Blaze Entertainment announces refresh of Evercade hardware line with Evercade EXP-R and Evercade VS-R at a new lower price.

Blaze Entertainment :

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJjtm3JzNQ

Website: http://evercade.co.uk/

  DATE: Tuesday 16th April, 14:00 BST

LETCHWORTH, UK: Blaze Entertainment is delighted to announce a refresh of the Evercade line of retro gaming consoles that not only provides a simpler and more accessible way to get into Evercade and its physical cartridge ecosystem but also brings the price of the products down to under £100/$100.

The Evercade -R range will see both the Evercade console staples (The Evercade VS and Evercade EXP) get a new look, a simplified package, and one bundled "Giga Cart" cartridge to be announced later this month.

Evercade is a retro gaming ecosystem that uses officially licensed games from publishers and owners on a collectible Evercade physical cartridge. Each cartridge includes the game cartridges, a plastic clam shell box, and a full colour manual, just like games used to.
 
Since launching in 2020, Evercade has released three main consoles, Limited Editions of those consoles, and over 50 Evercade physical cartridge collections. The Evercade VS-R and Evercade EXP-R are the newest iterations of Evercade’s popular and award-winning retro gaming hardware line, designed to welcome new fans to our growing ecosystem.
 
Evercade EXP-R and VS-R Trailer
  The Evercade VS-R now comes in a charcoal grey with turquoise accents with the front LED and Power button. The Evercade VS-R still features a dual cartridge slot and four USB ports for local multiplayer action.
 
The HDMI output makes this the best way to play retro games on your television or monitor at 1080p resolution. The console firmware now includes the option for TATE screen rotation, which means if your monitor or television supports it, you can now play vertical games on a big screen to great effect. WiFi connectivity allows you to update your console firmware with ease.

Included in the Evercade VS-R package is one controller (also in charcoal grey with turquoise accents), one micro-USB power cable, one HDMI cable, and one Evercade cartridge collection, using our new Giga Cart format, which will be announced later this month.

Prices for the Evercade VS-R are now a single simplified price at £89.99, $99.99 and €109.99.
  The Evercade EXP-R sees many changes from the original Evercade EXP to help reduce the cost of the product. The Evercade EXP-R is the best way to play Evercade cartridge on the go with the focus now purely on the handheld gaming experience. The console also comes in charcoal grey with turquoise accents on the Menu, Start, and Select buttons, as well as the power button. A new textured grip on the rear of the console provides extra comfort during longer play sessions. 

Like the previous model, the Evercade EXP-R also includes WiFi for easy updates, and the TATE button at the bottom, to allow you to rotate your console and play vertical games easily and with an accurate screen ratio.
 
The Evercade EXP-R will come with a USB-C charging cable and also one Evercade cartridge collection bundled, using our new Giga Cart format, to be announced shortly. Prices for the Evercade EXP-R are now much lower at £99.99, $99.99 and €119.99.
  Also releasing in July alongside the Evercade EXP-R is an Evercade TATE Grip. This is a new peripheral that will secure your Evercade EXP or Evercade EXP-R in a comfortable controller-like cradle, enabling you to play TATE games for longer with more accurate response and user comfort. This will be available from Evercade retailers for £17.99, $19.99 and €19.99.

The Evercade VS-R Controllers will also be available separately. The Evercade VS-R also supports the existing Evercade VS controller (now named Evercade VS Classic controller) and multiple third-party gaming controllers.
  There are some key differences between the Evercade EXP-R and the Evercade EXP. With the conclusion of our licensing agreement for the Evercade EXP, the Evercade EXP-R will not include the bonus 18 built-in titles from Capcom. These will still be available on the Evercade EXP for new and existing owners.
The Evercade EXP-R is also optimised for gaming on the go, as many of our fans prefer this method of gaming, either during travel or on the sofa. Therefore the Mini-HDMI out has also been removed from the Evercade EXP-R and does not support TV out.
Both consoles will have access to the newest unified firmware for our devices, which rolled out on April 11th, 2024. This means the user experience across all consoles is now parable with the same features, except for dual cartridge slot bonus titles (exclusive to Evercade VS & Evercade VS-R) and Namco Museum Collections 1 & 2 being handheld exclusive cartridges.
Both consoles will also come with the same bundled Evercade cartridge, which will be announced later this month, and will also be available separately.
With this retro gaming console refresh, the existing Evercade EXP and Evercade VS consoles will now enter their End of Life phase and no longer be produced. They will still be supported by firmware updates, and new and existing warranties will continue to apply to hardware purchases from authorised Evercade retailers, with the usual customer service requirements. You can still purchase these devices from Evercade retailers where stock levels allow.
Since launching in 2020, Evercade’s cartridge library has grown to over 500 officially licensed retro games across over 50 physical cartridge collections. Play retro titles from over five decades of home console gaming, from the early generations of the 70s to the 8-bit takeover of the 80s, the 16-bit explosion of the 90s, and the revolutionary 3D games of the 32 and 64-bit consoles. 
Evercade also has home computer titles, with the best of the 1980s and 1990s computer scenes with THEC64, Amiga, and more. Arcade games are also at home on Evercade with licensed arcade games easily played on a cartridge, no coins, no ports, just excellent nostalgic gaming. Evercade also has many Indie titles made for retro hardware with multiple collections featuring brand-new games from the indie game development - all on our physical cartridge ecosystem.
Evercade hardware will play these cartridges along with many features modern gamers enjoy such as save/load states, screen size options, themes, and bezels, and they require zero setup or technical knowledge of emulation software or devices. Each cartridge just inserts into an Evercade and works. They are also cross-compatible meaning that your saved game on a cartridge can be picked up when inserted into any other Evercade or HyperMegaTech! Super Pocket device. No game downloads or digital stores, this is the classic nostalgic gaming experience.
  Quote:


“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.” - Andrew Byatt, CEO, Blaze Entertainment Ltd.


Notes


Evercade was first released in 2020 as a handheld device with ten gaming cartridges of classic console licenses. Since then it has grown to two other hardware devices (listed below) and now has over 50 physical cartridge collections and over 500 games across the entire ecosystem.


The Evercade EXP handheld gaming system is available globally, whilst stocks last and includes the IREM Arcade 1 cartridge collection and 18 built-in Capcom games. This product is now discontinued and replaced by the Evercade EXP-R.


The Evercade VS home console systems are currently available worldwide from Amazon and other local retailers, while stocks last. This product is now discontinued and replaced by the Evercade VS-R.


Evercade devices play games via emulation on bespoke cartridges. These physical releases play the games contained and come in a physical case with a full-colour manual, custom written by Blaze with controls, hints and tips, and interesting facts about the titles and developers.


Evercade emulates a wide range of systems (including 8, 16, 32, and 64-bit consoles, handhelds, THEC64, and Amiga home computers, and arcade games), as well as natively run games, and also highlights modern retro games created by indie developers, with support for five decades of gaming.


Evercade cartridges have three distinct colour schemes to highlight their content. Red-coloured boxes feature home console collections from multiple systems across five decades of gaming. Purple indicates Arcade game collections and Blue is for home computer collections.


In 2023, Blaze Entertainment launched its new brand HyperMegaTech! to provide more retro gaming products aimed at a more casual market. The first two products, the Super Pockets also come with Evercade cartridge compatibility.