TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS INTO THE LIFE OF THE EVERCADE, A NEW HANDHELD LOADED WITH CAPCOM GAMES IS SWEEPING AWAY THE DEVICE THAT LAUNCHED THE DEDICATED RETRO PLATFORM. WE SPEAK TO BLAZE ENTERTAINMENT TO FIND OUT THE DECISIONS BEHIND ITS BOLDEST MOVE SO FAR

WORDS BY NICK THORPE AND DARRAN JONES

ANDREW BYATT Managing director, Blaze Entertainment

» [Arcade] Vulgus isn’t exactly a household name, but it does serve to show off the handheld’s Tate mode.

Youmay not know this, but Retro Gamer is always watching. Not in a creepy way – we only use our long lenses for bird photography, thank you very much – but we do tend to hang around in Facebook groups and Discord servers, quietly observing the mood of various retro gaming communities. We particularly enjoy watching the Evercade scene, in part because the regular new developments tend to keep discussions fresh, and in part because a dedicated retro-gaming console with its collectable cartridges is still such a unique offering. As the platform’s second anniversary was approaching earlier in the year, we saw an interesting split of opinions emerging. Some Evercade fans were beginning to voice the opinion that Blaze Entertainment really needed to sign some big-hitting games in order for the platform to reach that next level of growth. Others were pretty happy with what the platform already had to offer and simply hoped for a refresh of the handheld hardware, a kind of Evercade Pro.

In the end, Blaze came up with something that would theoretically please both camps. The Evercade EXP is intended as the next major step for the platform, a new piece of handheld hardware compatible with all existing Evercade cartridges, and designed to offer an improved user experience. However, the biggest buzz around the handheld concerns its built-in bonus games, which really do threaten to overshadow everything else about the console. Every Evercade EXP will come with 18 Capcom games, including instantly recognisable games like Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Final Fight, Commando, Strider and Mega Man 2. These are pre-loaded games licensed to the device, with no need for any downloads or activation, nor any way of being deleted. In terms of mainstream appeal, it’s easily the biggest acquisition for the Evercade since the Namco Museum cartridges that helped to launch the platform in 2020.

When we visited Blaze Entertainment to see the new system and speak to the team, it was easy to tell how pleased managing director Andrew Byatt was to have Capcom on board. “I think it comes at a good time for us. I think having a company with Capcom’s prestige and their history to want to work with us on this project and wanting to be on the device is a big signal.” Sean Cleaver, marketing manager at Blaze, agrees. “It gives some credence to us that, you know, after two-and-a-half years of this device and this ecosystem that we’ve built around it, we’ve been able to harbour a great reputation of bringing back games that people love, as well as our reputation for bringing more out of the lesser-known in the modern retro development scene. But then getting Capcom, which we’ve worked on for the last two years in some way shape or form, and bringing it to the table is very much giving that credence to there being a space for the big publishers – there’s a space at that table for all of these people.”

SEAN CLEAVER Head of marketing, Blaze Entertainment

» [Arcade] 1944: The Loop Master is the only CPS2 game among the arcade games included on the console.

» [Arcade] Passing the Evercade around the house trying to beat 1943 high scores could be lots of fun.

» The shape of the console is still designed to complement the shape of the cartridges.

» [Arcade] Games like Captain Commando make us hope the plans to link the VS to the EXP come to fruition.

» [Arcade] No joke – when Darran first heard about the Capcom deal, he said, “Strider had better be on there.”

In the months preceding the announcement of these games, it was clear that some players were hoping for a publisher acquisition of this level, and the response was largely positive when the reveal finally came. In particular, players who were already sold on the upgraded hardware were pleasantly surprised by the substantial nature of the previously mysterious bonus content. However, a decently sized minority felt that the inclusion of built-in games was a betrayal of the format’s key selling point of games on cartridges. “We understand that completely and we will say, as we have done, we are not changing our direction at all. We are a completely physical system, we do physical cartridges, we are not operating any kind of digital storefront, we’re not operating any kind of code redemption or anything else,” says Sean. “As we’ve said in other communications, if we could have brought [the Capcom content] any other way, we absolutely would have.”