{"id":713642,"date":"2026-06-04T00:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T00:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713642\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T00:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T00:23:19","slug":"gamesir-pocket-taco-game-controller-review-pickr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713642\/","title":{"rendered":"GameSir Pocket Taco game controller review \u2013 Pickr"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quick review<\/p>\n

GameSir Pocket Taco – $59.95<\/p>\n

The good<\/p>\n

Works nicely for 4:3 GameBoy-style games<\/p>\n

Simple Bluetooth connectivity<\/p>\n

Works across Android and iOS<\/p>\n

Includes carrying case to protect itself<\/p>\n

GameSir Boy App provides a range of simple, fun games<\/p>\n

The not-so-good<\/p>\n

Not a great choice for any full-screen mobile game<\/p>\n

Shoulder buttons are small and hard to reach<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t work well with larger foldable phones<\/p>\n

The legal elephant in the room (if that bothers you)<\/p>\n

As tacos go, it is somewhat bland and crunchy<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re after an Game Boy style experience when mobile gaming, the GameSir Pocket Taco will fit the bill nicely \u2013 but it\u2019s not sadly unsuitable for most mobile games.<\/p>\n

While it built on concepts that Nintendo first introduced with its classic Game & Watch lineup, there\u2019s little doubting that the original DMG-01 Game Boy<\/a> was a genuinely revolutionary device.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the first with interchangeable cartridges, or even the first portable, but it combined the technology of the time in a way that made it the gaming system to use.<\/p>\n

As much as I loved my Atari Lynx back in the day, it couldn\u2019t compare to the Game Boy\u2019s battery life, and while the Game Gear had its charms (and its TV tuner!), Sega couldn\u2019t compete with the Game Boy\u2019s massive library of games.<\/p>\n

Plus Tetris. If you ever needed just one reason to own a Game Boy, Tetris was IT<\/a>. It still could be it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before you start thinking that I\u2019m just reminiscing about retro handhelds for no reason, this is the reason that the GameSir Pocket Taco exists, hands-down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The GameSir Pocket Taco is a mobile gaming controller that\u2019s also an absolute play for the Game Boy generation, built in a style that leans astonishingly close to that classic Game Boy design.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All reviews at Pickr are subject to experienced testing methodologies. Find out why you can trust us<\/a> and change the way you choose.
\nDesign and Features<\/p>\n

While there are plenty of other mobile game controllers out there, most of them tend towards either the split Switch and Steam Deck styles of working<\/a> with a controller in landscape mode between them, or with a controller that sits beneath a suspended phone grip. Think of a screen flanked by controllers, either on the side or below, and you\u2019ll have the majority of physical gaming controllers out there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both approaches have their benefits and drawbacks, but the GameSir Pocket Taco takes a different approach. A different approach because it\u2019s a taco, albeit not of the type that you might stuff with delicious beans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, the bits that you put into this taco are contained within your smartphone, which slots into with a small fold-out hinge and a soft rubber interior that shouldn\u2019t \u2013 in theory \u2013 scratch your phone\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Controls are rather obviously mimicking the classic Game Boy style, albeit with four buttons rather than two, a single digital D-Pad and diagonal start\/select buttons underneath.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The face also houses much smaller mode and home buttons, used for switching between connectivity modes for iOS, Android or Nintendo Switch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PC\/Mac support is not advertised, and while I could experimentally get it to connect via Bluetooth to an M2 MacBook Air<\/a>, I couldn\u2019t actually get it to do anything once connected, even though MacOS correctly identified it as a gamepad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the Windows side of the fence, I couldn\u2019t even get it connected wirelessly, but then again, this isn\u2019t what it\u2019s sold for, because it would be ludicrous to slot the GameSir Pocket Taco to the bottom of a laptop anyway.<\/p>\n

Like many of the emulation handhelds you can buy cheaply, the GameSir Pocket Taco also includes shoulder buttons with L1\/R1 sitting next to smaller L2\/R2 buttons at the top of the controller. The trick here is that because your phone slots into the middle of the Taco, those buttons are to be found at the back of the overall phone once installed.<\/p>\n

One rather nice touch with the Pocket Taco is that it comes with its own hard plastic carrying case to protect its buttons while in transit. It\u2019ll only slot in one way into that case, but it\u2019s nice to at least have that kind of long-term durability catered for.<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s pretty clear where GameSir has taken inspiration from.<\/p>\n

In-Game<\/p>\n

Pairing to the GameSir Pocket Taco is a simple enough affair that follows the near-standard method of using the Mode button plus a directional button of the YX\/BA axis to choose between iOS\/Android\/Switch modes as required.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you open the Pocket Taco\u2019s hinge up, it powers up, ready to pair with a device, and the idea here is that you\u2019d pair it once with your phone, and thereafter all you\u2019d need to do is open it up and drop your phone in to be ready for gaming goodness.<\/p>\n

Because it connects over Bluetooth, GameSir\u2019s Pocket Taco has its own onboard battery, rated at just 600mAh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not huge, but then the needs of Bluetooth controllers for power means that it does last a good long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For most of the game types you\u2019re likely to play on a device like this, probably longer than you\u2019d want to play in a single session. When it comes time to recharge, that\u2019s via USB-C at the base of the controller.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Like the recently reviewed GameSir G8+ Galileo<\/a>, the Pocket Taco uses GameSir\u2019s app for iOS and Android for basic configuration, but GameSir \u2013 or to give them their still-amusing-to-me developer name, Guangzhou Chicken Run Network Technology Co.,Ltd \u2013 also provides a secondary app specific to the Pocket Taco called GameSir Boy.<\/p>\n

Subtle, GameSir. I see what you did there.<\/p>\n

The GameSir Boy app offers up a small selection of free games in a classic retro style, as well as the ability to play your \u201cown\u201d games through an onboard emulator.<\/p>\n

The included games are OK, with mixed value, but hey, they\u2019re free, so there\u2019s little to complain about there.<\/p>\n

What about the quality of emulation? Well\u2026 there we hit a bit of a problem.<\/p>\n

The Emulation Elephant in the room<\/p>\n

\"It'sIt\u2019s an elephant in a room. It\u2019s probably not this elephant in the room. <\/p>\n

From a practical viewpoint, it\u2019s unlikely that anyone is going to buy the Pocket Taco and not use it with an emulator. It\u2019s probably not even going to be the Gamesir Boy emulator to begin with, especially now that these apps can be easily found on the App Store.<\/p>\n

The nature of the controller means that it is best suited for 4:3 format games where the emulator places the display in the upper half of a standard phone screen, because clipping it in place does obscure the bottom half of all but the tallest of phones.<\/p>\n

This is going to happen, but you\u2019ll find no mention of how well it works with classic titles such as Tetris, Super Mario Land or Donkey Kong GB in this review.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s pretty clear that this is going to be used as an emulation device, the way Australian copyright law works rather explicitly makes using emulators \u2013 and most notably any \u201cROM\u201d images of console games \u2013 quite illegal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, that does apply even if you own the original game, because even back when the \u201cformat shifting\u201d provisions were being added to Australian copyright law in 2007<\/a> games (and digital versions of video files) were specifically exempted.<\/p>\n

Is that fair if (like me) you do still own the original cartridges?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Probably not, but despite repeated attempts to get it changed, that\u2019s where the law sits in this case; it\u2019s entirely feasible (and I\u2019d say inevitable) that the Pocket Taco\u2019s going to be sold to a community that\u2019s going to use it entirely for illegal purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a lawyer, and I\u2019m not aware of anyone being personally pursued for individual emulation \u2013 sharing around game images would be a very different story, there\u2019s plenty of precedent for that<\/a>, but strictly speaking, it\u2019s not permitted, which is why the photos in this review are only of the GameSir Boy related apps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are other both freely available legally produced homebrew games \u2013 and some that are sold as ROM images \u2013 and those might also pass the copyright sniff test, but I\u2019m offering that up as unfounded opinion, not strict legal advice.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll just let the elephant out of the room and we can continue.<\/p>\n

\"\"This very real cartridge won\u2019t play on a phone, for some very obvious reasons. It\u2019s also the best game on GameBoy. <\/p>\n

What needs work?<\/p>\n

Like the aforementioned GameSir G8+ Galileo wired controller, the Pocket Taco isn\u2019t particularly suitable for use with folding phones, though for a slightly different reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I could only test with a larger form factor phone \u2013 in my case, a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold<\/a> \u2013 and with the phone folded down, its thickness meant that the controller part of the Pocket Taco swung forward rather than gripping the phone tightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It works, but it\u2019s wobbly and less than optimal. I couldn\u2019t test with a flip-style foldable, but there \u2013 and this would be true for the interior screen of larger foldable phones too \u2013 there\u2019d be a concern with the softer plastic foldable screens being scratched over time by the Pocket Taco\u2019s interior grips.<\/p>\n

General control for the kinds of retro games that the GameSir Pocket Taco suits works quite well, and I was pleased that the D-Pad was of the more classic Game Boy style rather than the dipped-in-the-centre style D-Pad of the G8 Galileo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However I didn\u2019t love the shoulder buttons anywhere near as much.<\/p>\n

You might not need them at all depending on your game style of choice, and hopefully that\u2019s true, because they\u2019re very thin and in the case of the R2\/L2 buttons also very small. It\u2019s quite likely that in trying to press either you\u2019re likely to also press the corresponding L1\/R2 buttons as well during gameplay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are a number of retro titles that have had full, legal releases on Android and IOS, but relatively few use the 4:3 screen ratio in a portrait style; most are landscape oriented, typically with some kind of bezel, or sometimes a virtual control pad taking up the additional space. These will \u201crun\u201d with the Pocket Taco, but with no screen flipping, there\u2019s no flipping point!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clearly, that\u2019s not the precise fault of GameSir, of course, but it is an annoying limitation of trying to use the Taco in a legally compliant way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts (TLDR)<\/p>\n

The GameSir Pocket Taco is a truly niche mobile gaming controller, that much is clear. It\u2019s not really suitable for general mobile gaming, and while it\u2019s priced quite a bit lower than GameSir\u2019s other premium controllers, that feels appropriate given its rather particular form and function.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but feel that it\u2019s rather squarely aimed at me, because it\u2019s clearly trying to hook in fans of retro gaming, or at least those that yearn for the games of their youth. If that\u2019s you, it\u2019s a suitable enough controller, but one with rather limited purpose, and once again I do feel like I have to note that you can get a more general purpose mobile-suitable controller than this for less money.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a retro fanatic with (cough) a wide array of homebrew games you\u2019re keen to play with real controls though, the GameSir Pocket Taco is a nice, albeit indulgent bit of gaming kit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GAMESIR POCKET TACO<\/p>\n

$59.95<\/p>\n

The good<\/p>\n

Works nicely for 4:3 GameBoy-style games<\/p>\n

Simple Bluetooth connectivity<\/p>\n

Works across Android and iOS<\/p>\n

Includes carrying case to protect itself<\/p>\n

GameSir Boy App provides a range of simple, fun games<\/p>\n

The not-so-good<\/p>\n

Not a great choice for any full-screen mobile game<\/p>\n

Shoulder buttons are small and hard to reach<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t work well with larger foldable phones<\/p>\n

The legal elephant in the room (if that bothers you)<\/p>\n

As tacos go, it is somewhat bland and crunchy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quick review GameSir Pocket Taco – $59.95 The good Works nicely for 4:3 GameBoy-style games Simple Bluetooth connectivity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,17403,346578,162864,17404,105],"class_list":["post-713642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-emulation","tag-gamesir","tag-gaming-controller","tag-retro","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}