| The WonderSwan is a sixth-generation handheld game console designed by Gunpei Yokoi’s Koto Laboratory and released by Bandai in Japan on March 4, 1999. It features a 16-bit NEC V30 MZ CPU running at 3.072 MHz, 64 KB RAM, and a reflective monochrome LCD screen with a resolution of 224×144. The device runs on a single AA battery and offers up to 40 hours of playtime. Its unique design allows for both horizontal and vertical gameplay thanks to additional directional buttons. The console supports ROM cartridge media and includes four PCM audio channels. The WonderSwan achieved combined sales across all its models of approximately 3.5 million units, securing about an 8 percent share of the Japanese handheld market before being discontinued in 2003. It developed a strong residential library that included both monochrome and later color titles. Later iterations included the WonderSwan Color (released December 9, 2000), which added a color FSTN LCD capable of displaying 241 colors from a 4096-color palette and sold around 1.1 million units. The final version, the SwanCrystal (released July 12, 2002), upgraded to a TFT LCD screen and improved response time, but sales declined and production ended in 2003. |
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