From the creators of Evercade comes the Super Pocket, a handheld that plays cartridges and will be available in Taito and Capcom flavours.
Announced by Hyper Mega Tech – a brand created by Evercade makers Blaze Entertainment – the Super Pocket is a new handheld due for release in October.
Priced at £49, it’s a more affordable and smaller device than the Evercade EXP, but is still compatible with its proprietary cartridges. The Super Pocket also comes in two editions, Taito and Capcom, with each device pre-loaded with a dozen or so games from their respective companies.
The Taito version’s 17-title line-up includes the likes of Space Invaders, Rastan, Elevator Action, Bubble Bobble – and, surprisingly, hit gun game, Operation Wolf. We’re guessing you’ll have to move a crosshair with the D-pad or something.
On the Super Pocket Capcom Edition, meanwhile, you’ll find Street Fighter’: Hyper Fighting, Final Fight, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and 1942 among its 12 titles.
The Super Pocket measures 78mm x 125mm x 25mm, making it truly pocket sized. It carries a 320×280 screen, and has four additional bumper-style buttons on the device’s rear. Those’ll probably come in handy for six-button games like Street Fighter II.
The Super Pocket’s cartridge slot means users will also be able to run the Evercade’s increasing library of games, which currently tops the 500 mark – the selection is set to grow again later this year, with collections dedicated to Delphine and Sunsoft due out in September.
Again, the Super Pocket’s £49 price point makes it a more affordable retro gaming option than the Evercade EXP, which retails for £129.99. For the wealthier retro gamers out there, though, there’s a limited edition crystal version of each device on the way, priced at £119.99 each.
Available to pre-order from @FunStockGames on Friday July 14th is the Super Pocket Limited Edition package!
Crystal colours of the Super Pockets in one collectible package, and limited to 2000 units!
Only £119.99 | €139.99 pic.twitter.com/TTUvqFVgxK
— HyperMegaTech (@HyperMegaTech) July 12, 2023
Both these and the regular Super Pocket will be available to preorder from 14 July, and will launch in October 2023.
It’s an intriguing little device, and we’ll be interested to see whether Hyper Mega Tech do more versions based on other Japanese studios or publishers in the future. A Toaplan Edition, maybe? We can dream.
Read more: The bygone joy of bespoke arcade cabinets
