Ayaneo’s Pocket DMG Handheld Is a Blacked-Out Game Boy With a Joystick

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If you missed the window to snap up Analogue’s limited edition Pocket, you may not be out of luck just yet — Ayaneo is here to offer you an alternative modernized Game Boy.

The handheld recently teased plans to remake the classic Nintendo Game Boy that we grew up with, but with a major twist of including a joystick. Introducing: the Ayaneo Pocket DMG.

BACK IN BLACK

Ayaneo was careful with its teaser images, only providing us with some clues for its blacked-out Game Boy remake. The Ayaneo Pocket DMG will largely borrow from the classic design, including a D-pad, volume wheel, and start and select buttons. Judging from an image of the back of the handheld, it looks like it would be able to run classic cartridges, but there’s no confirmation from Ayaneo yet.

To separate itself from the original Nintendo handheld and the Analogue Pocket, it looks like Ayaneo will be adding a joystick to the bottom left corner. That’s a major departure from the original Game Boy and any of its evolutions. The joystick could prove to be a divisive design choice, but it does indicate that Ayaneo may want to run more than just classic Nintendo titles on its handheld.

If you’re a purist who’s against the inclusion of a joystick, well, you could always wait and see if Analogue will do another run of its Pocket handheld that sells out crazy fast.

RELEASE DATE UNKNOWN

Besides vague teaser images, Ayaneo didn’t specify any price or release details for its Ayaneo Pocket DMG. It did note that its Game Boy remake would be its first entry into the retro handhelds market, where it plans to use its Remake label to build out a lineup based on vintage gaming devices.

It’s clear, Ayaneo is leaning into the nostalgia we have for old-school tech since it also showed off two mini PCs along with its handhelds. Its Retro Mini PC AM01 shares a very similar design to the original Macintosh, while the Retro Mini PC AM02 heavily resembles the SNES from the ‘90s. As cool as these look, our inner child is really just waiting for the full reveal of the Ayaneo Pocket DMG.

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