It’s time to finally dust off your old portable gaming cartridges, as the retro-gaming giant Analogue has announced a new device that will let you play pretty much everything you have. Seriously, this thing is capable of playing nearly every retro handheld game in existence. Introducing the Analogue Pocket, and it’s already building a ton of hype.
If you have never heard of Analogue, they are one of the major players in the retro gaming scene, having developed a number of unique consoles built for bringing old-school gaming into the modern age. The company has long been dedicated to preserving classic games through the use of updated technology, and their products, while a bit pricier than most, have been exceptionally well-reviewed.
So far, the company has worked on three major consoles; the Nt Mini, which is capable of playing all NES, Famicom, and Famicom Disk System games. The Super Nt, as you can probably guess, is a dedicated console for Super Famicom and Super NES cartridges. The company’s third console, the Mega Sg, brings the world of SEGA back to life with the ability to play every Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, and Master System cartridge. The Mega Sg can even connect to an original SEGA CD in order to play the games on a modern TV. Each of these devices features an HDMI output that processes and upscale the image at full 1080p resolution, allowing you to also maintain the original 4:3 screen ratio used by classic games. Best of all–the consoles run on close-to-original hardware with no emulation.
Now, the company is once again revolutionizing retro gaming with the Analogue Pocket, a device that is capable of playing Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games right out of the box. As if that wasn’t already cool enough, the handheld can also utilize cartridge adapters in order to play Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx, and even more. All of these games will be displayed on a 3.5″ LCD screen that is 10-times the resolution of the original Game Boy. The visuals will be crisp, clean, and brightly rendered in all their old-school glory. No more worm-lights and magnifying glass add-ons.
The Analogue Pocket will also have a couple of other neat features, including a full digital audio workstation that the company calls Nanoloop. It’s built from the ground-up with both live performance and music creation, allowing you to capture sounds, use synthesizers, and more. Check out the video below to see Nanoloop in action:
Last, but certainly not least, the Analogue Pocket is also going to have a special dock that allows you to play all of your handheld cartridges on your TV using a standard HDMI output. The dock will be fully compatible with Bluetooth wireless controllers, as well as most wired USB controllers.
The company hasn’t announced a firm release date yet, but they have stated that the device will be available next year. How much is this amazing little gaming machine going to cost? It’s only going to cost $199, which is an awesome price for something with this much functionality. If you’re interested in being one of the first people to get your hands on one, make sure you head over to the company’s official website and sign up for updates.