The Analogue 3D is fast becoming another vaporware Smach Z disaster
With August drawing to a close, Analogue has announced that another delay has beset its Nintendo 64-inspired Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) home console. This time, the company has kicked the Analogue 3D into the long grass by not even giving a rough shipment date.
Instead, it now suggests that Analogue 3D pre-orders will begin shipping in 'Q4', albeit without specifying the year to which that quarter applies. The latest statement from Analogue is as follows:
Analogue has been moving at maximum pace, processing shipments to everyone who has been patiently waiting. Unexpected, uncommon issues are rare. Especially in a negligible degree under esoteric circumstances. We're ensuring every detail meets our standard.
Nonetheless, we know this sucks. Another delay, announced late, after months of patience. We feel it too. Analogue3D has been in development for 4 years, obsessively. It's at 99%. Hardware, system, packaging — the full kit — been set for months. The last 1% is where we're focused.
This has moved our shipping date to Q4 — intentionally set conservatively. We're pushing without pause and appreciate everyone's patience and trust. Analogue will always deliver — delays or not, its a commitment to our standard of care.
Allegedly, Analogue 3D development is now 'at 99%', which calls into question the company's previous shipment date committments. Lest we forget that Analogue blamed 'sudden tariff changes' only a month ago, adding:
Late August, the wait ends: reviews go live with everything we've been saving for this moment.
In October 2024, Analogue was confident that the Analogue 3D would be ready by Q1 2025, which 8BitDo indicated meant March 19 with the accompanying 8BitDo 64 controller (curr. $39.99 on Amazon). So confident were Analogue that they took $249.99 upfront for those wishing to pre-order the Analogue 3D, before postponing the console's release to July 2025 without giving a reason on March 18.
For clarity's sake, Analogue has never shown any hardware publicly, nor have any media outlets reported having witnessed prototypes. Arguably, the Analogue 3D is following the trajectory of almost every other Analogue device with frequent and opaque launch delays, whether that be the Analogue Pocket or Analogue Duo. However, the retro gaming scene has been burned before with products that turned out to be vaporware, such as the infamous Smach Z. At this rate, we would be surprised if the Analogue 3D started shipping this side of 2026, given Analogue's recent performance.
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