The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Dr. Zoidberg
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The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Retro favourite Game Boy has been given a new lease of life

Game Boy has turned Game Man, just in time for the original device’s 30th birthday

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Vintage video games have been levelled up through a contemporary reinterpretation of the Nintendo Game Boy. Analogue Pocket, by US tech company Analogue, is a faithful reimagining of the legendary games console. The handheld device can be used to play the entire library of 2,780-plus games produced for the 1989 Game Boy and its subsequent successors, the Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance.

Analogue launched in 2011 with purpose to ‘celebrate and explore the history of video games with the respect it deserves’. You’ll find no digital downloads or emulations here, as its catalogue of systems exclusively run vintage games cartridges: a nostalgia-tinted homage to the original capabilities of their decades-old predecessors.

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Analogue Pocket very much follows these footsteps. Aside from its refreshing minimalist visuals, it stands up to modern standards with a host of impressive on-board tech, fully putting the qualms presented by its forefathers to rest. A high definition display (ten times that of the original Game Boy, so we’re told) makes colours pop, shine and glow like never before. Additionally, stereo speakers, a USB-C rechargeable lithium ion battery and fully mappable buttons give today’s user better sound, longer battery life and the means to experience titles in their own way.

On the topic of titles: Analogue Pocket isn’t just restricted to Nintendo favourites. Analogue has made a host of cartridge adapters available to vintage-era enthusiasts, bringing releases from additional systems including the Sega Game Gear, SNK Neo Geo Pocket Colour and Atari Lynx into the fold.

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The device isn’t just a lo-fi stroll down memory lane, however: it’s also something of a creative tool. For musicians, an onboard digital audio workstation called Nanoloop comes pre-loaded with a quirky synthesiser and sequencer. Fittingly, budding developers can also utilise the portable hardware to develop their own concepts.

With the oldest of the original Game Boy’s titles having turned 30 in 2019, Analogue Pocket well commemorates the console that took the world by storm. As Analogue itself appropriately puts it: ‘there is no better way to explore all of handheld gaming history.’

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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:drool: Both colors looks amazing. Between this and the RG350, it seems like we're at a new level of handheld clones.

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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It looks great. I don't know why Nintendo didn't get something out for the 30th anniversary, it would have been easy money for them.

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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The price is US$199. Ehh...
Its 3.5-inch LCD screen boasts a 1600 x 1440 resolution, which sounds ridiculously sharp despite its diminutive size. “This display outclasses any display in a dedicated portable gaming device by a long shot,” says Taber. “It’s stunning.”
https://www.fastcompany.com/90417529/th ... sign-snobs

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Dr. Zoidberg wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 1:24 am The price is US$199. Ehh...
Its 3.5-inch LCD screen boasts a 1600 x 1440 resolution, which sounds ridiculously sharp despite its diminutive size. “This display outclasses any display in a dedicated portable gaming device by a long shot,” says Taber. “It’s stunning.”
https://www.fastcompany.com/90417529/th ... sign-snobs
I figured it would be a pricey option. :olol: And of course they added a ridiculously high-resolution screen for a Game Boy clone. I have a secondary monitor with less resolution than that, but I suppose it's there to support the HDMI out function.

I am interested in a Game Gear adapter because I've got a small collection of games from back in the day. Knowing these guys, it'll be $80+ for a cartridge adapter per system.

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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I missed the bit where it says it does GBA, so that does make it more worth it. With shipping it's probably going to be over AU$300, so into Switch Lite territory.

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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It's definitely designed for that premium collector market. It'd be great if there were a FPGA for ROM loading. And imagine if you could load ROMs and custom cores to play 8-bit and 16-bit consoles.

Analogue makes great stuff, I'm glad they're pushing the FPGA solution for classic gaming. I'm also expecting the Chinese to start shipping cheaper units once prices start to drop in a few years.

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

Post by pixel »

:heart: That's pretty damn good for $199. Screen looks amazing, and the battery time seems solid

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Re: The Analogue Pocket Thread (Game Boy clone)

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Dr. Zoidberg wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:56 pm
They can fuck off with this nonsense :rofl: I want to buy one just to use the inevitable jailbreak that lets me sully their perfect little device with my dirty ROMs.

Suggesting that only the purest of gamers need to have actual carts is the stuffiest of stuffy gaming opinions, and laughable considering that the Analogue Pocket is a knock-off system at its core — no matter how accurate it is.

Analogue is supposed to be this sort-of savior of retro gaming, but may have overshot the trajectory and ego-tripped into God complex mode.


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