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The future of the cheap retro gaming handheld looks dark and it could not come for players who are looking for a cheap and well -executed solution. The upcoming switch 2 should be sold for 450 US dollars, 150 US dollars more than the starting price of the original Switch 2017. The PS5 is Prize winners rise in some regions. Play itself costs 70 US dollars, 80 US dollarsor Even $ 100. All of these price hikes should only help to drive the legion of great, excessively cheap handhelds into even greater fame. Unfortunately, Trump’s tariffs Are set to Beat small companies and niche hobbies even harder than the biggest players who can afford it moody managing director make an exception. Retro handhelds are almost certain that the price is increased, and a lot.
The situation around tariffs is so fluent that it does not foreseen where playing ends when (if) the chaos ends. As it currently looks, consoles don’t get any Carveout from tariffs that other electronics like smartphones become. Aubrey Quinn, Senior VP at the largest trading group in the gaming industry, said the entertainment software association, told IGN At the beginning of this month, tariffs had “a real and harmful effect” on every aspect of the game industry. She mainly referred to the big players such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft as well as the companies that make games and peripheral devices for her. She didn’t talk about that Small retro handheld manufacturer Offer Super-Weap devices To play games through emulation. These devices are self-complete, although they are sometimes shipped with Rome or “writing-protected memory”, which are usually copies of games that came out years ago, but may still be in copyright. It leaves some retro handhelds in a legal gray area, although their emulation skills are the reason why many retro fans love them.
Other large industries with lobby night may argue for exceptions to Trump tariffs, but small manufacturers of niche products have no major influence, said Gad Allon, professor of operations at the Wharton University in Pennsylvania. Allon told me in a telephone interview: “Games is not the top of Trump’s concern, but Apple.” And yet the iPhone manufacturer Mai can Still increase prices in a way. The only hope for us is to join in a block that could possibly be on another exception, he said. For games based in China in China, there is the only real hope that these tariffs still exist to find another country outside China for the production.
Smaller brands that Concentrate on gaming emulation– What the hardware for game consoles imitates as a form of software – had a golden age as part of the previous trade policy. Last week, me followed my own advice And decided not to buy one, but two retro handhelds for less than $ 100 before the tariff massacred made the purchase of an unsustainable purchase. I am already in love with your feeling of the old school and her massive potential, even with your relatively low specifications. I bought both devices via AliExpress, a location based in China used by small brands to send them to other countries, especially in the USA-Billig.
One reason why I could get these handhelds for so little is the same reason why companies like Temu and Shein were able to send ultramaric packages to the USA. It is referred to as “de Minimis” judges, freed the packages, freed the packages, which is worth $ 800 or less from the US orders in the United States. To promote more free trade. Now, under Trump, the exception is almost guaranteed that it fulfills her death.
“De Minimis will disappear,” said Allon, adding that it is probably the only clear new trade policy that we can count on today’s limitation of international business negotiations.
The liberation of minimis has brought enemies to enemies on both sides of the political gap. Critics have complained that the rule undermining US companies who try to sell products for a little more quality for a little more money. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs That also panic the stock market laid out a new duty Rate for programs from China. They specified a 30% tax for the value of a shipment or $ 25 per article. The administration on Tuesday tripled With these guidelines and Trump, he said he wanted to charge 90% of this value or $ 75 per article. This will increase to $ 150 per article on June 1st. These tasks become a tax for every US resident who wants to buy a product from China.
For retro players, this could possibly triple the price of all these unique handhelds. Until summer Anbernic RG35XX-In of the retro community applies a modern classic game-boy emulation handheld that would jump at least over $ 50 or $ 200 for $ 90 or $ 200. A retroid bag 5 -which is used to imitate games from Gamecube -ära or beyond -sets 220 US dollars. In a few months, it could cost 418 US dollars or lively if you consider the full tariffs. This is almost the price of a switch 2 or Steam deck.
Even if you want to buy these devices from Amazon, the tariffs are almost guaranteed to be the cost of the handhelds. These tariffs could have a major impact on the brands that also make these handhelds. Companies like Anbernic, Miyoo, Ayaneo, Trimui and Retroid jumped up to fill the cheap handheld -gaming empty of the largest console manufacturers. These brands are mainly from China, and those who do not rely on China for manufacturing and shipping. These device manufacturers are known to push new devices with ruthless dedication from the door. Anbernic has just announced a new one RG557 Handheld That should take on other 200 dollars. This week, Retroid informed the customer in his discord that it is planning to fulfill all orders of his Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and Retroid Pocket Classic Handhelds by May 2 that should avoid the tariff period. Only last week, Ayane Further details about the horizontal Ayaneo -Pocket Ace handheld shared and promised a complete start “end of April”. After the tariff period, none of these companies passed on with their products, which could happen with their products. We have contacted all three companies to obtain comments on whether the tariffs will influence these publications, but it seems that the handheld manufacturers MAMA will remain until – or if – the tariff situation becomes clear.
The retro handheld boom started during the pandemic, in which small retro game shops and device manufacturers saw a wave of sales, while people tried to ignore the tumult of closures by stating gaming. Russ Crandall, a former food blogger and cookbook author, started his Retro Game Corps YouTube channel at this time. His deep dives in handhelds and gaming devices were both large and small devices on the trajectory of the retro handheld trend, and now his channel has 645,000 subscribers. Crandall told me by e -mail that the hobby grew steeply even after the Lockdown end.
However, this could change after the end of the DE minimis exceptions. So far, Crandall said that he had heard nothing of the many brands with whom he worked. This probably means that you will keep plans under locking and keys, while the global economic situation remains fluid. Crandall said the tariffs will also affect his own hobby and channel, since he often buys many of the products he rated. Worse, he said that the increased prices will most hardest affect the turnover of entry -level handhelds.
“The sad reality is that the cheaper handhelds are generally the entry point for many newcomers, and I assume that if they are rejected by this initial purchase price, we will have less growth in the handheld community,” he said.
Game Boy’s flowering period has long been behind us, but gamers still like to remember when they could snap Nintendo’s first handheld for only 90 US dollars (or 231 US dollars in today’s dollar). A Nintendo DS with two -time screens started at 150 US dollars (251 US dollars in 2025). In 2011, consumers voted with their wallets and refused to buy a Nintendo 3DS for 250 US dollars. Nintendo then lowered the price to $ 170. Gamers repeatedly prove that they want small handhelds that may not match the power of A $ 550 steam deck or handheld PC like A Asus Rog Ally X, And it mainly depends on a factor in the availability of price, portability and games. IDC data by shown by The verge It was found that the steam deck Sowohl OLED models as well as non-without-old-oled-estimated 1.926 million units are sold in 2025, three years after the start. In 2014, three years after the first place in 3DS in 2011, Nintendo met the scene in 2011 Sales data If the company shows 12.2 million 3DS models this year alone, including 3DS XL and 2DS. The Nintendo DS from 2005 was even more successful worldwide.
However, there is a clear itching for this type of console Sony And Xbox Only now come to the idea of making a real handheld PC. Nintendo set up the 3DS eShop in 2024But that did not end the popularity of the platform. There is an entire cottage industry of people online who produce the problem bypasses for mods and jailbreak the 3DS to carry out customer -specific firmware so that you can install your physical cartridges or add homebrews games and apps. Players who have received an impression of single-board handhelds for old school will no longer stop just because the companies that they manufacture can no longer sell them for cheap. The hobby may remain niche, but big gamemacher could change this. With its Nintendo Online + Exestion Pack, Nintendo has made so much progress that emulates the game from Nintendo and Sega consoles from the old school for the switch. There was even known GameCube games came to Switch 2. Imagine that Nintendo has made a light, lower and cheaper handheld for less than $ 200, in which a switch online subscription was used to play games? If the controls were exactly correct, it could be an immediate classic and much better than that Revived game & watch From 2020.
Retro Handheld Makers brought the best aspects of the era of the Game Boy back-a little achievable price, a wide range of game and excellent controls in pint size packages. In addition, players who largely abandoned the hobby brought back to rising costs. I plan to offer a friend who recently played games on a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP, one of my two two cheap handhelds and dreamed of being run through Pokémon Emerald version once again. Customs and playing companies can continue to make things expensive, but hope remains in the communities that keep these tiny consoles alive.
