Found a couple more retro handhelds for my collection this week...

[Jimid2]

Earlier this week, the Postman brought me this:

It's an Epoch Game Pocket Computer, arguably the first cartridge-based handheld. It was released in Japan in 1984 and it tanked - there were only ever five games released for the system! Anyway, their uber-rare, and when you can find one they tend to be crazy-expensive! Mine's in beautiful (but not "mint") condition. You can just barely see the original box on the shelf behind the system, and it came complete with all the original documentation and two CIB games... It's AWESOME!!


Also this week, I finally managed to acquire one of these:

This is the world's smallest cartridge-based handheld system, the Pokemon Mini, and it's as saccharine-cute as it looks... It's pretty amazing tech though, as they managed to squeeze IR, an accelerometer, three action buttons (A, B & C) and a D-pad into the little thing with a remarkably clear, crisp screen. It's also pretty fun, though it's made for smaller hands than mine...

Anyway, it was a great week for the handhelds collection! Just wanted to share...

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

What cartridges does it have?

 

[Jimid2]

What cartridges does it have?

The Pokemon Mini came with Pokemon Party Mini - it's on a cartridge about the size of a postage stamp! I'm waiting on Pokemon Pinball Mini; I should have it early next week...

I got the Pokekon with Mahjong and Block Maze. Block Maze is fun - kind of a dig dug vibe but your running around a maze pushing rocks and boulders onto the pursuing monsters... I haven't tried Mahjong yet - have to read up on the rules on the internet so I'll have some idea of how to play; either that or brush up on my Kanji so I can read the game instructions!

 

[HeartlessNinny]

Quite the acquisition you got there, I dig the whole display.

.....

I honestly don't know if I'm being sarcastic or not. What an odd feeling.

 

[Diggerman]

Very cool handhelds. I never knew about that Epoch one before - very innovative for 1984!

 

[Mayhem]

Yeah the Epoch is a curious one to say the least. Not the first handheld cart based sustem though, that honour goes to the Microvision from 1979...

 

[Jimid2]

Yeah the Epoch is a curious one to say the least. Not the first handheld cart based sustem though, that honour goes to the Microvision from 1979...

I have a Microvision, and all the games released for it. It's a fascinating little handheld, but though the games are interchangeable, you can make the argument that it wasn't really a cartridge-based system. Cart-based handheld systems as we know them today echo consoles in that they very consistently keep the "computer", controls and screen on the body of the system, while the cartridge contains the game code. On the 16-bit consoles especially, some special cartridges did contain extra processing chips or connection features, but generally, the idea is clearly that the cartridge contains the game program and the computer itself is in the machine... By contrast, each Microvision “cartridge” actually contained the system microprocessor (CPU) with the game code burned into system ROM, as well as the keyboard overlay designed for that particular game. The first Microvision cartridges were made with both Intel 8021 and Texas Instruments TMS1100 but they switched to the TI chip exclusively early on... At any rate, the system body contained only the screen, power and the knob control and input subsystems, but not the CPU - every Microvision game required it's own, custom-fabbed CPU chip! - so the Microvision was far from a "traditional" cartridge-based design. So endeth the lesson for today...

 

[Noodlesis]

Wow!

I used to own one of those Pokemon mini systems... I lent it out to someone I trusted, and never saw it again. T.T


I can't remember, but weren't there more than the two games for it?

 

[Jimid2]

I used to own one of those Pokemon mini systems... I lent it out to someone I trusted, and never saw it again. T.T

I can't remember, but weren't there more than the two games for it?

Ya, I think there were something like 6 or 8 games for it in North America, a handful more in Japan... Probably a pretty easy system to get a complete game collection for...

I picked up another Pokemon Mini (a green one) and this obscure Japanese handheld from Koei this week:

I think I may have received a complete game collection with my PasoGo... It's hard to tell - there's not much info on this thing to be found out there, at least not in English...

 

[Noodlesis]

I'm not gonna lie. I need to change my pants now.

 

[Pocketgamer]

Hey where's dig dug by gakken?