this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2025
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Asklemmy
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Most modern video games. I don't have the ability to, not only buy games from most digital storefronts, but also buy a device that actually has the specs to run them. And when you take into consideration the fact that most modern games are live service games, that means that I probably wont even be able to play them by the time that I do manage to get a device that could have ran them. It's difficult to get hyped over a game I know I probably wont be able to play.
I got myself a retro handheld from Anbernic. Costs about the same as a AAA game and has pretty much become my main gaming device.
I've actually been kind of interested in the Anbernic devices, especially because some of them apparently come with Linux. I've heard that the Linux distro they use is Batocera, which is just a frontend for emulators, but I have also heard that their devices do support normal distros like Ubuntu Touch. The only reason I haven't bought one is because they just didn't seem worth it at the time. It does seem like their hardware has improved since I last checked, so maybe I'll buy one at some point.
Well, yes and no, at least with the xx line.
They come with their own firmware from the factory but installing a custom firmware is super easy, just flash to sd card and add your games.
I use MuOS on mine but there's also KNULLI which is a fork of Batocera. I don't know how well they support normal distros like Ubuntu Touch.
Here's a good article about custom firmware on the xx line
https://retrogamecorps.com/2024/06/07/anbernic-rg35xx-family-starter-guide/
They're really fun devices, definitely recommend them ๐
Okay, I'll check that out. Thank you.
Also, I'll be fine if I can't use Ubuntu Touch, but I just don't want to be locked into exclusively relying on emulators. If what I read is wrong and there actually isn't a way to run Linux applications on them, then I might have to go with the android based ones.
I have also heard that some of them come with, or at least you can set them up to have a dual boot between android and Linux. So regardless of whether or not you can actually run Linux applications on them, I can still use android as a backup if needed, assuming that it's true.