Engineering:Pelican VG Pocket
 | This article focuses too much on specific examples without explaining their importance to its main subject. (August 2011) |
Pelican VG Pocket is a handheld dedicated game consoles series built by JungleTac,[1] and sold by Performance Designed Products LLC under their Pelican Accessories brand. The VG Pocket model was the first console of its type to have a 2" backlit color LCD screen.
These consoles have built-in games, the number of which varies with each model and many are clones and hacks of old Nintendo Entertainment System and arcade games. Their gaming devices also have a TV-out port with composite video and audio streaming through a non-standard stereo mini headset jack.
In 2008, the Caplet and Tablet models were also finalists in the International Design Excellence Awards; they're designed by Stuart Karten Design, a Los Angeles -based industrial design firm.[2]
Versions
There are five VG Pocket models available:
- VG Pocket Mini: 30 built-in games and a 1.5" screen.
- VG Pocket 50: 50 built-in games and a 2" screen.
- VG Pocket Max: 75 built-in games and a 2.5" screen.
- VG Pocket Caplet: 50 games, including licensed versions of Space Invaders, Bust-a-Move, and BurgerTime.
- VG Pocket Tablet: 25 games, including a licensed version of Frogger.
VG Pocket Max
The VG Pocket Max is a handheld dedicated console distributed by Pelican Accessories. The system contains 75 games, which are mostly modified NES games. It has a 2.5" backlit color LCD screen[3] (which is very easily scratched, as mentioned by many reviewers of the product)[citation needed], four buttons (plus a reset and a power button), a directional pad, volume control, a single speaker, a headphone jack, and a TV-out port.
Although made by Pelican Accessories, it does not have the company's name on the system itself. Instead it has a sticker on the back crediting Performance Designed Products. In the UK a handheld was made called the Gamespower 50. The Gamespower 50 contained almost all the games (with names changed, such as Bird Droppings retitled as Birdies Nest) and looked exactly the same, except with different color. A plug and play version was made by Dream Gear, being essentially the same as the Gamespower 50. The plug n' play looks like a Dreamcast controller, but internally there is not much of a resemblance. This version is more focused on racing games, and only has 30 to 40 games in it. Unlike the VG Pocket Max, both the Gamespower 50 and the plug n' play version lack a selection menu.
Games
- Action
- Balloon Catcher
- Get It Right
- Jump
- Leap
- Night Monster
- Penguin Island
- Quick Match
- Road Works
- Sea Voyage
- Smash Ball
- Worm Catcher
- Racing
- Autobahn
- Bandit Racer
- Bridge Driver
- Freeway
- Motor Rally
- Off-Roader
- Race and Ram
- Road Ace
- Road Race
- Road Rally
- Street Bike Racing
- Trucker
- World Racing
- Shooting
- Air War
- Earth's Starfighter
- Mutant Hunt
- Quick Shot
- Sky Fighter
- Starcraft Attack
- Sports
- Boat Racer
- Bulls-Eye
- Free Throws
- Knockem Down
- Rackets
- Surfs UP
- Target Shop
- Wits
- Bird Craze
- Bird Droppings
- Bounce
- Cutterfly Catch
- Cats and Dogs
- Chuck Holes
- Dragon's Tail
- Drop and Stock
- Egg Catcher
- Fire Fight
- Flying Fish
- Fungi
- Fun Moves
- Globs
- Go Ball
- Go Bang
- Grow and Mow
- Jewel Master (Magic Jewelry hack)
- Marble Max
- Matching Dimonds
- Paddle Ball
- Paint Master (Brush Roller hack)
- Patch'n Go
- Pipelines
- Pool Pro
- Pop the Lop
- Puzzle Box
- Ricochet
- Risk It
- River Racing
- Sea Destroyer
- Sea World
- Sky Mission
- Smart Monkey
- Spin Ball
- Table Ball
- Tile Tizzel
- Wake the Baby
VG Pocket Caplet
The VG Pocket Caplet is a dedicated console created by Performance Designed Products. Its graphics are considered an improvement over those of the earlier models of the VG Pocket, with a very bright 2.5" backlit 320×240 TFT display (the package claims its resolution is 960×240, counting the RGB triads to make 3× the number of pixels). It is a 16-bit system that appears to utilize some form of arcade emulation, since the majority of its games are either direct ports or clones of arcade games. The unit has the capability of being displayed on any TV set with the purchase of a separate "starter kit" that includes a storage carrying case and special AV cables unique to the system. There are no save features for high scores or game progress. Caplet comes in four colors: blue, silver, red, orange; and is powered by 3 AAA batteries.
Early versions of the Caplet contain 35 games, with the current version having 50. Both units have the same outward appearance. The packaging of the unit is the only way to identify how many games are on the system without turning on the unit.
Games
- Space Invaders (licensed Taito port)
- Bust-A-Move (another licensed Taito port)
- BurgerTime (licensed Data East port)
- Sudoku Quiz (something of a misnomer, as there is no quiz included)
- Boxboy (Sokoban clone)
- Adventures of Waldog (platform game)
- Deep Storm (Taken from Psikyo's Space Bomber; 3D shooter like Star Fox)
- Bubble Wubble (Tetris clone)
- Final Escape (Pengo clone)
- Wolfy's Quest
- Legendary Hero (Don Doko Don clone)
- Craig the Caterpillar (Susume!! Mile Smile clone)
- Crystal Cavern (Magical Drop clone)
- Final Round Tennis!
- Magic Jelly (nothing like Bomberman, the goal is to use your bombs to change the color of every block on the screen, without leaping to your death.)
- Blazebusters (Arkanoid/Breakout clone)
- Rotating Puzzle (animated slide puzzle game)
- Underwater Pinball (Arkanoid/Breakout clone)
- Bubble Blaster (Zuma clone)
- Greedy Grabber
- Puzzle Chance
- Victory Road (Frogger clone)
- Jet Racing (Pole Position clone)
- Yummy and Tasty (Gussun Oyoyo clone)
- Code Name: Plumber (platform game)
- Hanoi Tower
- Leapfrog
- Win or Lose
- Pop Goes the Ball! (Pang clone)
- Kart Racer X (overhead racer)
- Battle Blocks II (another Arkanoid/Breakout clone)
- Switch and Mix (Lights out clone)
- Survival Challenge
- Go Back Home!
- Motojet Mania (overhead racer)
- Tiger Rescue (vertical scrolling shooter similar to Aero Fighters)
- Billiards Master
- Mr. Onion
- Wacky Racing (another Pole Position clone)
- Tennis Caddie
- Blaze of Glory (horizontal scrolling shooter)
- Underwater Memory
- Crane Maniac
- Go Bang
- Jewel Master 2
- Smashing Ladybugs
- Submarine
- Slot Machine (casino game)
- Video Poker (casino game)
- Black Jack (casino game)
VG Pocket Tablet
The VG Pocket Tablet is a portable handheld video gaming system created by PDP and Pelican Accessories in 2006. The console is self-contained, as there is no cartridge slot, but rather it is pre-loaded with 25 games. It sold for $29.99 at outset, but is now $19.99 along with the bigger VG Pocket Caplet. It has a round tablet-shaped design in four colors: orange, green, red, and white; a very bright 2” backlit 640×240 TFT display; and is powered by 3 AAA batteries. The unit has a port that allows connectivity to television via standard analog RCA port. The cable was available with the purchase of a separate “starter kit” that includes a storage carrying case and AV hookup cables, but is not an uncommon cable, also used for portable DVD players. Games included are remakes or clones of classic arcade and 8-bit console games. Many reviewers have commented on the surprising quality of the console's screen.
Games
- Frogger (licensed Konami classic)
- Stellar Attack
- Motocross Racer
- Billiards
- Sudoku Quiz
- Mutant Hunt
- Funny Fungi
- Leaper the Frog
- Lord of the Jewels
- Off-Roader
- Risk It!
- Battle Blocks
- Construction Jack
- Memory Matching
- Track Star
- River Quest
- Star Alley
- Pinball Labyrinth
- Vitamania
- Mr. Onion
- Delivery Express
- Birds of Prey
- Whack the Critter
- Stuntman Daredevil
- Delta Fighter
See also
References
- ↑ "jungletac". jungletac. http://www.jungletac.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ↑ "International Design Excellence Awards 2008 Finalists". Industrial Designers Society of America. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20080802000016/http://www.idsa.org/IDEA_Awards/gallery/2008/award_details.asp?ID=35918244.
- ↑ New York Times, Oct 5, 2006
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