I was craving to get back into gaming recently and settled on just getting one of the $50 linux handheld in the game boy form factor. There are enough fun games to last me a lifetime, and I don’t have to deal with accounts, dlc, pay to win, etc.

Just a piece of hardware I actually own that can run whatever I want.

It's weird that in 2026 that a raspberry pi is now too expensive to fit in the BOM for a $300 console.

I was at Costco today and they were selling a licensed 220$ 80-in-1 console that was made up of games from Capcom and Bandai Namco.

I didn't see anyone looking at it, despite having games like SF2.

Creating a trusted brand is probably going to be the chicken to the "simple and cheap console" egg.

This is Nintendo's area. I remember playing a Switch game called Pico Park at a friend's party. Handles up to 8 players on a big TV and requires you to figure out cooperation.

A PS2 pretty much covers this. Pretty convenient, although it's going to be about 300 with accessories.

I want the opposite. I want single player immersive games with great graphics, immersive sound and excellent story and gameplay.

Sounds more like nostalgia than anything else :( - And yes I wish we could go back to that too.

You’re just looking for a Switch,

or PC gaming with a controller.

Step out of the default offerings.