Time Top GameKing

Console Information

Manufactured by Time Top, China (a division of Guangzhou Daidaixing Tec. Electronics Co., Ltd.), the GameKing is a portable console with interchangeable cartridges. Originally released in late 2003 with a design similar to a Nintendo GameBoy Advance (including fake shoulder buttons, which serve no purpose in the games), it is an 8-bit, black and white system similar to the original Nintendo GameBoy, only without quite as good graphics and only a 4-shade grayscale LCD screen. The sound on the system is surprisingly impressive (almost like a 16-bit console such as the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis), considering the graphics quality resembles that of an Atari 2600. A second version of the console, the GameKing II, was later released, being made to look like a Sony PlayStation Portable. Both systems will accept the same game cartridges (which are designed to look like original GameBoy cartridges) and have 3 built-in games ("Miner", "2003" and "Drifter"). They are also available in a range of colours. The second version has a backlit screen with a still colour image superimposed behind it to give the illusion that it is a colour handheld system when in actual fact it uses the same kind of grayscale LCD screen as the original.

Time Top GameKing Technical Specifications

• CPU: 65C02 Processor running at 6MHz

• Resolution: 48 pixels x 32 pixels

• Power: 2 x AA batteries (GameKing), 3 x AAA Batteries (GameKing II)

• Sound: Built-in speaker

• Media: 60pin cartridges (30 pins each side), 128KBytes