this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
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Who buys crazy expensive "new retro" consoles and why? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by squaresinger@lemmy.world to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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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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[–] hardcoreufo@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I usually try and pick up a console a few years after its done. Its usually cheap and the nostalgia wave hasn't hit yet. At that point its probably been hacked and the store shut down so I feel no qualms aquiring games however I see fit. Though there seems little reason to do so after the 360 and PS3 since most games play on pc too now.

DS and 3DS are hard to replicate well on a single screen device. So i get those, but there are newer handheld emulators with dual screens. Nintendo also keeps shutting down 3DS emulators so progress is slow. Vita emulation is still in its infancy.

PSP and GBA wouldn't be worth investing in. Both play great on handheld emulators. Home consoles I'd just emulate or newer ones usually have a pc port. There are some games stuck on consoles that don't emulate well, so if one of those is a fav maybe buy the console.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I usually try and pick up a console a few years after its done. Its usually cheap and the nostalgia wave hasn't hit yet. At that point its probably been hacked and the store shut down so I feel no qualms aquiring games however I see fit. Though there seems little reason to do so after the 360 and PS3 since most games play on pc too now.

That's what I do too, but there's a sweet spot. I got a bunch of New 3DS XL for the family just before the eshop closed, and I paid €80-100 for each of them. That made sense to me. But paying €300+ doesn't make sense to me.

DS and 3DS are hard to replicate well on a single screen device. So i get those, but there are newer handheld emulators with dual screens. Nintendo also keeps shutting down 3DS emulators so progress is slow. Vita emulation is still in its infancy.

DS/3DS emulation works well enough with a phone and a portrait mode controller attachment. That way you get the stacked screen layout and it's handheld too. And the screen is way better too, which is especially noticeable if you compare it to running DS games on the 3DS.