Analytical Unauthorizon

How many famiclones have ever been produced? This is the second article dedicated to this great mystery. On the previous article I considered about the famous Micro Genius. This time I'll focus on another Taiwanese giant of clone consoles: Dar Yar Electronics.  Major players other than TXC The heyday of famiclones in Taiwan was around 1987~1993, and during that time an extremely large number of manufacturers/suppliers were competing with each other. The number of manufacturers/suppliers exceeds 50 as far as we can confirm. TXC, mentioned in the previous article, is the largest among them, but there were several other companies that could be considered “major players”. We will consider companies that meet the following conditions to be “major”. Product lineup includes at least 5 models (excluding minor revisions). Products are distributed in more than 5 countries/regions. Products are still readily available in second-hand markets. The following seven companies meet the above criter...

How many famiclones have ever been produced? This is one of the great mysteries that has never been solved - it has been pretty difficult to estimate because reliable sources mentioning the numbers are very rare. However, during constructing Unauthorizon I’ve fortunately found some of sources previously not mentioned. That’s the reason I decided to cut into the mystery step by step, and as the first step I focus on the famous Micro Genius came from Taiwan. The case of Micro Genius in Taiwan As you know Taiwan was the birthplace of the unauthorized famiclones. Exhaustive statistics for Taiwanese products as a whole do not exist as far as I know, but regarding to TXC (台灣晶技股份有限公司) known with Micro Genius series of famiclones, one of the largest famiclone manufacturers in Taiwan at that time, some informative figures can be found in several magazines and newspaper articles. The first article I would like to introduce is ‘Overview of Game Console Manufacturers in Hong Kong and Taiwan’ (港台游戏...

Where is the largest market for bootleg/unauthorized consoles? Answering to this objectively has not been easy because there're few reliable aggregation related to them. However, now we can see relative comparison based on the numbers of the models in each region when you utilize Unauthorizon. Of course such numbers don't immediately represent the popularity of clone consoles. However, I believe at least it should be helpful as an index of market activity degree. Note: Personally I've never really experienced famiclone market outside Japan so the following text may include some misunderstanding. Please let me know if you find incorrect descriptions. 5. Japan (417 records) Even myself, a Japanese person of no other background, is surprised by this result. You know Japan is a typical 'post-patent' famiclone market. However, unlike the USA (the 7th place), usual style of console is much popular than the plug and play consoles here. The reason for such higher place is p...

Where is the largest market for bootleg/unauthorized consoles? Answering to this objectively has not been easy because there're few reliable aggregation related to them. However, now we can see relative comparison based on the numbers of the models in each region via Unauthorizon. Of course such numbers don't immediately represent the popularity of clone consoles. However, I believe at least it should be helpful as an index of market activity degree. Note: Personally I've never really experienced famiclone market outside Japan so the following text may include some misunderstanding. Please let me know if you find incorrect descriptions. 10. South Korea (229 records) Korean famiclones/MD clones are known with their unique shapes. As you know most of the bootleg/unauthorized console markets have been filled with products designed/manufactured in Greater China. However, South Korea was one of rare exceptions -- having not a few domestic clones. Korean famiclone market took off...

As many people know there're a lot of bootleg/unauthorized game consoles spread the world. Among them so called "famiclones" are the most popular one. But how about others? Here you can see the five most popular architectures in the bootleg/unauthorized market!   5. Gameboy (70 records) Gameboy clones were relatively popular in China. Going back in history, the first generation Game Boy clones were released in Taiwan in the early 1990s. Since then most of the models were sold in Taiwan or mainland China, but small numbers of them also landed some other areas like Poland, ex-USSR countries and Latin American countries. Nowadays, except Analogue Pocket, Gameboy clones based on the compatible chips are apparently not manufactured anymore. The GB BOY is one of the most common Game Boy clones in mainland China, was distributed since the end of the 1990s. Later models supported color screen by their own way. 4. Super Famicom / Super Nintendo (107 records) The fourth place may b...