Retro Gaming Hardware Trends: What’s New Now
In the UK, retro gaming fans are seeing a busy mix of new hardware and accessories, with products aimed at play, display, and collecting. A recent RetroDodo roundup gives a useful snapshot of where the market is heading, from dedicated lightgun systems to handhelds and nostalgic desk pieces.
One of the most interesting items is a dedicated lightgun console from a Japanese company, with official licensing for Time Crisis, Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and Steel Gunner 2. It uses camera technology built into the gun chamber to detect television screens, which helps solve the old CRT lightgun problem on modern high-definition displays. The system is priced at about £99.
For readers who want to follow more retro hardware coverage, RetroShell’s News tag is a good place to keep an eye on new releases and market shifts. The same roundup also points to a broader split in the scene, with some products built for authentic play and others made mainly for collecting or display.
That includes the LEGO Game Boy set, a 421-piece model that recreates Nintendo’s classic handheld. It comes with a lenticular display showing options such as Super Mario and Zelda screens, plus cartridges that fit into the build. Console Heroes is also selling SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive cartridge playsets, with characters from Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, and Altered Beast, and both US and European versions are available.
The handheld market is still moving quickly too. The AYANEO Pocket Air Mini, which is linked to RetroCatalog’s handheld listing, has risen to about £120 because of demand for memory. It has a 4.2-inch, 1280x960 4:3 display and can emulate systems up to GameCube, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and some PlayStation 2 titles. The ANBERNIC RG Rotate takes a different approach, with a flip-out screen and a design inspired by early 2000s mobile phones. It costs about £88 in plastic or £108 in metal, and is better suited to PlayStation 1 and earlier systems because it does not have an analogue stick.
Accessories are following the same pattern, mixing usefulness with retro style. One eco-friendly brand makes a stand called The Throne from recycled plastic, with slots for handhelds, Game Boy cartridges, and AA batteries. Trozk has a Floppy Disk MagSafe battery pack with a 10,000mAh power bank, while British company Krasivoe makes 3D-printed Nintendo Switch docks styled after classic consoles, including a PlayStation 1-inspired 32Bit Dock priced from around £55.
There is also a wider print and display side to the market, with premium books and themed items aimed at collectors as much as players. Taken together, these products show a retro scene that is no longer just about emulation, it is also about licensing, form factor, and how people want to live with their games.
