Opting out in favor of Evercade...
Anyone else thinking about going with the Evercade instead of the AES+?
For context, I'm not new to Neo Geo. I've been collecting SNK hardware for years and have owned a pretty decent mix of it: a front-loading Neo Geo CD, an AES, Arcade Stick Pro, MVSX, and even the X-Gold handheld.
With all the headaches around ordering the Ultimate AES bundle, I've found myself looking more and more at the Evercade and its Neo Geo collections. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a solid middle ground. You still get physical media, officially licensed cartridges, they look great on a shelf, and the whole ecosystem is a fraction of the cost. Plus, there are a ton of other retro collections available if you want to branch out.
Is it better than owning a real AES? Nah. There's definitely something special about the original hardware, and as a collector I totally get the appeal. But if I'm looking at it from a value and convenience perspective, the Evercade is starting to make a lot of sense.
Maybe I'm just getting older and more practical, but I'm finding it harder to justify chasing expensive hardware when there's a well-supported, officially licensed alternative that scratches a lot of the same itch.
Just my $0.02. Anyone else feeling the same way, or am I alone on this one?