Evercade

Lore & Background

Blaze Entertainment, which had previously produced Atari-related products and the Game Gadget, began development of the Evercade in 2018 with the intention of creating a console superior to plug-and-play devices. The Evercade was announced in April 2019 as a portable retrogaming console with the ability to be connected to a television screen. The console would play emulated video games, with a focus on the 8-bit and 16-bit gaming eras. The Evercade was initially scheduled to release in the fourth quarter of 2019, before being delayed to 20 March 2020. The release was later pushed back to 22 May 2020, although this was expected to be delayed up to two additional weeks in some areas because of shipping delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The console is white and red in color, for a retro appearance like the Nintendo Famicom, although a black edition was also sold in the United Kingdom. Andrew Byatt, the Evercade's development director, hoped to sell hundreds of thousands of units within the first year. On 31 May 2022, Blaze announced that it would discontinue the Evercade in favor of an upgraded version known as the Evercade EXP.

The Evercade has a 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processor and uses a Linux base. It is just over seven inches long, has 256 megabytes of RAM, and has a horizontal 4.3-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 480x272 pixels. The screen uses the 16:9 aspect ratio, as some of the console's games were originally released for systems – such as the Atari Lynx – that use a wider screen ratio than 4:3. The player can switch between the two aspect ratios. The Evercade can be connected to a television using a mini-HDMI cable, offering a television output of 720p and supporting high-definition upscaling on all games. The console has a rechargeable 2,000-mAh battery that lasts four to five hours. A 3.5 minijack for headphones is located on the bottom, along with two volume controls. The cartridge slot, power button, and mini-HDMI port are on the top. A MicroUSB port is used for charging. Unlike modern handheld consoles, the Evercade does not have a touch screen or Wi-Fi connectivity. Blaze Entertainment developed 20 versions of the D-pad before settling on a final version, based on the D-pads featured on the Genesis and Saturn controllers. The console includes four action buttons on the front, two trigger buttons on top, and menu, select, and start buttons. The layout of the four action buttons was determined after an online poll found that 68 percent of people wanted a layout like those used on modern game controllers, though this created confusion as in-game prompts never match the buttons. At launch, Blaze released a firmware update for the layout issue, requiring the user to connect the console through USB to the Evercade website.

Games for the Evercade are distributed on multi-game ROM cartridges, each usually containing between 5 and 20 games, although several cartridges contained fewer than five games. Evercade cartridges support the ability to save a game, a modern feature not usually present in older games. The use of game cartridges was considered unique, as most retro handheld consoles used built-in or downloaded game ROMs. Cartridges, clamshell packaging, and paper instruction manuals were part of the effort to appeal to retrogamers. Cartridges and their packaging are numbered to encourage collecting. Evercade cartridges are white and similar in size to Game Boy and Game Gear cartridges. In 2024, Blaze Entertainment announced new cartridges known as Giga Carts, identical in appearance and size but featuring additional storage space for emulating modern games. Cartridges contain recreations of existing games through emulation, and Evercade developers worked with the original software developers to ensure accurate game recreations. Atari was announced in April 2019 as the first game publisher to work with the Evercade developers. Subsequent partnerships were announced with Interplay Entertainment, Data East, and Bandai Namco Entertainment. Blaze Entertainment held discussions with game licensees and requested specific games for release, usually well known or rare. Games from Japanese studios were also sought. Byatt said that many games were turned down for consideration: 'We've gone for quality over quantity, in our view. We don't want to be a console that has 3,000 games.' Other games could not be licensed because of lost paperwork necessary to prove who owns the rights. Discussions were also held with indie game developers about launching original, retro-like games on the console. Mega Cat Studios later made an agreement to release an Evercade cartridge with 10 homebrew games that had previously been released for the NES and the Mega Drive. The Evercade runs emulators that have been licensed by Blaze or custom-built in some cases. The console is capable of playing games originally released for the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx, NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Intellivision, PlayStation and Neo Geo. The Evercade had 10 game cartridges available at launch, providing a total of 122 games. Blaze intended to build up an Evercade game collection of more than 50 cartridges over the next few years. Cartridges by Piko Interactive and Mega Cat were among those available at launch. Evercade games typically sell for $20. Arc System Works published a cartridge full of beat 'em up games originally developed by Technōs. The Namco Museum Collection cartridge includes the first official English translation of the game Mappy Kids. Iron Commando, which had previously received only a limited release by Piko, also saw a release on the Evercade. Other cartridges include games such as Tanglewood, and a collection of Atari Lynx games. Home conversions of arcade games, such as Asteroids and Pac-Man, have also been released. The original arcade ROMs were initially not used because of issues concerning the aspect ratio, as some arcade games use a vertical screen that would not display properly on the Evercade's horizontal screen.

Reader's Guide

The Evercade occupies a distinct niche in the retro gaming market by emphasizing physical media and curated collections. Its use of multi-game cartridges with clamshell packaging and numbered releases encouraged collecting, a deliberate contrast to the digital-download model common among other retro handhelds. The console's ability to output to a television at 720p with upscaling, along with its support for a wide range of classic systems—from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation—made it a versatile device for revisiting older libraries. The Evercade's partnerships with publishers such as Atari, Interplay Entertainment, Data East, and Bandai Namco Entertainment provided a steady stream of officially licensed titles, while collaborations with homebrew developers like Mega Cat Studios expanded its offerings. The console's development was marked by attention to hardware details, such as the D-pad design based on the Genesis and Saturn controllers, and the inclusion of save functionality on cartridges. However, the lack of Wi-Fi and touch screen, as well as the initial button-layout confusion that required a firmware update, highlighted its focused, no-frills approach. The Evercade's lifecycle saw a home console variant (the Evercade VS) and a successor (the Evercade EXP), indicating Blaze Entertainment's commitment to iterating on the concept. Its significance lies in proving that a physical-cartridge-based retro system could find an audience in an era dominated by digital emulation boxes, offering a tangible, collectible experience for enthusiasts.

Did You Know?

• The Evercade was developed by Blaze Entertainment, a British company that had previously produced Atari-related products and the Game Gadget.
• The console's D-pad design was based on the D-pads featured on the Genesis and Saturn controllers, and Blaze developed 20 versions before settling on a final one.
• At launch, the Evercade offered 10 game cartridges with a combined total of 122 games.