Analogue Pocket - What We Know So Far

The Analogue Pocket is the latest do-dad from the nostalgic folks at Analogue, who have previously created modern versions of the NES, Super NES, and Sega Genesis. The Pocket is the 21st century version of a Game Boy; one that's sleek and stylish, and comes ready to play all your favorite games from days long past. Think of it as a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance wrapped into one aesthetically pleasing package.

Here's what we know so far about the Analogue Pocket.

You'll have to wait until 2020 to get your hands on the Analogue Pocket. There is no firm release date as of yet, but interested parties can sign up on Analogue's site to get the latest news regarding the Pocket through email. Also, this nifty little gadget will only be sold on a first come, first served basis. Only limited quantities will be produced, so If this sounds like the ideal gift, you might snap an Analogue Pocket up quickly when it launches.

The Pocket is many things, but it is not an emulator. The Pocket runs off of old school cartridges, enhancing the experience of playing retro handheld games. Analogue proudly calls the Pocket, "a tribute to portable gaming." So if you have any Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and/or Game Boy Advance cartridges rattling around, you'll have a new home for them in the form of the Pocket. That's more than 2,700 titles at your disposal. 

That said, if you were a fan of non-Nintendo handheld consoles, not to worry. It can use adapters to run non-Nintendo compatible titles that were originally enjoyed on the Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket, and Atari Lynx. This makes for even more gaming possibilities.

The Pocket, in black or white, will come with a $200 price tag. If you're feeling a little spendy, you could also opt-in for the Analogue Dock, which will allow for the Pocket to display on a bigger screen. Think of the Pocket plus the Analogue Dock like the Switch and its dock, but more retro.

There's a lot of power in this little Pocket. It packs a 3.5 inch, 615 ppi LCD screen with a 1600x1440 resolution, which is much sharper than any other Nintendo portable's display. It has a rechargeable lithium ion battery, so you can just plug the charger into its USB-C port without worrying about scrounging around for double-A batteries. And the Pocket has an SD card slot for all your precious save data and a headphone output for quiet gaming. 

On the software side, we know that the Pocket plays games, but did you know it can also be used to program games and make music? Yes, you read that right. Analogue added a second field-programmable gate array chip (FPGA) for "developers to develop and port their own cores" alongside a built in audio workstation called Nanoloop which supports a synthesizer and sequencer for making 8-bit beats. 

The Pocket really packs a punch.