A console advertising 2,000 built-in games is an emulator with other companies' games preloaded. That is worth knowing before buying one for a child.
Nintendo
Why we like it
Retro Handheld
Why we like it
JXD
Why we like it| Product | Rank | Brand | Best For | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch Lite - Turquoise | #1 | Nintendo | Best Overall | 9.8 |
| Retro Handheld Gaming Console, Video Game... | #2 | Retro Handheld | Best Emulator Handheld | 9.6 |
| JXD Handheld Game Console 4.3 inch 8GB Bu... | #3 | JXD | Most Explicit About What It Is | 9.4 |
Buyer checklist
We separated these into licensed hardware and emulator hardware, because they are different products answering the same question and the listings do not make the distinction. For the emulator devices we looked for published hardware specifications rather than game counts, since a chipset, a screen resolution and a battery capacity are checkable where two thousand games is a claim about files. For the Switch Lite we recorded what its listing publishes, which is very little: four short bullets with no screen size, no battery life and no storage figure, the thinnest listing of any major console we have examined. We have also stated the legal position on preloaded games plainly rather than omitting it, because a parent buying a gift deserves to know what is in the box. We have not used any of these devices, and no performance or build-quality judgement below is ours.
They are copies of games originally released for older consoles, loaded onto the device's storage and run through emulators, which are programs that imitate the original hardware. The emulators themselves are generally legal to write and distribute. The game files are the issue: most are still under copyright held by their original publishers, and selling a device with them preinstalled is not something the rights holders have licensed. Sellers do not discuss this, and the devices are sold openly. It is not a risk to the buyer in any practical sense, but it is the honest answer to why two thousand games costs forty-five dollars, and it is reasonable to want to know before giving one to a child.
It depends what you are buying. The Switch Lite is licensed hardware with a supported game library, online multiplayer, system updates and a manufacturer behind it, and the games are current titles bought individually rather than thirty-year-old files. The emulator handhelds give you a very large library of older games immediately for very little money, with no support, no updates and no guarantee the device still works in two years. For a child who wants to play what their friends play, the Switch Lite is the only option here. For a child curious about retro games, or as a travel device nobody will mind losing, the cheap handhelds do that job.
Hardware figures rather than game counts, because the game count is unverifiable and the hardware determines whether it is usable. Look for a named chipset, as on the RK3326 model here, a stated screen resolution and type, IPS rather than unspecified LCD, and a battery capacity in milliamp hours. A device publishing 4,000mAh and 720 by 720 IPS is telling you something checkable; one publishing only 2,000 games and HD screen is not. Also check whether games can be added, since a device with a fixed library is finished when you have played it.