Retro video game system company Analogue has announced the newest addition to its console lineup: the Analogue Pocket. Bearing resemblance to a Game Boy Pocket in appearance (quite possibly the inspiration for its name), the Analogue Pocket is capable of playing more than just the original Game Boy. The console will also handle titles from the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance libraries through the same cartridge slot.
Furthermore, its screen is capable of a higher resolution display than any of Nintendo's official handhelds for which the Pocket aims to be an alternative. The Pocket's screen is 3.5" long and wide and displays games at 1600x1440 resolution. While the system's official description boasts of a resolution 10 times that of the original Game Boy, it's even considerably stronger than the GBA -which ran at a mere 240x160 resolution-.
In addition to playing any game made for a console with "Game Boy" in its name, the Pocket includes a built-in digital audio workstation program. Called Nanoloop, is app is a synthesizer and sequencer capable of producing tracks at home as well as performing those tracks and altering them on the fly in the context of a live performance. This truly rounds out the features of this Game Boy replacement device.
In the past, Analogue has been responsible for a number of similar retro consoles capable of running older hardware. The NES, SNES, and even Sega Genesis have clone systems from the company. While those were limited by their respective console's library, the Pocket can technically handle an even larger selection of games than just those originally made for Nintendo's platform. The Pocket will support cartridge adapters for Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and Atari Lynx among others. Basically, if it can run on a Game Boy system, it can run on the Analogue Pocket.
One could even say that Analogue is taking a page out of the Switch's playbook, connecting Nintendo's gaming past to its gaming present. While it won't be available at the system's launch, Analogue is developing a dock that can plug into any HDMI port so that the Pocket can be played on a big screen. It supports wireless and USB controllers.
An exact release date hasn't been set, but the Pocket will be available for $199 in 2020 in limited quantites.