Yesterday, Analogue revealed their Analogue 3D, a console that was initially announced a year prior. However, curious readers noticed that a key feature and selling point of Analogue’s other consoles was seemingly left vacant on the product page.
What The DAC?
The Analogue DAC is a digital-to-analog converter meant to convert the digital signal in Analogue consoles to analog. Doing so allows gamers to play their consoles on CRT TVs.
The Analogue Pocket and its Dock were initially marketed as featuring support for the DAC. On release, DAC support was delayed. That was December 2021. In 2022, Analogue announced their next console, the Duo, a modernization of the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD add-on. Analogue once more marketed and claimed DAC support would be coming soon for that device. It never did.
A year ago, on the same day it announced the Analogue 3D, Analogue stated that DAC support for the Dock would be arriving “early next year.” However, that was the last update the company provided. Now, in October 2024, the DAC is appearing (or rather, not appearing) to be either a canceled project or a promise left unfulfilled.
Ambitious engineers and modders managed to release an attachment for the Pocket that uses its cartridge slot to allow for analog output. But this solution is only viable to those using OpenFPGA cores without the Dock.
Since then, Analogue has ensured customers that DAC support for their post-Mega SG consoles was “coming soon” but “soon” never arrived. As it stands today, the only Analogue consoles that support the DAC are the Super NT and Mega SG.
The recently-announced Analogue 3D features no mention of playing games on classic CRT TVs other than to say the console will help gamers achieve similar visuals through its display modes in 4K.
No DAC In Sight
Today, it seems nearly all mention of the DAC has been removed from the site. The Dock no longer mentions DAC support as coming soon, the Pocket and Duo pages have removed any mention of it, and the Store no longer shows it as an item for sale. The listing for the DAC can still be accessed via its URL. But, the page cannot be found simply by visiting the site and navigating its menus.
Dock features listed today versus one week ago.
Enthusiastic gamers around the world have been eager to receive DAC support for their Analogue Pocket, and more gamers became expectant of support with the release of the Duo. It seems now that Analogue is no longer committed to bringing support for the DAC to their consoles past the Mega SG.
The lack of DAC support for newer consoles has long been one of Analogue’s biggest critiques throughout the company’s recent rampant popularity. Their releases of various limited quantity Analogue Pocket colors have also been met with criticism due to features still being absent from the Pocket that were once promised to be arriving soon.
Coming as Little Surprise
Analogue has a history of creating stellar consoles with incredibly well-thought-out build quality and design. Promising DAC support for their current and future consoles seems to have been the one hurdle that the company could never overcome. It is possible that new developments will surface as time progresses, but Analogue remains tight-lipped when it comes to any information surrounding its products.
What did you think of Analogue potentially discontinuing the DAC? Did you purchase one? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
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