WonderSwan Color
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| Manufacturer | Bandai |
|---|---|
| Product family | Wonderswan |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Sixth generation era |
| First available |  December 30, 2000 |
| Media | Cartridge |
| Top-selling game | Final Fantasy I |
The WonderSwan Color is a handheld game console designed by Bandai. It was released on December 30, 2000 in Japan, and was a moderate success.
The original WonderSwan had only a black and white screen. Although the WonderSwan Color was slightly larger and heavier (7 mm and 2 g) compared to the original WonderSwan, the color version featured 64k of RAM and a larger color LCD screen. In addition, the WonderSwan Color is compatible with the original WonderSwan library of games.
Prior to WonderSwan's release, Nintendo had virtually a monopoly in the Japanese video game handheld market. After the release of the WonderSwan Color, Bandai took approximately 8% of the market share in Japan partly due to its low price of 6800 Japanese yen (approximately 65 United States dollars).
Another reason for the WonderSwan's success in Japan was the fact that Bandai managed to get a deal with Squaresoft to port over the original Famicom Final Fantasy games with improved graphics and controls. However, with the popularity of the Game Boy Advance and the reconciliation between Squaresoft and Nintendo, the WonderSwan Color and its successor, the Swan Crystal quickly lost its competitive advantage.
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[edit] Technical specifications
- CPU: SPGY-1002, a 3.072 MHz 16-bit NEC V30MZ Clone
- Memory: 64Kbyte VRAM/WRAM (shared)
- Screen:
- FSTN reflective LCD
- 2.8 inch (71 mm) diagonal
- no backlight
- resolution: 224x144 pixels
- colors: 241 out of 4096 colors
- Sound: Built-in mono speaker or stereo with optional headphones adapter
- three settings: mute, soft, loud
- Link: Two players (adapter needed)
- Power: one AA battery (~20 hours of game play)
- Size: 128 by 74.3 by 24.3 mm
- Weight 95 g (3.35 oz) including battery
[edit] Personal Data
Before a WonderSwan can play games, the player must enter some personal information. The personal data screen can be reached by pressing the start and power buttons simultaneously. It requests a name, birthday (year, month, day), sex and bloodtype. The name will appear under the Bandai logo when the system is turned on. Option settings for default volume and contrast may also be set here.
[edit] Colors
The Wonderswan Color came in 5 basic colors: Pearl Blue, Pearl Pink, Crystal Black, Crystal Blue, and Crystal Orange. [1] Many limited edition colors were also released.
[edit] Final Fantasy Bundles
The Wonderswan Color was also available in limited edition Final Fantasy bundles. These bundles came with either Final Fantasy I or Final Fantasy II along with a Final Fantasy-themed Wonderswan Color.
[edit] See also
| Handheld game consoles |
| Early units |
|---|
| See Microvision and Handheld electronic games |
| Nintendo handhelds |
| Game & Watch | Game Boy (Pocket | Light) | Game Boy Color | Game Boy Advance (SP | Micro) | Nintendo DS (Lite) |
| Bandai handhelds |
| WonderSwan | WonderSwan Color | SwanCrystal |
| 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 | Gamate | Watara Supervision | Mega Duck | Game.com | Gizmondo | N-Gage | TurboExpress | Pepper Pad | GameKing | iRiver G10 | Ez MINI | OQO Model 2 |
| Comparison |
[edit] External links
- (English) Bandai Asia
- (Japanese) Bandai Games
- OSwan - emulator for Windows
- Cygne/SDL - Open source SDL emulator for Windows
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