Ayaneo Pocket Micro 2 is sold out permanently, company says only 100 units made

Retro gaming handheld enthusiasts were treated to the pre-order release of Ayaneo's Pocket Micro 2, but the long-awaited premium handheld sold out almost immediately in all configurations and colorways. Ayaneo had been teasing the new device for weeks, and when it went on sale during a livestream, the Pocket Micro 2 instantly disappeared from the online store.

A limited edition play

So, how did the Pocket Micro 2 sell out so fast? The story popped up on the r/SBCGaming subreddit, where a redditor shared screenshots from Ayaneo’s Discord community. According to details shared in the community, the product's initial production run was extremely limited. A moderator named John Nee responded to users’ stock inquiries and revealed the unfortunate news, stating, “No restock, sorry about it. Pocket Micro 2 is a real limited edition.

However, retro gamers in the Discord community weren’t satisfied with his answer and pressed him further. He then revealed that the Pocket Micro 2 was limited to only 100 units. The user stated, “Seriously? 100 units and that’s it, ever?” to which he replied, “Yes.”

A 'choice' to stop selling

John Nee gave further context on why Ayaneo limited the Pocket Micro 2 to just 100 units, stating, “We don’t want to sell it at an unreasonably higher price, so we would rather choose to stop selling.” Redditors pinned the potential increase in cost to expensive RAM and flash storage.

For context, the Ayaneo Pocket Micro 2 is the only ultra-limited model in the company’s retro handheld lineup. The original model came with a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, but the second iteration beefed up the specs with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, with the option to further expand storage via a microSD card.

The Pocket Micro 2 features a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 3:2 LCD, akin to its predecessor, making it perfect for playing GBA, NES, and SNES games, as well as heavier GameCube and PS2 titles, and even a select few Nintendo Switch ROMs. This aligns with Ayaneo’s official blog post regarding the Pocket Micro 2:

“That’s why Pocket MICRO 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Performance improvement is naturally the most visible change, but to me, numbers are not the most important part; the experience is. Faster launch speeds, more stable performance, better compatibility, and smoother gameplay. Situations that once required compromise now feel effortless. We want players to stop thinking about whether something can run, and simply start enjoying games.”

The community's backlash to the announcement was considerable, and the company responded by pledging to look into the possibility of shipping more units on their Discord:

Whether this results in an actual rerun of the Ayaneo Pocket Micro 2 remains to be seen, but one can at least conclude that he brand is looking into getting more units unless prices spiral out of control.