Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy

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]

Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy
A Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy
DeveloperGakken
TypeHome video game console
GenerationSecond generation
Release date
  • JP: October 1983
Introductory price¥8,800
MediaROM cartridge
CPUMotorola MC6801
Memory2k RAM
Display128 × 192 pixels, 9 colors (only 4 can be shown at the same time)
GraphicsMotorola 6847

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]

Technical specifications

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Games

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There were only six games officially released for the system, each being sold for ¥3,800, and designed for a single player.[1][4]

  • Excite Invader
  • Mr. Bomb
  • Robotan Wars
  • Chitaikū Daisakusen (Japanese: 地対空大作戦, 'The grand operation of surface-to-air') - a port of Super Cobra
  • Frogger
  • Shigaisen 200X-nen (Japanese: 市街戦200X年, Hepburn: shigaisen nisen-ekkusu-nen, 'Urban warfare year 200X')

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Compact Vision TV Boy by Gakken – the Video Game Kraken".
  2. ^ a b c "Every Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy Game Preserved & Scanned! – Gaming Alexandria".
  3. ^ a b "Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy [BINARIUM]". binarium.de. Archived from the original on 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  4. ^ "The Video Game Console Library". Video Game Console Library. Retrieved 2020-06-15.