''Micro Genius'' () is a brand name used for

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

clone consoles marketed in several countries around the world, particularly in areas where Nintendo consoles were not readily available, including the

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Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

n countries excluding Japan and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The name was initially and most famously used by TXC Corporation for its range of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

ese-made Famicom clones, software and accessories, but later passed to other companies and remains in use today on rebranded Chinese Famicom clones and LCD games. In some countries - such as

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

- during the early 1990s, Micro Genius Famicom clones were the most popular game consoles, mirroring the popularity enjoyed several years earlier by Nintendo's official Famicom and NES in Japan and North America. In

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

certain models of Micro Genius were sold under the Dendy brand, and in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

one version, the IQ-502, was released as a Pegasus console - both of which were also the most popular consoles in their respective countries - while in Colombia and certain other Latin American countries they were sold as Nichi-Man. Micro Genius consoles were also sighted being played by children in a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n children's camp in 2008, a country which few other video games have reached. However, they rarely reached markets where Nintendo was more recognisable, as they often infringed on Nintendo's

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s in those regions.

Consoles and accessories

There are several models of the Micro Genius, but the Micro Genius IQ-501 was particularly popular until the official introduction of competitors like Sega and Nintendo in the regions where it was sold. The games came in form of 60-pin cartridges, identical to those of the Japanese Famicom, which were inserted from the top into a cartridge port. A standard Micro Genius console package came with two wired controllers and sometimes a

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensin ...

. Some models also used an RF antenna to transmit signals wirelessly to a receiver inserted in the TV. Later incarnations came with IR wireless controllers. Micro Genius consoles include: * IQ-201 - an early model resembling the

, with hard-wired controllers * IQ-301 - similar to the IQ-201, with the addition of turbo switches * IQ-501 - introduces detachable controllers, sold as Dendy Classic in Russia * IQ-502 - sold as Dendy Classic II in Russia and Pegasus IQ-502 in Poland * IQ-701 - resembles the international Nintendo Entertainment System * IQ-901 - an early handheld TV game * IQ-1000 - built-in infra-red receiver, comes with one wireless controller and one wired * IQ-2000 - similar to the IQ-1000 but comes with two wireless controllers Accessories for other consoles were also sold under the Micro Genius brand, including lightguns and controllers for the original NES, and wireless controllers for the

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

and

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

Games

Most versions of Micro Genius are compatible with

cartridges but require a 72-pin to 60-pin adapter to play NES games, although certain models were produced in both 60-pin Famicom and 72-pin NES versions. It was often sold with cartridges containing multiple games. The 60-pin Famicom versions also generally supported expansion audio chips such as Konami's VRC6 and VRC7 making them a more affordable alternative for those in Europe wanting to play Famicom games with expansion audio without making modifications to the console as long as they don't mind 50 Hz slowdown. A series of original Micro Genius games, such as ''Chinese Chess'' and ''Thunder Warrior'', was produced in both Famicom and NES format, but unlicensed copies of Japanese games remained more popular in the countries where the console was sold.

List of games

On the list, all Idea-Tek games were later re-released by the same TXC/Micro Genius.Gluk: Los Juegos del Naranjito
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References

External links

Famicom Clones
{{Nintendo Entertainment System Unlicensed Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clones Video game companies of Taiwan Companies based in Taipei Taiwanese brands

Consoles and accessories

Games

List of games

See also

References

External links