A short time ago, we lifted the lid on a new handheld games system aimed at retro players, called the Evercade. Rather than attempt to go head-to-head with the Switch, this pocket-sized marvel will instead focus on running old-school games, and it will come bundled with a cartridge (remember them?) packed with classic Atari hits.
The idea of playing Atari 2600 titles might not get everyone's pulse racing, but we can now exclusively reveal that more licenced carts are coming to the platform – and these are a lot more interesting if you're a gamer who grew up in the late '80s and early '90s.
Two new cartridges will focus on the output of Interplay and Data East respectively. The Interplay cart will include ClayFigher, Earthworm Jim, Battle Chess, Boogerman, Dragon Wars, Incantation and Titan.
The Data East cartridge has a few more games on it, and will include Bad Dudes, Burgertime, Midnight Resistance, Side Pocket, Karate Champ, Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics, Fighter's History, Two Crude Dudes, Magical Drop II and Bump 'n' Jump.
The console will be available in a 'Standard' edition which with a single cart for £59.99 / €69.99 / $79.99, or a 'Premium' version with all three carts for £79.99 / €89.99 / $99.99. It has not been confirmed exactly which carts will be bundled with these packs as yet. The machine is expected to launch in 'Q4' this year.
Furthermore, we've been told about another Evercade-related announced that is scheduled for early next week, and it's pretty amazing news – watch this space.
Has this news increased your interest in the Evercade? Let us know with a comment.
This article was originally published by nintendolife.com on Wed 22nd May, 2019.
Comments 36
Weird. They should just put these games on the Switch. Seems like they’d probably make more money that way.
Looks like some good cellections, but it's still a hard pass due to being a new console.
I just want my Polymega.
Ew, Data East. Even as a kid I remember staying away from anything they made. I quickly learned how terrible Ocean, Data East, and Sunsoft we’re
I was going to say if it was $99 i might give it a chance. But $99 and it come with all 3 game carts this thing is defiantly on my radar now. If these games' are 100% faithful to the originals or better this might be a impulse must buy for me.
If that is all they are launching with, GG.
Not bad games, but I don't think anyone is really gonna go nuts for this thing.
I'm a little bit more interested but I would be curious to see how the emulation is so I'll be waiting to get feedback before I seriously contemplate getting this.
"a new handheld games system aimed at retro players"
This is why I think gamers will support it and without competing with Switch will keep it alive.
I'll stick with my Nintendo Switch.
Cue Flood of Power
@Tendogamerxxx I don't remember Ocean or Sunsoft as Publishers being an issue - they had a lot of quality titles between them, especially the former. Got to love the loading music for those old titles on the C64 =0p
@Tendogamerxxx Sunsoft made some of the best games on NES at least.
Meh, I will stick with my trusty n3ds for my retro fix on the go.
If game performance is faithful, I’ll be getting this for sure. Good selection and good value.
Even as a kid with a limited selection of games to choose from, I always thought Karate Champ was hot trash. And yet, I would still play this with my sister since it was the only fighting game we had (at least until we got TMNT Tournament Fighter for the NES)
While none of these individual games are really jumping out to me as "must haves" the full collections as a whole are pretty interesting at this price point.
I truly wish for a dedicated retro system that has respect for the games beyond their simple code. Most retro systems or compilations I've seen are usually simple ports of old games, maybe sometimes with some basic documentation, occasionnal box shot and nothing more.
The best I've seen was the old PSP Sega compilation, which had front and back box shots of every games, historical background on each, and even video interviews of those who were involved in their creation. This is still, to date, the best example I can find of a retro compilation done by people who actually care about those games and everything they represented back then. The recent Mega Man collections aren't bad either, with tons of artwork included. The Activision collection on the old GBA was also decent (even if the emulation wasn't 100% perfect).
I find it sad when retro collections don't embrace their games legacy outside of their code. Or when they only do the bare minimum. It always feel to me like a missed opportunity. Like companies aren't really proud of what was accomplished back then.
I'm one of those people who think gaming history isn't only about the games, but everything that relates to them. Printed ads, TV commercials, original manuals, boxes, freebies that were given with the games at the time, interviews with programmers, artists, etc... Playing these games is cool, but it's even cooler when you put yourself into the historical context they were released in. Take example of old Atari 2600 games... In those days (that I still remember fondly), the art on the boxes and in manuals was an integral part of the experience, as it fed your imagination and helped it conceive that this blocky square on screen is actually a knight... And many games have an historical significance in being the "first" doing something different, which contributed to the experience back then. Without proper context, many of these games don't feel the same, which is a shame.
Why is it so complicated to actually put out retro stuff that shows actual love and respect for the games? I know not everyone care about this, but put it there as optional content at least. It'll make for an awesome piece for people who were around back when those games were released.
I always enjoyed Midnight Resistance more then any Contra game. But 1 game alone won't make me buy this thing.
Midnight Resistance should be on the new Genesis Classic.
I love Clay Fighters!! ..., But not enough to to buy this thing. I can wait for them to put it on the switch
@LunarFlame17 theres a new earthworm jim game in the works and its going to be exclusive to the new intellivision console
As a huge earthworm jim fan I find this heart breaking
@Doktor-Mandrake I can imagine! Everything about what they’re doing with that franchise is bizarre.
@Tendogamerxxx yeah, you get burned a few times with your own pocket money and it’s enough! Although tape to tape and the speccy meant plenty of free games plus I liked ocean’s chromo logo
@Doktor-Mandrake Man, I just remembered that I had a dream the other night that Earthworm Jim 3 came out, and it was a point and click adventure game.
And also, it was a harbinger of the end of the world, for some reason.
@LunarFlame17 According to their website this console and a cartridge of games costs about the same as a single AAA Switch game (£60). This is aiming at a market that don't have 300 quid to spend on a handheld and just want to play retro games. For that demographic this is a much more sensible purchase than a switch.
There's nothing stopping these games coming to switch whether they're on this handheld or not.
@LunarFlame17 @LunarFlame17 hopefully these games (along with the new Earthworm Jim) will make it onto the switch sometime in the future
If they release the original earthworm jim though.. I want the Special Edition that came out originally on pc and sega cd.. The "hd" version that came out on XBLA was terrible in comparison
im really interested in this, Im not totally convinced it will succeed but I genuinely like what they are trying to do.
In a way it reminds me of the Game Gadget that launched in 2012. Trying to also legally release old retro games, this wasnt cartridge based like this but the concept was similar. It failed miserably and was an appaling piece of kit that basically had a handful of games. This does look like a lot more of a polished effort and as long as they can ensure the emulation is of a good quality then it could do well. The other part which is obvious is the 3rd party support. they have a few names on board but ultimately this thing is only going to succeed if the content is what people want. I really hope they have a lot more stuff to show.
So I was right all along. Those other devs they were referring too are Interplay, Data East and such. Would be nice to get Taito, Konami, Namco, Sega, SNK, and Capcom on board as well. That would be some good all-stars of retro support for this thing plus we'll finally get some arcade on the go. I also think Piko Interactive would be jumping on this soon too. Also nice that they got ClayFighter in there, now if only they get the vastly superior ClayFighter 2 in there someday then this would be a instant buy for me.
More cheap Chinese litter, distributed by the kings of Chinese litter.
th what looks like better build quality.
In a way this looks like it is aiming to offer games that are always on those $20-$50 handheld devices you see in stores.
As long as they can exceed those build quality’s this should be a fun device.
Certainly curious to see how the game cartridges are priced and how many they have lined up for release
@Tendogamerxxx Ocean, I absolutely could see. Data East was all over the place with some good and some truly bad games. But Sunsoft? Really? Blaster Master, Journey to Silius, Super Spy Hunter say otherwise.
Ha, I always really liked Clayfighter.
Oh man, Boogerman, I loved that game as a kid lol.
Battle Chess?
Wow, I haven't heard this name in decades!
I remember how fun it was playing it in the 90s.
I'm not gonna pay for a console to play it now, though.
(There's a very good chess game on Switch, too.)
Magical Drop 2 is an awesome one in the Data East collection!
But I already have that and Money Puzzle Exchanger on my Switch
Is Evercade and it's burgeoning software library related to Nintendo in any way?
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