Subject: Re: [stella] Ruminations From: "Garon Grainger" <garon@xxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 18:58:06 -0400 |
The PAL system from Brazil is the Dynacom Megaboy I believe. There was a handheld NTSC system as well, the TV Boy. There's no screen or cartridge slot but it is portable. It has 127 games built in. It has a joypad but also has DIN ports for external controllers. You hook an RCA cable to the TV to play but you can go remote by adding an antenna. I happened to stumble across on an old disk with a few pictures of it. I grabbed them off a website years back. The site's long gone I believe. I just dumped them into a directory online if you'd like to see what one looks like: http://www.neonghost.com/vg/tvboy The following text is from the Atari 2600/5200/7800 FAQ. I'm reposting it here for convenience sake. http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~dzubera/2600faq.txt ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Q: What is a TV Boy and where can I get one? A: The TV Boy is a handheld-sized Atari 2600 (made by SystemA) with 127 built-in games that connects to your tv (it does not have its own screen). While it features a built-in Gameboy-like joypad and external 9-pin ports so one can connect one's favorite controller, it does not, alas, have a cartridge slot. Inside the TV Boy is a jumper marked "NTSC/PAL," so it appears that it will work on either type of TV. There is also a TV Boy II which does not have external 9-pin ports. Thus, there is no way to play two-player (simultaneous) games (only the built-in directional pad is left) with two players; In two-player games the pad controls both players at the same time. For example, in Traffic (nee Freeway), the pad controls both chickens. For PAL preferers there is the MegaBoy which is nearly identical to the TV Boy, although it has only 126 predominately PAL games. If things weren't confusing enough, Ian Pleasance (tspigp@xxxxxxxxxxx) adds the following: "...there are also PAL versions of the TV Boy I and TV Boy II. The TVB1 is exactly the same physically as the US version, whereas the TVB2 had a design change and is shorter, it also adds a 127th game (pirated MegaMania), and had the second joystick port removed (on games with a two-player option the second joystick is rerouted to the Joypad). Both the TVB1 and TVB2 were sold in the UK by SystemA. "SystemA also recently launched the "Super TV Boy", renamed the TVB2 to "TV Boy" and dropped the TVB1. The Super TV Boy is the same internally as the TVB2, however the casing has changed drastically, and the internal joypad is now "removable" in that it clips on to the main unit case and is attached by a wire, so you can unclip it and play it at a distance. The Super TV Boy looks in some ways like a mini-NES except that half of the casing is bright pink (!). More information on the TV Boy can be found courtesy of JerryG, who maintains the TV Boy page (http://www.atari2600.com/catalog/Specials/GamTVBoys.html). The MegaBoy is not available from anywhere we know of. NTSC TV Boys ($199.95), PAL TV Boy II's ($89.95) and PAL Super TV Boys ($99.95) are available from JerryG. Argos, a UK mailorder company, has TV Boys for 24.95 pounds, but they do not take orders from outside Great Britain or Northern Ireland. (Argos Customer Service: 01908 600 161; Direct Home Delivery: 0345 427 467; the TV Boy catalog number is 364/4834). Gultronics in Tottenham Court Road, London, England as well as Index, a UK-wide catalogue shop both sell the TV Boy and Super TV Boy. Finally, one can also purchase TV Boys direct from SystemA (SystemA (UK) LTD, 12 Albury Close, Loverock Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 1BB) for approximately $50.00 + shipping and handling. JerryG, in an email message, mentions a completely different MegaBoy (from South America) that does not include built-in games, but rather has a cartridge slot (!). Finally, The Maverick (themaverick@xxxxxxxxxxx) mentions that a 7800 controller plugged into the left joystick port (but not the right port) of the TV Boy will keep it from operating. Corroboration anyone? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ -- Archives (includes files) at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archives/ Unsub & more at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/
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