Wanted to give my cousin (11) a handheld since he’s never had a game console.
He saw my stepsister’s PSP and was interested in it but she wanted to keep it.
Would like the system to be as simple as possible since he’s not very tech savvy but also be able to play some PSP games since that’s what piqued his interest.
Budget under $100 just in case he doesn’t like retro games
Retroid Pocket S2 is very good on that price tier
Anbernic handhelds are pretty good for low price, not sure if the cheaper ones can emulate PSP though
You can probably find a Vita 2000 for around $100. It’s super easy to mod and swap in an SD, and it can play PSP ROMs using native Adrenaline software.
There are newer and more powerful options, but for something straightforward to use, a Vita is still a good option.
Back in my day we all had cup and balls and it was hours of battery-free entertainment.