Bit Corporation

Bit Corporation (普澤 Pu Ze in Chinese)[1] was a Taiwanese game developer and console manufacturer.

Contents

Games

Bit Corporation was one of the few Taiwanese companies to produce original software for the Atari 2600 rather than simply pirating the works of others, which it released worldwide under both its own name and the Puzzy brand. These games included such titles as Bobby Is Going Home, Snail Against Squirrel, Mr. Postman and Open Sesame,[2] which was one of only two games for the system to feature speech synthesis. The company also produced games for the NES and Famicom including Duck, Othello, Jackpot and Crime Busters; all but the Crime Busters were released in Australia by Home Entertainment Suppliers,[3] while Crime Busters was released in Brazil by Gradiente.[4]

Hardware

The majority of the consoles manufactured by Bit Corporation were clones of existing systems, such as the Famicom, Atari 2600 and Sega SG-1000.[5] The company also produced two computers, the Bit-60 and Bit-90, which were based on 2600 and ColecoVision hardware respectively and compatible with each console's cartridges.[6]

Gamate

Bit was also involved in the Gamate handheld game console, the first original Taiwanese handheld; its name appears on all games' title screens and both the system and console packaging. However, recent developments suggest that two other companies, Dunhuang Technology (a now-defunct subsidiary of UMC) and Gamtec, were also somehow involved in the hardware and software respectively.[7] This was, however, to be Bit Corp's last venture, as in 1992 the company closed citing "operational difficulties".[8]

References

  1. ^ Taizou (2008). "Gamate: Bit Corporation". Neo Fuji. http://fuji.drillspirits.net/gamate/?p=bit. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  2. ^ "AtariAge - Companies - Bit Corp". AtariAge. http://www.atariage.com/company_page.html?SystemID=2600&CompanyID=194. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  3. ^ Jbholio. "Bit Corp.". Unlicensed NES Games Guide. Université du Québec à Montréal. http://www.er.uqam.ca/merlin/fd491499/nintendo/nes/bitcorp/. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  4. ^ tsr. "Brazil and the NES". tsr's NES Archive. AtariHQ. http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/nes/brazil/brazil.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  5. ^ Wenli Xu (2005-09). "待業青年日記(期間限定): 2005.09" (in Chinese). 待業青年日記(期間限定). Blogger. http://sdkfz251.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_sdkfz251_archive.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  6. ^ Hoogen, Sascha. "Bit Corporation Bit-90" (in German). 8-Bit Nirvana. http://www.zock.com/8-Bit/D_Bit90.HTML. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  7. ^ Taizou (2008). "Gamate: Other Companies". Neo Fuji. http://fuji.drillspirits.net/gamate/?p=company. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  8. ^ "普澤、昇友停權" (in Chinese). Toybase. http://www.toybase.com.tw/h/n1930359.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.