The Analogue Pocket and Playdate Are Delightful Products
After watching the September 2023, Apple Keynote I realized that we’ve all become so accustomed to the Apple’s products that nothing really feels new or exciting. Or maybe I should say, compelling enough that the current product isn’t already more than good enough. Consumerism needs consumers to feed on the new and shiny, which is what got us the iPhone in the first place, but consumerism mixed with capitalism is what causes products to plateau and for companies to play it safe. Yes, yes, there are technical reasons for this as well, but it’s not an excuse. I recently bought two electronics that I think are great examples of companies not playing it safe.
Analogue Pocket
I decided to pre-order the Analogue Pocket earlier this year on a whim. I had no clue that some people had pre-ordered it over a year before I did and still hadn’t received it. After talking with my local game shop owner and researching a bit more, most people thought that they had dumped money into something that would never exist.
Turns out, a couple months ago, the Analogue Pocket shipped to everyone that had pre-ordered. The product truly did exist and I found out it was way better and more exciting than I had originally anticipated. There are multiple “features” that make this especially an especially amazing product and one that I think is ground-breaking.
Game Boy Cartridges Support
This is probably the least exciting feature of the Pocket, but is still fun nonetheless. The Pocket supports the playback of any Game Boy cartridge and uses hardware emulation (not software). It’s definitely worth reading about why this is different than other products out there, but it’s pretty cool. You can also get adapters for other cartridge based gaming systems like Sega Game Gear or Atari Lynx.
The Dock
If you’re reading this and have the Analogue Pocket but never got the dock, you’re missing out. The dock in my opinion is what takes this device to a whole new level. When the Pocket is sitting on the dock, you can connect up to four controllers via Bluetooth and stream the gameplay to a TV. First of all, this unlocks multi-player support for games that support it. It also unlocks the ability to play games that weren’t meant for TVs (NES, SNES, Sega, etc.) to played on a larger screen. Combine the dock with the Pocket’s support for openFPGA, you have the ultimate gaming system.
openFPGA
Analogue Pocket would be just another Gameboy clone if it weren’t for support for openFPGA support. openFPGA allows you to install your own cores that allow for ROMs to be played directly on the Pocket. You can also build your own ROMs to be played on any system that supports openFPGA. Cores are like the operating system for a gaming console and ROMs are the games.
What does this unlock you might ask? It means the you can play most retro gaming console games directly on your Analogue Pocket. If you combine the Pocket with the dock, you can now play any retro gaming console on your TV, with up to four remotes.
Between native Game Boy cartridges, the dock and openFPGA, the Analogue Pocket is possibly the ultimate, most portable retro gaming console out there.
Playdate
While the technology of the Analogue Pocket is amazing, the Playdate is what I’d consider one of the most delightful products I’ve bought in a long time that is both technologically cool and impeccably designed. The Playdate was created by Panic in cooperation with teenage engineering. It’s obvious that both companies put their usual obsessive amount of detail and thought into every part of the Playdate. The product itself feels amazing to hold. It’s not hefty, but it’s not too light. The plastic doesn’t feel cheap and the aluminum accents make it look and feel like a solid piece of hardware.
What I wasn’t expecting, but extremely delighted about was that TONS of effort was put into the operating system’s look and feel. Everything feels fun, well thought out, playful, meticulous. This is the type of product that took a lot of risks, but every risk had a purpose and the payoff was an insanely enjoyable experience.
Since I just received the Playdate yesterday, I haven’t had as much time to play around with it as the Analogue Pocket. But there are a couple things that I initially love about it.
Simplicity
The Playdate feels so simple, yet it its potential is so powerful. Because of its simplicity it is small and can fit into a pocket comfortably (unlike the Analogue Pocket). It has the potential to be used for things well beyond games. The biggest driving factor for me to purchase the Playdate was that I could build apps, not just games, for it. There is also a web-based click-and-place game studio called Pulp that looks super fun and intriguing. Given the simplicity of the Playdate and some of the hardware constraints, I think this makes it easier to dive in and build something.
WiFi Connectivity
Strangely enough the Analogue Pocket did not integrate WiFi, but the Playdate did. WiFi is a huge win for the Playdate since this allows for any app, game or otherwise, to tie into a broader range of potential that can be pulled from the internet. Given the simplicity of system and the power of WiFi I’m excited to see where this will take me in terms of what I could build.
Resources
If you have either the Analogue Pocket or the Playdate, there are some helpful resources you’ll want to know about, especially for the Analogue Pocket.
Analogue Pocket
Pocket Sync - The best cross-platform way to install and keep openFPGA cores updated: https://github.com/neil-morrison44/pocket-sync
spiritualized1997 direct core downloads: https://github.com/spiritualized1997
ROMs Games - One of the better, least spammy sources for ROMs out there, but please be aware that ROMs are technically illegal even if you own the cartridge: https://www.romsgames.net
GB Studio - A drag and drop game retro game creator: https://www.gbstudio.dev
Playdate
Pre-order the Playdate: https://shop.play.date
Official games and apps: https://play.date/games/
Sideloaded games and apps