FPGA-Powered Video Games on the Analogue Pocket
Put all of your favorite retro games back in your pocket with the power of FPGAs.
Are you an FPGA enthusiast that misses your old Game Boy video game system? Then the Analogue Pocket might interest you. Equipped with a built-in synthesizer and sequencer, this little digital audio workstation is compatible with nearly 3000 Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance game cartridges.
The Pocket is also capable of working with many of your other favorite cartridges that had compatible adapters such as those from Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket, and Atari Lynx. This little device also has a built in digital audio workstation called Nanoloop that has a synthesizer and sequencer for both music creation and live performances.
An interesting aspect of all of this is that all of this functionality is packed into two Altera Cyclone FPGAs with no emulation. Meaning everything is laid out in the hardware/firmware of this device.
On top of being able to play just about any of your existing favorite games, the Pocket also supports GB Studio which allows users to design their own games using visual scripting (thus no coding knowledge required). Proprietary .pocket files are generated from GB Studio, which are then simply uploaded to the SD card in the Pocket device.
GB Studio is also really neat in that it links to itch.io which is a repository of games other users have developed and uploaded for public availability.
The hardware of the Pocket doesn't disappoint either. The display is a 3.5", 615 ppi, 1600x1440 resolution LCD with Gorilla Glass. The 4300mAh battery facilitates around 6-10 hours or game play and 10+ hours of sleep time, which I'm sure depends on the specific games/music composition functions being utilized.
The attention to detail seems to be unending as Analogue boasts original display modes for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. Including their memorable quirks such as pixel grid patterns and backlight effects.
Analogue has also created accessories for the Pocket with a protective hard case and docking station. The docking station allows for the Pocket to be connected to an HDTV and 2.4G Wi-Fi enabled game controllers for up to 4 player wireless gaming.
Analogue's website also has a developer's page that lists out the specs of the specific Cyclone FPGA and has a little form where you can submit your contact info to them along with the amount of FPGA design experience you have. It appears that by providing your info to them, they'll give you a peek under the hood of the Pocket's design and potentially let you build for it. Analogue also clearly states on their homepage that this device is intended for FPGA development and they have a desire to crowdsource designs for the Pocket.
I submitted my details and am anxiously awaiting to see what I get back!
As far as getting my hands on a Pocket device, it appears that they are currently out of stock with a link to sign up to be notified when they come back in stock. The Pocket itself is $199.99, while the dock is $99.99, hard case is $29.99, and each of the different game cartridge adapters are $29.99. Which all doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
From browsing through their store page, it appears that Analogue also has an array of other retro gaming consoles recreated using an FPGA platform. They are definitely worth checking out!