Fact Checked by 
In a world before the likes of the Steam Deck and the Rog Ally a company called Evercade set out to capture the retro gaming market with a series of consoles and handheld devices that not only allowed you to play your favorite games from yesteryear but also capture some of the magic of buying cartridges and slotting them home.
With Evercade it was not a single game you were buying on a cartridge but a collection – clever licensing allowed them to bring you a cartridge full of Capcom hits, or Toaplan hits, and so on. And at a reasonable price too. These licensed products are a great way to play your old favorites legally without relying on emulators which can vanish at any minute. Now both the Evercade EXP and the Evercade VS-R are getting a final refresh with the originals being put out to pasture.
When the Evercade EXP came out I bought one immediately due to my obsession with shmups as the EXP had the ability to put it into TATE mode and play the games vertically with more screen real estate the way that they were meant to be played, The new version of the EXP, the EXP-R maintains the features which is very much appreciated. A new TATE grip is also on the way for this, which we presume will operate like the Flip Grip for the Nintendo Switch.
Refreshing retro
Andrew Byatt, CEO of Blaze, the company behind the Evercade machines said: “We’re thrilled to introduce the EXP-R and VS-R, going one step further to make retro gaming more accessible to gamers. With these reimagined editions, we are delighted to be able to lower the cost of entry into a market where prices seem to continuously rise. The EXP-R and VS-R embody our commitment to providing high-quality retro gaming experiences at unbeatable value, empowering gamers to dive into unforgettable adventures and physical ownership without breaking the bank. This relaunch marks an exciting new chapter for Evercade, and we can’t wait for even more people to come and experience the joy of gaming with our new products.”
These new iterations of the Evercade hardware mean the existing models are now entering their “end of life” phase. Support will continue but no more will be manufactured.
The new models are due for release in July and can be pre-ordered from the end of April.
