The most important thing about video games, apart from being able to play them at all, is having something or using something to play them. This year’s PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts, showcased some of the best new gaming hardware there is.
Exhibitors at PAX East 2026 were eager to show off the latest and greatest. From novel accessories like the Omara to experimental consoles like the GameTank, there’s a good reason to think the hardware shown at PAX East will go on to bigger and better things.
The GameTank is a new 8-bit console created by Clyde Schaffer, an independent developer. Clyde conceived the GameTank in 2019 amid a growing interest in retro gaming technology. The GameTank was crowdfunded through CrowdSupply, surpassing its $30,000 goal by raising $54,945 from 103 backers.
The GameTank, as Clyde enthusiastically points out, uses genuine 6502 processors, similiar to ’80s consoles like the NES and Atari 7800.
“It’s running on real 8-bit hardware, including some RAMchips and basic logic gates,” Clyde said, “There’s no FPGA or microcontroller-based emulation going on.”
The GameTank is meant to be an open platform, with Clyde making tools available so other indie developers can produce their own games for the console. In addition, it is easy to distribute these games, which come on small, memory card-sized cartridges, and dedicated hardware can burn games onto them.
There have already been at least 40 games made for the GameTank, just in time for the console’s general availability in August 2026. Three of these games are Accursed Fiend, a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, Ganymede, a Metroidvania, and Bad Apple, a demo that, like other variants made for different consoles, demonstrates the GameTank’s hardware capabilities.
Clyde is particularly enthused about the prospect of the GameTank becoming a haven for physical media in gaming.
“I’m creating, but not enforcing, a physical media culture around this,” Clyde said, “For example, could just have one cartridge to keep flashing different ROMs, but it’s optimized to have a collection of cartridges and pick your games that way.”
A standalone GameTank, complete with controllers, cables, and pack-in games, will be priced around $250; a developer kit version, with the added cartridge burner, will be priced around $300. The games themselves, individually, will be priced around $30.
Evidently, in addition to being intuitive and easy to play, the GameTank and its games are considerably better deals than today’s consoles and their games. This is especially true given recent spikes in prices for big consoles like the $599.99 PS5 and the $649.99 Xbox Series X, not to mention the increasingly high prices of video games, some of which reach up to $80.
The Omara Is Perfume for Games
The Omara is, as OVR Technology co-founder Sam Wisniewski describes it, a “scent display” that can either be propped up on a stand or attached to a VR headset like the Meta Quest or PlayStation VR. The Omara’s scent cassettes, which are inserted into the device and last for approximately 120 hours of gameplay, are able to expel different types of smells depending on the situation.
This fact was expertly demonstrated in a special Minecraft mod created by OVR itself. Over the course of the 15-minute demo, the Omara emits smells ranging from “winter,” a minty scent, to “beach”, a saltier scent.
OVR CEO and co-founder Dave Stiller sees Minecraft as a perfect game to demonstrate Omara’s abilities. Beyond acting like perfume for the game, Stiller sees the “scent display” as being a crucial part of the gameplay.
“Scent can actually be used as a mechanic in a game,” Dave saids, “For example, it can be used [in a game like Minecraft] for your nose to help find your next objective.”
In addition to the scent-infused Minecraft mod, OVR is working to develop mods for other existing games to make use of Omara’s touted scent features. In addition, OVR is working with outside developers, both small and large, to help make games that are specifically tied to Omara and its scents.
Two notable games that are to make use of Omara are Battle Chef Brigade by Trinket Studios and Nice Day for Fishing by Fusion Play. In addition to being two examples of preexisting titles from developers OVR is working with, it’s clear as day how Omara’s scent technology can be utilized to the player’s advantage. For Battle Chef Brigade, Omara can be used to smell the food, and for Nice Day for Fishing, the device can be used to help find fish.
The Omara itself is set to be priced around $499 upon launch, which is a reasonable price for such a novel technology. Sam sees it the same way, especially when it comes to the required scent cartridges.
“We want to make sure our cartridges are affordable,” Sam saids, “that way, you won’t have to use tweezers to replace the individual scents.”