Pour one out for the Lenovo G02, as the controversial retro handheld is now dead and buried. By that, I mean there should be no signs of the device on Chinese marketplaces like AliExpress and Alibaba, but if you look hard enough, you'll see it lurking in the shadows.
Lenovo caused quite the stir with its scrappy retro handheld back in May. Not only did many think it was a "fake" portable wearing the brand's well-known tech branding to dupe players with a faux sense of quality, but Retro Dodo later highlighted that the device was indeed real and being loaded with most likely illegal ROMs by third-party sellers.
In an update, Retro Dodo claims the Lenovo G02 is officially gone from retailers, but I suspect it has nuked the branding alone (cheers, Time Extension). While you'll no longer find anything originally tied to the Lenovo brand, even after a cheeky sub-brand name swap to dodge some of the original heat, I'm still seeing identical 4.5-inch Linux portables at AliExpress with swapped-out branding.
In truth, this is exactly what I thought would happen with the G02. The brand previously clarified that the retro handheld wasn't a first-party device, and the branded product wasn't intended to be sold outside of China. Simply put, unlike something like the Legion Go S, this portable likely existed before Lenovo's involvement, and the badge on the box was due to licensing rather than any sort of manufacturing or distribution involvement.
Of course, the real controversy with the G02 Retro handheld lies with its games. As I've covered before, it's common practice for third-party sellers to buy portables like the likes of Anbernic in bulk, then include a dodgy microSD card loaded with unlicensed ROMs. That becomes an issue when you're then presented with a household tech name like Lenovo upon powering on said portables, as that then places the brand within proximity of piracy.
Just to be clear, there's no reason to suggest Lenovo actively allowed third-party sellers to include illegal ROMs with any handheld tied to its brand name. The company says that it "does not authorize the sale of this device outside of China, including third-party platforms such as AliExpress or other reseller sites. Any such sales are not conducted or sanctioned by Lenovo or its authorized licensees."
That ultimately means the listings at Aliexpress and Alibaba came from elsewhere, and the models still live potentially have zero ties to Lenovo or its branding. In theory, that means models like the "new" New GUSGU H7 won't feature the Lenovo intro splash screen or packaging of the G02, making it just like the other crummy emulation handhelds at Amazon and Chinese retailers.
Don't get me wrong, I love scrappy consoles (that's why I was excited to introduce everyone to Sony's cancelled PS1 inside a DualShock last week.) However, the G02 serves as a reminder that the world of retro handhelds can feel a little rogue, and you're better off sticking with portables that have been tried and tested.
Check out the best retro consoles for classic system remakes and emulation boxes.
