The Super A'can is a
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...
released exclusively in 1995 by
Funtech/Dunhuang Technology and
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
by Sino Wealth Electronic Ltd. It is based around the
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 (sometimes shortened to Motorola 68k or m68k and usually pronounced "sixty-eight-thousand") is a 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, introduced in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector ...
microchip, which is also used in the
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
and
Neo Geo
The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...
. Twelve games have been confirmed to exist for the system.
Commercial performance
The Super A'Can failed because its initial costs were too high for customers. It had no chance to compete with
fifth generation video game consoles
The fifth generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to Computer game, computer and video games, Home video game console, video game consoles, and Handheld game console, handheld gaming consoles dating fro ...
, such as the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
, the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
and the
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
, all of which were more powerful and offered
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...
. The Super A'Can performed so poorly that it lost its company, Funtech, over USD $6 million. In the end, Funtech destroyed all equipment from production and development of the system, and sold off all remaining systems to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as scrap parts.
Technical specifications
Peripherals
A CD-ROM attachment (similar to Sega's
Mega CD add-on), and a CPU/Graphics upgrade (similar to Sega's
32X
The 32X is an video game accessory, add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the History of video game consoles (fifth ...
add-on) were planned but unreleased.
List of games
Released
Unreleased
References
A'can: An ill-fated console from Taiwan (English subtitled) YouTube. October 25, 2017.
PakuPakuStory Blog - Super A'can
External links
(via
archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...
)
Video Game Console Library pageSuper A'Can gamesplayable for free in the browser at the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
''Console Living Room''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super A'can
Products introduced in 1995
Discontinued video game consoles
Home video game consoles
Fourth-generation video game consoles
1990s toys
68k-based game consoles