Why a portable gaming device seemed like the perfect gift
For a few years now, Marcel (we’ll call him by his name because “my husband” will get old fast) has been playing games on his Android phone when he has a few minutes to spare. I don’t know how exactly he finds these games on the Play Store — Top Charts? Recommendations? Search? By category? — but every few months, he has a new addiction. Often, though, these are lightweight, free-to-play, ad-filled games where he has to wait for lengthy, loud, and obnoxious ads to finish before he can play another level or have another try.
This behavior is what put me on the path to find him a dedicated gaming device where he could have proper physical controls and, potentially, some higher-quality games. I wanted something that he could carry on trips, long train rides, and easily move around the house, not a console that sits at home the entire time.
Plus, I was determined that this would be his gadget, first and foremost, not a shared device. Heaven knows we have enough of those, and any remotely tech-related gadget from our Home Assistant installation to our Synology NAS and smart home gear ends up being my responsibility because of my job. The other reason is that I’m not a gamer by choice. I have zero self-control and will get sucked up by any game I play, to the detriment of my sleep or work, so I often have absolutely zero games installed on my phone, and we don’t have any PlayStation, X-Box, or Nintendo Switch plugged into our TV. I’d be useless if we did.
I considered the Switch and Steam Deck, but emulation won
Speaking of the Switch, the Switch 2 (9.99 at GameStop) and the Steam Deck (9 at Manufacturer site) were my first thoughts. I’m not versed in the handheld gaming market, but these are the two I’d most heard about and that my Android Authority colleagues often rave about. But I couldn’t pick on my own, so I turned to Nick Fernandez, our go-to portable gaming gear guy for advice.
When I explained my thinking and my husband’s gaming habits, as well as his geeky developer background, to Nick, he immediately steered me away from my initial options — too expensive, too large to carry around as easily as I thought Marcel would want. Plus, given Marcel’s affinity for retro and old-school games, the option was looking us straight in the eye: an Android gaming handheld.
Nick explained the perks of these devices from affordability to versatility, but also their pitfalls from the need to understand emulation, find the right apps, find good ROMs (in our collection of ripped games, of course), and the near-constant urge to tinker and waste time making the experience better… Or worse.
Yes, he loves it!
When I gave him the box, Marcel opened it, looked at it, lifted his head, and smiled with a big questioning look. I guess he didn’t expect a gift to begin with, and definitely not this one. He knew my personal stance on gaming, and he probably never thought I’d be the one buying him a gaming handheld. But it also turns out that for the past months, he’d been reading articles about people investing in old Game Boy units and reviving them. He was curious about that, but he knew it wasn’t the time to get into it because we’d just bought a house and were furnishing it from scratch. Our entire budget was getting sucked by everything from couches to kitchen utensils; a gaming gadget could wait.
That’s what makes the best gifts, though, right? Surprise and accuracy. I’d hit the nail on the head with the Retroid Pocket Classic. It was so close to what he wanted, without us even discussing it. What he wasn’t familiar with, though, was the entire concept of emulation and Android gaming handhelds. His first reaction was to laugh at the nostalgic design and colors of the Pocket Classic, but he had no idea what this contraption was or did exactly.
I explained it briefly, plus I had prepared a few links and YouTube videos. And so, his cute and thoughtful gift became a multi-day homework. I wasn’t worried, he’s a nerdy developer, as I said, so he’d surely figure it all out.
