Good for original Leapster owners, great for homebrew developers; abandonware otherwise.
If your child enjoys or has enjoyed the original Leapster and still has the games, this product is for you.
If you're looking for a polished edutainment experience, buy the more recent LeapPad/Leapster Explorer/LeapsterGS instead.
You probably wouldn't want the Leapster2's poor framerate, bad audio/visuals, or coin-screw battery door.
Oh yeah, and you can't sync the Leapster2 with LeapFrog Connect anymore. Just saying.
If you really want to buy the Leapster2 to play downloaded games (or in my case, develop my own), keep reading. There are actually two version of the Leapster2: one with internal memory, and one with an SD card slot. Since Connect functionality with the device has been discontinued, it's best to buy the latter; you can remove the preloaded SD card and modify its storage contents.
How do you tell which is which? Most eBay listings do not specify if the listed Leapster2 device has an SD card port. The best way to tell is to check the stamped serial number on the back of the left handle. SD card unit serial numbers end in "BG" while internal memory unit serial numbers end in "AG". As a last resort, find the Phillips-screw door or the SD card slot within the battery compartment (not the battery cover).
When you upgrade your Leapster2's SD card, make sure it is a non-SDHC card. There is no way a Leapster2 can read a 128GB or even 4GB SD card. If you don't put in an SD card, the Leapster2 will greet you with an error on startup, but you can dismiss this (it's just annoying to see).
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned