this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
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This is not meant as an attack in any way, anyone can obvously buy whatever makes them happy.

I'm just really curious who buys consoles that aren't that old for such high prices.

I can see the appeal of holding childhood consoles in your hands again, and I can also see the appeal in collecting cool really old stuff. But I struggle to understand why someone would buy e.g. a New 2DS XL for €300 or more.

So just out of curiosity, if you are someone like that, what's the appeal that makes it worth spending so much money, instead of e.g. just going with a steam deck and an emulator instead?

Edit to avoid confusion: I am not talking about new reproduction systems (like the N64 Mini) or premium emulation/FPGA systems (like the Analogue Pocket or the MISTer), but about original game consoles that aren't supported any more but also aren't really old. Something like the DS/3DS, PSP, Wii U, Playstation 3. Some of them are now more expensive in mediocre second-hand condition than they were when they were new.

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[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

When it comes to old handhelds, do you replace the batteries? At one point in time I had a PSP battery swell up like a balloon, scary.

[–] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 1 points 12 hours ago

There are companies that sell parts to repair and sometimes upgrade old devices. Sometimes local retro game stores will service your devices for you.

[–] CameronDev@programming.dev 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Retro consoles aren't my thing, but i have replaced batteries for all kinds of devices, and it's usually fairly easy to do. Aliexpress et al. have all the batteries you could want, and a little fiddling with some screw drivers and you cam usually get the job done. Fairly safe with some basic common sense as well.

[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I really need to replace my 3DS XL battery...

...and PS3 controllers actually. Another fire hazard I've ignored lol.

[–] CameronDev@programming.dev 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+3DS+XL+Battery+Replacement/25068 - Looks easy, barely needs a guide.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/DualShock+3+Battery+Replacement/3255 - Definitely doable, although I will say that you should be careful with game controllers, they are often full of springs that will escape and be a complete pain to find and reinstall.

[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 2 points 12 hours ago

Nice, thanks for the links.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Depends on the handheld, but most of the older handhelds have easily replaceable batteries.