| Type | Sixth generation handheld video game console |
|---|---|
| Owner | Namco Bandai (Bandai at the time) |
| Country | Japan |
| Introduced | 1999 |
| Discontinued | 2003 |
| Related brands | Tamagotchi, Digimon virtual pet |
| Markets | Japan |
WonderSwan (ワンダースワン Wandāsuwan) was a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. 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 original 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 are playable both vertically and horizontally, and feature a fairly large library of games, including numerous first-party titles based on licensed anime properties, with significant third-party support from Square and Capcom. 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.
Contents |
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 blood type. 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.
The WonderSwan Color (ワンダースワンカラー Wandāsuwan Karā) was released on December 9, 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 512KB[1] of RAM and a larger color LCD screen.[2] In addition, the WonderSwan Color is compatible with the original WonderSwan library of games.
Prior to WonderSwan's release, Nintendo had a virtual 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 $59 USD).[2]
Another reason for the WonderSwan's success in Japan was the fact that Bandai managed to get a deal with Square 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 Square and Nintendo, the WonderSwan Color and its successor, the SwanCrystal, quickly lost its competitive advantage. They were discontinued in 2003.
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.
The SwanCrystal (スワンクリスタル Suwankurisutaru) is the third and final release in Bandai's WonderSwan handheld game console series, succeeding the WonderSwan and WonderSwan Color. It was released in Japan on July 12, 2002[3] One of the largest improvements to the SwanCrystal was the use of a TFT LCD monitor, which was superior in response time to the FSTN monitor used previously by the WonderSwan Color. This gave the screen a much crisper look during gameplay, due to sharper contrast and significantly reduced ghosting.
| Technical specifications of WonderSwan consoles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | WonderSwan |
WonderSwan Color |
SwanCrystal |
| Release date |
|
||
| CPU | 16-bit NEC V30 MZ processor at 3.072 MHz | SPGY-1002, a 3.072 MHz 16-bit NEC V30MZ Clone | SPGY-1003, at 3.072 MHz 16-bit NEC V30MZ Clone |
| Internal memory | Built-in EEPROM and 1Kbit RAM for backing up game data. | 512 kB VRAM/WRAM (shared) [1] | |
| Screen type | FSTN reflective LCD | TFT reflective Liquid crystal display | |
| Screen resolution (in pixels) | 224 x 144 | ||
| Screen size (diagonal) | 63 mm (2.49 inch) | 71 mm (2.8 inch) | |
| Color | 8-shade monochrome | 241 (at once) out of 4096 possible colors | |
| Power | 1x AA battery / More options through accessories | ||
| Battery life | ~30–40 hours playtime | ~20 hours of game play | ~15 hours of game play |
| Audio capabilities | Four digital audio channels, each of which can play sequences of up to 32 4-bit samples, at different volumes and frequencies. Channels 2 to 4 include selectable "voice", "sweep" and "noise" functions respectively. Mixed channels are output via an 8 bit DAC.[5] | ||
| Sound output | Mono built-in speaker / Stereo through optional 3.5mm TRS connector (headphone jack) accessory | ||
| Sound levels | Loud / medium / mute | Loud / medium / soft / mute | Loud / medium / soft / mute |
| Weight (with battery) | 110 g (3.88 oz) | 95 g (3.35 oz) | |
| Cartridge capacity | ROM and/or RAM - maximum 128 Mbit | Maximum 1024 Mbit ROM and 256 Mbit RAM | Maximum 1024 Mbit ROM and 512 Mbit RAM |
| Ports | Link (accessory) port, cartridge port | ||
| Gameplay buttons | X1, X2, X3, X4, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, A, B, START & SOUND | ||
| Additional inputs | Side-mounted power switch, screen contrast dial | Front-mounted power button, screen contrast dial | Front-mounted power button |
| Physical dimensions | 121 mm x 74.3 mm x 24.3 mm | 128 mm x 74.3 mm x 24.3 mm | 127.7 mm x 77.5 mm x 24.3 mm |
| Available colors (physical) | Ten available | Pearl Blue, Pearl Pink, Crystal Black, Crystal Blue, and Crystal Orange | Skeleton Blue, Skeleton Black, Blue Violet and Red Wine |
Several of these accessories utilise the expansion port on the side of the WonderSwan, but with no accommodation for sharing that port with other accessories. For example, neither player connected via a link cable during a two-player game may use headphones. Neither headphones nor link cable may be used with the screen light.
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||