I've been dreading potential Super Pocket price increases for a while, and AI component demand finally made it happen. While the cartridge-based retro handheld's creators, Blaze, say they "absorbed rising costs across manufacturing, components, and freight for as long as possible," the portable and its carts will become more expensive in the UK and Europe.
In an Evercade cartridge and Super Pocket annoucement, Blaze CEO Andrew Byatt breaks the news by saying, "I wanted to speak directly to our customers," regarding pricing changes for both regions. Byatt clarifies, "This is not a planned price rise, and it is not a decision we have taken lightly," but confirms that absorbing cost increases is "no longer feasible."
The specific price increases will see Evercade cartridges increase from £19.99 / €24.99 to £24.99 / €29.99, while the Super Pocket will jump from £49.99 / €59.99 to £59.99 / €69.99. Byatt adds that the "memory and flash storage costs have risen sharply," something that is "affecting the whole consumer electronics market, including gaming."
It's worth noting that, at the time of writing, I'm still seeing Super Pocket models for their original MSRP at Amazon. The Rare Edition (the one with Banjo-Kazooie) is still available for £49.95, and the Technos Edition remains the cheapest at £42.95. I suspect the hikes will kick in once the retailers' current stock depletes, so keep that in mind if you've been thinking of grabbing one.
Naturally, news of price increases sparked by AI data centre demand isn't news at this stage. RAMageddon is ripping its way through the entire games and entertainment industry, driving up once sacred console MSRPs higher as components like RAM become scarce. The fact it's impacting even a low-spec handheld like the Super Pocket, though, demonstrates that even some of the cheapest systems aren't safe from the storm.
I'm not sure I like framing this as a "bright side", but if you're in the US, Evercade cart and Super Pocket prices are staying the same. You could say that's because US players were already paying more for the gadgets since they were previously hit with turbulent tariffs, but Blaze's CEO reveals "recent tariff reductions have helped us offset some of the pressure."
The timing of this Evercade price increase news is unfortunate. Sure, other systems like the Evercade VS-R, EXP-R, and Evercade Alpha are safe. However, with news of Sony's plans to kill off physical PS5 games causing a ruckus, many players will be looking to bastions of physical gaming like the Super Pocket as an ecosystem jumping-on point.
Personally, I'm not convinced the price increases serve as a reason not to buy a Super Pocket right now. Even at £60 / €70, it's still pretty affordable and will set you back less than a new Switch 2 or PS5 game. Plus, its lineup of over 500 games across numerous physical boxed releases is only going to grow, and even 3D classics like Tomb Raider and Banjo-Kazooie (currently via the Super Pocket Rare Edition) are increasing in number.
Price increases suck, so this is certifiably bad news for anyone looking to start an Evercade collection. Despite this, Blaze reassures its player base that it'll continue to "remain focused on what we believe matters: physical products, officially licensed games, curated collections, no subscriptions, no complicated set-up and a growing library for players and collectors."
The next big Evercade release on the cards for 2026 is the Super Pocket Activision Edition, and while the price hike will put a damper on things, I reckon it's curated collection of third-party Atari classics will go down well. It'll then be all eyes on the shiny new, 3D-focused Evercade Nexus, and we can only hope the handheld scene stabilizes by the time October hits.
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