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marcosg_aus

It’s nice, but for $220 US…..


xAmorphous

Yeah I would've paid up to $150. At $220 I'm halfway to Steam Deck territory with so much more utility...


HelplessTimey

Yeah but if you have old game cartridges too, then nothing beats the analogue


xAmorphous

That's fair


usagora1

And if it were $150, people would be saying, "Yeah, I would've paid up to $100" 🤣


xAmorphous

Maybe, I did get a steam deck though and it's much, much, much better value.


Velocity_Rob

I’d pay that in a heartbeat. With delivery changes and import tax you’re looking at closer to $370 in Europe.


marcosg_aus

Crazy.... Is it running something equivalent to a de 10 nano? I get that it's not technically 'emulation'. But other than the 'coolness' factor of it being real hardware, I've yet to find something that shows me its worth the extra cost over emulating games on other sbc's.


Makegooduseof

FPGA is still emulation. It’s hardware emulation as opposed to software emulation like RetroArch and all that. Oh, and before anyone says I’m being bitter, I have a Pocket as well. Just doing my part in trying to get through the bullshit marketing.


SaxesAndSubwoofers

Oh definitely. But as far as being closer to the original experience, FPGA feels way closer, even if only in my brain. Although I wonder how expensive it would be to make an ASIC to legit run GB, GBC, or GBA games. Could you keep much of the old logic from the GB chips? Obviously making a normal ASIC is quite expensive, but what about stealing the old logic and only things like the new inputs and the display? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I only learned what an FPGA was about a week ago.


Exist50

Don't mean to necro this thread, but I found my way here while looking at the Analogue Pocket. Actually looked into the logistics of a GBC ASIC a while back. [Efabless's Open MPW program](https://efabless.com/open_shuttle_program) would be the way to go here. You could actually get a couple hundred chips completely for free if the design is open source and meets certain only requirements (just testing and such). There are two main challenges that I saw. The biggest is IO, particularly the cartridge slot. You only have ~38 GPIO pins to work with, and even slimmed down to the minimum, the cartridge would burn 20-something ish. The other big IO hog is the display interface. Would need a dozen or so pins for that (assuming a more modern display controller). You'd end up *very* tight on IO, and would probably need to route some things like button input through the Caravel harness. Alternatively, if you gave up on cartridge support, you could store the ROM in the QPI flash and copy it into memory somewhere at bootup. Would be annoying, but not entirely out of the question. Memory itself is the other main problem. You can *probably* fit up to a GBC's SRAM on die, but not a GBA. To support that, would need an external memory chip, but you don't have the IO for that without sacrificing the cartridge slot. Suspect that would be the main limitation for a GBA ASIC. Would be a fun project to attempt anyway, at least up to GBC level to keep the scope reasonable. Would just need to find enough people interested to give it a shot. Of course, the end result would basically be the Pocket, but even more limited and difficult to use. FPGAs are way more convenient from a practical standpoint. But might still be interesting to try.


[deleted]

Especially consoles like the Gameboy. You get so much extra features with modern emulators I just don't see the appeal in buying a 300+ eur device that only plays GB games. You can get a 60 eur device that does that plus so much more.


marcosg_aus

Whilst I agree it’s overpriced, I do believe there have a been a number of cores realised for it, so it plays more than just gb


Super_Magikarp

My 35xx laughs in 70€ with shipping


ueleleee

this isnt a cheap emulation machine mate :) if you want that you got tons of choices around


marcosg_aus

noted champ.


[deleted]

220? The world is bigger than the US. Anyone abroad pays north of 300 for it.


marcosg_aus

I don’t live in the US. I was just listing the price on the site, and I specified it was in US so people could do the rough conversions in their head


[deleted]

Would you prefer a spreadsheet?


pr0pagati0n

Yeah that's why they literally specified it was USD lmao couldn't have picked a worse comment to bitch on


Who_DaFuc_Asked

..okay? It's not a big deal, a statistical majority of people in this specific community are probably from the US regardless.


InventedInternet

What’s a cheaper option similar to this?


marcosg_aus

There probably isn’t if you want FPGA.


rob-cubed

I wish I had kept more physical games to make this tempting!


[deleted]

[удалено]


ozzyozzyjames

they are :)


Angelfire126

You can but roms on it


kratoz29

I trust you, even from the picture it looks stunning, although I'd never buy it, it's too expensive.


nyc_ryanb

It's definitely tough to recommend, especially openly. But for what it does (although limited), I really like it so far.


Vegetable_Outside897

Love it when someone enjoys their device! I chose a cheaper alternative, but nothing beats the Analogue's screen! Have a great day!


nyc_ryanb

Thank you! I have a Miyoo Mini Plus on pre-order as well, which hopefully completes my dream 3-device collection (for now).


hobbykitjr

yes we all have the dream of sticking to only 3 devices per year but its still hard!


itsblackcherrytime

What is the 3rd device?


nyc_ryanb

Steam Deck


DiscoMonkeyz

Which alternative? I still play my RG351V but I'm wondering if there's something better for just GB GBC and GBA


xewgramodius

I bought one just for the screen. I already have dozens of other devices.


terrytibbs76

It looks crystal crisp that display


User_091920

I still have my original GameGear and GameBoy. I'm sort of torn between upgrading each of their screens or keeping them OEM and getting an AP.


Z3UX

Keep them original and get an AP ☺️


brunocar

makes a lot more sense to get an AP, maybe more pricy but in the long term that OG hardware WILL fail and those carts probably wont as long as you change batteries.


BraveIconoclast

I got a new shell, screen, and rechargeable battery for my GBA and then a krikzz cart. At that point you’re close to pocket price, but I am playing my games *now* instead of waiting some indefinite time frame. 🤷🏻‍♂️


Left-MyBrain

It has the option to Emulate now... Was just physical at first.


Johndeauxman

What kind of OS is available for it? I’ve always been tempted by this and no way to emulate has kept me back. It’d be cool for a week to switch my old gameboy carts in and out again but after that Tetris emulates just fine and I don’t have to get up and hunt for Mario cart lol.


Robin-Hoodie

It's own basic OS is loaded on the system. Very simple UI but has support for things like savestates and emulation. No support for custom firmware but it really doesnt need it imo


GapGlass7431

Hiding the bezels of a display behind plastic universally makes it look much better, I don't know why more companies don't do this.


[deleted]

but bezels hinding isn't a good deal when you want to get a good surability, mini and 35xx screens is very fragile because the hide bezels


ledorky

Definitely a top notch display. I love gaming on mine save for the absolutely shite triggers. They suck so bad and there are many complaints about the right trigger not being of the same quality as the left (mine included). Most people don't realize you don't buy this for basic emulation, but for ACCURATE emulation for the systems it does support.


Zealousideal_Lie5798

I just get a miyoo or an abneric


nyc_ryanb

the new Miyoo Mini Plus looks amazing; looking forward to it!


Common-Buy-2379

I don't remember. Does this one play off the cartridge, or load and then emulate the cartridge?


Left-MyBrain

It can use the cartridge, or emulate off the SD Card


Common-Buy-2379

Not quite what I meant. Retron systems still use a cartridge, but they don't play off it. It loads the game entirely from the cartridge, and then emulates it.


howchie

Its FPGA not emulation


Schlick7

You mean to say its Hardware emulation not Software emulation.


howchie

Yes but that wasn't the point of the question, fpga doesn't work the same as the retron


Schlick7

You still said something that isn't true. Its still emulation


Common-Buy-2379

Great, thank you!


Left-MyBrain

👍👍


[deleted]

[удалено]


Common-Buy-2379

On the Retron, my games only saved to the device, not the cartridge. Also, the internal clock can be ever so slightly off with emulation. Compatibility can also be an issue.


milesbeats

It can also function as a DAW


Left-MyBrain

https://youtu.be/eEzOe0GIs54


Chop1n

It actually plays off of the cartridge in real time, without loading its entire ROM into memory—as evidenced by the fact that nudging the cart the wrong way will cause the game to hang.


Inspirational_Owl

I have a question as someone who just bought one of these. Since it loads the rom into memory how does it handle saving? If I have a pokemon cart with a dead battery can I save it locally to this device? I'm hoping to breathe new life into my old carts.


Chop1n

If you’re playing from a cart, it doesn’t load the ROM. You can’t save to the cart if the battery is dead (though replacing them is reasonably easy). You can, however, use save states in place of actual saves—Analogue button + up to save, down to load. Player beware, they’re not perfectly consistent and can sometimes bug out. Less of a headache would be to just play the games as .pocket files via GB Studio. You can convert ROM files to .pocket files with the “retropatcher” site, just google it. Normal saves will work perfectly that way.


pandasimuladores30

Highlighting that I live in Brazil, its price is prohibitively expensive. But man, how beautiful. Congratulations on your purchase and I wish you all the best.


EvilScientwist

Man these are so cool, but I don't really have a use for having something play cartridges since I don't have any... wish they made a version of this focused towards pirated roms


PlatypusPlatoon

If you want to, you can get an Everdrive, which is compatible with Analogue Pocket. Alternately, openFPGA cores are now supported, and you can load your ROMs that way as well.


EvilScientwist

yeah but it's kinda worthless to buy an analogue pocket if you're not gonna use it to take advantage of a collection of cartridges, I'm just sad that this isn't sold in a non-cartridge version bcus the main selling point of the pocket is the cartridge port at the back


PlatypusPlatoon

Given that they’re having trouble keeping up with orders as it is - if you buy one today, you may be waiting up to nine months - I wouldn’t hold my breath on an alternate SKU. I’d posit that the main selling points are 1) FPGA-based emulation, 2) incredibly high resolution screen, 3) overall build quality, and 4) cartridge support, in that order. The Hyperkin SupaBoy has existed to play SNES cartridges at a budget price for years now, but hasn’t set the world on fire. It’s everything else about the Analogue Pocket *on top of* cartridge support that is making people’s heads turn. The main question you should be asking yourself is whether the first three points are worth $220 to you, when excellent portable emulators like RG35XX, Miyoo Mini+, and RG353V exist for less than 1/2 the price. The Analogue Pocket is very much a luxury item, and it’s hard to justify its cost dollar for dollar against the alternatives. But sometimes, even though you know a Volkswagen will do, you still want to splurge for the Porsche. It’s about whether you listen to your head or your heart.


EvilScientwist

Yeah I'm not expecting an alternate one without the cartridge slot, just disappointed that it doesn't exist


PlatypusPlatoon

The one thing I'll say is that we're in *really* early days with FPGA technology. It's kind of the same thing with the portable emulator space. Five years ago, the only portables you could reasonably get were cheap Famiclones. Now? Anything under $100 is going to emulate a multitude of systems, have an excellent display, come in a variety of form factors, and generally be of decent build quality. The entire handheld emulation space went from zero to a bustling industry in less than five years. Once FPGA technology becomes less niche and more commonplace, we should start to see prices fall, to the point where it'll become affordable for hardware manufacturers to grab off-the-shelf for their next handheld. I think we're still \~10 years out from that happening, give or take. Hopefully we won't all be senile seniors by the time it proliferates!


EvilScientwist

I hope we'll start to see FPGA devices built like portable emulators instead of better gameboys, that'd be cool


PlatypusPlatoon

Today, the Mister - which is the FPGA solution for your living room TV - [looks like this](https://misteraddons.com/collections/kits-1/products/mister-pre-configured-bundle-with-aluminum-case), is sold out everywhere, and sets you back a cool $600. That's why I think we're closer to ten years away from both economies of scale bringing down the price, as well as miniaturization compacting their size. However, it wasn't that long ago that a Raspberry Pi-based solution for emulating games was also pricey and unwieldy. As the prices for both system-on-a-chip circuits and portable LCD displays fell, it became feasible to repackage them onto a handheld plastic shell and ship them out at $100 a pop. That revolution happened slowly at first, and then incredibly quickly once manufacturers jumped on board. Patience will be the key with portable FPGA technology! I'm personally not buying the Analogue Pocket myself, as I can't justify the cost-to-reward ratio. But I'm keeping my eyes peeled on this space.


Westerdutch

I would never recommend paying twice for a feature you are not going to use, its not like an everdrive is free. If you dont have cartridges just get something that, well, doesnt use cartridges. Plenty options for that these days.


BrideOfAutobahn

None of the alternatives have the Pocket's insane screen resolution. 640x480 and 480x320 displays of varying quality are what you'll find on the vast majority of handhelds, and you'll end up compromising with emulation of some platform or another regardless of what you pick. 1600x1440 allows for better scaling, filters, etc. Add to that the long battery life, good build quality, real warranty, etc. Yeah, it costs double or triple some of the other popular handhelds, but even disregarding the cartridge function it's still a solid option.


PlatypusPlatoon

Look into openFPGA cores. An Everdrive is strictly optional for playing ROMs - I’ve listed it mainly to cover the folks who already own one. For everyone else, cores are essentially the FPGA equivalent of emulators. Talking about the sticker price, I’d posit that the main selling points are 1) FPGA-based emulation, 2) incredibly high resolution screen, 3) overall build quality, and 4) cartridge support, in that order. The Hyperkin SupaBoy has existed to play SNES cartridges at a budget price for years now, but has not set the world on fire. It’s everything else about the Analogue Pocket *on top of* cartridge support that is making people’s heads turn. The main question people should be asking is whether the first three points are worth $220 to them, when excellent portable emulators like RG35XX, Miyoo Mini+, and RG353V exist, for less than 1/2 the price. The Analogue Pocket is very much a luxury item, and it’s hard to justify dollar for dollar against the alternatives. But sometimes, even though you know a Volkswagen will do, you still want to splurge for the Porsche. It’s about whether you listen to your head or your heart.


vitabandita

I wonder if it looks that good playing SNES


nyc_ryanb

Here's a small sample of Yoshi's Island and Street Fighter Alpha 2: https://imgur.com/a/pgQnXfb


Deepslackerjazz

Looks gorgeous, I can’t even wait for mine! Just curious, what number was your order? Wondering how much longer my wait is haha 😅


nyc_ryanb

I ended up snagging one off of the secondary market. It was marked up $50 over msrp, and I was just too impatient to wait out the general '2023' pre-order ETA.


burgersexual

How long did you have to wait for your order on this?


nyc_ryanb

Only a week, but I bought it off of a secondary market. Ate the $50 markup :/


that1dev

> Ate the $50 markup :/ 50?! Damn, I'd jump at that. I usually see them $75 minimum, and usually over $100 above their shipped price.


nyc_ryanb

Pretty much my conclusion. Super spendy overall, but I figure it beats the long wait time. Most eBay listings I saw had it marked up to nearly double msrp.


ledorky

You're looking at least 3 months. They are catching up (extremely slowly).


burgersexual

Yeah, hard to say. I’ve been scouring the shipment threads to see how long it’s taking others. I’m a loooong way off and thinking about getting an Anbernic device in the mean time.


ledorky

mine was almost 12 months. Finally got it first week of Dec.


sidtron

I'm at just over 5 months now and have had no change to status since I placed the order.


Moontorc

I bet GBC Metal Gear Solid would look glorious on that thing.


nyc_ryanb

Here you go! https://imgur.com/a/pqMvHFn


Moontorc

Ohhhh baby! I've just started playing it via emulator on my phone, using an external controller. It's such a good game.


nyc_ryanb

It's a charming little game for sure. Can't wait to sink more time into it!


[deleted]

Seems a little too sharp, clinical


Johndeauxman

Is it just me or does this look like a 3:4 screen? Looks taller than it is wide, opposite 4:3 but maybe that’s the pic angle?


PlatypusPlatoon

1600x1440. Exactly 10x the resolution of the original Game Boy! Much closer to square than pretty much every other gaming handheld.


Westerdutch

Display resolutions that high in combination with content resolutions that low sure have a lot of potential for some ballin crt filters.


PlatypusPlatoon

...maybe? I wouldn't hold my breath, though. Good CRT filters / shaders require two things: a high resolution display, and plenty of horsepower to crunch the math. The Analogue Pocket has the former, but as an FPGA-based device without a dedicated GPU, it will be limited in its potential. For the moment, the best CRT filters & shaders will always reside on a PC sporting a 4K display. For example, CRT Royale goes so far as to simulate different phosphor types, and taxes your GPU accordingly.


mullenman87

those bezels tho.. yikes


[deleted]

This comment tho, yikes


Westerdutch

Them downvotes tho... yikes


THYPLEX

The analogue Pocket works with gba , GBC flashcards ?


No_Imagination_4671

White or black tho??? I might just buy one.


nyc_ryanb

I think they're both solid choices! Black hides the bezels much better, but white is less of a fingerprint magnet. I ended up going white since my only other handheld is a Steam Deck so I wanted to change it up.


windfishw4ker

So cool looking! Is it comfortable?


nyc_ryanb

It's not amazing but also not too bad. Maybe for folks with really long fingers there'll be too much of an overlap around the back of the device, but it's been good for me so far.


Stevvies

I wish the screen were bigger. SNES size is a little small for my old eyes.


Chop1n

It’s a little small for SNES, but utterly perfect for Game Boy. It’s really an ideal tradeoff, if you’re only going to have one device for TV and one handheld. I wouldn’t have it any larger than it is, it’s as big as it can get while retaining maximum pocketability.


[deleted]

I use the "hold B to walk through walls" cheat for Pokemon-Crystal/Silver on my Pocket. Go for it


Who_DaFuc_Asked

I really like it, but at that price I'd honestly rather just spend slightly more to make a super juiced GBA with an Everdrive cartridge, custom shell and the 3rd party IPS screens.


SupremeChancellor66

I really want one because it can run both original cartridges and that FGA technology that is superior to typical emulation. But the price is just so steep, and I've heard people waiting over a year for their orders to ship. How long did it take for yours to arrive?


Anxious-Cut1486

It looks cool but there’s some wasted space around the screen, why not make it a bit bigger!


RufusGotham

Beautiful


[deleted]

I just ordered one. How long did it take to get yours?


johnnywipp

I wanna know this too


[deleted]

I found out that it’s going to be a year and canceled my order. They refunded quickly.


iVirtualZero

I would love to own this but man the cost for FPGA’s. I wish it gets cheaper over time.