It would appear that Anbernic is trying to avoid any legal troubles, following the company being named by the ESA as a “superfake.” At some point after the original story regarding the ESA’s request to the USTR, Anbernic began removing handheld “variants” that include a microSD card.
Spoiler alert: Zu has a video coming about this topic, and he was actually the one that pointed it out, as he noticed the change while editing. It also seems that Anbernic has been doing this in stages, as Zu first noticed that handhelds with an included microSD card were only available when selecting “Ships from: China” on the site.
Thanks to our friend the Wayback Machine, we can see the difference in options when comparing the RG SP listing from back on August 14. Today, if you head over to Anbernic’s RG SP listing, you’ll only see the “16G” option available, which is still necessary, as that’s where the handheld’s stock firmware is installed.
Just out of curiosity, I also wanted to check to see if the listings for any of Anbernic’s Android handhelds had been updated. To my surprise, Anbernic used to offer the option to include a microSD card of varying sizes, but several of those listings (such as the RG Rotate) have been updated to remove those options.
It’s not explicitly stated anywhere on the page that the additional microSD card includes ROMs and games. However, it’s kind of an “unwritten understanding” that those are included when ordering the one of the additional storage options. This is also a practice seen across multiple retailers, and one that has been in place for quite some time.
What remains unclear is whether we’ll begin to see some of the other OEMs and retailers begin to follow suit. For example, AISLPC still offers multiple storage options for its lineup of handhelds, such as the R36T MAX, despite there being “8GB” of internal storage. Meanwhile, LITNXT and others offer the option to purchase a microSD card separately for those who might want to try out Crossmix OS, but those usually have a curated library of ROMs for compatible console.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if this helps keep government entities from going after Anbernic and potentially other companies in the future. Or if it’s a case of “too little, too late” and it’s just a matter of time before something comes to pass.
2 Comments
Nah, I disagree with the site’s coverage of it as if it was limited at Anbernic. The ESA statement’s language is clearly in reference to emulation handhelds in general, and Anbernic just happened to be the one they named as an example (probably the easiest one to name, because try naming manufacterers of R36S clones)
And at a higher level, I don’t think their goals are limited to just getting rid of included ROMs either.
No reason to call these consoles superfakes, no reason for them to comment on their interface, their “acting like real retail products”, if their goal was simply to get them to change what’s included in the cards and that’s it.
Hell, they even somehow include Denuvo and Fitgirl in there.
They’re going against emulation, they’re not gonna look at just the Anbernic store changing their SD cards and be like “ok, that was it! bye!”, that’s ridiculous
The very obvious next step is just to look at the millions of r36s clones being sold with included roms, and arguing that they need broader legislation to target ALL handhelds. Getting rid of ONE instance of included roms in ONE storefront is nothing.
Checked the official ESA document, and yeah, Anbernic isn’t mentioned at all in their “superfakes” statement.
The first time they mention “Anbernic” is after the statement, as an item in their Notorious Markets list, alongside other items like Voices38 (the Denuvo cracker) and the Fitgirl website…
And under the “Anbernic.com” item, they say they provide “A” line of handhelds, and that their devices meet the definition of “A” superfake, not “their devices ARE the superfakes”, or “Anbernic provides THE handhelds”
Maybe I’m missing something, but seems like this isn’t just about Anbernic, I really don’t understand why some sites have been making this seem like it’s limited to just them. To me it’s pretty clear that they have a whole definition of superfake handhelds, and Anbernic is just ONE of the companies behind them.
So this is about much more than just a single company, it’s about the entire hobby, no?