Analogue Pocket gaming handheld delayed again due to global affairs

By Ewdison Then/

There was a bout of new consoles in the past few years that were designed to pay homage to the old consoles of yesteryears. These retro consoles, often coming in miniature forms, only allowed for a limited set of titles that their originals supported. Some, however, have tried to expand that roster to almost any game, provided you still had the original physical media. That's what the Analogue Pocket promised for Game Boy cartridges and similar handheld games but, unfortunately, the fulfillment of that promise is being delayed a second time around.

Announced back in 2019, the Pocket promised to revive the Game Boy craze. But more than just supporting Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advanced cartridges, it also embraced the Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and even the Atari Lynx. All in a Game Boy-like design that boasted a 3.5-inch 1600x1440 screen.

Originally slated for a 2020 release, the startup revealed that the Pocket would be shipping in May 2021 instead. Of course, the reason back then was like everyone else's, blaming it on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on production and the economy at large. That pandemic is far from over but there are new circumstances that have unfortunately caused further delays.

Analogue cites the global state of affairs as the cause for the delay of shipping even pre-orders of the Pocket gaming handheld. Two, in particular, stand out, namely the global chip shortage that is affecting even bigger companies as well as the recent blockage of the Suez Canal courtesy of EverGreen's Ever Given cargo ship.

Analogue is now putting an October 2021 date for its next shipping schedule, though that doesn't mean it will be able to hit that goal. There is a great deal of uncertainty these days, especially in consumer electronics though, to be fair, some of those are really outside of any company's control.

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