{"id":186654,"date":"2024-05-30T13:30:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T17:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/?p=186654"},"modified":"2024-05-30T13:30:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T17:30:35","slug":"evercade-alpha-is-a-bartop-arcade-but-is-it-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armchairarcade.com\/perspectives\/2024\/05\/30\/evercade-alpha-is-a-bartop-arcade-but-is-it-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Prediction Correct – Evercade Alpha is a bartop arcade, but is it enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As predicted<\/a>, the Evercade Alpha<\/a> is a bartop arcade. It’s exactly what I thought it was going to be, with one notable ommision, a rotatable screen for TATE-mode<\/a> games. Frankly, at a special pre-order price of $229.99 US, I was expecting just a bit more. The TAITO Egret II Mini<\/a>, which, to be fair, only has a 5-inch screen versus the Alpha’s 8-inch screen, retails for $199.99 or less, and does in fact have a screen that rotates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite that disappointment, it seems like a solid overall product, but I do also dislike the fact that it’s available in two SKUs with different built-in games. They’ve done that before with their various handhelds, but it’s certainly far less practical to buy multiple $200+ large-footprint countertop devices if you want to play the games they’re unable to put on a cartridge or include as built-ins on other devices (licensing restrictions are, as always, a bear). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-orders begin June 4, 2024, for an expected November 2024 ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also two Deluxe versions for a bit more money from funstock.co.uk<\/a> that have the following features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n