Ownership vs Access - Enjoying Media by Finding and Preserving It Ourselves
In 2015, I wanted my mom to get me a new handheld gaming console.
There was a house rule forbidding video games during the school year, so portable gaming systems seemed to be a lot more reasonable to ask for, since consoles tended to gather up dust for months at a time. I also figured that getting an older system that I knew could run homebrew on it would be ideal. The one that I wanted was something I had eyed since 2008, a PSP. It was already a media powerhouse when I was a child. Music, videos, basic web browsing in something that was originally made in 2004? It still felt modern at that point, and having a device like that would shape how I engaged with games and media, how I acquired them, and gaining a sense of appreciation for preserving them.