When the capable console manufacturer Analogue opened pre-orders for its beautiful Game Boy-inspired handheld, Pocket, the portable was sold out almost immediately. The $ 199.99 device, which plays Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear games, in addition to several generations of Game Boy titles, was highly sought after but short-lived. People who did not receive a pre-order for the Analogue Pocket were, to put it mildly, roaring.
But Analogue said in an update on Monday that it plans to make (and sell) more Pocket computers, stressing that the all-in-one portable was never meant to be a limited edition. Analog wants to do more, but points to issues caused by the “current global state of affairs” – also known as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“More bags will be on sale in 2021,” Analogue said. “All things considered, we will do our best to keep Pocket in stock by 2021.” The company has suggested signing up for an inventory notice in its online store.
In addition, Analogue said it is “acting diligently to address bots” and scalpers that sell pre-orders for its devices on sites like eBay.
“Analog will implement robust bot protection in the Analogue Store,” the company said. “It should significantly protect against collisions during the launch of products in the Analog Store and to ensure that real users can buy Analog products. All orders placed with bots will be canceled and their stock will be allocated to real users. ”
The company said it also plans to monitor resale sites, such as eBay, for sellers who increase their own pre-orders. Analogous plans to report scalpers and cancel pre-orders found to resell.
Analogously, Pocket announced in the fall of 2019. The Analogue Pocket plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges out of the box and can play games from other portable systems with cartridge adapters. The handheld was originally scheduled to be released in 2020, but was postponed until May 2021 before pre-orders went into effect.