Best Prime Day retro gaming deals LIVE – last chance to save on handhelds, consoles, games, arcade machines and more
I'm a retro gaming expert and these are the biggest bargains I've found as Prime Day draws to a close
As a lover of retro games and retro gaming devices, big sales events like Amazon Prime Day prove to be essential. I'm always on the look out for a bargain on a new mini or full-size arcade unit, reissued console, or yet another handheld to add to my collection.
And even though 2026 is proving to be challenging for the hobby, with new devices more scarce due to the ongoing RAM crisis, there are plenty of deals on existing goodies to be had.
I've been scouring Amazon throughout the Prime Day week to bring you the very best bargains before it ends later today. Just make sure you checkout before midnight tonight, Friday 26 June.
Also remember, you will need to be an Amazon Prime member to get most of the deals I find, but if you're not already, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial before a subscription fee is taken from your account.
I've been hunting down US deals too, so if you're in the States, there should be something for you as well.
Top 5 editor's picks:
Back in black
Released at the tail end of last year, this special edition of The C64 Mini features 25 classic Commodore 64 games and a console-like experience. It's very plug and play.
You can even add your own game ROMs via USB and play them in 720p over HDMI.
It's not exactly a Prime Day deal, but you can get The C64 Mini Black Edition for just £64.95 right now (down from £89.99) and the best news is you don't even need to be a Prime member.
Great Evercade cartridge deals
With a new Evercade handheld on the horizon and plenty out there that already support the game cartridges, it's definitely worth checking out the deals on Amazon for Prime Day.
Both of the first two Activision collections are reduced by 34%, for example. And there are deals on other collections too.
Here are some of my personal picks:
US deal: a favourite but odd retro games handheld
Here's a deal for the US now that Prime Day has kicked off in the States too. The R36T is similar to the R36S that I've also featured on this page – in terms of internal hardware and emulator support – but it's also one of weirdest devices around (yep, I already own one).
It is modelled after a CRT TV of the 60s and 70s and even has a covex covering on the display to make it look rounded at the edges. It adds to the retro feel, for sure.
You can nab one from Amazon US for just $38.35 in the deal (the white model) – a great discount on the usual $69.99 price. Other colours are available too.
It's a time machine on your desk
There are a myriad of portable, mini arcade machines but only a few have a game library as extensive as this one.
The My Arcade Atari Micro Player Pro gives you the arcade experience, but with 100 classic Atari games (from the likes of the Atari 2600). And so, at £34.42 (down by 15%) that works out at around 34p per game.
There are some real bangers in there too, such as Missile Command, Asteroids and Centipede.
A lifesaver for retro console collectors
If you prefer to collect original console hardware rather than reissues, yet you'd rather play on your modern flatscreen TV, you'll need an analogue to digital video converter.
And one popular solution is available with decent Prime Day discounts in both the UK and US.
The Mcbazel OSSC Open Source Scan Converter v1.6 has 19% off on Amazon UK and 20% off in the US. That makes it £88.02 and $89.59 respectively.
It essentially coverts Scart, VGA and component feeds into HDMI, and and can now even convert analogue audio to output digitally over HDMI.
When the controller's bigger than the TV
The Jaleco Mini TV Retro Console is a weird little device – the included controller is bigger than the 3-inch display – but it comes with 168 games (NES, it seems) on an included microSD card and has its own rechargeable battery, so doesn't need to be plugged in.
It's also available at a super low price in the US, with Amazon currently selling it for just $24.21. I've got pairs of socks that cost more.
I personally like the wood-effect version best, but it's also available in other colours.
Retro gamers in the UK can also find the device, and while it's not part of Prime Day, it's just £24.27.
The best retro games console ever?
As well as buying several ready-made retro consoles, I've been building my own out of different mini PCs in recent times, using Linux-based operating systems, such as Batocera and Bazzite.
I recently made a plug-and-play multi-emulator console from a Geekom A5, which you can read about here, but there's a great deal on the more powerful Geekom A6 that's capable of running up to PlayStation 3 in high resolutions and frame rates. It can even handle Switch games, if that's your sort of thing.
You can get the latest version of the Geekom A6 £100 off in the UK and $125 off in the US right now, with pricing down to £499 and $524 respectively.
The original and the best
It might not immediately make you think of retro gaming, but here are the facts: Tamagotchis are from the 90s (retro), and they're little pet-keeping management sims (gaming). That makes them a retro gaming handheld. Of sorts.
They're not too pricey at the worst of times, but if you want to save a few quid, now's the time to pick one up – you can get around 15% off a whole heap of them through Amazon right now. The biggest question is what colour you want yours to be?
Embrace the cartridge with Lara Croft's help
Yesterday, we brought you several deals on Evercade cartridges – collections of games that you can use with numerous Evercade and Blaze devices. Now we have a great offer on one of the handhelds.
The Evercade EXP-R is a horizontal handheld with a 4:3 800 x 480 IPS display and built-in Wi-Fi. It will work with any Evercade cartridge, but this deal also comes with the first three Tomb Raider games, as originally released on the original PlayStation.
Normally retailing for £99.99, you can now get the bundle for £73.97 – that's 26% off!
Boost your original consoles
This might be a little niche, but the SummerCart64 is a great add-on for an original N64 or cartridge-based reissue, such as the Analogue 3D. It's a flashcart with a microSD card slot on which you can store 100s of N64 ROMs. All legally sourced, of course.
It even supports 64DD (disc drive) games and PAL and NTSC versions.
The "Kaico Edition" SC64 is available with a 15% discount for Prime Day, so is now priced at just £63.74 on Amazon UK.
The deal is also available on Amazon US, with the SC64 now $70.39 (down from £82.99).
Wall art for the discerning retro games fan
A bit of a change in pace, this collectable piece of wall art is something no retro games cave should be without.
Made by the excellent ThumbsUp! and officially licensed, the Atari 3D Wall Art pays homage to classic cartridges originally released for the Atari 2600 (AKA VCS). It comes in its own frame and measures 400 x 287 x 22mm, so should look great on any wall.
Perhaps the best news is that, for Prime Day, it's just £17.99 – a massive reduction of over half the price. I'll let you into a secret, I've already bought one, and the Pong landscape variant.
The computer that started it all
For many Brits of a certain age, it was the ZX Spectrum that introduced them to gaming. The first truly affordable home computer was revolutionary and thanks to budget games, it became a million seller.
That's why inventor Sir Clive Sinclair was awarded a white version – the 1980s consumer version was black – but now you can have exactly the same yourself.
The Spectrum White Edition is something to behold (yep, I own one myself) and allows you to play Speccy games both from the box (there are 40 include) and from a USB drive. It also has the good, old fashioned Spectrum Basic built in, so you can code your own.
And all this for just £110.49 – 15% off the usual price. That's cheap for a chance to own a slice of history.
My favourite bartop arcade machine
I've already featured a few Evercade deals – on the cartridges and EXP-R handheld – but this is the best yet.
The Evercade Alpha is my favourite bartop arcade unit (I own a couple more, including one I built myself from a Raspberry Pi) and the Taito version is now just £177 on Amazon UK. That's 23% off the usual £229.99 price.
For that, you get 10 built-in games, including Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders, and Rastan, with multiple, swappable marquees to customise it yourself. Plus, as this is an Evercade machine, you can add any of the brand's game cartridges to expand the library (up to two cartridges at a time).
Perfect for arcade gaming – and a neat DS solution too
By far and away, one of the weirdest retro gaming handhelds I own is the MagicX Zero 40 – but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its merits – especially at its US Prime Day price of $60.79 (down from $86.99). Indeed, unless you're willing to fork out a lot more for a dual screen device, this is one of the best handhelds for Nintendo DS emulation.
That's because it comes with a vertical 4-inch 480 x 800 display, allowing you to split the DS screens top and bottom. The Zero 40 is also great for vertical (TATE) arcade games, like scrolling shooters and Bombjack.
This deal even comes with a card full of ROMs, including many of the above, if I'm not mistaken, so this is a great deal.
A modern take on a true classic
While some would prefer the old-school styling of the Atari 2600+ remake, the up-to-date alternative from My Arcade is rather good too.
The My Arcade Atari GameStation Pro is just £79.52 in the UK for Prime Day, with a 15% drop, and offers an Atari VCS experience without needing separate cartridges. You get over 200 games preinstalled, in fact, and two wireless joysticks in the box, while the console itself is relatively tiny.
So, if you want to experience some of Atari's earliest hits on a big screen TV, this is a great and easy option.
Anyone up for pinball?
As well as arcade machine reissues, Arcade1Up made digital pinball tables before its untimely demise last year. However, many of its product lines were bought/saved by other manufacturers, and that includes the Toyshock – Haunted House table on sale for Prime Day.
Priced at £659.99 (down from £699.99), it features 12 classic Gottlieb tables on its 24-inch digital screen, including the lead game Haunted House.
You get the same sort of flipper buttons and score board of the traditional table, but with the ease of switching between games easily.
Hidden US deal gets you $10 off the Anbernic RG Rotate already
The Anbernic RG Rotate is a wholly unique retro gaming handheld. Running on Android and with a 3.5-inch 1:1 touch display, it looks like an MP3 player when shut. However, rotate the screen and it exposed Game Boy-style controls underneath.
I recently bought one of these myself from Anbernic directly and love how compact it is. Surprisingly though, a hidden deal on Amazon US has $10 off the aluminium Aurora Silver version already.
You can get it for $129.99 in a deal away from the prying eyes of Prime Day.
Build it and they will come
Not all retro games consoles come plug and play – or with a microSD card filled with 1,000s of dubiously sourced games – some are more of a project. And there's no more satisfying project than building your own retro games console from scratch.
I've done it a few times, using mini PCs and different generations of Raspberry Pi boards, and my last build with the latter featured a case that's now on sale for Prime Day.
The Retro Gaming Nes4Pi Case doesn't come with the Raspberry Pi itself or a power supply, but everything else is provided – including a mini fan to keep it cool. Priced at £21.24 in the deal, you even get heatsinks and a couple of SNES-like USB controllers. You just need to source a Pi 4B and install RetroPie separately.
PSP gaming for peanuts
TrimUI released a new version of its horizontal handheld a few months ago, and that has lead to an incredible deal on the former model.
The TrimUI Smart Pro is capable of up to PSP emulation, which is handy considering the form factor and its 4.96-inch 16:9 display. And at just $75.64 (down from $88.99) it's a real steal for the category.
All three colours – gray, white and black – are available in the deal too, so you can choose the one to suit.
Essential reading
We're entering the last stretch for Prime Day and there are still some essential retro gaming picks in the deals – especially when you look off the beaten track.
Lost in Cult is an independent design studio and publishers and most of its hardcover books are excellent reads for retro gamers. They are not in the Prime Day sale as such, but still have huge discounts right now.
- The Console Chronicles – £30
was £40(25% off) - A Handheld History – £26.77
was £35(24% off) - Joysticks to Haptics – £25.51
was £35(27% off) – also just £2.99 on Kindle - Arcade Adventures – £29.37
was £35(16% off)
There's also The Anime Archives – a historical look at anime movies and TV shows. That's currently available with 20% off, at £27.93. However, like Joysticks to Haptics, the Kindle version is just £2.99 right now – a must!
MagSafe mobile gaming
Gamepad manufacturer Abxylute has a handy clip-on controller that attaches to the back of your phone, as long as it incorporates magnets – ie. an iPhone with MagSafe. It can then be slid down the rear when you want to play.
The Abxylute M4 comes in multiple colours (including GameCube indigo), has a D-pad, buttons (in the Nintendo configuration), and two flat profile thumbsticks. It also features triggers on the rear.
It's down to just £39.49 in the Prime Day sale, down from £49. Other colours are available for the same deal price.
Forget the name, this is one of the best budget handhelds
Yes, Miniloong is a weirdly funny name for a handheld manufacturer, but putting that aside, its Pocket One is a very decent debut.
Featuring a 4-inch 960 x 720 4:3 display, it's a nicely put together device that's capable of up original PlayStation comfortably, plus some PSP and N64 games.
It's also down to $79.99 on Amazon US – a $20 price drop for the remainder of Prime Day. That makes it worth a punt for me.
You can't beat (em-up) this cheap-as-chips mini arcade deal
Prime Day is nearing its close, but that doesn't mean there aren't new bargains to be had.
UK gamers will adore this cheap as chips mini arcade machine for sure, with the original Mortal Kombat running on a backpack-sized unit.
The best news is that it's now under a tenner – priced at just £9.06, down from an original price of £29.99. Get that deal over here!