Wonderswan
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WonderSwan is a Japanese handheld game console released by Bandai in 1999. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai. The WonderSwan was made to compete with the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and the market leader Nintendo's Game Boy Color (even though the developer for the WonderSwan, Gunpei Yokoi, developed the original Nintendo Game Boy).
The WonderSwan was later replaced by the WonderSwan Color. Although some WonderSwan Color games are compatible with the original WonderSwan, many are designed exclusively for the WonderSwan Color and show a message such as "This cartridge is for WonderSwan Color only" when run on the original WonderSwan.
The WonderSwan was available in ten case colors, playable both vertically and horizontally, and features a fairly large library of games. As it was a console designed essentially for the Japanese market, most of the games are in Japanese, with only a few featuring English text.
Technical specifications
- CPU: 16-bit NEC V30 MZ processor at 3.072 MHz
- Screen: FSTN reflective LCD
- *Resolution: 224 x 144 pixels
- *2.49 inch diagonal
- Display performance: Max. 512 characters, max. 128 sprites (32 on one horizontal line), two screens (overlay possible), screen windows and sprite windows.
- Graphics: 8-shade monochrome in the dot matrix section and six icons at the static section.
- Audio:
- *4-channel digital stereo sound.
- *Built-in mono speaker or optional headphones with stereo adapter.
- Size: 74.3 mm x 121 mm x 24.3 mm
- Weight: 93g (without battery) 110g (with battery)
- Power: 1 AA battery or rechargeable pack, ~30-40 hours playtime
- Connecting Ports: Link Port, Stereo Jack & cartridge port
- Cartridge Capacity: ROM and/or RAM - maximum 128Mbit (like Beat Mania)
- Features:
- Can be played holding the unit vertically or horizontally.
- Built-in EEPROM and 1Kbit RAM for backing up game data.
- Several levels of energy-saving control.
See also
| Handheld game consoles
|
| Early units |
|---|
| see Microvision and Handheld electronic games
|
| Nintendo handhelds |
| Game & Watch > Game Boy line | Game Boy | Game Boy Color | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo DS | |
| Bandai handhelds |
| WonderSwan > WonderSwan Color | Swan Crystal
|
| GamePark/Holdings handhelds |
| GP32 > GP2X | XGP | XGP Mini | XGP Kids
|
| SNK handhelds |
| Neo Geo Pocket > Neo-Geo Pocket Color
|
| Sega handhelds |
| Game Gear | Nomad | Mega Jet
|
| Sony handhelds |
| PocketStation > PlayStation Portable
|
| Other handhelds |
| Atari Lynx | Watara Supervision | Game.com | Gizmondo | N-Gage | TurboExpress | Pepper Pad | GameKing | iRiver G10 |
| Comparison |
External links
- Defunct Games: [WonderSwan Review Archive]
- [Official Web site (English)]
- [Official Web site (Japanese)]
- [Swan Song (English)]
- [Unofficial WonderSwan blog (English)]
- [Site providing WonderSwan Reviews (german)]
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