Analogue just released the best handheld gaming console since the Game Boy

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It’s the Game Boy’s 30th anniversary and Nintendo seems more interested in focusing on its newest handheld than giving any sort of nod to the system that started it all. That’s okay though, because stepping into the void is Analogue, with its latest future-retro console.

The $200 Analogue Pocket is a beautiful nod to the systems of yesteryear, while still retaining that modern, minimalistic look Analogue is known for.

Oh, and it’ll play almost any retro handheld game you can throw at it.

Analogue’s new handheld can play almost any retro handheld game

Image: Analogue

Inside the classy exterior lives two programmable FPGA chips. One is set up to emulate classic Nintendo handhelds like the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, and cartridges from all of these can slot into the back. It’s also set to emulate the Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, and the Neo Geo Pocket Color, using adapters to fit their cartridges in.

The other FPGA is unprogrammed for now, giving a blank slate to the Pocket for other developers to play with.

More about the Analogue Pocket:

• 3.5-inch backlit screen with a 1600 x 1440 resolution
• microSD slot for storage, opening the door for games loaded as ROMs
• Can connect to your TV over HDMI with the optional dock, which also supports USB and Bluetooth controllers
• Comes with Nanoloop, a digital synthesizer and sequencer for creating chiptune music

When it’s available in 2020, the Analogue Pocket will be $200. That might be a lot, but remember the Game Boy was $89.99 when released in 1989. Adjusting that for inflation it’d be somewhere between $180 and $200. The Pocket’s price doesn’t look so bad now, eh?

What do you think? Interested in this handheld from Analogue? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.