Watara Supervision
Encyclopedia
The Watara Supervision is a monochrome handheld game console
, originating from Asia
, and introduced in 1992 as a cut-price competitor for Nintendo
's Game Boy
. It came packaged with a game called Crystball, which is similar to Breakout. One unique feature of the Supervision was that it could be linked up to a television via a link cable. Games played in this way would display in four colors, much like Nintendo's Super Game Boy
add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
. A full color TV link was also in the works, but because of the Supervision's failure to make a major impression among gamers it was cancelled, along with the games which were in development for it.
Though the machine garnered some attention at launch (mainly due to the low price point for the machine and its games, which many felt might enable it to make inroads into Nintendo's market share) it was ultimately unsuccessful in unseating the Game Boy from its position as the world's most popular handheld. Reasons commonly cited are the poor quality screen which was prone to blurring and made following the action difficult, a general lack of games and the simplistic nature of those that were released.
Yet another problem was that most of the games that were available were developed in Taiwan
or Hong Kong
, meaning that fans of big-name western and Japanese developers were underwhelmed by the apparent lack of support from these companies. Only a tiny handful of games were developed by third parties, including Sachen and the British developer B.I.T.S.
. Up against Nintendo's list of popular franchises (Zelda
, Mario
, Metroid
) and those of its third parties (Castlevania
, Mega Man
) - all of which eventually surfaced on the Game Boy - the Supervision's games were of little interest to most.
Supervision, Travell Mate, Hartung SV-100, and Electrolab in Argentina, under two different models: the Supervision (in a form factor resembling Nintendo's Gameboy) and the Hipervision. In Taiwan it was released as the 泰可BOY (Tiger Boy). The QuickShot version differed from the original Watara format by having the console body split into two parts enabling the screen to be tilted in relation to the control section.
In the mid 1990s, the Supervision was once offered as a final prize on the television game show Legends of the Hidden Temple
. It was also offered as a prize on the premiere of the 1994 syndicated run of The New Price is Right
(which, like the Supervision itself, was not a hit and quickly disappeared).
Quickshot's UK version of the Supervision was heavily featured for a time on ITV
's gaming show Bad Influence! Presenter Violet Berlin
could be seen playing a Supervision in many of the show's publicity photos.
(see MESS
). Cowering's Good Tools
includes a tool called GoodSV, which catalogues 47 Supervision games in version 2.01.
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
, originating from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and introduced in 1992 as a cut-price competitor for Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. It came packaged with a game called Crystball, which is similar to Breakout. One unique feature of the Supervision was that it could be linked up to a television via a link cable. Games played in this way would display in four colors, much like Nintendo's Super Game Boy
Super Game Boy
The is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Super Famicom in Japan. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in...
add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. A full color TV link was also in the works, but because of the Supervision's failure to make a major impression among gamers it was cancelled, along with the games which were in development for it.
Though the machine garnered some attention at launch (mainly due to the low price point for the machine and its games, which many felt might enable it to make inroads into Nintendo's market share) it was ultimately unsuccessful in unseating the Game Boy from its position as the world's most popular handheld. Reasons commonly cited are the poor quality screen which was prone to blurring and made following the action difficult, a general lack of games and the simplistic nature of those that were released.
Yet another problem was that most of the games that were available were developed in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
or Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, meaning that fans of big-name western and Japanese developers were underwhelmed by the apparent lack of support from these companies. Only a tiny handful of games were developed by third parties, including Sachen and the British developer B.I.T.S.
Bits Studios
Bits Studios was a British video game developer. The company has had over 30 titles published over the United States, Europe and Asia on multiple platforms. Bits Studios' parent company, PlayWize sold off all assets and technologies held by the group in 2008, due to poor trading results...
. Up against Nintendo's list of popular franchises (Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
, Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
) and those of its third parties (Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
, Mega Man
Mega Man
Mega Man is a video game franchise from Capcom, starring the eponymous character Mega Man, or one of his many counterparts. The series is well-known and comprises well over fifty releases, easily making it Capcom's most prolific franchise. As of December 31, 2010, the series has sold approximately...
) - all of which eventually surfaced on the Game Boy - the Supervision's games were of little interest to most.
Marketing
To keep their costs down, Watara farmed out the internaional marketing and distribution to third parties leading to various versions including the QuickShotQuickShot
QuickShot was a line of joysticks and other input devices produced by Spectravideo for video game machines including Atari, Commodore, MSX, Amiga, Nintendo and Sega. Relatively famous was its Quickshot Maverick joystick, compatible with multiple consoles and home computers...
Supervision, Travell Mate, Hartung SV-100, and Electrolab in Argentina, under two different models: the Supervision (in a form factor resembling Nintendo's Gameboy) and the Hipervision. In Taiwan it was released as the 泰可BOY (Tiger Boy). The QuickShot version differed from the original Watara format by having the console body split into two parts enabling the screen to be tilted in relation to the control section.
In the mid 1990s, the Supervision was once offered as a final prize on the television game show Legends of the Hidden Temple
Legends of the Hidden Temple
Legends of the Hidden Temple is an action-adventure game show for children. The show centers around a "Temple" that is "filled with lost treasures protected by mysterious Mayan Temple Guards"...
. It was also offered as a prize on the premiere of the 1994 syndicated run of The New Price is Right
The New Price Is Right (1994 game show)
The New Price Is Right was a short-lived syndicated version of the American game show The Price Is Right, which aired from September 12, 1994 to January 27, 1995. This version of the show did not use the same on-air personnel as the daytime version which ran concurrently on CBS...
(which, like the Supervision itself, was not a hit and quickly disappeared).
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's gaming show Bad Influence! Presenter Violet Berlin
Violet Berlin
Violet Berlin is a Turkish born English television presenter, writer and producer best known for her coverage of video games.-Career:Berlin began presenting in the early 1990s when she presented WildBunch on BBC One, and Cool Cube on BSkyB...
could be seen playing a Supervision in many of the show's publicity photos.
Technical specifications
- CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
: 8-bit 65C02 processor, running at 4 MHz - Screen: 61 mm × 61 mm (2.37 inches × 2.37 inches), 160 × 160 pixelPixelIn digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
s, 4 greys LCDLiquid crystal displayA liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly.... - Sound: 2 Tonal and 1 Noise Channel plus additional audio DMA stereo output channel. Built-in speaker and headphone jack with stereo earphones included.
- Power: 4 × AA batteriesBattery (electricity)An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
or 6V AC/DC adapter - Communication port: Two Player Link using DE-9D-subminiatureThe D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....
connector. - Cartridge port
- Controls for 1 Player
- TV adapter (optional)
- Tiltable Screen (2 positions)
Games
The following games are known to exist:- Bust/Cross (2-in-1)
- Hash Block/Eagle Plan (2-in-1)
- Classic Casino (3-in-1)
- Cave Wonders (4-in-1)
- Lucky Jacky (4-in-1)
- Alien
- Balloon Fight
- Block Buster
- Brain Power
- Bubble World
- Carrier
- Challenger Tank
- Chimera
- Chinese Checkers
- Climber
- Crystball
- Dancing Block
- Delta Hero
- Devil Paradise
- Dream World
- Eagle Plan
- Earth Defender
- Fatal Craft
- Final Combat
- Galactic Crusader
- Galaxy Fighter
- Grand Prix
- Happy Pairs
- Happy Race
- Hash Block
- Hero Kid
- Hero Hawk
- Honey Bee
- Jade Legend
- Jaguar Bomber
- John Adventure
- Journey To The West
- Juggler
- Kabi-Island
- Kitchen War
- Kung-Fu Street
- Linear Racing
- Ma Jong
- Magnicross
- Matta Blatta
- Olympic Trials
- P-52 Sea Battle
- Pacboy and Mouse
- Pacific Battle
- Penguin Hideout
- Police Bust
- Popo Team
- Pyramid
- Recycle Design
- Scaffolder
- Soccer Champ
- Sonny X'Press
- Space Fighter
- Sssnake
- Super Block
- Super Pang
- Super Kong
- Tasac 2010
- Tennis Pro '92
- Thunder Shooting
- Treasure Hunter
- Untouchable
- Witty Cat
Preservation
Like many consoles, the Watara Supervision has lived on through emulationEmulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
(see MESS
MESS
Multi Emulator Super System is an emulator for many game consoles and computer systems, based on the MAME core.The primary purpose of MESS is to preserve decades of computer and console history...
). Cowering's Good Tools
Good Tools
Cowering's GoodTools is a suite of ROM auditing applications for Windows that contain a database listing known software for various video game consoles and home computers....
includes a tool called GoodSV, which catalogues 47 Supervision games in version 2.01.