> At a Glance
> – Palmer Luckey and Alexis Ohanian declared vintage tech “objectively better” on a CES stage
> – Luckey’s ModRetro Chromatic, a $199 Game Boy-style handheld, is already cashing in on the trend
> – Young buyers who never lived through the eras are driving record vinyl, cassette, and low-tech sales
> Why it matters: If nostalgia keeps selling, expect more startups to swap sleek for clackety plastic
Two of tech’s headline founders just bet their futures on the past. At CES, Oculus creator Palmer Luckey and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian told a laughing crowd that dial-up-era hardware outclasses today’s glass slabs-and they’re building companies to prove it.
Nostalgia as a Product Strategy
Luckey, now helming defense giant Anduril, still carved out time to launch the ModRetro Chromatic in 2024. The chunky $199 handheld plays 1990s cartridges and has been hailed as one of the best retro devices ever made.
Ohanian waved a bright-yellow unit onstage, calling it proof that “it’s not just about nostalgia for the old; it’s about the fact that it’s just objectively better.” He says he’s exploring his own vintage-style game next.
Consumer data backs the hype:
- Vinyl and cassette sales keep climbing
- Low-tech phones like the just-announced Clicks Communicator drew crowds at CES
- Zoomers who never touched a Walkman are fueling the boom
Why the Aesthetic Wins
Luckey argues that endless streaming stripped away intentionality. “There is something that used to exist in the intentionality of building a music library,” he said, contrasting curated mix-tapes with today’s algorithmic feeds.
He also sees geopolitics pushing makers toward simpler, local hardware: “I was part of the problem for a long time, making all of my stuff in China. Geopolitically, the United States and China are going through a divorce.”
His defense firm Anduril, valued at $30.5 billion after a recent Series G, is already partnering with Meta on military headsets-so the retro vibe stops at consumer gear.
Key Takeaways
- Luckey and Ohanian claim vintage form factors beat modern minimalism
- The ModRetro Chromatic is the first of what could be a wave of nostalgia-first hardware
- Even as Anduril scales for national defense, its founder sees bigger bucks in 8-bit charm
If CES buzz translates to sales, expect more startups to swap sci-fi gloss for rainbow buttons and cartridge slots.
