Quick Summary
A Lenovo retro gaming handheld has been setting the internet alight, with many decrying it a fake.
However, Lenovo has now responded saying it is indeed a branded product. The only question now is, is it worth buying?
One industry that has been decimated by the ongoing RAM crisis is retro gaming – where we were being inundated with new handhelds in multiple form factors, we're now largely devoid of decent announcements and products.
Anbernic has bucked the trend with its RG Rotate – an Android hybrid device that's sort of a cross between an iPod nano and a Game Boy – but there's little else of real note. That's why the "Is it? Isn't it?" scandal of the Lenovo G02 has become such a big thing.
Appearing first on AliExpress (although now also on other import sites, like Shein and Temu), the Lenovo G02 was originally blasted by the community as a scam. Its price from around £60 / $80 seemed too good to be true for it to be a legitimate Lenovo device.
The name also looked shady considering Lenovo already makes the vastly more premium Legion Go 2.
Indeed, if you search for the Lenovo G02 on Google its AI-powered suggestions are that it's a fake product. But it turns out, that's not true – it's actually real.
The company has responded to a query from renowned retro gaming website Retro Dodo, saying that the product is in fact a genuine Lenovo gaming handheld: "The G02 device is produced through a regional brand licensing agreement meant for the China market only and is not part of Lenovo’s official global product portfolio," it replied.
"As such, products developed through these agreements may differ from Lenovo products sold through authorised channels."
So while it is a bona fide Lenovo release, with the brand's stamp of approval, it's not technically made by the manufacturer. And it's not technically meant to be sold outside of China.
However, one things for certain, if you do buy one from AliExpress or the likes, you're not getting a fake or scam device (unlike the R36S, which is seemingly cloned all over).
I've even placed an order for one myself, in fact. I'll let you know what I think when it arrives.
So should you buy the legitimate Lenovo G02 retro gaming handheld?
It's worth noting that, while the Lenovo G02 is legit, the roms you'll find on any included microSD card are not – they are pirated en masse. If possible, I always order my own retro gaming handhelds (of which I have many) without a card and I add my own legitimately sourced games.
That's entirely up to you and your conscience though. As for the device, it seems decent enough for the money, especially during RAMageddon.
You get a 4.5-inch IPS display with a 1024 x 768 resolution. It's 4:3, so best suited to the likes of NES, SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy and up to PSOne games. That's also pretty much the most you can get from it, as it apparently runs on the Rockchip RK3326 processor – common to Linux-based handhelds at this price point.
Where it differs from many of the other cheap handhelds around £50-60 is an solitary thumbstick – many don't include a stick at all. This could come in handy if you fancy trying out PSP games (some of which may run) and other games that work best with analogue controls.
It's also worth noting that you only get 1GB of RAM, so again, that might hamper performance on anything higher than original PlayStation.
There's a 4,000mAh battery though, so at least you should get plenty of playtime out of it.
Like I said, I've ordered my own Lenovo G02 (in red) and will let you know what I think once it arrives (in about a week or so).
