I snagged a Group A preorder on 12/14/2021, order #89xxx. 🥳 Based on some Reddit posts, it seems pre-orders started around #85xxx and the Group A cutoff for the actual Pocket was #92xxx.
I pre-ordered the Pocket, Dock, screen protector, and case. I kind of regret the case as it seems more for show than utility, but I'll live.
To Analogue's credit, it put additional safeguards in place as it said it would. The order page handled the onslaught of site traffic pretty well this time. There was a waiting screen with a note NOT to refresh. I was extra prepared by saving some of my info the night before pre-orders opened again so I didn’t have to enter it again in the morning. I completed my order at 11:03 AM, and I was still 4000 orders
after the earliest known order number.
While I was pretty tilted about the August 2020 pre-order flustercuck, I don't mind not getting one of the initial units in hindsight. Analogue finally started shipping Pocket earlier this month after THREE delays and has been dealing with some bugs. There have been a few reported lemons with some crummy hardware issues. I’m hoping these are ironed out by the time I (presumably) receive mine in a few months. Additionally, the jailbreak has not been released yet. While I have most of the games I wanted to play, I’m missing a few. Since there isn't a better way to try certain games, I'll have to settle for a CRIME ROM.
I'm actively trying to pick up some Neo Geo Pocket Color games for when the adapter is up for preorder. No, it isn't going well.
My initial thoughts with the final unit being shipped out (and admittedly, NOT using one myself yet):
- I don't like the Menu button placement. I'm absolutely going to press that by accident. I would have preferred Analogue make Start and Select longer and raised like the respective Game Boy buttons and the Menu button recessed if it even needed to be placed between Start and Select. I would have preferred right below the screen. Still, I mostly plan on playing while Docked so this may be less of a problem for me.
- The power button is too close to the volume rocker. Power will likely to be pressed frequently due to the sleep functionality so it a little baffling why Analogue made this design choice.
- The volume rocker is weirdly small though I don't often futz with the sound once I've set it.
- The shoulder buttons look uncomfortable as they flank the cartridge slot. I would have preferred they were placed in a bump-out like the Joy Cons though that wouldn’t be as aesthetically pleasing or portable. Analogue Pocket is larger than it looks in screenshots so I question it’s “pocketability” to begin with.
- There appear to be some issues with the cartridge slot. Some impressions so far have shown the games crashing when tapped. When Pocket was revealed, I thought this might be a problem as cartridges looked less secure than on Nintendo’s original hardware. It's obvious Analogue designed this with a form-before-function mentality.
- Despite getting delayed by like a year, the system software is unacceptably incomplete. I understand Analogue OS was only announced in October; the company never should have shipped in the state the software was in.
Has anyone else pre-ordered this recently? Has anyone received their unit? I think Ian said he snagged a preorder back in August 2020 though he checks into this forum less than I do.