HyperMega Tech's 'Super Pocket' Is A Game Boy-Style Handheld Which Plays Evercade Carts

Well it's hard to argue with the price.

Huh. Maybe I'll get that Taito one. I already have the EXP with all those Capcom games (and more). I don't play it nearly as much as I play my VS, but I like the size/layout of this one way more. OK, I'm in. Not sure why this isn't just an Evercade product, though?

On the one hand, the price is good, and I actually like this form factor better than the EXP. I'm actually quite interested in getting one of the clear ones for playing Evercade carts on the go in a "Gameboy" style...

But here's the thing. This is exactly what we all feared would happen when the EXP launched with Capcom games built in, which werent' available on cartridge. Sure, Blaze/Evercade couldn't secure the rights, probably for the same reason that the Namco carts don't play on the VS system - games companies want more money (or outright refuse) for home console rights, or perhaps even for carts in general rather than being built into an "all in one" device.

Its not Blaze/Evercade's fault that these companies won't give the rights to put the games on carts. But the arguement of "well free built in games are better than none" doesn't hold water because it opened the floodgates. Now, we have 2 Capcom devices and no Capcom games on cart, and 1 Taito device, with no Taito cart collection. And they've made clear that there are more dedicated handheld systems on the way, presumably with more games that won't be available on cart. I don't want an ever growing collection of hardware, none of which can play every game. This is why people stopped buying those cheap plug-and-play systems in "fun" shapes after the novelty of the first 1 or 2 wore off.

For me at least, Its ruining the appeal of "Evercade" as a brand and collecting the carts. Every single review I see of Evercade products (including EXP reviews just this week from big youtubers!) talk about how cool and unique it is to have a modern platform with physical games, printed manuals etc, and a somewhat hand selected set of titles rather than just thousands of unsorted roms. It appeals to the collector and if you start making it impossble to have a 100% complete collection on your shelf because you're splintering it with built in "bonus" games it takes away from the unique selling point and you may as well just buy yet another rom playing device that can play everything.

The brand would have been stronger if they just never broke their rule of games only on carts... and if certain big players like Capcom, Taito and Namco won't play ball, just ignore them and keep releasing collections of more obscure gems, computer titles and indie/homebrew stuff. Part of the appeal is discovering new games you've not heard of/played before. Don't get side tracked and burn out everyone by releasing a never ending stream of hardware people can't/won't keep up with. Maybe as the platform grows, those bigger companies will see they are missing out on money and come around.

@samuelvictor you know what? I bet that’s exactly why they didn’t make this an Evercade product. They want to be able to say they aren’t doing more non-cart Evercade releases. Answers my question above your post!

This is cool but I think they should have left these with the games that are built into these rather than allowing evercade carts , this dilutes the brand imo.

Only having seen the pictures, I feel sceptical about this. The d-pad and face buttons look cheap and stiff and overall terrible, but I hope I’m wrong.

@Krambo42 Yes exactly, I was going to add that but I'd already typed a long enough rant and the website would have made me split it into 2 messages! lol They certainly are aware of a large portion of the loyal customers feeling burned by the Capcom situation. It was quite the mini controversy within their niche fanbase. I'm surprised they're not only doubling down but admiting they are planning to do so again multiple times in the future.

As a collector of every Evercade cart, as well as the original system and the VS (been waiting on the EXP, partly because the Capcom situation soured me and I worried it would be a sign of things to come) I'm now disapointed as it feels like this is almost certainly confirmation we won't be getting a Taito collection on Evercade. One of my main wishes was for a Bubble Bobble collection, I don't see that happening now.

Feels like the Evercade brand might be on the downturn. I hope not, as for a while it was a really unique product that I really enjoyed collecting for. The fact they are releasing so much hardware so rapidly and moving away from the "physical only" nature is really souring my feelings towards it.

@lemonjellydude

can you expand on this? 🤔 I'm not following, like at all.

This is my favorite dpad! interact barracuda mk1 style for me, please!

lol

@samuelvictor

1) carts are hardware.
2) we arent going to force namco or capcom or anyone to put their games anywhere, no matter what the rules are. (evercade needs publishers more than publishers need them)
3) are you suggesting that switch should be a carts only system, too? because i do not like having a cart per game, rather have most of my games digitally and just the "special ones" on carts (though that ironically means i play worse games, more of the time lol)

BTW - im more into obscure games, too, but i do not see "obscure games on carts only" as a more sure fire way to get this platform moving. i dont think we would be having this conversation now, if that were the case. 🤔

@samuelvictor I actually don't even care about them having digital-only software if that's what it takes to get certain games, but I HATE that it is console-specific. If I could get these Capcom and Taito collections on my VS too, I'd be fine. Would be nice to have an account system or be able to register your products for a download code or something. Heck, I'd even pay a few bucks to get this stuff on my VS too.

Of course, over time, more and more stuff would become digital only, which would ruin the whole Evercade thing for a lot of people.

@-wc- the evercade plays evercade carts , why would you want to play evercade carts on a system that’s not the evercade? I get they want to expand and try different things but imo they should keep these new products separate to each other.

@lemonjellydude why wouldn’t you want it? Personally, I’d love to need less devices.

@Krambo42 I think they look great 👍 I have an evercade so I wouldn’t expect another handheld that isn’t called evercade to be able to play evercade carts. Each to their own !

@-wc- 1) Sure, but you know what I mean. I can collect games and not be hugely concerned about the space they are going to take up, or the considerable environmental impact in producing the screens, processors etc for a million different "disposable/one off" consoles.

2) I didn't say force them. I said it would be better to just ignore them if you can't reach terms that suit both sides. In the future they may change their minds when they see the userbase has grown. Maybe not.

3) No, not in the slightest. The Switch is a current gen console. The Evercade was specifically created for, and marketed towards, the retro enthusiast who wants something to collect, that gives an affordable way to have a collection of physical games with nice premium feeling packaging, full colour manuals etc. Every review of the systems I've ever seen is praising this exact experience. If you just want roms that you can play, there are plenty of other ways to do it.

I agree with @lemonjellydude that if these were just cheap and cheerful devices with built in games that are coloured and themed to the games that are built in, there could be a market for people who want to collect every new variant when they release it. The "HyperMega Tech" name and the loud 90s style colour ways and transparent variants are very appealing to that 90s aesthetic and if I can see people wanting to collect them. Not me personally, for reasons I stated in answer 1, but I understand the appeal.

But making them Evercade compatible confirms that they are essentially cheaper and smaller versions of the Evercade console, coming from the same company and the same people doing the deals to licenese the roms, making it fairly obvious that the games built into these systems are likely never coming to Evercade carts. It 100% weakens the brand, whereas if they'd have never mentioned Evercade at all, many wouldn't have made the connection.

The "obscure (or at least curated) games on cart only" is exactly the appeal of Evercade. Look at every review from big American YouTubers loving to get a chance to try out a hand picked selection of games for microcomputers they've never played, or UK/European developers they've never heard of. Its a niche product for retro gamers. While its always nice to have the option, retro gamers don't need a new way to play Street Fighter 2 or Bubble Bobble, they probably own a million copies.

But, these little cheap systems, put in supermarkets to sell to a more casual market? I can totally see them selling just as the "Mortal Kombat" and "PacMan" all-in-one systems did 15-20 years ago, or even the NES Classic.

If "HyperMega Tech" was just a completely different product line for a different customer base, it would be a success and people like me wouldn't feel uneasy about it. But theres plenty of people who've put £500+ into Evercade products specifically because they liked the early promise of the brand that was tailored as a very niche product for a certain demographic. They are weakening the strength of the Evercade brand, whilst not really increasing the appeal of the "HyperMega Tech" devices which will either appeal to casual impulse buys, or shelf collectors, neither of whom will care about the cart slot.

@Krambo42 But Its not less devices, its more. This is the start of a new product line releasing more and more consoles with a limited number of games built in, that you can't get on cart. If you want to play all the games, you'll need all the consoles.

Of course, if you buy one of these instead of an Evercade, its less. But for people already collecting Evercade this either means missing out on a growing collection of games, or collecting a needlessly large amount of separate small consoles. I personally am not compfortable with the space needed to dedicate to this, or teh environmental impact of all the unecessary screens, cpus, memory etc. wasted when one device would have done the job.

Totally agree , why go to all the effort to create a separate brand to evercade to then link it to the evercade brand. It’s a bizarre move imo ! And yeah all it does is create more product , I guess they are looking for as much market as possible but I think they are going to annoy the dedicated evercade market they have worked hard to obtain

@lemonjellydude Yes its really quite souring me towards the brand, sadly, and I used to be a raving fan in the sense of basically replacing my old retro collecting habit with this one little neat product line and allowing myself to buy each new cart as it comes as a way to get the same "gotta collect them all" feeling but in a more concentrated and affordable way.

I go to retro conventions a lot and move in the same circles as many retro game youtubers, streamers etc and I countless people felt the same way - it was like a product line directly designed to appeal to us. Adding the numbers to the side of the cart pacakging even meant that you'd feel compelled to buy every single cart even if it was a title you weren't as interested in - it was like wanting to maintain a "complete" collection, and it grew at a steady, but affordable, rate.

Then the VS launched, and suddenly I thought "Oh, well, it makes sense to buy so I can play on the TV..." and gave myself and excuse to buy it, £100 more than I was planning to spend. Then the EXP launched, less than a year after, for another £150... I very nearly bit as I could have easily given myself the "well, its got a better screen, they are more experienced now and can build a higher quality unit..." speech. But having the Capcom games built in really didn't sit right with me, and made me feel somewhat distrusting of the direction the brand is going in if they were willing to sell out their core selling point so easily. This new product range is making me feel even more uneasy about if the future of the product line is one I want to be involved with, or whetehr its better just to sell my collection now and go back to only playing roms on a multipurpose handheld and fpga for tv.

I should make it very clear (if it wasn't obvious by my long rants!) that I'm autistic, so I probably care about this more than most would, and take things like this more "personally" than I should - I know its not rational whatsoever. But once brand loyalty has been spoiled, they lose a customer. And I saw many other people online feel a similar way with the launch of the EXP, and I imagine many of those same people will also see this new product as yet another bad sign.

For now, I'm still buying each cart as it comes out. I'm tempted to buy one of these just to have a small, cheap Evercade in a Gameboy formfactor. If there's a Sega one, or one in a colour way I particularly love, I almost certainly will. But I won't be buying every new variant. Depending on how things go, I might stop buying every new Evercade cart and only buy the ones that are particularly relevant to me. I just don't feel as passionate about fully supporting them right now.

@Krambo42 Sorry, I didn't see your first message.

I agree that if there was a way to get the "digital only" games playable on all Evercade devices, it would be less triggering to me. Still not ideal, but I could at least handle it and rationalise it to myself. Like how for my Switch collection, I vastly prefer to have physcial games on the shelf but I'll happily buy digital only games if they aren't available and its a title I erally want or an indie dev I want to support. But splintering the Evercade games even more by having specific games only available for specific devices is just beyond frustrating and feels somewhat isulting to the people who've bought all the other hardware thusfar, as if they are just whales to be milked for easy cash (mixed metaphors but you know what I mean! lol).

When the VS launched and it couldn't play the Namco carts, that was really, really annoying - but I understood it wasn't their fault, as when the deal was done, they didn't know they were going to make a home console version. But that should have been the LAST example of games that are locked to a specific piece of hardware - they know what they are doign now, and are just throwing caution to the wind, releasing a huge range of products with no consistency and seeing what sticks. I understand from a business perspective but its like they don't understand / care about their current key demographic and fanbase.

@samuelvictor I hadn’t realised but there are 2 crystal clear limited editions of these . I love clear consoles … damm I don’t think I can resist these 😂

@lemonjellydude I love transparent 90s style consoles! Thankfully, after seeing the pictures (they weren't in the article when I first commented), I don't particularly love either colour scheme so I can resist, for now... I like the blue but not with the yellow buttons.

If they release a Sega/Sonic one thats all transparent blue, or something in tranparent pink / purple then I'll definitley cave in! 😂

But why the XBox Layout :> ?

Has someone Experience with those L/R Buttons, i have a Anbernic Vsomenumber and they are pretty ok with their up looking layout, played through Tomb Raider 1 with that.

Definitely seeing a lot of similar games packed together on each one. Shooters and beat-em-ups on the Capcom set, single-screen platformers on the Taito set.
I guess the lack of any Arkanoid on the Taito set is due to omitting analog control. But no Bust-A-Move? I guess because it's a little later hardware than the games presented here.

Volfied, though, that's a game I'm hoping to see on ACA.

@KingMike Its definitely not a tech-based reason that they haven't gone with Bust-a-move as if it plays all Evercade Carts, that means its capable enough hardware to play 3d PS1 games. NeoGeo would be no issue whatsoever... though from memory I'm not sure if we've had an NeoGeo games so far so I don't know if they have an emulator licensed yet.

I think its likely they were keeping the collection to a rough theme and time period, but for me, not including Rainbow Islands, Parasol Stars, or Bubble Symphony alongside Bubble Bobble and New Zealnd Story is a real shame. Equally the Capcom one only having Hyper Fighting and not other Street Fighters seems stingy.

@samuelvictor I agree with everything you say. The success of Team 17 collection should show them the way.

Honestly, three 194X games on the Capcom and only one Street Fighter/Mega Man (and it's not even Mega 2) is kinda ehhh but it's hard to argue at 60 bucks. Never had an Evercade product but I've seen the carts go for pretty cheap sometimes, might give it a try.

A 2.8 inch screen is too small for me personally (I think - the OG 3DS' screen felt too small - but maybe it's different with lower resolution and old 2D games mainly).

Now what I would really want was Blaze going digital also with the EXP (and the VS - does that have wi-fi too?) and start to offer the games they already have in their library on an individual basis at 2-3 $/£/€ each.

The EXP does have 4GB internal storage (and wifi) from the get go, so it should be doable (these old roms don't take up a lot of room - and the emulators are already in there).

I actually think we might hear something about it at the Evercade 2nd showcase Blaze planning for later this month (it of course depends on whether they can get the digital rights for these games - but when then can release several consoles with excellent digital content for cheap, then why not?).

Really good collection of Taito and Capcom games on these 'Super Pockets' btw (which also gives me hope that they'll set up a digital shop for the EXP - and maybe VS too).

For $60 there are much better handheld options out there. The design of this looks really cheap imo and the d-pad looks like those $10 "child's toy" emulators that are all over Amazon. I do like the clear shells but this thing looks really awkward in terms of form factor.
If this was only competing against something like an AtGames handheld, 10 years ago, this would be amazing.

@Amigator Thank you! I hope so.

I'm glad we've finally started getting proper Amiga versions on the carts instead of the (often inferior) Megadrive versions they put on some of the early compilations.

If they do go down the road some people are suggesting above on opening a digital store, or at least offer digital updating, it would be nice if we could get updates where you can choose the Amiga version or console for those older carts, now that they seemingly have an Amiga emulator licensed and working

I think I'm going to sell my evercade stuff now. Recent carts have been duds and now this.
Even if Taito or Capcom have said no to carts I think this just opens the door for anything non Poko to be released this way at 50 quid a pop.

@samuelvictor That's the thing, they shouldn't bother with digital. It's not what Evercade is known for. The Team 17 cartridge went straight into the top 40 of physical releases in the UK. That's what people want, good collection of games on a cartridge.

@Westlondonmist "Even if Taito or Capcom have said no to carts I think this just opens the door for anything non Poko to be released this way at 50 quid a pop."

Thats exactly my concern. Seems like a very slippery slope. I'm certainly considering selling and and getting out.

However, the upcoming carts anounced so far for this year and next are pretty good - Duke Nukem collections (including brand new ground up remakes of the first 2 games), Amiga collections, Sunsoft, Sydney Hunter, more indie heroes etc, and theres still at least 2 more carts this year not been anounced yet. I'll be interested to see what they reveal at the next showcase. Seems they still plan on releasing carts regularly well into next year at least.

@Amigator I totally agree, personally I don't want a digital shop or anything like that. As far as I've always been concerned, it should be physical versions only, and forget digital only titles.

But the fact you can update the firmware online means, in my opinion, it would be a nice gesture if they gave digital updates for existing carts to bring the (notably superior) Amiga versions to previous compilations. I know several people who bought some carts to play what they thought were Amiga games (because they were titles only really known for being on that system) and were confused when the games weren't how they remembered.

A similar thing happened with the Oliver Twins collection being the NES versions of the Dizzy games, which, while mostly pretty good versions, were not the ones people were expecting as they are by far the least well known versions.

I wouldn't mind if they add a digital store for those that want to use it... but again, I feel its not the strength of the system or the reason most people buy and collect for it. They need to be careful not to confuse or dilute the appeal of the brand.

These look great, nice price as well. Definitely interested in buying one.

@samuelvictor

thank you for the extremely considered response! i can see that this is more than a passing opinion you are conveying. i must confess that i am not at all invested in evercade, but ive been following it from afar.

i think the disconnect here is exactly that. you obviously are already invested in this, and have ideas for what it is, does, and where it's going. im just kind of watching it unfold. 👍

tbh, the whole thing is so much more compelling that i initially would have thought, that im generally just impressed by what i see.

@lemonjellydude

"why would you want to play evercade carts on a system that’s not the evercade?"

i completely do not understand what your concern is, ill be honest. 🤔

POV - ive never played an evercade in my life. why wouldnt i want to play the same games on another system? please enlighten me 😊

@-wc- Thanks for the kind response. I'm glad that you didn't take my rant as criticism or hostility, I sometimes worry my passion can seem unintentionally agressive.

I totally get that to someone who wasn't already emotionally invested in the Evercade brand (let alone having put probably nearly $1K into it buying all the games so far, and 2 systems, the original handheld and the home console version) this is far less of a big deal and more functionality is of course a good thing, in theory.

The problem is that it potentially damages their flagship brand in the eyes of the large fanbase they've been building up over the years, so seems a strange choice for a cheaper product they are trying to keep as a separate line, especially when the likely biggest market for this new product (impulse purchasers at retail) won't have heard of Evercade and won't be buying more cartridges, as these aren't sold in retail shops, so in reality it doesn't really add much value or become a selling point for its target demographic.

Hmm... This is cheaper than the EXP, and I kind of like the design of this one better. The shoulder buttons look awkward, but most games on Evercade don't use them much. I am guessing this won't have the wifi features that EXP has, though that's not really a big deal. If I'd known this was coming, I might have held off on the EXP...

Also it is unfortunate that these more major company games are relegated to pack-in titles. I do like that Evercade highlights a lot of mid-tier games, but I'd also like some cartridges from major developers.

@no_donatello I totally agree. And yeah, they've confirmed these devices won't have wifi nor will you be able to update their firmware... so any features or fixed added to the EXP & VS, or bufixes/patches for carts won't be able to be used on these.

@shgamer but if you want those games digital just buy a switch or one of those china emulation handhelds. i think an evercade loses all of it’s USP when it’s digital

@samuelvictor I think they had an idea that would get people on board, got those people on board and invested and realised they can make more money deviating from the idea using the existing fanbase.

Evercade had been going down hill anyway. The C64 carts look a bit pants, the Delphine cart looks okay at pest but you can often buy games on that such as Flashback and Another World for a quid in a sale. Piko 3 looks okay at best. I used to be very invested but the last 18 months I've been very apathetic. Less games per cart, plenty more filler and carts often have bugs that never get fixed.

The home computer carts all look awful to be honest. Feel like a home computer Bitmap bros or Codemasters is what is needed.

@Westlondonmist " I think they had an idea that would get people on board, got those people on board and invested and realised they can make more money deviating from the idea using the existing fanbase."
Yes, sadly thats what it feels like to me, or even that they are now going after the larger but less dedicated mainstream casual audience and retail, having first kickstarted their company with a smaller but more passionate fanbase they now don't care about anymore? Eugh I don't know. I truly hope that's not the case.

I actually like the recent carts and see the future stuff they've anoucned as pretty exciting. Sure, they all could have been better or had more titles or heavier hitters, but for the price per cart I feel like each has more than enough to make it worthwhile. I can understand the overall feeling that there is less value than the early carts though.

I too would love e 16bit Codemasters cart - I think the one I probably play the most is the Oliver Twins one which is all NES/Aladdin Codemasters games of course, but then I'm a Dizzy apologist! Codemasters put out plenty of really high quality 8 and 16bit titles that weren't from the Olivers, in the early to mid 90s they were one of the companies that I felt represented value and quality if I saw the logo on the box. The fact the Bitmap Bros collection Vol 1 was the console ports rather than the Amiga versions was an absolute travesty, to be honest. That should never have happened.