u/retro-spaghetti-83

After seeing the feedback from yesterday's event in London, and more generally the positive atmosphere I often see around Evercade on social media, I've been thinking that perhaps one of the ecosystem's biggest strengths and maybe one that hasn't been fully explored yet, is its community.

Personally, I genuinely enjoy talking about Evercade with other people. We don't always agree, of course 😅. We all have different expectations, preferences and priorities, but even when opinions differ, I find that discussions are usually respectful and friendly.

Unfortunately, that's not always something you find in every gaming community 😅.

From my experience, the Evercade community feels genuinely welcoming and healthy, and I'm proud to be part of it. Seeing people meeting in person at yesterday's event also made me think that I'd really enjoy having the opportunity to meet other members of the community someday.

And perhaps that's something Blaze could build on even more. Events like this don't just showcase the hardware and games, they bring people together and, in my opinion, reflect really positively on the Evercade brand itself.

What do you think? Do you see the community as one of Evercade's strengths?

And would you like to see Blaze organise more community events in different places, hopefully somewhere near you one day? 👀

Unfortunately, the Neo Geo AES+, which was probably one of the most anticipated retro hardware releases of the end of this year, has now been delayed until September 16th, 2027. That's almost another year of waiting.

I personally cancelled my AES+ preorder a while ago because I ultimately decided to go with the Nexus instead, but I can completely understand the disappointment of those who were looking forward to getting their AES+ this November.

It did make me wonder, though: could this delay actually create an opportunity for Evercade, and particularly the Nexus, towards the end of this year?

The two products obviously aren't offering exactly the same thing. The AES+ has the prestige and appeal of bringing back a legendary console like the Neo Geo, whereas Evercade is a much broader retro ecosystem, based mostly on emulation. But with the AES+ now out of the picture for this holiday season, the Nexus and Evercade's other hardware suddenly have a lot more room to attract retro gamers looking for something new.

It also made me think that a fifth Neo Geo Arcade collection in December could be particularly well timed. Imagine a collection featuring Big Tournament Golf and perhaps a few other games from the planned AES+ launch line-up. I'm not suggesting Blaze should try to replace the AES+, they're very different propositions but from a marketing perspective, the timing could be pretty interesting.

Obviously, none of this makes the AES+ delay good news. I know a lot of people were genuinely excited for it, and waiting until September 2027 is going to be painful.

But purely from Evercade's perspective, do you think this unexpected delay could give Evercade hardware and a potential Neo Geo Arcade Collection 5 a bit of a boost towards the end of this year?

This might be a slightly controversial opinion 😅, but I'm not convinced that Evercade is necessarily destined to remain a very niche product. I actually think Blaze has an opportunity to reach a broader audience.

One of Evercade's biggest strengths is that it feels like a proper plug-and-play console. Compared with many emulation devices, you don't need to spend time setting things up, finding ROMs or configuring everything yourself. You simply insert a cartridge and play.

I think there's potentially a wider audience for that simplicity than we sometimes assume. Not everyone interested in retro games wants to become an expert in emulation or collect original hardware. Some people might simply enjoy rediscovering old games while still having the pleasure of buying and inserting a physical cartridge.

I also think the upcoming Nexus could be important. If it's as good as it currently looks, it could become a more premium entry point into the ecosystem than the Super Pocket.

Personally, I'd love to see Evercade have a stronger presence in physical shops and shopping centres too, perhaps with demo units people could actually try. Simply getting the hardware into people's hands could help introduce Evercade to people who currently don't even know it exists.

Of course, I'm not suggesting Evercade will ever compete with Nintendo or PlayStation 😅. I'm talking about growth at its own scale. And as physical games become less of a priority for much of the industry, perhaps Evercade's commitment to physical media could become an increasingly distinctive selling point.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic 😅, but I think Evercade still has plenty of room to grow.

What do you think? Is Evercade destined to remain niche, or could it eventually reach a significantly broader audience?

With the Nexus coming soon and looking like Evercade’s most ambitious piece of hardware yet I was wondering which Evercade system you currently play on the most, and which one you actually prefer.

Personally, I have a Neo Geo Super Pocket, a Street Fighter Alpha and a VS-R.

I have to admit that I prefer playing on the VS-R most of the time, mainly because I find it more comfortable. I also really enjoy playing on the Alpha, although I use it a bit more occasionally 😅.

The Super Pocket is mostly what I use when I’m travelling. It’s incredibly practical to carry around, but I do find the screen a little small, and some games can be a bit awkward to control on it 😅. Still, in terms of portability, it’s hard to beat 👍.

I also had an EXP-R, but I never really connected with it. The light bleed and the screen size bothered me more than I expected, so I eventually sold it.

The Nexus looks like a much more significant and convincing upgrade to me when it comes to a portable Evercade system, so hopefully this one will win me over 😅.

What about you? Which Evercade hardware do you use the most, and which one is your favourite? What makes you prefer it?

Personally, I sometimes feel that Evercade still isn't really taken seriously by part of the retro gaming community. It seems to suffer from this image of being a somewhat cheap emulation console, especially because it limits itself to officially licensed games.

I often see people questioning the point of Evercade when you can simply collect the original consoles and games, or emulate them elsewhere.

But for me, that overlooks a big part of what makes Evercade appealing.

We're getting officially licensed physical cartridges, in proper boxes with full-colour manuals something we barely get with modern games anymore. We can also buy brand-new physical releases of modern retro games at very reasonable prices.

And perhaps most importantly, it's a simple plug-and-play ecosystem. You don't have to spend hours configuring things when sometimes you just want to spend those hours actually playing 😅.

As for original hardware, I imagine plenty of people didn't keep all their old consoles and games. Rebuilding a collection today can take up a lot of space and become very expensive, especially if you want original hardware, games in good condition and potentially a CRT to get closer to the original experience.

Some of us simply want to rediscover old games or discover them for the first time in a simple ecosystem that retains some of that traditional console feeling.

You turn on the console and you play. That's it.

Of course, it isn't the exact experience we had back then, but I think it gets close enough while taking advantage of some modern conveniences, without requiring an entire room full of old hardware 😅.

And with native ports becoming an increasingly important part of Evercade, I think it's also becoming harder to describe it as just an emulation console. Evercade is a console in its own right.

I love Evercade, and I'm perfectly happy to admit that the experience is far from perfect. But isn't that true of pretty much every product? They all have advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately how much those strengths and weaknesses matter to us is largely subjective.

What do you think? Does Evercade still struggle to be taken seriously by some retro gamers? And if so, why? 🤔

I’ve heard pretty much everything when it comes to emulation on Evercade. Some people say it’s very good overall, while others are much more critical and say that certain games or systems have noticeable flaws.

Personally, it has never really bothered me. For emulation, I actually think the overall quality is pretty good.

That being said, I haven’t played most of these games on their original hardware, so I’m probably not the best person to judge how accurate the emulation is compared to the real thing 😅.

From my own experience, though, I haven’t noticed any input lag that bothered me, or any major graphical glitches, slowdowns or other issues that affected my enjoyment. It works perfectly well for me, and overall I’m very happy with the emulation quality, even though I know emulation will never be exactly the same as playing on the original hardware.

I also realise that a lot of this probably comes down to personal sensitivity and expectations. Some people will notice imperfections that others simply won’t care about.

So I’m genuinely curious: what do you honestly think of the emulation on Evercade?

Do you think it’s good overall? Have you noticed any particular games or systems where the emulation feels noticeably worse, or perhaps surprisingly good?

Whatever your level of experience with original hardware, I’d really like to hear your thoughts👍.

With Duke Nukem 1 & 2 Remastered and now the native versions of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, we’ve already seen games and ports specifically made for Evercade.

But do you think Blaze could eventually take things a step further and bring us a major game developed specifically for Evercade?

I’m not necessarily talking about Evercade becoming a traditional console competing for exclusives, but perhaps one or two original games developed specifically for the platform could be an interesting way to give Evercade even more of its own identity.

Would that be something you’d like to see?

Or do you think exclusive native ports and enhanced versions of existing games, like Duke Nukem and Banjo-Kazooie, are already enough? 🤔

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We often talk about the games, collections and features we’d love to see on Evercade, but this time I thought I’d ask something a little different:

What’s the one thing you’d most like Blaze to improve in 2027?

For me, it would probably be stock and availability.

Sometimes I feel like I have to constantly keep an eye on announcements and pre-order quickly if I really don’t want to miss something. I’d love to be able to buy Evercade products without feeling like I always need to be ready the moment pre-orders open 😅.

Limited editions can be a little frustrating for me too. Very small quantities, sometimes available through only one retailer, with a very short window to grab one... and inevitably some of them end up in the hands of scalpers.

I understand the appeal of limited editions and why they exist, but personally I’d love to see a little less pressure around buying Evercade products.

That would probably be the main thing I’d like to see improved in 2027.

What about you? What’s the one thing you’d most like Blaze to improve next year? 🤔

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With so many arcade games in the Evercade library, I’ve been waiting for an official Evercade arcade stick for quite a while.

And when the Neo Geo collections started arriving, I honestly thought it was only a matter of time... but here we are, and there’s still no official arcade stick.

So I finally gave in and bought an 8BitDo Arcade Stick 😅.

And when the Neo Geo collections started arriving, I honestly thought it was only a matter of time... but here we are, and there’s still no official arcade stick.

I know the Alpha exists and offers a proper arcade setup, but sometimes I just want to chill on the couch in front of my TV and play those arcade collections with an arcade stick.

It’s a bit of a shame because I would genuinely have pre-ordered an official Evercade arcade stick day one. Now that I’ve bought a third-party one, though, I’m honestly not sure I would anymore.

So I’m curious: have you been waiting for an official Evercade arcade stick too? Would you still buy one if they announced it?

And why do you think Blaze hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity, considering how much arcade content Evercade has now? 🤔🕹️

I’m curious to know what everyone thinks about this.

Personally, I don’t think Evercade needs a true next-generation system anytime soon. There are still so many possibilities to explore with the current ecosystem, especially now that we’re moving further into the 32-bit and 64-bit era.

Of course, I understand that this probably depends a lot on which generations of gaming you grew up with and feel nostalgic about. But personally, I think moving to an “Evercade 2” too soon could actually be a strategic mistake.

There’s still an enormous library of games and systems to explore without going much further than the N64/PS1 era.

And the upcoming Nexus doesn’t really offer more processing power than the VS/VS-R either. Instead, it expands the current ecosystem with things like dual analogue sticks, a better screen, Wi-Fi 6 and features such as EverSync.

To me, that suggests Blaze still sees plenty of room to expand the current generation rather than rushing into an Evercade 2 and honestly, I think that makes sense.

I’d much rather see them continue pushing the current hardware and cartridge format as far as they reasonably can before thinking about a true next generation.

But what do you think? Would you like to see an Evercade 2 in the near future, or do you think the current ecosystem still has plenty of life left in it?

Feel free to tell me if you think I’m completely wrong 😅.

The new Evercade Wireless Controller with dual analogue sticks is coming soon, and I was wondering how many of you have already pre-ordered one or are planning to get one.

If you are, what made you decide to buy it? What do you see as the main benefit for you?

I’ve already pre-ordered the Nexus, but now I’m wondering whether I should upgrade my VS setup as well and get the new controller 🤔. The dual analogue sticks are obviously a big improvement, especially looking ahead to more 3D games, although there still aren’t that many games that fully take advantage of them yet.

So I’m curious: are you getting one? And if so, why? What makes it worth the upgrade for you?

I’m interested to hear what you think before I inevitably lose all self-control again 😅.

Hi everyone!

If you could choose one publisher for Evercade to partner with and release cartridges, who would it be?

Konami? Capcom? Sega? Midway? Or someone completely different?

I’m talking about the one partnership you’d want above all others. The announcement that would genuinely make you jump off your couch or your bed 😅.

And because making a choice is more fun when it’s difficult: only one publisher! 😅

I’d also love to know why you picked them over everyone else. Which games or franchises make that publisher your number one choice?

After some hesitation, mine would probably be Capcom. Their library is just incredible. Having franchises like Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Dino Crisis and so many others on actual Evercade cartridges would be absolutely amazing.

Unfortunately, considering the current situation with Capcom games on Evercade, I know it’s probably unlikely... but we’re talking about dream partnerships here 😅.

So, what’s yours? One publisher, and why?

After the recent Banjo Kazooie presentation, the Evercade version looks like it could be one of the best versions of the game.

Higher resolution, improved frame rate, adapted controls and camera, quality-of-life improvements... I really like the idea of taking a classic game and enhancing it for Evercade while keeping the original experience intact.

So, if you could choose one game to get the same kind of treatment, which one would it be?

Personally, I’d choose Diablo. A native version adapted to Evercade with improved resolution, frame rate, controls and interface would be amazing 🔥. And I think it would be a pretty strong license for Evercade too.

What about you? Which game would you choose?

Only one choice allowed! 😅

I'd like to bring up a slightly sensitive topic: the long-term lifespan of Evercade cartridges.

I've seen all sorts of claims about this, with 10 years being a figure that comes up fairly often. Personally, I find it hard to believe that a company would release physical products with such a short expected lifespan, but maybe I'm wrong. 😅

I've looked into it a little, and from what I understand, there are two different things to consider:

Write endurance: flash memory can only handle a certain number of write cycles. However, in the case of Evercade cartridges, it would apparently take an enormous number of writes to actually wear one out. An old message attributed to Blaze even suggested that you'd basically have to be writing to the cartridge almost constantly for this to become an issue within any reasonable amount of time.

Data retention: this seems harder to evaluate. How long the data remains intact can depend on several factors, such as the type and quality of the flash memory, temperature, ageing, and probably other factors as well.

It's mainly the second point that makes me wonder, especially since I've found very little detailed information about the flash memory used in more recent Evercade cartridges, particularly Giga Carts.

I have to admit that the subject worries me a little. 😅 One of the things I really like about Evercade is owning my games on physical media, and naturally I'd love to still be able to pull out my cartridges and play them in 20 or 30 years... if I'm still able to by then... 😅

What do you think?

Are you concerned about the long-term lifespan of Evercade cartridges, or does it not bother you at all? Have any of you already experienced problems with older cartridges?

And if anyone here has a good technical knowledge of flash memory or electronics, I'd be particularly interested to hear your thoughts 👍.

The Evercade Nexus is just over two months away ! Have you pre-ordered one ? Which version did you go for, and most importantly, which cartridge are you going to put in it first ?

I went for the standard edition, and I’m not going to be very original here... DOOM will almost certainly be the first cartridge going straight into my Nexus 😅🔥.

What about you ?

This year, we’re getting 12 cartridges. Personally, I feel like that’s a bit low.

Since I don’t buy every release and only pick up the cartridges that genuinely interest me, I sometimes find the long gaps between new releases a bit frustrating.

On the other hand, I try to look at the positive side: it’s better for my wallet 😅, and it gives me more time to actually enjoy the cartridges I already own.

Still, I definitely wouldn’t say no to a few more releases in 2027. I feel like around **18 cartridges** could be a really good number, enough to have more regular releases without becoming overwhelming.

What do you think? Are you like me and would like to see more cartridges next year, or do you think 12 is already a good amount? 😊