Time to dust off your couch co-op skills: an adorable mini retro gaming console, preloaded for thousands of hours of classic gaming, is on sale for $89.97, down from a regular list price of $159.99. It’s not fancy, just plug-and-play, throws in modern connectivity, and doubles as a streaming box — a rather luxurious feature set at this price.
What under $90 gets you
The selling point is volume: thousands of games across more than 60 emulation platforms are preloaded, so no hunting for the cartridge or fiddling with the SD card is necessary to start playing.
Anticipate the typical, all-star list—fighting, platforming, puzzling — and help for 3D-era games where the hardware permits. Most sets also come with two wireless controllers and a remote — so it’s instant multiplayer and ready to go in the living room.
More than a nostalgia machine, it ships with dual operating systems: EmuELEC 4.5 for retro gaming, and Android 9.0 for your daily apps.
And after a session of beat ’em ups, you can just as easily switch to watching Netflix or YouTube without any hardware swapping. Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0; Stream your favorite content with the LUMIX camera app; HDMI output for play back on large screen displays (excludes 4K/60P) Direct print compatible Printer – L1027 HLG photo compatible.
Performance and real-world use
On the inside, the ARM-based system with Mali-G31 GPU can tackle classic 8- and 16-bit systems with relative ease and it also caters for a range of 32-bit libraries.
Not every 3D title is a straight-up game—performance varies between face-software and platform, too—but side-scrollers, shmups, and puzzle staples play fluidly, at least via our experience with similar chipsets. It’s not as though 4K upscaling magic-wands extra detail into retro art (although big screens do show up sharp sprites and clean scanlines).
The setup is intentionally easy: power, HDMI and you’re good to go. The front end of EmuELEC sorts platforms and box art listing by console or genre for you to scroll through. Bluetooth means youre also not trying to run cables across your living room when you want to add additional controllers and have folks over for a four-player night—whether it’s arcade racers or party puzzlers.
How it stacks up against other vintage options
Official micro-consoles like the SNES Classic or Sega Genesis Mini 2 offer polished, licensed libraries, but they usually top out at a couple dozen games and can be difficult to find at retail prices. If you’re looking for that and can live without portability then you might be interested, but most of us have little reason to invest in an accuracy driven handheld, nor have money for physical cartridges at its price. Pocket-style portable emulation devices like the Retroid Pocket line are versatile cool, of course, but are really designed to play on the go.
Enter this set-top box, one that seeks to carve out a very different niche: affordable, couch-friendly retro with a deep library and TV-first design. If your first priority is rapid access to a wide array of systems from a big screen, it’s a tough console to beat at this price.
The larger view: conservation and access
There’s a reason why devices like this strike a chord. The vast majority of Americans play video games, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s most recent Essential Facts report, and the average player is in his early 30s — perfect nostalgia-bait for the 8-, 16- and 32-bit eras. Meanwhile, a survey from the Video Game History Foundation identified that some 87% of classic games released in the U.S. are off the market today, making a piece of hardware with access to them a viable avenue for playing formative games.
Important caveats before you buy
Like any multi-system emulator, performance varies across platforms. Older consoles and handhelds: Near-flawless Late-’90s 3D systems: Varies more The bundled controllers are decent for most genres, but hardcore enthusiasts might want to pair high-quality Bluetooth pads for fighters or precision platformers.
And then there is the matter of content. The rights around old games can be a difficult and complicated issue, and the industry perspective, as is reiterated by the ESA, draws a clear bright line between personal backups and unauthorized distributions. Take that in consideration when treating the preloaded libraries and support the proper official re-releases when available.
Bottom line
At under $90, this retro console manages a surprisingly strong combination of volume, convenience and flexibility: a giant preloaded library, easy TV setup and an Android mode for streaming after the high scores have been set.
If your aim is to relive decades of gaming relatively painlessly — and you’re not under any illusions about the capabilities of budget hardware — that’s great value. Prices and availability are subject to change, but this is one of the cheapest ways (for now) to get a living room full of classics.