Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the retro gamer in your life? Well, the folks at Blaze and Funstock have teamed up to bring us the ideal option: the limited edition Galaxy Purple Evercade, available at the time of writing for 20% off its usual price.
You’d better get in quick, though, because as I type this there is less than 50% stock left — and once they’re gone, they’re gone, as I heard a man say on TV once.
The limited edition purple Evercade comes with a USB charging cable — as with most tech these days you’ll need to provide your own USB wall plug or charge from a computer — as well as a certificate of authenticity card and three big vinyl stickers depicting the handheld, a cartridge and the “Cadey” mascot.
The purple Evercade doesn’t come with any game cartridges, so if you’re buying this as a gift remember to pick up a few of the many Evercade collections available to go with it. Unless the lucky recipient is already part of the Evercade family already, of course, in which case I’m sure they don’t need yet another copy of Atari Collection 1.
If you (and/or the lucky recipient) haven’t yet explored the world of Evercade, here’s the lowdown: it’s a handheld games console with a 4.3-inch 16:9 aspect ratio screen, the same size as a PSP. It also features HDMI out, allowing you to connect your console to a television and play at 720p resolution, and with a special cable it can be used as a controller for the Evercade VS console.
The big attraction of the Evercade is its collectible, officially licensed nature. Unlike other retro gaming handhelds, which rely on you supplying your own ROMs, the Evercade runs on specially designed proprietary cartridges, each of which contains between two and 20 games for you to choose from. The cartridges are all themed — usually around their publisher or current rights holder — and cover games from the earliest days of the Atari 2600 right up until more recent PlayStation-era 32-bit titles, including numerous “new games for old platforms” from today’s hottest indie developers.
At the time of writing, there are twenty cartridges available for the Evercade, with six more on the way alongside the VS console. The existing library of games exclusively covers console titles — including console ports of some classic arcade games — while four of the six upcoming carts include original arcade versions as part of a special new purple-themed collection that we’ll see more of in the coming year, I’m sure.
The Evercade handheld is also due for a major update to its user interface around the time the VS releases, bringing it in line with its big brother in terms of features and usability. The current interface does the job perfectly fine, I hasten to add — but the difference between the original menus and the new ones is night and day. You’ll find out more about that when we cover the VS itself in detail very soon!
The Evercade handheld deliberately doesn’t include any sort of wireless connectivity, so you can play without interruption by notifications and updates. The system can, however, be updated by connecting it to your computer — and system updates are also capable of patching any issues discovered with games directly to the cartridge. This means that your physical copies of Evercade collections are always up to date and guaranteed to work at their best — perfect for collecting and archiving as well as enjoying to their fullest. Even the big boys of the console space can’t offer that these days!
If you want to nab a Galaxy Purple Evercade for yourself or a friend, hop on over to Funstock and order one now. The 20% off Black Friday pricing only applies until December 1, 2021, though at this rate they’re going to be sold out well before that expiry date — so get in quick if you want one in your collection!
