• RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Nintendo Switch. Steam Deck might also have timer controls built in but I do not remember.

    Technically, all consoles do if you set a timer yourself and then tell your kid when time is up.

    • AlternateRoute@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      Ya the Switch has fairly good reporting on play time by total time and time of day… They have a parent mobile app for managing it.

  • rubikcuber@feddit.uk
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    11 months ago

    The Switch is “okay”. You can set a daily limit and an end time. As well as allowing or blocking titles. You can’t set more granular sessions times, or even a start time. And “bedtime” cannot be earlier than 4pm. It’s all a bit limited compared to Xbox from example, but it’s okay. You control the times from a mobile app.

  • Corroded@leminal.space
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    11 months ago

    It seems like Family Link on Android might be what you are looking for

    https://www.techadvisor.com/article/726031/how-to-set-up-android-parental-controls-to-limit-screen-time.html

    I think devices that use something like Emulation Station can only limit certain games and menu options but that still leave devices like the Retroid Pocket 3+. Anything that runs PC games should have it’s own suite of parental features or work arounds.

    • nieceandtows@programming.devOP
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      11 months ago

      That’s interesting, thank you. Would it make more sense to buy a $50 android phone (free upgrade) and use a razer kishi (I already have) and set up this family link rather than buying a $100+ retroid device?

      • Corroded@leminal.space
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        11 months ago

        I’d say it depends what you want to play and what you can get. It might not be a bad move considering you could use it with other devices if you want

  • the16bitgamer@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Having the parental controls to limit someone’s play session is a newer concept. Most older systems like PS2, PSP, and PS3 just have age restrictions on the games, where a parent needs to unlock the system to play. (At which point you could just start a timer)

    You might be able to leverage that.

    Otherwise the oldest system I am aware of that has this feature is PlayStation Vita according to its manual.

  • NickKnight@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    How techy are you and what level of handheld are you willing to get them? Retropie comes with a built in shutdown timer and you can set up cron jobs remotely to shut down after a time or even at certain times. Down side: You need to know how to set them up AND you are not going to get a machine that runs the latest and greatest.

    You could go all out and get them a steam deck and set up crons but that’s strictly local to the machine.

  • DavidGA@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    iPhones and iPads are not technically consoles but they do have very robust parental controls.

    • nieceandtows@programming.devOP
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      11 months ago

      Yeah I love the guided access on iphone. I can lock down everything and just enable a game for however many minutes I want to give. The closest to that on Android I find is Samsung kids mode, which doesn’t give me as much control as iphones. I might end up giving her an android phone with a kishi controller with parental control setup.