Don’t have space for a full-sized arcade cabinet but despise those gimmicky mini versions? The Evercade Alpha bartop arcades may be for you.
The Evercade Alpha series will come in two flavors. First up is the Street Fighter bartop cab, which comes with the following games:
- Street Fighter II Champion Edition
- Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
- Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo
- Street Fighter Alpha
- Street Fighter Alpha 2
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
If memory serves, this is the first time I can think of seeing the Street Fighter Alpha series in arcade form outside of the official release.
Next up is the Mega Man Evercade Alpha, which comes with these games:
- Mega Man – The Power Battle
- Mega Man 2 – The Power Fighters
- Carrier Air Wing
- Final Fight
- Kights of the Round
- Strider
If you’re wondering if you’re locked into just the games listed, don’t worry. Each cab comes equipped with dual Evercade cartridge slots. And yes, all carts are compatible. There are also two USB controller ports should you want to dive into some two-player action.
As for the screen, Evercade opted for an eight-inch high-resolution 4:3 IPS display. In size terms, that’s 0.8 of an inch smaller than the Legion Go‘s screen and 0.5 inches larger than the Steam Deck‘s. It sounds like the perfect size if you ask me. Numskull goes with a five-inch screen and, for me, that’s way too small for anything based on arcade machines. I’ve been told it’s run at 60 Hertz as well.
The cabs also have wi-fi, meaning you’ll be able to update them should they need it. Size-wise, each comes in at:
- H-410mm X W-244mm X D-316mm
Price Info: Both cabinets come in at £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99 and will be released in November of 2024, with pre-orders opening on June 4.
Deluxe editions of the Evercade Alpha cabs will be available exclusively via Funstock for £249.99 / €289.99. US pricing wasn’t mentioned at the time of publication.
These versions include Sanwa arcade stick controls built into each device, an Evercade Alpha controller, and comes with three additional marquees to customize the look of the cabinet. Evercade also mentions that US and Canada orders will ship directly from the US to help avoid larger shipping costs. Meanwhile EU, UK, and the rest of the world will all be distributed from Funstocks EU and UK warehouses.
Image Credit: Evercade.
What do you think? Sounds good? I often find myself impressed by how Evercade is somehow always able to keep costs down. The Evercade Exp launched at $149 / £129 and the excellent Super Pocket was just $59 / £49 / €59 when it came out. I’m guessing Evercade hates profits? Who knows. Either way, it’s great news for collectors like us or people looking for something both stylish and functional.
You can learn more over on the Evercade website. Alternatively, check out my video below to see the Evercade Alpha in action.
