Vii

The Vii (Chinese: 威力棒; pinyin: Wēilì bàng; lit. "Power Stick" or "The Power is Great") is a Shanzhai video game console similar in design to Nintendo's Wii.[3] It was originally released in China in 2007.[4] The Vii was not intended to be a seventh-generation console like the Wii, and was instead part of the dedicated console genre of inexpensive consoles with built-in games.

Vii
Sport Vii
Sport Vii
ManufacturerJungleTac (Jungle Soft), KenSingTon
TypeVideo game console
GenerationSeventh generation era
Release date
Units sold>300,000 (as of 2007)[1]
MediaCartridges and built-in games
CPU16-bit Sunplus SPG[2]
Storage8.5 MB of Internal Memory for Saving
Controller input2.4G Wireless Handybar Controller
Best-selling gameVC-1 (bundled with blue Vii), VC-2 (bundled with white Vii), VC-3 (bundled with pink Vii)

The Vii's Puppy Rod controller is similar in size and design to the Wii Remote. It features motion detection but not the pointing capability of the Wii Remote. The Vii also comes in three colors: "Arctic White", "Hot Pink" and "Mint Blue".[5]

A redesign of the console, colloquially called the Vii 2 by bloggers, features remodeled controllers and a design reminiscent of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the PlayStation 3,[6][7] as well as support for both NTSC and PAL televisions.[8]

In 2008, the Vii was released in Japan under the name V Sports (Sport Vii).[9]

Games

JungleTac Vii, games, and accessories

In addition to the games that were included with the first release of the Vii (Free Craps, which was not included on Vii 2), all models of the Vii also include a cartridge entitled 7in1 or 10in1 which features seven or ten additional games.

Three different cartridges exist:

VC-1 Exclusives:

  • MaJong13 - a Mahjong game
  • MaJong16 - Similar to MaJong13

VC-1 and VC-2 cartridges contain:

Several other games have also been released in cartridge format.[10] Some examples of these are:

VC-2 Exclusives:

  • "Plumber" - a platform game
  • "Mr Onion" - a Donkey Kong like game
  • "Fire Fighter" - a Fire like game
  • "Dream Bubble" - a version of Tetris
  • "Bump Jump" - an Arkanoid-like game

VC-3 Exclusives:

  • "Brave Kaka" - a Mario Bros. clone
  • "Hero Legend" - a clone of Don Doko Don
  • "Rapid Stream" - a submarine game
  • "Super Move Fun" - a Bejeweled like game
  • "Magic Jelly" - a Bomberman meets Q*Bert like game
  • "Bump Bomb" - A Marbles like game
  • "Tiger Rescue" - a vertical scrolling shooter

VG Pocket Caplet

The games listed below are games that are also on the VG Pocket Caplet, a handheld also made by JungleTac.

  • "Pinball fish" a.k.a. Underwater Pinball
  • "Bubble Blaster"
  • "Plumber" a.k.a. Codename: Plumber
  • "Jewel Master 2"
  • "Magic Jelly"
  • "Mr. Onion"
  • "Dream Bubble" a.k.a. Bubble Wubble
  • "Hero Legend" a.k.a. Legendary Hero
  • "Tiger Rescue"
  • "Bump Jump" a.k.a. Battle Blocks II

Zone and Wireless consoles

While the Vii itself appears to no longer be in production, JungleTac produced games for at least four other similar plug-and-play consoles, the Zone 40, Zone 60,[11][12][13] the Wireless 60, and the Wireless Air 60. Many Vii titles and similar games appear on these consoles. However, these consoles' controllers do not have true motion sensors as the Vii does (with the exception of the Wireless Air 60), so the controls are simplified to the point where any motion just triggers a press of the A button. As a result, many of the games need to use power meters to determine distance or power.

Titles that appear are:

  • Bowling
  • Fantasy Baseball (renamed Baseball Practice)
  • Catch Fish (renamed Fishing)
  • Alacrity golf (renamed Golf)
  • Come On! (Wireless 60 only, renamed Sea-world)
  • Free Craps (Wireless 60 only)
  • Bubble Blaster (Zone 60 only, renamed Ball Blaster)
  • Brave Kaka (Zone 60 only, renamed Brave Heart)
  • Bump Bomb (Zone 60 only, renamed Lady Bugs)
  • Bump Jump (Wireless 60 only)
  • Fire Fighter
  • Hero Legend
  • Jewel Master 2
  • Lightning Plan
  • Magic Jelly (Wireless 60 only)
  • Mr. Onion
  • Pinball Fish (Wireless 60 only)
  • Plumber (Zone 60 only, renamed Plumber Man)
  • Rapid Stream
  • Squirrel Bobble (Zone 60 only)
  • Tiger Rescue (Zone 60 only)

References

  1. "網友直擊:國產一味抄得快 A貨 Vii撼正牌 Wii". hk.apple.nextmedia.com. October 10, 2007. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  2. "SunPlus: The biggest chip company you've never heard of".
  3. 瘾科技Engadget独家报道:Vii火拼Wii (in Chinese)
  4. Jou, Eric (February 5, 2014). "A Brief History of Chinese Game Consoles". Kotaku. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  5. Vii - Machine Comes in Different Colours. Gameplay Screenshots Out
  6. Keepin it real fake, part CI: the Vii 2 - Engadget
  7. Liao, Sara X. T. (2016-05-01). "Japanese Console Games Popularization in China: Governance, Copycats, and Gamers". Games and Culture. 11 (3): 275–297. doi:10.1177/1555412015583574. ISSN 1555-4120. S2CID 147283833. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  8. Megaton - Vii 2 has NTSC/PAL support!
  9. The Vii rises in Japan as V-Sports Archived April 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. More Vii games
  11. Zone 60 (Video game console). Ultimate Products Ltd.
  12. "ZONE 60IN1游戏软件". 计算机软件著作权登记公告 (in Chinese). Copyright Protection Center of China. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  13. "ZONE60 Computer Games (Multi Platform)". Classification Website. Australian Government. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.