
Instead, his plan was clear. For ZAGE's second-generation handheld, he would aim to build something more akin to the Game Boy Advance—a powerful, sleek evolution of traditional handheld design. It would offer better graphics, stronger processing, and longer battery life than the original GBA ever could, thanks to the advances already made possible through his collaboration with Miyagi Batteries.
The DS-style innovation would come later, probably around the early 2000s. That would be the perfect time for ZAGE's third-generation handheld, when the tech could catch up with his ideas and the market would be more open to experimental, feature-rich devices. For now, the focus was performance, simplicity, and timing while also planning his team to experienced these new technologies. One step at a time—but each one carefully calculated.
Zaboru chuckled to himself. "But I can still use cartridges, though," he said, grinning at the thought. DS cartridges, as he recalled, were revolutionary in his previous life. Despite their small size, they could hold up to 512MB of data—comparable to a full CD, which was incredible for a handheld format. That level of storage opened up so many possibilities, especially for more complex games with richer assets.
He wanted to bring that kind of innovation to ZAGE's next handheld. The idea of compact, high-capacity cartridges fit perfectly with his vision for a sleek, high-performance system. Internally, ZAGE's engineering team was more than capable of designing a cartridge format inspired by the DS standard—one that could offer durability, fast loading times, and storage flexibility.
However, Zaboru also knew that making the cartridges compatible with the kind of custom GPU and CPU he envisioned wouldn't be easy. The data transfer speeds, encryption, and hardware integration required technical expertise that went beyond ZAGE's current scope. For that, he'd likely need outside help, possibly even direct collaboration with NVIDIA and AMD to ensure everything synced seamlessly.
"Hmm… I'll probably need help from NVIDIA and AMD for this," Zaboru muttered with a slight chuckle. He knew he would require support from both companies to develop custom GPUs and CPUs tailored specifically for ZAGE's next handheld and their new type of catrdiges. Fortunately, that wasn't going to be difficult—ZAGE held a 50% ownership stake in both AMD and NVIDIA. With that kind of influence, collaboration wasn't just possible, it was practically guaranteed Just like ZEPS 3. The key now was getting the right teams aligned to create silicon that was optimized for performance, battery efficiency, and compact design—all critical for a handheld console.
"Hmm… let's plan the release date around 1999—or 2000 at the latest, if we hit any delays," Zaboru said with a confident grin. With the ZAGE team now larger and more experienced than ever, developing a next-gen handheld console felt completely within reach. The team had already proven themselves with the ZEPS 3, and many of them were eager to push their skills further. Plus Like usual, Zaboru planned to be deeply involved in the process—not just in hardware development, but also in curating the software lineup and ensuring the launch titles hit the right note with fans.
As for the name of the new system, Zaboru had already settled on one: "ZAGE Gameboy Advance." It was simple, recognizable, and clearly communicated that this was a major step forward from the original ZGB. The name was also a nod to his previous life, where the Game Boy Advance was a beloved classic. Even though it borrowed inspiration, Zaboru knew their version would blaze its own path in this timeline.
Without wasting time, Zaboru dove into work mode. He started sketching out initial concepts and drafting the hardware blueprint, scribbling ideas rapidly as his thoughts poured onto the page. Performance targets, button layouts, screen size, DS cartridge design—nothing was off the table. Alongside this, he was already making mental notes to schedule meetings with NVIDIA and AMD. Partnering with them would be essential to ensuring the chipset and graphics processor were tailored specifically for the system with their new type of catridges. Everything was moving fast, but Zaboru was used to working under pressure—and he had no intention of slowing down now.
To be continue
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