Developer | Gakken |
---|---|
Type | Home video game console |
Generation | Second generation |
Release date |
|
Introductory price | ¥8,800 |
Media | ROM cartridge |
CPU | Motorola MC6801 |
Memory | 2k RAM |
Display | 128 × 192 pixels, 9 colors (only 4 can be shown at the same time) |
Graphics | Motorola 6847 |
The Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy (Japanese: TV ボーイ, Hepburn: TV bōi) is a second generation home video game console developed by Gakken and released in Japan in 1983 for a price of ¥8,800.[1]
The system was made to compete with the Epoch Cassette Vision, which had a market dominance of 70% in Japan.
The console was released months after the Nintendo Famicom and Sega SG-1000 which, although more expensive at ¥15,000, were more advanced and had more features as well as bigger games libraries; furthermore, Epoch had just launched the Cassette Vision Jr. revision for ¥5,000. These factors made the system obsolete from the start, with a high price tag, few and comparably rudimentary games, and a strange form factor, leading to poor sales. As a result, it is now a rare collector's item among some retro gamers.
In January 2024, the Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy game console hardware and six games were ROM dumped, scanned and preserved.[2] This console could only be played on the MAME emulator.[2]
There were only six games officially released for the system, each being sold for ¥3,800, and designed for a single player.[1][4]
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