diff --git a/retroarch.c b/retroarch.c
index bed60f4043..f75ecdf5e1 100644
--- a/retroarch.c
+++ b/retroarch.c
@@ -706,15 +706,10 @@ static void set_paths(const char *path)
       RARCH_LOG("Redirecting save state to \"%s\".\n", g_extern.savestate_name);
    }
 
-#if !defined(RARCH_CONSOLE)
-   /* we DON'T want the system directory overwritten for the consoles */
-   /* FIXME - this is a really nasty piece of code that can cost many hours of 
-   fruitless debugging chores without realizing it's due to this. Try to make
-   this entirely optional at runtime through some kind of variable you have to
-   enable to do this logic - as it is it is really not acceptable and can lead
-   to many unintended problems on consoles */
-   fill_pathname_basedir(g_settings.system_directory, path, sizeof(g_settings.system_directory));
-#endif
+   // If this is already set,
+   // do not overwrite it as this was initialized before in a menu or otherwise.
+   if (!*g_settings.system_directory)
+      fill_pathname_basedir(g_settings.system_directory, path, sizeof(g_settings.system_directory));
 
 #ifdef HAVE_CONFIGFILE
    if (*g_extern.config_path && path_is_directory(g_extern.config_path))