After pushing back the release date three separate times, Analogue, Inc. has announced today that its handheld game console, the Pocket will begin shipping next month.
As noted in a recent blog post, the device will begin shipping on December 13. Due to unprecedented shipping constraints, those who preordered the handheld can expect their unit to arrive sometime between December 14 – December 30. With the holiday season approaching, Analogue notes that it will hold packages for those that may be away from their home, with those units slated to ship on January 3, 2022.
Pocket is shipping on December 13th. An email has been sent out to everyone who has pre-ordered with details on address updating and more: https://t.co/Y5W6Qg7WVP pic.twitter.com/e7rJwhJikz
— Analogue (@analogue) November 22, 2021
Analogue Pocket was originally announced in 2019. This sleek device allows users to play handheld games released during the fourth, fifth, and sixth generation, such as GameBoy Color cartridges. The Pocket features a 3.5-inch 665ppi LCD display made of Gorilla Glass with an estimated battery life of six hours.
Alongside the ability to play through a huge number of retro handheld games, Analogue, Inc. also announced last month that Pocket will have its own operating system, which will allow you to save games to and from cartridges, among other things.
Analogue Pocket, like many other devices, has been negatively impacted by the global chip shortage. But despite the last two delays for the Pocket coming out of COVID-related impacts, Analogue Pocket will make its 2021 release date, unlike Valve's Steam Deck and Panic's Playdate, which have been delayed into early 2022 due to supply shortages.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster