Why Analogue's Next Product Needs To Be The Pocket Advance

My Analogue Pocket is probably one of my most used handhelds over the last few years. It's a remarkable handheld companion for exploring GAME BOY and GAME BOY Color games.

It matches top tier build quality, with a beautiful, crisp display and a minimal UI that helps you focus on the games. Since the Pocket was announced in 2019, and finally released in 2021 it has probably been Analogue's best selling product, and is certainly a release that put Analogue on the map, in my opinion.

They've recently came out with the Analogue 3D, another remarkable console capable of taking your Nintendo 64 games to a new, modern level with constant updates being released for us to tinker with.

It has been a huge success, and although there's still areas of improvement, such as the need for wireless updates its has pioneered modern N64 emulation, and they've beaten competitors to the line to get it out into the wild.

But competition is hot on their tail. ModRetro released the Chromatic in Late 2024 which gave gamers a metal, GBC-like body, matched with a one of a kind display that mimicks the original GBC's flawlessly.

Both of these devices are battling it out as the besst GBC handheld on the block, and ModRetro aren't stopping their, with the reveal of the M64 which we have had in the office for a couple months now.

Though we can't officially compare them yet because our unit is a prototype, it's certain that ModRetro are putting pressure on Analogue, even if they're a little late to the party.

Which makes me believe that Analogue need to work fast to get a remake of the GAME BOY Advance out into the world as quickly as possible before ModRetro beats them to the line, because let's face it, ModRetro are working on it eventually, as Palmer the founder of ModRetro mentioned in our podcast episode back in 2024.

You may be asking "Why would they make an Advance when the Pocket can play GBA games". And my response would be "because the community want it", and playing GBA games on the square display of the Pocket isn't really that enjoyable, there's lots of wasted space.

It also removes the nostalgic form factor of the GAME BOY Advance that we all still love to this day. Their Advance has to have a 3:2 pixel perfect display, with a horizontal body that screams "Advance", heck even go for an SP version if they really want to do something crazy, which I think they could pull off.

There's a race between Analogue and ModRetro to get something like this out into the wild, and I know both companies are still focused on the Nintendo 64 remakes, but Analogue has an advantage here, in the sense that they're ahead of the curve and have time on their side.

I believe their Analogue 3D will outsell the ModRetro M64 mainly because it was released far earlier than the M64 and comes in an array of minimal and nostalgic colours (should you be lucky enough to snag any limited edition consoles), and I think if they were to reveal/release and Advance version before ModRetro they could do the same here.

But if ModRetro do get there before Analogue, I think they'll struggle to outpace them, and it will introduce a lot of new retro gamers to ModRetro which Analogue do not want because ModRetro make incredible products that many may prefer.

ModRetro are new, they still need to build their brand, earn respect and work harder at introducing new customers to their products, Analogue does not want to give them this opportunity.

I have no knowledge in regards to how to make this device a reality, it's likely that these displays are hard to come by and Analogue may not agree with me seeing as the Pocket plays GBA games, there's also the consideration of increase RAM prices and stuff going on around the world that makes this cumbersome, expensive and time consuming to create.

If they follow the Pocket's routes and allow it to emulate other consoles via ROM files, the 3:2 display could open up the opportunity to emulate these types of consoles more efficiently, such as ATARI Lynx, Wonderswan and so on.

I would also argue that modded GAME BOY Advance consoles are at an all-time high, and are selling like hotcakes, there's demand there. If you make an Advance version that competes with the modded GBA, I think many would rather something newer, more modern, and more reliable such as the Pocket Advance.

And don't get me started on the GBA and Pokemon ROM hack boom, alongside more and more independent GBA homebrew games releasing into the wild every week. There's never been a better time to take advantage of this hype.

Who will release a GBA-focused handheld first is unknown, but I believe its in Analogue best interest to release one first. They'd nail it, I know they would, even if I despise how they focus on FOMO marketing, but it's also true that ModRetro would create a phenomenal Advance version of the Chromatic.

Let the games begin. Who would you side with if both released a Advance version of their handhelds which takes GBA cartridges? Comment below.