DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Has anyone been tracking the development and upcoming release of the Evercade handheld? It's a dedicated portable gaming device releasing in May that actually uses cartridges. It has some pretty big names in classic gaming attached (Namco, Atari, Data East), although most of the titles being released are the standard fare you've seen hundreds of times before. I just found out about it the other day and, while almost everything about it screams cheap, it has a certain je ne sais quoi quality to it. Some things about it are objectively terrible: the cheap plastic construction, the budget LCD screen, the fact that it eschews the arcade releases for the console versions. At the same time... the cartridge cases are sexy in a way that is reminiscent of old school Neo Geo boxes; they would look fantastic lined up on a shelf. It even has mini-HDMI output for some reason. Price of entry is pretty low at $100 with three pack-in collections (Atari, Interplay, & Data East) or $80 with just the Atari collection. Additional cartridges are $20 a pop. There are supposed to be ten available at launch with more to come later this year, but Amazon doesn't even have the two launch Namco collections listed yet. I think I'm gonna take the plunge and grab the entire set for a little over $200. If I was a betting man, I'd say there is a 90% chance that this system will arrive dead in the water and be on clearance within a year. Still, it's kind of cool to see a dedicated handheld for adults released by a company that's not Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. Thoughts? Anyone interested in joining me in this doomed endeavor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD | 1,378 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 I preordedred it along with the cart compilations. Really looking forward to it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splain | 2,560 Editorials Team · Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 I have a soft spot for handhelds. I can already play those games portably a couple different ways, but yes I'm still interested in it. Like you say, it's neat to see something like this come out and it would be neat to see those games on a shelf. I don't know if I'm going to pre-order it but I'll definitely look at what people say about it when it comes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox | 1,665 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 So it is portable....cept you need to carry around a stack of boxes with you to swap games? I dunno, feels like I would be better off getting one of those open source emulator handhelds and tossing a bunch of roms on there for like half the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,700 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 7 minutes ago, fox said: So it is portable....cept you need to carry around a stack of boxes with you to swap games? Yes, that’s how we did it back in the day. And some still today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 2 hours ago, fox said: So it is portable....cept you need to carry around a stack of boxes with you to swap games? I dunno, feels like I would be better off getting one of those open source emulator handhelds and tossing a bunch of roms on there for like half the price. In no universe is this the best option for portable gaming in 2020. There are definitely better ways to do this, especially with the Analogue Pocket coming. But I still want it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Well reviews are dropping and they're... actually really good! Apparently the quality is great and the games play really well. I honestly thought this was going to be a bit of a disaster, but now I'm excited! Amazon shipping date keeps slipping and they never did stock the Namco carts (I caved and ordered them from Funstock), but I'm looking forward to getting mine soon. A sampling of the bigger name reviews: https://www.eurogamer.net/amp/digitalfoundry-2020-blaze-evercade-df-retro-hardware-review https://gizmodo.com/the-evercade-simplifies-retro-gaming-and-im-surprised-h-1843001098/amp https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/28/21271988/evercade-retro-games-handheld-review-classic-atari-namco-interplay https://www.engadget.com/evercade-retro-handheld-hands-on-133010341.html Edited June 12, 2020 by DoctorEncore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD | 1,378 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Most reviews have been positive about the system. Mine is still on its way. Eager to get it to try it out myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) Well I finally got one random cartridge from Amazon and it turns out they are using the same packaging as the EU releases, PEGI and all. So if you're still on the fence, just order from Funstock and get the better package deal. It's not the end of the world, but I did specifically order from Amazon so that I could get the version they advertised (i.e. no PEGI symbol). I'll reach out on Twitter to see if this is what they planned or if it was a mistake. UPDATE: Actually, I went back and looked on Amazon and this Technos cartridge, the Data East cartridge, and the three game bundle all have the PEGI symbols in the artwork. It will be interesting to see if the other games end up matching their Amazon artwork. Edited June 19, 2020 by DoctorEncore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now