First time I’m participating directly in this thread, and not just in the stream!
I was considering buying the Switch 2 for quite a while. I’ve got lots of awesome childhood memories with the N64, and after the PS1234 and some PC gaming, I thought I might give Nintendo a try again. It was when I saw their pricing strategy that I made a huge u-turn.
Considering that I often found the vibe of modern versions of the games I loved when I was a kid to be “meh” and often much more hectic than I enjoy, I leave the Switch 2 to the billionaires who can afford it!
So I decided to give the Retroid Pocket 5, one of those retro gaming handhelds, a try! This wasn’t purely a privacy choice, but when I think about it, it’s got some huge pros!
- Android-based, so I expect to be able to use a lot of the existing tools to enhance privacy, like Aurora and ProtonVPN.
- It can run custom OS, also Linux-based ones like Batocera, and even Android/Linux dual boot configurations are possible.
- I’m not stuck with one greedy corporate capitalist brand, I can play all the games I own and love, whether it’s really old Atari stuff, whatever I played on my old Amiga 500, SEGA Master System, GameBoy, SNES, N64, PS1 and whatever. Pure freedom!
- No, or at least less tracking. While I don’t think the retro gaming OSs are built with a huge privacy focus, I can do more to enhance my privacy - and I think they’re less privacy invasive than whatever mainstream console or handheld you can buy today.
- No f*ckin’ microtransactions!!
I’ve been playing around a bit with Batocera and RetroArch before, tried some emulators on both Android and iOS, but having a dedicated gaming device that runs smoothly, which I can connect to my guest WiFi and even run offline after having set it up is a huge win! Can’t wait to receive that thing in the mail!
In case someone considers to do the same, just consider that there are legal issues if you don’t own the games beforehand. We all know that piracy is the worst crime ever invented since the Gods created our universe!