Before You Drop $500 on a Switch 2, Read This

The Nintendo Switch 2 is a great machine. But is it $500-better than a $45 handheld that plays the entire NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), SNES (Super Nintendo), Game Boy, Genesis, and PlayStation 1 libraries — or a $249 one that handles PS2 and GameCube?

A Little Story

A few weeks ago I went looking for something my kids could play classic games on — something I wouldn’t mourn if it got dropped, lost, or used as a frisbee.

For around $45, you can buy a handheld that plays essentially every Game Boy, GBA (Game Boy Advance), NES, SNES, Genesis, and PlayStation 1 game, on a bright screen with real controls, in something close to the size of the original Game Boy.

So What Are These Things?

They’re retro handhelds, and brands like Anbernic and Retroid have been quietly making them better and cheaper for years.

The entry-level ones — roughly $45–65 — are perfect for kids or anyone who mostly wants the classics: Tetris, Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Sonic, Crash, Spyro. Most of a childhood, basically.

The higher-end ones — around $250 — are where it gets genuinely hard to justify a Switch 2 with a straight face.

The Higher End: PS2 and GameCube

A ~$249 Retroid Pocket 6 runs PlayStation 2 and GameCube, and at native resolution it runs them comfortably. People online fuss over getting games to 2x or 3x — that’s chasing sharper, upscaled visuals on a modern screen, and that’s the part that occasionally wants performance mode and a little fiddling. Run a game at its original resolution, the way it actually looked on the console, and most of that fuss disappears. And do you really need a pixel-perfect retina image to blow up aliens or rip past someone on a dirt bike? For a lot of these games, native looks fine. Either way, you’re playing Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Double Dash, Burnout 3, God of War, and Shadow of the Colossus on a handheld — hundreds of the best games ever made, across two of the most beloved libraries in history.

And those libraries are stacked. Most people who grew up gaming in the 2000s never played everything they wanted to. The argument can be made that the PS2/GameCube era was the peak of game design for a huge number of genres: racing, action, sports, RPGs. If you didn’t finish that era, you have a lifetime of great gaming waiting.

The Money Question

A Switch 2 is now $499.99 — it went up $50 from its launch price in late 2025. Major first-party games run $70–80: Mario Kart World is $79.99 on its own, Donkey Kong Bananza launched at $69.99. A handful of smaller titles dip to $60, but the headline games are the expensive ones.

So a moderately active owner buying five or six big games a year is spending real money on software on top of a $500 console. The hardware is just the entry fee.

A retro handheld inverts that. The Anbernic is ~$45 all-in; the Retroid lands around $249 with shipping. The hardware is the whole cost — and then there’s the question of the games themselves.

About the Games

In the morally upright, legally spotless scenario: you get a device with blank hardware. The Retroid, in fact, ships with no games at all — it’s an Android device, and legitimate listings even say so in plain text (“NO PRELOAD GAMES”). They arrive empty, or with a microSD card, and you put games on them yourself. That means your own collection: if you own the cartridges and discs, dumping them to play on better hardware is exactly what this is for. A handheld that lets you finally play the boxes in your closet on a crisp screen is a genuinely good thing, full stop. And it’s actually easy to make copies of PS1 and PS2 games.

But - the full libraries of these old consoles are floating around the internet for free, and a lot of these devices turn up preloaded — especially the cheaper no-name China units you’ll find on Amazon. Fact. I’m not going to walk you through it or tell you to do it — there’s a copyright line there and you know where it is. People will make their own calls. The only point worth making is that “where do the games come from, and how much do they cost” has a very different answer than it does on a Switch 2. For games you already own: enjoy. Beyond that, you do you.

Okay, But What About Brand New Games?

If you want Nintendo’s new exclusives, you need a Switch 2. Nobody else has them.

But really, is new actually more fun?

PS2 and GameCube games weren’t great because people were easier to please. They were great because the industry hadn’t yet figured out how to ship half a game and sell you the rest later. No DLC, no season passes, no day-one patch fixing a broken launch. You bought a game, it was finished, and it had to be worth your time or word got out. That discipline produced some of the most tightly designed, replayable games ever made. Put F-Zero GX or Burnout 3 in front of someone who’s never heard of them and they’ll have a great time. That’s the only test that matters.

There’s also a law of diminishing returns the industry would rather you not dwell on. NES to SNES was staggering. SNES to PS1, mind-blowing. PS1 to PS2 felt like the future.

PS1 gave you 3D, but it was rough — textures swam, edges jittered, and the world dissolved into fog a few feet out. The PS2 made 3D feel solid. Stable textures, real faces instead of angular masks, worlds that stretched to a horizon. Games stopped being corridors and became places. Grand Theft Auto III dropped you into a whole city you could just drive across; Shadow of the Colossus let you climb creatures the size of buildings. That was the jump — not “sharper,” but standing somewhere.

After that is window dressing. PS3 to PS4? Sure. PS4 to PS5? Most people couldn’t tell from across the room. Each leap gets smaller while hardware and game prices keep climbing. You pay more and more for less and less of a difference. Past a certain point you’re paying for pixels you won’t notice while a dirt bike flies past — the fun was never in the pixel count.

“New” equals “better” is a marketing argument, not a design one.

But What About Family Time?

Both kinds of device become a living room setup in about thirty seconds — HDMI out, Bluetooth controllers, WiFi. Plug into the TV, pair a couple of controllers, done. The Retroid can also take a USB-C hub with up to four wired controllers. Cheaper devices that top out at PS1, like the Anbernic, realistically do two players — much like the consoles they emulate.

Same-room couch play works beautifully. Super Mario Kart, Bomberman, and Sunset Riders were built for exactly this. On the Retroid you can step it up with TimeSplitters: Future Perfect or Serious Sam: Next Encounter — two players on PS2, or four-player split-screen on the GameCube version, connected to the TV, mowing down hordes of insane aliens together. Get a 10-year-old in front of any of them and watch what happens.

Device-to-device over your home WiFi is also possible via RetroArch Netplay — peer-to-peer on your own network, no strangers, no servers, just two devices in your house. It shines on 8- and 16-bit games: head-to-head Bomberman, competitive Mario Kart. Useful when two kids want their own screen instead of sharing the TV.

A caveat: netplay is best on the simpler older systems. For PS2/GameCube multiplayer, connect the Retroid to the TV and use controllers from the couch — that’s the better-feeling experience for those generations anyway (and a Retroid-only scenario, since the $45 Anbernic doesn’t do PS2).

The Switch 2 has polished local multiplayer too — but a second one is another $500. Two Anbernics is $90. Two Retroids is ~$500 combined, and that’s the whole cost.

The Kid Math

A Switch 2 is $500. Big games are $70–80. A Pro Controller is $85. You’re past $650 before the first month is out — and that’s before the “can we get this game?” conversation even starts.

A kids’ retro handheld is $45, and the classics are just there: Tetris, Dr. Mario, every Kirby, every Donkey Kong, decades of Mario. Hand a kid one and they won’t ask for a single new game.

So Who Should Actually Buy a Switch 2?

There are real reasons — just fewer than the marketing implies.

If you want Nintendo’s new exclusives as they drop, that’s legitimate; Nintendo still makes great games and nobody else has them. If you have older kids who are socially invested in what their friends play, that’s real too — you’re buying them into a conversation, not just a game. And if you value Nintendo’s polished, officially licensed storefront, that’s a genuine advantage — just go in clear-eyed that the curation costs $500 up front plus $70–80 a title.

“It’s new” and “it’s Nintendo,” on their own, probably aren’t enough anymore.

The Short Version

If you mostly want to relive the golden age of gaming, or you’re buying for younger kids, a ~$45 retro handheld delivers most of the joy at a tenth of the price.

If you want games that hold up by any modern standard for feel and depth, PS2 and GameCube are the sweet spot, and the ~$249 Retroid handles both well at native resolution — no fuss unless you go chasing upscaled sharpness you probably won’t miss. That’s still less than half a Switch 2 before a single game.

If you want only the very latest Nintendo exclusives the moment they drop, that’s what the Switch 2 is for. Just know exactly what you’re paying for.

The reliable ceiling on these handhelds today is PS2 and GameCube. Switch and PS3 emulation exists but is genuinely hit-or-miss — don’t buy for it. Everything at or below GameCube is the solid ground.

The Two Devices Worth Knowing About

Anbernic RG35XX H — ~$45 Everything through PS1, well. NES, SNES, Game Boy, GBA, Genesis, and PS1 all run great, and its dual analog sticks make it a standout for PS1/N64/Dreamcast-era 3D. The kids’ device, the starter device, the “I just want to play old games” device. It rewards a few minutes spent on custom firmware, but it’s hard to argue with at the price.

Retroid Pocket 6 — ~$249 Where it gets serious. PS2 and GameCube both run comfortably at native resolution; the optional upscaling is a cosmetic extra, not a requirement. Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Burnout 3, Gran Turismo 4 — hundreds of the greatest games ever made. Still less than half a Switch 2 before you’ve spent a cent on software.

Switch 2: $500, plus $70–80 per major game. Retroid Pocket 6: ~$249, hardware is the whole bill. The gap doesn’t get more straightforward than that.