Sunday, July 20, 2025
HomeGamingI was burned out on retro gaming, but this tiny console made...

I was burned out on retro gaming, but this tiny console made me fall in love with it all over again

The Sinclair GamerCard sounds like a gimmick. It even looks like a gimmick, a credit card-sized slab of plastic with a pixel screen, a couple of buttons, and branding that feels like a half-remembered 1980s computer that never happened. It’s easy to write off. A toy. A novelty. A throwback no one asked for. But here’s the thing: that’s exactly what makes it special, and, more importantly, exactly why it matters.

You see, I’ve been in a rut recently with my love of retro gaming. It used to be fun, interesting, with each new release not just a trip down memory lane but a celebration of the culture I grew up on. The best retro consoles feel like a love letter to the games of old, and the art and creativity around them. And yet, it’s now a business. Big business, even. A report in The Times suggests our love of old stuff will exceed $1 billion this year.

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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