The Handheld Industry Has A Problem

We discuss the current issues within the handheld industry and why you should keep your wits about you when making buying decisions.
📣 FOLLOW US 📣
Facebook: / retrododo
Instagram: / retro_dodo
Twitter: / ​​​​​​
Website: retrododo.com
📖 Snag our book "A Handheld History": ahandheldhistory.com/
🤜🤛 Support RetroDodo on Patreon: / retrododo
🎙 Listen to our podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3dAERtP​​​​​​​​​
#handheldgaming #handhelds #retrohandhelds This video may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to purchase an item we may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

[@AJOrdaz]

Props for speaking out on these issues. It is weird when most of us know how weird these practices are but everybody acts like it is normal.

[@RetroDodo]

Right? Thanks for watching!

[@elemkay5104]

​@@RetroDodo I just want to say that, while I agree with a lot of the sentiment of the video, this business model has allowed the handheld industry to take off outside of the big tech and console manufacturer space. That these small companies are able to make products that would otherwise be impossible without investors. I just think that's worth bearing in mind. But I would say what's happened now is that many of them have gotten greedy, and are misusing the business model and abusing the trust placed in them by consumers when they make their pre-order. Anyway, good job bringing these issues to light for everyone.

[@richwetpasta]

@@elemkay5104 it's a matter of time before the cut and runners in the industry ruin it, it's a really really easily exploitable dynamic between customers and these companies. These behaviors shouldn't be normalized due to how dangerous they are. Any other industry if we pre-ordered based on renders we'd all be pretty dumb.

[@lldjslim]

Handhelds suck, Real hardware better

[@leeartlee915]

There’s also a big problem that none of these products can be bought at brick and mortar stores. Valve is getting away with it because, well, they are fucking huge. But until one of these devices ends up on a shelf at Best Buy, this nascent market, it’s gonna be shit show.

[@ronnychristenjoyer6778]

The whole 'blacklisting honest reviewers' thing is happening in the gaming industry as whole, too. There are so many formulaic triple A games that flood the market, which are given to "safe" reviewers before release, who tend to give a more forgiving, favorable review/low key sales pitch, which of course increases sales and pre-orders.

[@allhandsonsteamdeck1440]

THERE ISNT A HANDHELD PROBLEM WITH STEAMDECK ALL THE PROBLEMS YOU MENTIONED HAVE TO DO WITH INFERIOR COMPANIES AND I DONT FEEL BAD FOR YOU NOT GETTING A AYA NEO YOU SHOULD HAVE WENT WITH STEAM YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

[@stanb1455]

​@@allhandsonsteamdeck1440 You only made this account for this one comment, correct?

[@allhandsonsteamdeck1440]

@@stanb1455 YES 😂😆😆😂

[@stanb1455]

@@allhandsonsteamdeck1440 stop screaming

[@allhandsonsteamdeck1440]

@@stanb1455 NEVER!!!!!

[@minhha8981]

You know, I am kinda impressed by how farsighted Valve is. Sure, their 5 bucks deposit is not truly a miracle, but it does make the customers feel their money are not being taken away from them without the product. If they got tired of waiting? Just click cancel and get $5 back, simply and no further waste of time. I will keep on waiting for the Deck.

[@PerfectlyFriedBread]

I think the $5 deposit was really just to serve as a deterrent to scalpers since even if the capital isn't a problem they need to source many unique payment sources or be easily identified as breaking the one per customer policy. It's probably just luck that it also lessens the feeling of paying without any product that's more common in the rest of the space.

[@BenRK90]

@@PerfectlyFriedBread could be a two birds one stone sort of thing.

[@ahmedp8009]

Sadly, the deck is not available to order in many countries, I tried :( Otherwise, I was welling to wait, after all it is valve.

[@V3ntilator]

@@ahmedp8009 Deck will be available in more countries in Q3/Q4 2022.

[@ahmedp8009]

@@V3ntilator Bit too late honestly, I'm waiting for my Odin Pro to be delivered first, and if it's as capable as the reviews claim, I'll just use that, otherwise I might consider one of the many windows handhelds that will be available by then.

[@orlandofurioso7329]

"Don't worry about the fear of missing out" should be a quote for life

[@Dratio]

At this point I'm skeptical about "better" handhelds than Deck coming out on the horizon. We've already had ones with better raw specs on paper but when it comes to actually testing AAA games like God of War they run worse than deck for whatever reason. Deck has a strong advantage in that devs are actually starting to optimize for it specifically.

[@amazyamy322]

Certainly doesn't look like anything will be better until Ryzen 7000 comes out, and I'm not sure about efficiency

[@user-om3mr1zt4g]

@@amazyamy322 ryzen 6800u already better

[@amazyamy322]

@@user-om3mr1zt4g only in raw performance. The reason I think it's worse is the hour and a half of battery life on the 6800u

[@user-om3mr1zt4g]

@@amazyamy322 well that's not true) gpd win max 2 can go something around 3 hours on 15w tdp just like steam deck) also steam deck has preload shaders of games and hidden fsr for higher fps but the picture is worse then on other handhelds with same game settings.

[@amazyamy322]

@@user-om3mr1zt4g I thought the win max 2 was still pretty close on 15 watts? Or was the pull ahead at 12 watts

[@XhoowieX]

The Ayn model of paying so long before getting the item is ridiculous. The way Valve did it wasn't so bad, with just a tiny deposit that you can get straight back with a click of a button. The full price? Madness. And then they launch new models!

[@RetroDodo]

Yeah, it's getting out of hand recently.

[@calebpreis]

AYN is doing same with the AYN Loki… 25$ for preordering

[@XhoowieX]

@@calebpreis for some models yes, but for others it's still full price upfront.

[@simmzfour]

@@calebpreis they haven't even sorted out there back log of orders yet but trying to get more money out of people lol. You still cant buy a Odin and get it in a month. This is getting out of hand 100%

[@aerated]

@@simmzfour as far as I’m aware, you can’t order an Odin base or pro at all. Only the lite is still on the indiegogo, and there’s no retail yet

[@chrisryan3445]

I think the general rule of thumb should be like with games - DON'T PREORDER - history is full of examples of games that have failed to live up their own hype and devices that never fully got off the ground. If people stopped jumping on the hype train (and this also goes for some YT'ers too - not yourself Dodo) at a moments notice, the industry would soon abandon this nonsense.

[@RetroDodo]

True, but the market is so good at causing the FOMO effect. And with these ever increasing wait times, customers actually want to order first and chuck money to "secure their spot".

[@Sevent77]

In this case not pre ordering will just make the product not being made in the first place as many of these devices live on pre orders and kick starters money.

[@anthonym6119]

I would still preorder from PlayStation or Microsoft ,Nintendo but those other starter companies I won’t do it again

[@jesusbarrera6916]

@@anthonym6119 NO.PREORDERS PERIOD

[@ryankao2248]

Putting full money down on something you don't know the full perspective of is so scummy of these companies to encourage. It's why I went with the steam deck at $5 down vs $400+ down for some other handheld.

[@wickersticks]

One of the biggest selling points of getting a steam deck is the confidence that buying a product from an established company. I've been eyeing handheld PCs for years now, but until Valve jumped into it, I didn't purchase any because I didn't really feel confident in paying hundreds of dollars to any of these companies halfway across the world I had never heard of before and just trusting I would eventually get the product and have good customer support

[@parksmush]

And the community for the Steam Deck is BIG!!!

[@wickersticks]

@@parksmush it's nice too know if you have a issue with it, you can do a search in the reddit and find someone else who's encountered the same issue, and a solution too it! Plus. Most importantly. It just feels cool to have that valve logo 😅

[@RetroDodo]

For sure, brand trust is key!

[@gvanderlee2703]

@@RetroDodo this USED to be Anbernic's key feature in the early stages of the retro handheld scene. Best quality out there, but those days seem to be behind us.

[@SherrifOfNottingham]

Honestly as much as I don't see steam as this golden child, or a saint... I am going to trust them as an established company that ISN'T publicly traded over many other new bloods and ventures. My fear with them is what happened to steam box and more importantly... the steam controller, I love my steam controller and I want them to make more cause when this one breaks I'll be left not having a controller anywhere near as good as this one.

[@AndreiMorar]

Your channel reignited my handheld gaming interest. I recovered my original Gameboy from a cousin whom I've given it to years ago and who was no longer using it. I was almost about to buy an Ambernic but I decided to skip them and reserve the Steam Deck in December last year. I'm still waiting for it to ship but I'm sure I made the right choice. You're channel is great and I would like to thank you one more time for making me rediscover my passion for handheld gaming.

[@RetroDodo]

Naw, thanks Andrei, we're glad we can help! :)

[@bolognabong]

I just got my Steam deck yesterday. I may be a little premature in my assessment, but it was worth the wait. It's given me the old feeling of my Gameboy when I couldn't put it down because of Links Awakening, Metroid II, or Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins. I just want to keep going back to play Halo 1 or FF9 right now.

[@Cyko..]

@@bolognabong Same here! I woke up this morning and played a little bit of Grand Theft Auto 5 on my Steam Deck, jumped into Emulation Station and played some Sonic the Hedgehog 2, played some Ico (a PlayStation 2 exclusive!), jumped into some XBOX Game Pass and played some Halo Infinite.... so YEAH! I understand, bro!

[@calebfoley5872]

@@Cyko.. It was only a few years ago someone told me I should detach myself from handhelds because they wont ever catch up to consoles or full PCs, now I’m sitting here laughing with my steam deck being able to play almost any game I want, on a handheld, for less money than the current gen console. Yeah the hardware won’t perfectly catch up but we have already well passed in to the era of diminishing returns on gaming power.

[@Cyko..]

@@calebfoley5872 Played some PS3 games on my Steam Deck not to long ago. They ran very well! Then I got into some Pico-8 games, and of course they played exceptionally well. If they come out with a Steam Deck 2 I'm buying it without looking at reviews.

[@AxfNPn3l]

I was just watching a video of yours yesterday where it was a review of some device, but you went on a huge tangent with many of these issues. I knew you'd be back to talk more on it lol so this is great timing. You're right on the money about the market. I imagine for someone like yourself who is totally immersed in this market and testing out and buying so many devices, the problems are even more amplified. The one good thing we have going for us as consumers is the insane competition right now like you said. Hopefully we as consumers and all the content creators win the battles when it comes to the poor customer service and support as time goes on. Once this market stabilizes and homogenizes some, hopefully it won't feel like such a shot in the dark when purchasing these units.

[@RetroDodo]

For sure, and yes, it's amplified for sure, and at times can be very frustrating for us.

[@TheSilverWolf1998]

Competition is good, but dont forget that oversaturation of both hardware and crap games is what made the videogame industry crash in the 80s. I'm glad I got a steam deck as itll offer the most streamline experience and have the most community hardware and software mods down the line. The Miyoo mini complements it as a simple, cheap, small backup handheld that fits on a belt loop. GPD's mini laptops offer a great alternative to students and field workers that require a more traditional form factor. To me all the handhelds other than these quickly become indistinguishable from each other and start reminding me of the oversaturated phone market that shoot out unnecessary anual models. All while the planet is burning alive and microplastics are being found in our blood.

[@_skud]

the videogame crash in the 80s had a much different historical context. Games were still very much a niche hobby with the prices that usually go along with that. Gaming is now the most profitable entertainment medium and is completely free to many players like those who play league or something on the laptop they already had. Absolutely agree on the waste issue, though. Sadly no company in the gaming space would be able to engineer a cheap and universally useful alternative to plastics. Wish it wasn't always about profit, would make necessary innovations so much easier to achieve and implement.

[@brandonhale7574]

This should be a must watch video before buying a retrogaming handheld. Thank you for talking about these points Brandon. The FOMO point is one that I know of first hand. It's important not to put these handhelds on a pedestal, because there's usually some downsides to them all, regardless of how powerful they are or how nice they seem.

[@pluma8547]

I have recently found your content and encouraged me to enter this odd more "diy" form of handheld/retro gaming and ultimately convinced me to get a gb operator. Thank you for putting this out preemtively as I have next to no clue which of these companies are trustworthy and for the cash they sometimes demand id rather just upgrade my base pc.

[@Randisim0]

This video was great thank you for being honest and transparent with us, makes me feel better in what to purchase and what not to purchase 💪🏼❤️

[@RetroDodo]

Thanks for watching Randy!

[@merman1974]

Some very good points there, I have held off buying a handheld for precisely some of them (the oversaturation, the confusing number of products and the feeling that a lot of "reviews" out there are not honest)

[@malealoy5622]

Thank you so much for this. We need more content creators talking about issues like these. Customer Service is important, warranty is important too. These small details are sadly often ignored by huge "tech" KZbinrs. I almost bought an Asus phone recently but a comment on KZbin highlighted how their updating policy is so bad and only lasts for 2 years. I can't express how grateful I am for your channel and the few others who highlight these things, they make a lot of difference and can save you much money, especially if you're unable to buy a new device every two months like these naive rich giant "tech" KZbinrs.

[@skycloud4802]

It just makes the work KZbin channels like yours do even more necessary and important.

[@SWPLGAMING]

I just got the pop up on this one, Internet in portugal is not always reliable. You hit every nail on the head. Holding money, device drops so fast, its exciting and unsure times for the handheld industry. And price is deffo an issue, what does good pricing look like. You give honest reliable reviews, that's what I want and the manufacturers should want this too. Yep best to wait. Thanks for such an informative video 🔥👍🏾

[@devingrubbs]

I ended up cancelling my Steam Deck cause a full year had gone by before my reservation was ready, and by that point so many new devices had been announced that I wasn't even sure what to get anymore. I figured it'd be best to just keep my money for now. Like you said, the FOMO is real. Too many devices out right now and things like QC and Customer Service are up in the air with a lot of these companies. I will say though Valve was really easy to deal with when I cancelled my order.

[@dansnull]

Great video! All of these things I take into consideration when making a purchase, in general. Many of these companies put little to no work into customer support, which is why I try and only support companies that do.

[@Evercade_Effect]

I appreciate your honesty and speaking up about this issue, much respect.

[@johnzoid74]

recently been fascinated with handhelds because it’s what I grew up on- thanks for this video too! will be snagging a steam deck to start tho

[@RetroDodo]

Good choice.

[@grantos8276]

Still waiting for steam deck to even be available in Australia 😱🤬😭

[@shaungreer3350]

man, i remember when gpd was just about the only handheld pc manufacturer. Im so glad the steam deck is out since i’ve always wanted a handheld pc but could never afford it, i even tried getting close by buying a gpd xd

[@Atul.k]

welll done video. Much needed as i was in a dilemma about which one to buy... with this much shipment time and budget for a handheld. keep up the good work.

[@ninjason57]

Waiting/being patient is extremely important in this market/community and Im glad you brought it up. I was really excited about the Anbernic win600 until they released the price. I was also really excited about the AOKZOE and considered paying almost 1k to be an early bird backer/supporter but I couldnt convince myself to take the risk. Ultimately I decided to just buy a steam deck from someone online for a little over market price and it was worth it. I still have a steam deck preorder going that'll hopefully ship by the end of this year (after q3). Then ill likely sell my other steam deck to a friend who cant afford it.

[@smokeymanson2191]

I ordered the stream deck on the 1st of August 2021 when I checked the online calculator last week it said I was only 33% of the way there so the waiting list is massive, I ended up buying the win600 and if you buy it for playing indie games and emulation it's great, price is steep though

[@williss1192]

How much will you sell the used steam deck?

[@illogik]

@@williss1192 $200 for the 256 and 15+ games

[@pfroo40]

The poor support experience and poor quality control on these is what prompted me to recently go through with buying a Steam Deck instead of the more powerful 6800u handhelds coming out now. You raised several other great examples of the corporate toxicity in this market, extremely long fulfillment times, and the blacklisting of critical content creators is extremely anti-consumer and short sighted.

[@wickersticks]

SteamDeck is plenty powerful enough for this generation of devices, and that added security of buying a product from a established brand with a large community behind it, is definitely worth it

[@delusion5867]

@@wickersticks most of the time, valve actually give a shit about supplying quality stuff (when they are supplying stuff which is not often)

[@V3ntilator]

Sure there is more powerful handhelds than Deck, but look at the price difference too. At least one of them costs up to 4 times more as a Deck. Which Deck "competitor" costs 400$?...Exactly.. None.

[@delusion5867]

@@V3ntilator and, at the end of the day, I know I'm probably getting a better product

[@TheCoolDave]

@@jamesyu5212 Closer to $500....

[@AlexBaldwinFTW]

I feel like it's worth waiting for products to be out for a while and for reviews to have settled. I got a RP2+ in June and I absolutely love it. That was after tons of reviews and I only had to wait a couple of weeks from order to having it. We're also at the point where there's clear generations and I'm happy to wait for the next big step up. Probably the Retroid Pocket 3 around Xmas timing depending on reviews. It's also important to find creators you trust (like yourself) and only buying from companies you can morally support. Retroid has given me every reason to trust them and frankly be loyal to them as a brand.

[@cayofrancoguine9790]

I totally agree with you, I remember buying a Dingoo A320 in 2009~10 when it all started, look where we are now, so many options but still so many problems, I really look forward to these new Windows devices but I do not want to buy something that will be outdated before I get in my hands.

[@verness-plpt]

Yeah, the oversaturation was something we knew will come. We saw the moves Anbernic did, more and more, just, pushing out devices... Then we came in the situation that companies took months to deliver and releasing handhelds every second week... Then we had the situation that the devices were just getting more expensive... One thing I hope goes "back to the normal" will be the RP3. I really hope that we won't encounter some kind of major problems with the device.

[@jjk5693]

What is the most powerful handheld right now or a handheld that is coming soon?

[@8-bitbert]

Thank you for what you do RetroDodo! I've been in the market for a retro handheld and your channel is perfect for those shopping for the best value. I settled on the Anbernic rg353p, absolutely love this little device, absolutely perfect for those looking to play up to psx flawlessly. Thank you for your coverage of all these great devices!

[@majinshinsa]

One of the major issues I think is that Steam has made their handheld like a console. What I mean by that is they can order large enough orders to get the best pricing and have the store to allow a lower selling price. The companies that are trying to edge in can't compete at those prices and consumers are judging it like 2 different PC builds when I would say it's more like Xbox/Playstation vs PC. I bought myself a OnexPlayer and knew going into it that it was going to cost more but I don't regret it at all. They don't have a software route to make up for a lower priced product. Don't get me wrong though. I don't have issues with people getting the most bang for their buck at all. I'm also not going to suggest that getting something that performs worse at the same price point is a good thing.

[@Aereto]

Particularly with how Microsoft is treating their long-time consumer base as a way to make more money off of us and system builders, trying to forcibly use their products over the 3rd party software we have been using even if it is not a good for convenience. They did it to Netscape (now Firefox), then they did again with 8 and beyond trying to inject games from their Microsoft App Store and convince us to get a Microsoft Account to use them. And now they need us to use Microsoft Account to install and setup Windows 11 and not let us change our account name or directory name that is not our Microsoft Username.

[@TheCoolDave]

@@Aereto Truth be old, Needing a Microsoft account is like anything else today it seems, Try to get into VR, and you need a facebook account, even small devices. Buy a Samsung phone, and they want you to have a Samsung account.. Same with your Apple ID... Microsoft does give fair pricing (compared to retail) for OEMs and system builders, if you needed it. They do kind of force their way in but, a lot big companies will try do that as well to get bit of your money...

[@MUCKLEECH]

This was a truly great video. Integrity is everything, so thank you for always being honest and transparent in all of your videos. Keep it coming

[@aliceinmansonland448]

Waiting a few months is exactly what I do. When you wait and order it from Amazon you get fast delivery, premium customer service, and free returns if the handheld is garbagetown. There's too many people on Discord whining about having to wait or having an issue. I may have to pay more, but at least I'm not getting screwed over by overseas shipping and pre-orders!

[@j0hn0b]

man i definitely agree with your point about too many devices on the market. i just bought my first device, Retroid Pocket 2+, and it was hell trying to compare everything out there to get an idea of the 'best' value or performance even

[@kevinjrpiedr2490]

I first started using the PocketGo 1 then went to get the ExperimentalPi PiBoy DMG, I think it's a perfect device! Great vid bro and I hope it gets better!

[@TheChocolatBlanc]

Wow thanks so much for all those informations ! Really changed my perspective on this market !

[@ahmedp8009]

Completely agree, ordered my Odin Pro few months back and still waiting...while they are announcing new upcoming, arguably more interesting, handhelds. I feel salty to be honest, not because of the new hardware, but for the repeated delays of existing orders. In my opinion, they should focus on improving their production capacity first, and, wishfully speaking, perfecting it before announcing new skus. And one more thing I need to add, For all the hate Anbernic gets, I must say, I respect them for actually making and delivering on their orders on timely manner.

[@leoash9707]

Good video man, keep doing what you do!!

[@DjFIL007]

Great call out. I got FOMO and tempted by the AYN Odin Pro... but was one of the lucky ones to get in early enough (Jan 2022) and mine got shipped by April/May. It's been a great device... but the Loki announcement, delays for those who ordered the Lite, and the late orders who are delayed (due to screen stock issues, etc) I feel bad for. I'm in no rush to upgrade or get a new device, but going to be very cautious. And good to hear about your experience with Anbernic and their review unit policies.

[@wearecity]

Very good valid points throughout this video. Far too many rushed out variants, confusing to the new buyer and definitely by the time some become available, they are already superseded spec wise. I originally bought a GPD XD a good few years back and it served me well and didn't feel the need to upgrade for years. This year, I bought a GPD XP, it was expensive, was already feeling like it was a bit of a mistake, then the plus version follows soon afterwards to make it feel like I already have an outdated handheld.

[@christopherstonehill3445]

Such good thoughts! I've had the esteemed pleasure of both my handhelds coming from Droix. First an rg350m (sooooooo good with Adam image on it) without knowing it was them...bought on Amazon...then directly on their website for an RP2+. Incredible speed of delivery and after sales customer service. Also got a Super Console X King from Ali Express. That took over two months...and someone did answers questions when expected delivery date after expected delivery date passed...but not very well. The Odin(s) look amazing, but I really don't feel comfortable with how you are supposed to hope to get one. RP3 sounds VERY interesting. Hoping Droix will get that in stock.

[@RetroDodo]

Droix is great, thats why we work with them. Ace customer support.

[@theinktician]

Thank you so much for this. Feels like the people who have a platform won't say anything about this

[@michaelmcclintick9541]

Great video and love the honestly. That is why I go to this channel to get feedback BEFORE I buy!!

[@Charlie-tu4py]

I’m praying the RP3 doesn’t have delivery issues again. If it can deliver in a good amount of time and is a good price, good improvement over the 2+. I really think it could put the industry on track. Retroid is quickly becoming the go to entry handheld for most people and this is putting them in a great position to end up taking the throne.

[@CHICKENmcNUGGIESMydude]

Rp3 is a 23-32 month wait

[@mykiisubtle]

Welp....

[@amazyamy322]

@@mykiisubtle don't listen to that guy, just being a troll/drama queen. If you want an entry level handheld, just grab an RK3326 device on sale and load it up with a good community OS. A good alternative to that is the Miyoo Mini if you can find it in stock! You'll get a good amount of performance and can wait for something more powerful to become readily available

[@mykiisubtle]

@@amazyamy322 my Welp was a reaction to the high hopes for the RP3. I do have an RP2+ but I'm going to sell it for the 3. Well at least that's the plan

[@andril]

thank you for saying what has been much needed to said

[@ninjason57]

The retroid pocket 3 teaser is the most excited ive been since I was both disappointed with the Win600 and satisfied with the steam deck.

[@mykiisubtle]

How are you feeling now?

[@julynightsky136]

Practically daily I change what handheld I want I have absolutely no idea anymore on what to buy. With the first-party handheld market something only comes out when the old tech is outdated. It’s absurd this is just pure frustration, I agree with you this is a true problem.

[@NichePlays]

Totally appreciate the candor here. The bit you shared about shipping times struck a chord with me as I basically just stopped visited the Odin's subreddit after people started getting mad at backers who were annoyed they hadn't gotten their Odins yet. I was fortunate enough to have gotten my Odin about four or five months after backing the project but was honestly pretty disappointed in their decision to announce the Loki despite the delays in shipping their main SKU -- something that I realize is being done by a different team at the company but still doesn't do much to rectify the bad taste the move left in my mouth. The idea of adding a few more SKUs to their product line while they're (still) struggling to get the Odin/Odin Pro out, as well as the Odin Lite just feels kinda off I guess. Yes, these are smaller companies making these products and we should totally be reasonable and understanding about it, but that doesn't mean that we should forgive products being shipped with faulty shoulder buttons (fixed on the Odin Pro) or delays due to not having enough LCDs for the existing units (I believe this got solved for the Odin? I don't remember to be honest) when we're still paying a premium for the product to begin with and *while* new products that will almost assuredly run into similar shipping issues are being pushed out the door to try and cannibalize the market.

[@RetroDodo]

Yep, AYN need to watch out that they're not burning bridges in the community. They make great products, but ignoring them and putting effort on other handhelds aint cool.

[@grizzlyg4008]

Had to cancel the Odin Pro when my Q3 Steam Deck arrived. This device fits all my needs and if I need something more pocketable I have the retroid Pocket + for that.

[@r4ph940]

Thank you for making this video and making us more aware of the whole handheld market.

[@attackemartin]

great video and I like your honest opinion on this. In the space of retro game playing consoles, there are just so many "new" handhelds, that can really exceed the last ones.

[@Happy-Hunter89]

The whole pre-order and pre-pay issue is the exact reason why I have yet to pick up one of the more powerful handhelds. I'd love an Odin but I'm just not willing to wait that long. I have other things I'll spend my money on. I have a handful of other handhelds that keep me busy, and until a company can make a product that I can order and have it in my hands a week or two later (even the Steam Deck isn't quite there), I won't make the leap of spending hundreds of dollars only to wait for months and months.

[@cloudd6535]

Lol you don't have to pay upfront for steam deck just 5$ for reservation and you can cancel anytime. Pay in full when it's ready to be shipped. And you will get your 5$ back, one way or another, if you choose to cancel.

[@soliddrake7575]

This is the main reason I’ve waited until now to buy a handheld pc. Before the steamdeck these issues deterred me

[@adams4244]

Nice video. Well said and necessary content. I'm really glad you called out the strangely positive reviews of the new Anbernic, which looks like overpriced crap compared. It's not 3.5x -4x better than the Retroid Pocket 2+ nor is it 90-95% as good as the Steamdeck.

[@Aereto]

Yeah, Anbernic wants Yes Men and Echo Chambers, which are red flags for wise gamers.

[@ahmedp8009]

I understand the hate towards Anbernic, however, I respect them for delivering on their products. You don't have to wait months to get one, unlike others...still waiting for my Odin Pro :(

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

Yeah although that product should be graded on a curve since it's 140 bucks. I've noticed a lot of tech channels and even tech enthusiasts just like to trash all low end products. But for some consumers those are the only options and they should be graded on a curve. I haven't used that one in particular but I definitely know this people would like to trash and even mock budget smartphones and PCs and so on.... As if everyone on the planet has a ton of discretionary income.

[@bartelvandervelden9894]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 thing is, Anbernic makes overpriced crap nowadays. Unless button layout is the most important factor in your decision making process, RP2+ is a cheaper and better product than Anbernic in it's price range. If you go for lower end hardware, there are other things as well (Miyoo Mini comes to mind) that also seems to do everything similar priced Anbernic products do, but better

[@georged7627]

The switch has really opened the door for the handheld market 🙏🏽👍🏾

[@josephluken7853]

I feel like the rp3 might put most of the industry in check as long as everything goes as planned

[@RetroDodo]

Fingers crossed!

[@johnnymcgregor]

Quality wise maybe, but what do you want to bet that it'll be backordered for months and we'll have the same story of people waiting and waiting and not getting theirs all over again...

[@HRilho]

@@johnnymcgregor exactly why i did not buy one.

[@grantos8276]

Waiting waiting 🤞

[@CHICKENmcNUGGIESMydude]

Took 18 month to get a rp2+ Rp3 takes 24 month

[@sirtonymayo1468]

Big respect for speaking out on this subject. 👍

[@michaelsterling3476]

Great video! Really made me think about the process as a whole and how these companies can kinda beat around the bush on important issues without a lot of criticism..

[@Tebsteroni]

Great video and good advice for handheld enthusiasts

[@james-hall-art]

This sums up exactly what I have been feeling. I'm just not bothering with any of these handhelds now as I only want to pay and have a device delivered straight away. No more backing kickstarters for me.

[@msawyer406]

I just bought the rp2+ like 2 days before the rp3 leaked. I've been kicking myself ever since for not waiting on news on the rp3. This video made me feel MUCH better about my purchase

[@danielthakorlal9425]

Great video - the FOMO is real, doing my best, thanks for the honest advice.

[@AythadisRaven]

The long ridiculous pre order times is why I've avoided really jumping into these handhelds. I'd love to get one, but I don't like the practice of those pre order times, especially if I have to wait 6+ months. Even with the high price tags on some of them just makes it harder to justify it as well.

[@crism8868]

Thank you! I've so many reviews of so many of these devices here on yt and they're usually showered with praise. Something didn't click right with me, they sound almost too good to be true while coming from Chinese manufacturers I've never heard about before? Now everything clicks. I'm not saying I wouldn't buy one of these handhelds in the future but I'll make sure to do my proper research.

[@igorR061]

Nice video! I really agree with you about those issues.

[@josejonnyrodriguezfajardo4135]

This companies are not only over saturating the market releasing new models every two to three months or so. They are also producing different models with almost the same hardware at a higher price. Doing some research I realize that some brands (like Powkiddy, Anbernic, Retroid), have different models and designs with exactly or almost exactly the same hardware but with a big difference in price from one brand to another. I think that most sellers don’t care about costumers they just care a bout the money they can earn. I only want to get a good console where I can play most of the games as smooth as possible at affordable price too. Congratulations for this video. The honesty also worthwhile.

[@sirchicken1330]

Thanks for this video. Keep going! ❤️

[@TechToyTinkerCompany]

In terms of the win 600 you can get retro arena or batocera in a premade image(no ROMs). Can run from USB stick or install to internal. Just wanted to point out there is already mostly set up options. Nice video!

[@polaris911]

8:18 "Waiting a few months is actually the best decision" I waited a few months to get the Miyoo Mini and glad I did cuz all the bugs had been worked out, Onion OS was mature, several ports are available, etc.

[@MrS1ebee]

Great video and I'm super impressed to see how this channel has matured and become a really professional outfit. Props to you

[@naxoxz]

Considering all the handhelds you review I think you are qualified enough to make a tier list sharing your overall opinion and briefly pointing out the pros and cons of each one. Your other videos are great for deciding if one handheld is worth buying but it would be nice to see your general view when comparing them with one another.

[@fredrodnick2881]

I've always appreciated your videos being honest and it's ashamed these things go on. I think they're shooting themselves in the foot cause that's just one less content provider to give them advertising,even if it's not all positive. Chances are they would make money anyway. Also a company that I won't name puts out a sub par product with sub par games and all the you tubers always rave about how great it is. I think they're being paid to rave. When I had given them sufficient information about a defective game I bought from them, they wanted to put me through more hoops which I was neither able or willing to do,I gave up. Now they most likely won't have my business anymore. Also I bought the rg280v from a supposedly well known site and the game exiting instructions were inaccurate,so I turned it off and lost several games I can no longer access. Upon contacting the company,I was given the run around. They figured if they kept saying can I help you but not anything else that I would give up. Well I haven't ordered from them in over a year and a half and may never.

[@Mr.Kratoast]

I'm perfectly happy with the emulation quality I get on my steam deck, until we get the next step up I'm holding off

[@RetroDodo]

Great choice.

[@tactik5903]

@@RetroDodo Steam Deck is just too big for me. The RP3 or ‘Switch Lite’ form factor is as big as I want to go for a portable, and $250 is my budget.

[@Mr.Kratoast]

@@RetroDodo I still love my ambernic 351V, I picked that up after one of your videos

[@semperfi5788]

Great insights! Many thanks for your opinion 👍🤗

[@ThemeParksAndAttractions]

There is a crazy amount of handhelds coming out atm ! So much competition !

[@chronolynx360]

One time I pre-ordered the original one xplayer. It arrived first week of August 2021 and so far everything was working great. No hardware issues on mine because I pre-ordered and it arrived as I expected. All I did was keep positive up.

[@TWTFYC]

Nice job adressing thé preorder and fomo issues, subbed

[@gerthinatorgaming5952]

We stand by you 100% for being honest for those products that don't hit the mark and these companies that are blacklisting content creators. I am looking for that model that's for me.

[@spyroskonst]

One of the best examples of blacklisted fear is Taki. His was early reviewing an Anbernic RG35-something, and he was trying to sugar review it as much as possible openly admitting the fear of being blacklisted in case of negative review.

[@Rusaarules]

Honestly, the Odin is probably the one I sprang for that costs the most. It does what I want up to a certain gen. All these others that cost like 1000$ is just crazy to me.

[@roflBeck]

I've got myself a Steam Deck, Anbernic RG351p, and of course a 3DS and Switch. I don't think I'll need more machines like this for a while. The gaming handheld market saturation lately is wild. And they're getting more powerful very quickly, kinda like how PC and consoles were like, a decade ago.

[@CHICKENmcNUGGIESMydude]

Same the rp351p ans steam deck all u need

[@speedy6323]

The issue with the buying process extends to the Steam Deck as well - it's still neither available in my country (Switzerland) nor in many other countries as well. I could try to order one from Germany, pick it up from a packet station just behind the Swiss boarder, get a German Steam account with a fake German adress and then try buying Steam credit on third vendor sites with my Swiss credit card... I could, but gosh, preserving energy is important for every living organism and I just can't move beyond that. So, there is still room for competitors to push out their devices to the market

[@hercufles]

Very true, it is so complicated to find a good retro handheld, expacialy the more expensive it gets.

[@finnwheetley7353]

Kudos for the honesty.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Thanks for this as for me I'm happy with my Funkey S a micro GBA SP in form up to PS1 emulation machine... And only cost me 68 Euros back in 2020 and was in my hands 9 months later really a perfect kickstarter... And it's every thing I want in a Handhald emulation machine with current tech... So yeah good ones are out there it's just hard to find them.

[@DeanIrvine]

This is something that’s been holding me back, I really want to get a new handheld my only expletive is gpd xd but trying to find a more modern handheld and I have absolutely no idea where to start or even what models to look at.

[@Ezz0Clan]

New guy here, I've seen handhelds a lot but due to the pricing... I've only caught my eye on Steam Deck. PC building is part of my hobbies, and I'm excited to get my hands dirty with the Deck on Q4 when it's suppose to be my time to be able to order one. The handheld market is thriving again, and I'm honestly glad for it. I cannot wait to see more parts and different mods, back plates with either bigger batteries or fans in them... It's something I've wanted for a very long time. Modularity and accessibility for me as a customer are the two keywords, and Valve has kind of broken that seal for me to bite into the market.

[@KyleRuggles]

I got the Odin back in April, I think I'll be fine for a few months or years. With game streaming, I'm set! But that I3 versions of the Loki and the Aya Neo Air Plus whatever looks impressive! I don't want to pay more than $400 for a handheld, a PORTABLE handheld, something I can take on the bus with me. But I probably won't get it until next year, I'm patient. Too saturated...

[@KRastaSmokeStreams]

I honestly was always wondering why big companies wouldn't develop new handheld consoles. I remember the PSP times and people are still buying them to this day. This market has so much potential profit in it.

[@deckyfiyemonda9893]

some reasons come to my mind 1. currently middle to lower end handheld console is build on top of fragile foundation, "emulator" it is a dark-gray area between legal and illegal, so big names are reluctant to do it, and generally speaking big names doesn't like to look back and support their past game releases because it is not profitable. 2. high end handheld console has bad price-to-power ratio to handle their AAA games, especially if they try to mimic PC, and they generally doesn't want to create system that can play "any game", instead they want to create system that can play "games exclusive to their brand", so they have to develop their own in-house hardware, and in-house software operating system and they maybe doesn't find the R&D cost will be profitable. Then what about switch? switch is actually is a weak powered system, game that run on switch usually has lower quality compared when they run on PC, the game developer has to tweak-down their games to be able to run on switch, that's why we still don't have Genshin on switch even though it is already on PC, Android, iOS, and PS4.

[@SDayle]

Back in the day, people only cared about gameplay and story, now they care about gameplay and graphics, and making a handheld that can handle smoothly today's very realistic models is (needlessly, according to most companies) complicated.

[@jesusbarrera6916]

Nintendo has a monopoly on handhelds now.... It's too much resources split for PS or Xbox to make 2 different consoles

[@criptin4075]

@@jesusbarrera6916 Yup.. they waited too long now to compete. Had they tried to develop something to compete with the switch around launch this monopoly might not exist now.

[@LexCoelho]

Perfect video. It's good to have someone saiyng this. This is the alwful thruth. It's a oversaturated market, and full of vices that need to be treated right now. We have to value our money.

[@_AMICUM_]

I saw the retroid pocket 2+ and was super looking forward to upgrading from Anbernics rg350m. Now that a retroid pocket 3 is hopefully around the corner ill wait and see. Thanks for your honest reviews and advice

[@PixelShade]

I think most of these issues stem from the wide cultural and ethical gap between large global companies and these small Chinese "online" companies. The reason being that global companies, although having chinese manufacturers, have sales/support divisions in major parts of the world, which then adhere to consumer rights law dictated by that specific region. These new Chinese companies on the other hand basically cut out the global affiliates and customer support meanwhile acting on their own to exploit a lucrative global market. Using pre-order tactics to get capital quickly into the company (less risk for them) meanwhile also lowering overhead by securing manufacturing quantity. At the same time they lower the overhead even further by not offering any real support for their products (at least not in the sense western consumers are used to)... I think it's just a new era of Chinese capitalism and how the global online market is used to make products.

[@LoftechUK]

Great video. Well put

[@andresvaldevit3692]

Couldn’t agree more, especially on the choice part: the market is so damn fast that by the time I even decide which one to buy, while saving up there’s already something better and cheaper teased within a week or so from a release. It’s not for nothing I’ é been waiting to buy one of these since 3 years ago

[@CSHummer]

This is exactly why I got the RP2+. Even though the 3 is out, I don't want to wait a year or more, I don't know if the product is even necessarily better bang for my buck, and at some level, I had to draw a line. What is it I really want from a handheld? For me, it was good design, affordable, and be able to reliably play things from GC/PS1 era down, and maybe play some stuff from PS2 era as a bonus. I just want to be able to have a dedicated device for my roms, where after setup I can just pick up and play. The RP2+ does that. Can it play everything? No, but that's not why I got it. I don't need an all in one device that runs AAA PC titles and every single console emulation under the sun. So I picked a device that I won't regret having and that will last me years. In the meantime, I feel like in 3-5 years when I'm ready for an upgrade this market will have hopefully evened out and we won't have all this FOMO going on combined with overpromising and underdelivering companies.

[@SamFortalCE]

I would like to know the 2 or 3 best Android handhelds with phone calls support and in a size that fits in the pocket. I want to have only one phone doing everything. Ty in adv,

[@bloodmoney80]

Preordered the playdate back in July 2021. It finally arrived July 2022. Didn't even open it. I sold it and made like 40$ profit on it. After waiting so long and seeing reviews of it, I just wasn't excited enough about it to keep it. I'm happy with the devices I have for retro gaming already but hand held PC gaming is becoming more appealing to me lately. I think it's best to wait a year or so to see what else comes out. Preorder trend is not cool. Could be outdated by the time they ship the thing.

[@CarlosBisponanet]

You speak about seveal issues that somehow are not connected. You talk about the shipping issues, but in reality there is trouble in almost companies due to Covid 19. Still today. I agree with you, however in the quality of the products. I've bought a console in 2019 with Android and it was horrible even for me that i'm a tech guy. Last year I,ve bough WinGPD3 and I,m very happy with it. It,s expensive, but you have a full Windows PC in your hand with gameplay capacity. Love your video. Good job!

[@slim_cana]

This is a classic case of "Remember, no pre-orders". It does suck to have to wait a little more when a product ends up being good, like in the case of the Deck, but it's almost never worth the hassle of having to deal with being disappointed and returning the product etc. I feel like it's the same thing that keeps happening in the video game industry as a whole, companies don't need to be accountable because they already have your money. Just my two cents :)

[@Niborino9409]

Thanks, really good input. I'd hate it if I shell out money and never receive a product. The market is flooded, I was wanting to get a Retroid Pocket 2+ but there's so many other options and different opinions and even device performance per device regardless of price point. So I just ended up getting a 2DS, the wedge model since I recently fixed up my 2DS XL but wanted something more comfortable to use. But foremost reliable hardware.

[@fabiobezerra9569]

Great video, as always! ✌️😁🎮