Analogue Pocket - new handheld for GBA/GG/NGPC/Lynx

[FoxNtd]

Came across this news article today: https://hardware.srad.jp/story/19/10/18/1622231/

Here's the overview: https://www.analogue.co/pocket/

Considering what it's built with, maybe the $199 initial price isn't so bad. It has HDMI support so does this mean there is finally a convenient way to play Game Gear games without emulation with a TV? I gotta wonder how it handles regions, since some GG carts behave differently based on the region of the GG it's running on, and the game content can really change as a result...

[gbpxl]

This will be the be-all end-all for Lynx, GameGear, and NeoGeo Pocket Color. The Lynx is a battery monster, buttons are crap, screen is crap. GameGear wasnt a whole lot better besides the buttons. Cant wait for this. Hope the cartridge input doesnt have a death grip like Hyperkins products

[ncman071]

this will be the first fpga clone i purchase

[Gameguy]

I gotta wonder how it handles regions, since some GG carts behave differently based on the region of the GG it's running on, and the game content can really change as a result...
I never heard this before with Game Gear games, is there a list of the games that run differently? I thought portable games ran the same on all systems.

[Tron 2.0]

Neat this is definitely a cheaper alternative to a consolized gba.

[ncman071]

not really part of the subject, but i really wish analog could have done a genesis/snes combo system in that same price range...$250...i may have bitten on that, but i have a hard time justifying close to $300 for a snes or genesis clone

[Koa Zo]

some GG carts behave differently based on the region of the GG it's running on, and the game content can really change as a result...
I've never heard of this either, and I've considered myself pretty deep into the GameGear over the years.

The ergonomics on the Analogue Pocket appear to be pretty bad. The buttons appear quite cramped, no idea about the shoulder buttons, and the edges are nearly squared-off = doesn't look like it will be comfortable or conducive to long play sessions.

Analogue never came through or updated what happened to the Game Gear adapter for the MegaSG.
How long will buyers be waiting for the

* Cartridge adapters required for Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx [ Sold Separately ].
as they aren't shown to exist or function?...

[FoxNtd]

Yes the Game Gear has regions despite having no region lock. I would be surprised if there is not already a list of games that are affected by the region of the GG they're running on. For example I was glad to play Tails Adventure with the JP cart, but because I have a US GG, the whole game ran in US mode. Couldn't muster any info on the topic of how to set the region of a GG either.

If I'm not mistaken someone on this very forum spoke of Ristar or some similar adventure game that had an entire game section missing unless you ran the cart on a JP GG.

Other carts are likely equipped in the same manner some Mega Drive carts were, detecting the region of the console and loading the ROM content accordingly. I wouldn't be surprised if the GG Bare Knuckle games also do this.

[Spartacus]

not really part of the subject, but i really wish analog could have done a genesis/snes combo system in that same price range...$250...i may have bitten on that, but i have a hard time justifying close to $300 for a snes or genesis clone

A combo genesis/snes woud have been too clonish for my taste. Sort of a non emulation version of the Retron 5.
These FPGA consoles are under $200, which seems pretty reasonable to me. In fact I bought 2 Analogue Super NT's and 2 Analogue Mega SG's myself. I wanted an American and Japanese version of each. The Mega SG plays Master System carts as well and also attaches itself to a Sega CD drive, making itself incredibly useful to me.
I would have bought an Analogue Pocket no matter what, but when I saw that you could dock it and play games on an HD TV with regular controllers, I was ecstatic!

[Edmond Dantes]

Yes the Game Gear has regions despite having no region lock. I would be surprised if there is not already a list of games that are affected by the region of the GG they're running on. For example I was glad to play Tails Adventure with the JP cart, but because I have a US GG, the whole game ran in US mode. Couldn't muster any info on the topic of how to set the region of a GG either.

If I'm not mistaken someone on this very forum spoke of Ristar or some similar adventure game that had an entire game section missing unless you ran the cart on a JP GG.

Other carts are likely equipped in the same manner some Mega Drive carts were, detecting the region of the console and loading the ROM content accordingly. I wouldn't be surprised if the GG Bare Knuckle games also do this.

So I could just buy the JP version of Tails Adventure and its basically the same as the US one I owned as a kid? Okay, glad I know this....

Also one game I recall being affected by regions was, of all things, a Puyo Puyo game that never got localized, but if played on a US GG it has an alternate title screen calling it something like Wizard Kids or something, and english text. Which some speculate means it was meant to be released stateside and it just didn't happen for some reason.

[gbpxl]

A combo genesis/snes woud have been too clonish for my taste. Sort of a non emulation version of the Retron 5.
These FPGA consoles are under $200, which seems pretty reasonable to me. In fact I bought 2 Analogue Super NT's and 2 Analogue Mega SG's myself. I wanted an American and Japanese version of each. The Mega SG plays Master System carts as well and also attaches itself to a Sega CD drive, making itself incredibly useful to me.
I would have bought an Analogue Pocket no matter what, but when I saw that you could dock it and play games on an HD TV with regular controllers, I was ecstatic!

I echo those sentiments. If they had released a 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 with a generic controller that can play all of those systems, my thought is "whats the point." The idea is to take the original hardware and modernize it.

The Pocket I understand because why would someone pay $200 for a console that can only play the 70-some odd Lynx games. I see the add-on as being something that most gamers arent even going to bother with.

I did hear them say "and other systems" so I wonder if that means the Game.com cartridges will be compatible. I dont know what other systems they could be referring to. WonderSwan?

[Greg2600]

I think it's a great idea from Analogue, given their product line. Granted I won't buy it as I'm original hardware only!

[Aussie2B]

I normally go all official with everything, but it's an intriguing product. I'm more than content with my backlit GBA SP for GB/GBC/GBA games, and I don't really mind using my Game Gear, as long as I'm using an AC adapter to power it (though I don't especially like being tethered to a wall). I wish the NGPC was backlit, but I'd never trade the amazing stick on the NGPC for a standard d-pad. But with the Lynx, I've never owned one, and they're a bit pricey. Having access to the Lynx library alone is appealing.

[Ze_ro]

I'm really curious to see how they manage the adapters for other cartridges... I can't picture any elegant solution that doesn't end up with a Game Gear cartridge sticking 2 inches out the top, flopping around and resetting the game. I really hope I'm wrong though.

Also really hoping they do a TurboGrafx HuCard adapter. Probably the only console system that would work well here.

--Zero

[Gameguy]

Yes the Game Gear has regions despite having no region lock. I would be surprised if there is not already a list of games that are affected by the region of the GG they're running on. For example I was glad to play Tails Adventure with the JP cart, but because I have a US GG, the whole game ran in US mode. Couldn't muster any info on the topic of how to set the region of a GG either.
I can't remember hearing this at all so it's new to me. It's been years since I've played any of my Game Gear stuff but I think the only console I still own is a Japanese version so it might be problematic, I might have to track down a North American version after all. I only own a few games at this point but I think they're pretty much all Japanese versions, I still haven't tried them out and I'm not even sure if my console is still working or needs capacitors changed. It would definitely be a plus if I could get them to play in English. Dealing with the console reliability issues is the biggest pain with the system.

[gbpxl]

I'm really curious to see how they manage the adapters for other cartridges... I can't picture any elegant solution that doesn't end up with a Game Gear cartridge sticking 2 inches out the top, flopping around and resetting the game. I really hope I'm wrong though.

Also really hoping they do a TurboGrafx HuCard adapter. Probably the only console system that would work well here.

--Zero
I thought about this too. The point of a portable console is for it to be compact and lightweight. I dont look at a Game Boy with the Game Genie adapter and magnifier and think "portable" or even the Lynx itself. Video Game Critic did a write up on the Lynx that kind of pointed out the hilarity of the advertising as these behemoths as "portable"

I just want a device like the Game Boy that I can shove Lynx carts into and not have to waste a ton of batteries or be stuck next to a wall outlet playing

[Spartacus]

Analogue conducted a pre-order for the Pocket today with a limit of 2 and it sold out in minutes. Lots of unhappy customers complaining about the Analogue store website stalling at the shipping calculator, costing them valuable minutes. It happened to me when I purchased a Pocket as well. Fearing refreshing the web page would lose my place in line, I just gritted it out for a few minutes and was fortunate enough to get my order in time. Several people were posting pics on Analogue's Twitter of presumably confirmed buyers listings the Pocket on Ebay for 2 to 3 times the original price. Many sellers claimed to have 2 for sale, meaning they had only purchased them to resell. It's a real shame and I feel for anyone who only wanted one to play games. Analogue says they will have more in the future, but I know I felt like I've already waited a long time for the Pocket and this batch won't even ship until next year.

[ArcadePerfect]

I'm kind of still waiting to see the NGPC adapter available first, since I primarily want to replay that library of games. It was tempting though, considering it was obvious the system would sell out immediately during the pre-order stage regardless of adapter availability.

[Koa Zo]

I'm kind of still waiting to see the NGPC adapter available first, since I primarily want to replay that library of games.

How they haven't been able make the adapters for the Mega SG available is baffling.
Did they ever even straighten out the GG adapters that shipped?

[ArcadePerfect]

How they haven't been able make the adapters for the Mega SG available is baffling.
Did they ever even straighten out the GG adapters that shipped?

Good question, wasn't aware those might have never released! Never purchased one of those consoles. I'm definitely going to take a wait & see approach until the NGPC adapter is available now.

[Spartacus]

How they haven't been able make the adapters for the Mega SG available is baffling.
Did they ever even straighten out the GG adapters that shipped?


The Analogue Mega Sg Cartridge Adapter Set V1.1 went on sale a few days after the Pocket pre-sale. It's $49.99 plus $20.00 shipping to USA for the three adapters. As someone who owns a large library of Game Gear, Sega My Card and Sg-1000 games, I really appreciated these adapters putting my libraries on a HD TV. The Analogue Mega SG console puts Sega Genesis (all regions), Sega CD and Master System games in HD right out of the box.
I already own Anolgue Super NT's and have the Analogue NT Mini Noir and Pocket on pre-order. I can understand some feeling FPGA solutions aren't playing games on "real" consoles. But as someone who's already been down the Framemeister XRGB Mini/OSSC upscaler road, with all the expensive RGB console modifications and cables, I find FPGA solutions give me the best picture with the lowest lag, period. Of course most people just emulate and don't have any real games or consoles, but I prefer collecting and having physical things to show my hobby to friends and family.
I was disappointed that with the long pre-hype for the Analogue Pocket, the Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx adapters weren't available yet. I was so excited about these adapters that I started collecting Atari Lynx games awhile back. The boxed Atari Lynx console I purchased included a half dozen boxed complete Lynx games. I bought 50 more new sealed Lynx games to finish my collection. Finding that new Lynx games were just as available as used games and priced nearly identically was the strangest retro collecting I've ever experienced. I don't think the Atari Lynx library compares favorably to the Nintendo Game Boy or even Sega's Game Gear library. But not being a handheld gaming enthusiastic, the Analogue Pocket putting these very enjoyable libraries on a big beatiful HD TV is a real blessing to me!

[gbpxl]

Pocket has started shipping out. If you didnt pre order it, youre probably SOL like I am.

[YoshiM]

Pocket has started shipping out. If you didnt pre order it, youre probably SOL like I am.

I debated on it but I wasn't sure what the development would be like with the cores. Analogue was pushing the fact of not being a "roms" type device with the storage, so I wasn't exactly sure what support would be like for other cores. I think this device would be rather lovely as a portable NES.

[gbpxl]

I debated on it but I wasn't sure what the development would be like with the cores. Analogue was pushing the fact of not being a "roms" type device with the storage, so I wasn't exactly sure what support would be like for other cores. I think this device would be rather lovely as a portable NES.
I think they do that to cover their asses. They dont want to advertise it, but there have been day one jailbreaks for their past consoles. I doubt there would be an NES core though, as they sell the NT Mini as a standalone

[gbpxl]

looks like those of us who missed the boat on pre-orders probably wont have one of these in hand until 2023 unless you wanna pay scalper prices

I mostly wanted it for Lynx and Game Gear games since I currently dont have a good reliable way to play them.

[Greg2600]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyLeCQ3IENo

Game Sack Review

[gbpxl]

I dont remember if he covered it or not but the biggest issue I had with the Mega SG and Super NT was the fact that you have to press one of the face buttons or a combo to pull up the menu. so it would trigger a pause screen or exit the pause screen. i wish they couldve made it where you hold down one of the D-pad buttons for 3 seconds to pull up the menu. kinda nitpicky but i like to be able to adjust the screen while Im looking at the game itself, if that makes sense

[Gameguy]

How does this handle region coding for Game Gear games? Different games boot up with different title screens or text depending on which region console they're played on.

[Tron 2.0]

MLIG review of it still it's price now being $219.00 ouch....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro9QQrTOnT0

[gbpxl]

How does this handle region coding for Game Gear games? Different games boot up with different title screens or text depending on which region console they're played on.
I dont know but if its like the other Analogue consoles, you can change the console's region

I pre-ordered a white and a black one Gonna hold off on the dock for now because I mostly just see myself using it in handheld mode. I use the Game Boy Player sometimes but it just feels more natural to play these games on the small screen. I also ordered a link cable and Game Gear adapter