Category: Tater News

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

AYANEO Refuses to Accept Responsibility, Puts Blame on Everyone Else for Delays

https://retrohandhelds.gg/ayaneo-refuses-to-accept-responsibility-puts-blame-on-everyone-else-for-delays/

Let’s be real: AYANEO isn’t late—they’re in a time loop of announcements.

One minute they’re dropping a new handheld like it’s Black Friday; the next, you’re still waiting for last year’s model to ship. In 2025 alone? Nearly twenty devices announced. Only a handful actually reached customers. The Pocket S2? Still unshipped in July. The Flip 1S? A chip shortage turned your pre-order into a “paid upgrade or $50 coupon” situation. And somehow, scalpers got units before backers.

Their excuse? “Scalpers!” “Address issues!” “Supply chain chaos!” Sure. But when your own website sells out of a device before Indiegogo backers get theirs, that’s not supply—it’s strategy. And it’s wearing thin.

You can’t keep promising the next big thing while leaving half your customers in limbo and calling it “innovation.” AYANEO makes amazing hardware. That’s why we keep showing up. But when “excuses” become the company slogan, trust evaporates.

Bottom line: If you backed anything from them in 2025? Check your email. Cancel if needed. And maybe… just maybe… wait for the next one with a grain of salt, a backup plan, and zero expectations.

Because right now? AYANEO’s biggest product isn’t a handheld—it’s disappointment.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

PortMaster Roundup: December 16 – December 31

https://retrohandhelds.gg/portmaster-roundup-december-16-december-31/

2025 ended with a bang—or rather, a blast of retro chaos. PortMaster just dropped 10 new handheld gems, and honestly? It’s like someone raided a time capsule filled with penguins, space miners, and a God of Guns on Venus.

First up: the freebies. Asteroludi turns Asteroids into a lonely mining sim (cue existential space jazz). Gun Godz? Picture a first-person shooter where the only building on Venus is a hotel owned by a rap-loving deity of firearms. Yes, that’s real. Rise Of The Penguins brings Game Boy nostalgia with chilly platforming, and Shamogu lets you play a shaman who defeats enemies by timing coffee breaks and spirit totems. Chill. Deep.

For those willing to dig into their Steam/GOG libraries, the paid ports are wild: My Big Sister is a tender-yet-tense sibling rescue mission, while Bad End Theater turns tragedy into dark comedy—every choice leads to a hilariously gruesome death. And Wargus? A full Warcraft 2 remake with StarCraft upgrades. If you’ve ever wished the orc army had better pathfinding… this is your Christmas miracle.

Bottom line: Whether you’re into penguins, space rappers, or bullet-hell roguelites—PortMaster’s got your back. Now go forth and play… before the next update drops. 🎮

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Another Day, Another Asinine Sony AI Patent

https://retrohandhelds.gg/another-day-another-asinine-sony-ai-patent/

Let’s be real: Sony just patented a digital nanny for gamers.

Imagine playing Elden Ring, dying for the 47th time to a boss… and suddenly, a ghostly version of your character starts doing the perfect dodge-roll combo for you. No buttons pressed. No skill required. Just… a little AI ghost doing your heavy lifting while you stare blankly at the screen, sipping tea.

It’s not just about helping beginners. It’s about deciding when you’ve suffered enough—er, “when challenge becomes frustration”—and stepping in to make the game easier, not better. That’s fine if you’re playing a casual mobile game. But when AI starts rewriting your experience—removing failure, confusion, even meaningful struggle—you’re not playing a game anymore. You’re just watching a highlight reel.

And this isn’t isolated. Remember Sony’s other patent? AI that censors game content on the fly based on your age or location. Now it’s ghosting your boss fights. The pattern? Sony doesn’t just want to host games—they want to curate them. To decide what you see, how hard they are, even whether you get to fail.

Patents aren’t products… yet. But when your console starts thinking for you, the real question isn’t “Will this ship?”

It’s: Who’s really in control?

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Game of the Month: January is for the Backlog

https://retrohandhelds.gg/game-of-the-month-january-2026/

January’s GotX twist? Play old winners—if you’ve never beaten them. Yes, this is the year Retro Handhelds turned its Discord into a nostalgic time machine.

Forget new releases. This month, you’re digging through the archives: pick any three past Game of the Month or Quarter winners… as long as you didn’t already earn points for them. And no, you can’t pick Link’s Awakening or Final Fantasy III—they’re off-limits because they won 2025’s Game of the Year. (Yes, even Breath of Fire III, which is basically a 42-hour love letter to sprite art and dragon transformations, is now the Game of the Quarter. You’re welcome.)

Think of it like a book club for retro gamers: if you missed Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia or Pikmin back in the day, now’s your chance to finally finish them without feeling guilty. Plus, there’s a built-in randomizer tool so you don’t just pick the same three games everyone else does. (Looking at you, Super Mario Land fans.)

And if 40-hour RPGs aren’t your speed? Every Saturday, a new Game of the Week drops—under two hours, zero pressure. Just complete it, screenshot your credits, and claim half a point. It’s like a snack-sized victory lap.

Bottom line: January isn’t about new games. It’s about rediscovering the ones you forgot you loved.

Join the Discord. Play old games. Earn merch points. Be a retro hero.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

AYN Odin 3 Setup Guide

https://retrohandhelds.gg/ayn-odin-3-setup-guide/

Meet the AYN Odin 3 — the Android handheld that doesn’t just walk into the room… it own it.

Packed with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, this thing could probably run Cyberpunk 2077 if you whispered nicely. But here’s the twist: it ships barebones. No pre-loaded ROMs, no bloatware — just a sleek slab of power waiting for your magic touch. Perfect if you’re the type who likes to build your own gaming kingdom from scratch.

Here’s how to tame it:

• Grab Obtainium — the secret sauce. Import their pre-built “Emulation Pack” and boom: RetroArch, Dolphin, PPSSPP, and more are one click away. No more hunting down .apks like it’s 2012.
• Get a TPU grip — the stock case is fine, but that chunky handle? Pure comfort for 3-hour Zelda marathons.
• Grab an SD card — your 256GB internal? Save it for Steam streaming. Keep ROMs on a SanDisk Extreme.
• Docks are golden — your Odin 2 dock? Still works. No need to buy AYN’s official one unless you really like branded plastic.

Pro tip: You’ll need BIOS files for PS2, Switch, and PS3 — Google is your friend (and legally shady). And yes, EmuDeck works now… but only if you pay. Worth it? Depends on how much you hate reading manuals.

Bottom line: The Odin 3 isn’t just a handheld. It’s your personal arcade, console, and PC rig — all in one shiny Android package. And it’s just getting started.

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Strike 3’s Piracy Litigation Campaign Broke More Records in 2025

https://torrentfreak.com/strike-3s-piracy-litigation-campaign-broke-more-records-in-2025/

Let’s be real: if you’ve ever clicked “Download” on a porn site without a VPN, Strike 3 has your IP address—and possibly your dignity.

In 2025, the porn studio behind Milfy and Tushy filed a record-breaking 4,088 lawsuits against anonymous BitTorrent users, pushing its total lawsuit count past 20,000 since 2017. That’s more than half of all U.S. copyright cases last year—and almost 70% of those cases were settled out of court for a few grand each. Think of it as a high-tech toll booth: pay up, or risk your name being plastered across court records next to “unlawful download of adult content.”

But Strike 3 isn’t just chasing lone pirates anymore. This year, it went full David vs. Goliath—suing Meta for $359 million, accusing the tech giant of using its films to train AI models like LLaMA. Meta’s defense? “Yeah, some employee probably downloaded it for… personal use.” (Cue the awkward shrug.)

Whether this is a bold stand against AI piracy or another clever settlement play, one thing’s clear: Strike 3 doesn’t sleep. And if you’re still torrenting in 2026? You might just be the next John Doe.

📰 New article from RetroRGB

RetroTINK 4K “Energy Normalization” Scanlines

https://retrorgb.com/retrotink-4k-energy-normalization-scanlines.html

Happy New Year, retro gamers—your CRT glow just got a serious upgrade.

Mike Chi’s RetroTINK 4K just dropped firmware v1.9.9.7, and it’s packing a sweet new feature: Energy Normalization. Think of it as the ultimate CRT cheat code—soft, dreamy scanlines that actually don’t make your screen look like a dimly lit basement. Previous “Energy Conservation” scanlines? Great for realism, but they drained the brightness like a dying NES battery. Now? You get that lovely analog blur plus your pixels’ full luminous glory.

Here’s the magic:

• Classic Scanlines + Energy Normalization = Soft edges, no black crush.
• Works in HDR and SDR (just set your gamma to 2.2–2.4 for best results).
• Ditch the old “Red Bleed” feature—it was never quite right anyway.

Mike’s go-to setup? Classic scanlines + dense mask + TV BFI (on LG Max) + SDR. It’s like smuggling a 2003 CRT into your modern TV—without the weight, heat, or cord chaos.

If you’ve been waiting for scanlines that feel right—not just look like a filter slapped on—this is it. Grab the update, crank up your favorite SNES game, and thank Mike for not letting us forget what pixels used to look like… before everything was too bright and sharp.

Get the update here — your eyes will thank you.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Manba One Review: An Odd One

https://retrohandhelds.gg/manba-one-review/

Let’s be real: no one asked for a controller with a screen… but now that it exists, we kinda can’t look away.

Enter the Manba One—a $70 beast that looks like a regular gamepad… until you notice the tiny 2-inch screen glowing on its face. It’s like if a Switch Pro Controller and a smartwatch had a baby, and that baby was obsessed with customization. Need to remap buttons mid-game? No PC needed. Want to tweak vibration or RGB lighting while waiting for your Steam library to load? Done. It’s the controller version of “I don’t need help, I’ve got an app for that.”

The controls? Solid but not spectacular. Hall-effect sticks glide like silk, triggers are light and clicky (good for racing games), but the D-pad feels like it’s walking through mud. And those macro buttons? Cute in theory—annoying in practice. I accidentally mashed them while trying to jump in Hades. Twice.

But here’s the kicker: the screen. It’s not just a gimmick—it’s useful. Pairing devices, checking battery, adjusting settings—all on the controller. No software installs. No laptop drama. For folks who hate fiddling with drivers, this is a dream.

Is it perfect? Nope. It’s bulky, the dock does jack-all beyond charging, and those trigger stops are just noisy. But if you want one controller to rule them all—and you’re okay with a little extra weight and screen glare—you won’t find a better option.

Verdict: Weird? Yes. Worth it? Maybe—if you’re the type who enjoys tweaking your gear like a tech wizard. 🎮✨

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Weekly Roundup #494

https://retrorgb.com/week494.html

You know you’re living in the golden age of retro when your gaming setup includes a CRT beam emulator, a NES-style Raspberry Pi case, and fuzzy bear slippers. RetroRGB’s latest Roundup is basically a love letter to nostalgia—with a side of obsessive tinkering.

First up: Krikzz dropped the Everdrive GBA Pro, a sleek little device that lets you play every GBA game without cart swapping. Meanwhile, Tito rebuilt his Virtual Boy—yes, that gloriously painful 3D console—and made it look like a prop from a sci-fi movie. And if you’ve ever wondered how the NES changed gaming history, there’s a deep dive on its untold story that’ll make you see those 8-bit pixels in a whole new light.

But wait—there’s more. Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation spilled tea on preservation efforts, Sega Channel is now playable on MiSTer (yes, Sega Channel), and Duckstation added a GPU toggle so you can tweak your PS1’s visuals like a pixel wizard. Oh, and there’s now an app that simulates the glow of old CRT TVs on Windows. Because why just play games when you can feel the vibe?

And yes, they made fuzzy bear slippers. You’ll thank us later.

Support RetroRGB if you love this stuff—your wallet won’t miss it, but your retro soul will.

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

2025: Two Decades of Piracy Reporting: TorrentFreak’s Retrospective

https://torrentfreak.com/2025-two-decades-of-piracy-reporting-torrentfreaks-retrospective/

20 Years of Piracy: From Torrents to AI, We’ve Come a Long Way

Remember when downloading a movie meant wrestling with eXeem’s adware and praying your ISP didn’t throttle you? Fast forward to 2025, and now AI models are trained on pirated books—and the RIAA is suing Spotify scrapers.

The early 2000s were wild: The Pirate Bay rose like a digital Robin Hood, Comcast sabotaged uploads with fake network signals, and the “Mega Song” featuring P. Diddy somehow got made (and then vanished). By 2016, giants like KickassTorrents and ExtraTorrent fell one by one—not because people stopped pirating, but because the legal hammer got heavier.

Then came 2020: lockdowns sent piracy soaring 40%, YouTube-dl got yanked from GitHub, and the world realized: we don’t need torrents anymore—we just need a shady app that says “stream for free.”

Now? AI companies are quietly slurping up pirate archives like Books3. Z-Library’s seizure felt like the end of an era—until Anna’s Archive scraped 86 million Spotify tracks. Cue a 750-million URL takedown campaign. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are reviving SOPA-style site blocks like it’s 2012.

The lesson? Piracy didn’t die. It evolved—into algorithms, shadow libraries, and corporate paranoia. The war’s not over. It just got weirder.

And we’re still here to report it.