Best retro gaming Prime Deals LIVE – handhelds, consoles, games and more
I'm a retro gaming expert and these are the biggest bargains I've found for Prime Big Deal Days
Retro gaming has been going through a tricky time lately, with new handhelds and consoles either delayed or cancelled altogether. That includes reissues and emulation-based devices.
However, there are still plenty of amazing products available to expand your collection. And, thanks to Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale which is now underway, you can even pick some of them up for peanuts.
As a retro gaming collector and enthusiast myself, I'll be scouring Amazon until the sale finally ends at midnight today, 7 October. You can see what I find and recommend right here, with both UK and US deals listed.
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.
Top 5 editor's picks:
The most popular gaming handheld deal
One of the retro gaming handhelds I recommend every sales period is the R36S. It's not the most powerful out there, but is more than capable with the games from most classic systems, all the way up to the original PlayStation. And the deals are often amazing.
It's currently available from £33.17 on Amazon right now, including more than 20,000 games on a microSD card. However, that price might drop further when the deals start tomorrow – 6 October. I'll update as soon as I know.
Pistol packing fun
When it comes to arcade light gun shooters you don't get much more synonymous than Time Crisis. Namco Bandai's mid-90s cabinet is the epitome of the genre. Now you can own one with more than £200 off!
Arcade 1Up's remade machine is now just £489.99 in the Prime Big Deal Days sale – down from £699.99. For that you get two guns with their trademark mechanical sliding action, a single foot pedal, and four arcade originals – Time Crisis (of course), Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and Steel Gunner 2.
A barrel of laughs
The Lego Donkey Kong Arcade set only recently launched, yet it's already available with a big discount. You can get the 1,367 piece 18+ build for just £119.99 thanks to voucher offer on a listing that's already been reduced. That's a great £30 off.
Just tick the "voucher price" button on the page and add the set to your basket, Amazon will do the rest.
Keeping physical media alive
With the death of physical media high on the agenda, Blaze is one of the few companies keeping it very much alive. Its Evercade brand continues to expand its library of cartridge releases, with classic game reissues aplenty.
You just need a device to play them on, and with the new Evercade Nexus handheld on the horizon, its predecessor – the Evercade EXPR – has just hit a super low price of £89.99.
That includes the handheld, which can be played horizontally for 4:3 games and vertically for Tate Mode arcade shooters, plus Lara Croft's first three Tomb Raider outings on one cart.
The ultimate all-in-one
The Pandora consoles are much-loved by those who want everything preinstalled and usable from the box. That's why this US deal on the Pandora Treasure 3D Arcade Double Stick is such a good one.
For just $112.49 with 25% off, you get more than 30,000 games built into a dual stick arcade console you can plug straight into a TV or monitor via HDMI. It even comes with Street Fighter V motifs to give you those hardcore arcade vibes.
Note, you will have to provide your own TV or monitor – the one in the image is not included.
Only rock gods need apply
Massive in the mid-2000s, rock band rhythm games are making a comeback, thanks to the likes of Clone Hero, Fortnite Festival and the forthcoming Stage Tour. That's why it's worth considering adding a guitar controller back into your setup.
And you could do much worse than this official Gibson Cherry Sunburst Les Paul from CRKD. It's compatible with PC, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, and Android and is therefore perfect for the likes of Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival. It's also got 19% off right now, at £161.49 instead of the usual price of £199.99.
The best retro gaming handheld is the one you already own
It's a bit cheesy, but you likely already own an amazing retro gaming handheld – a smartphone! Yep, thanks to a myriad of amazing emulators, you can play just about every classic game you fancy on an iPhone or Android handset.
All you need therefore is a top-notch controller to go with it, and I highly recommend the GameSir G8 Plus (which I use myself). The MFi (Made For iPhone) version is available in the sale for just £59.99 (down from £79.99) and works on iPhones 15 and up, plus Android phones with USB-C connections.
40 NeoGeo games in one
Although the NeoGeo AES+ has been delayed until next September, US retro gaming fans can still get in some official King of Fighters and Metal Slug action with the NeoGeo Mini – now down to just $47.99 (from $59.90).
It comes in a small arcade cabinet-style unit with a 3.5-inch display, but you can also plug it into a TV via HDMI for big screen 720p play. I own one of these myself and it often comes out when family comes a-visiting.
Keeping the Atari alive
Like many of a certain age, the Atari 2600 (VCS) was my first games console, so I was thrilled when it was brought back a few years again in the form of the upgraded Atari 2600+. Not only can you use original game cartridges in it, several new ones appeared on the market to play.
Now two of the new games have been slashed in price for Prime Big Deal Days and they are no-brainers if you own the 2600+ or the more recent Atari 7800+.
Mr. Run and Jump is a reimagined platformer and is now just £16.24 (down from £24.99), while Avalanche is an old school-like arcade game for up to two players, and it's now just £14.12 (also down from £24.99).
Playing on a tiny TV
The Red5 Retro TV Games System comprises a tiny CRT-style television, NES-alike console and attached controller with 200 titles to play from the box. And thanks to the Prime Big Deal Days sale, you only have to pay £16.95 for the privilege (15% off).
The games are likely NES or NES standard ports (they often are) while the unit can operate either on three AAA batteries or powered via its USB-C port.
Can an Apple Watch play Tetris?
If you're not bothered by apps, phone connectivity or notifications, the Tetris Retro Gaming Arcade Smart Watch could be for you.
Not only does it track your heart rate and steps, which it stores on the device itself, you can play Tetris on its 1.91-inch TFT display. The watch is even IP67 rated, so you could do so in a downpour too. And at half price in the US – now $40 (down from $79.99) – it won't even break the piggy bank.
Simon says: "How retro do you want to go?"
Anyone of a certain age will, like myself, remember the 1980s boom in electronic games. We had some truly classic handhelds, such as Galaxy Invader 1000 and Munchman (based on Space Invaders and Pac-Man respectively). However, we also had a fair few family favourites without screens.
One of the most popular by far was Simon – a simple game where you had to repeat light and sound sequences on its big, chunky buttons. And now its reissued version is available for the super low price of £11.99 in the sale.
You can teach your kids how we used to amuse ourselves before TikTok.
500+ games for The Spectrum
If you have taken the plunge on The Spectrum – the reissued version of the ZX Spectrum I recommend in my editor's picks above – you might want to consider this USB stick deal too.
The plug-and-play stick contains more than 500 Speccy games/roms to add to your neo-retro computer, all curated for you. Usually priced at £22.49, it's now just £18.99 with 16% off.
Of course, I can't vouch for the validity of all those roms and whether they've been individually licensed for inclusion, but as they say, you pays your money and you takes your choice.