Pelican VG Pocket
Encyclopedia
The Pelican VG Pocket is a handheld
dedicated console
, built by Jungletac and sold by Performance Designed Products LLC under their Pelican Accessories brand. It was the first console of its type to have a 2" backlit
color LCD screen.
The VG Pocket has built-in games, the number of which varies with each model. Many of the games are clones of old Nintendo Entertainment System
and arcade game
s. This gaming device also has a TV-out
port with composite video
and audio streaming through a non-standard stereo mini headset jack.
In 2008, the VG Pocket Caplet and the VG Pocket Tablet were finalists in the International Design Excellence Awards. They were designed by Stuart Karten Design
, a Los Angeles based industrial design firm.
port.
Although made by Pelican Accessories, it does not have the company's name on the system itself. Instead it has a sticker on the back crediting Performance Designed Products. In the UK a handheld was made called the Gamespower 50. The Gamespower 50 contained almost all the games (with names changed, such as Bird Droppings retitled as Birdies Nest) and looked exactly the same, except with different color. A plug and play version was made by Dream Gear, being essentially the same as the Gamespower 50. The plug n' play looks like a Dreamcast controller, but internally there is not much of a resemblance. This version is more focused on racing games, and only has 30 to 40 games in it. Unlike the VG Pocket Max, both the Gamespower 50 and the plug n' play version lack a selection menu.
Racing
Shooting
Sports
Wits
The VG Pocket Caplet is a dedicated console
created by Performance Designed Products, under Pelican Accessories. Its graphics are considered an improvement over those of the earlier models of the VG Pocket, with a very bright 2.5” backlit 320×240 TFT display. (The package claims its resolution is 960×240, counting the RGB triads to make 3× the number of pixels.) It is a 16-bit system that appears to utilize some form of arcade emulation, since the majority of its games are either direct ports or clones of arcade games. The unit has the capability of being displayed on any TV set with the purchase of a separate “starter kit” that includes a storage carrying case and special AV cables unique to the system. There are no save features for high scores or game progress. Caplet comes in four colors: blue, silver, red, orange; and is powered by 3 AAA batteries.
Early versions of the Caplet contain 35 games, with the current version having 50. Both units have the same outward appearance. The packaging of the unit is the only way to identify how many games are on the system without turning on the unit. The included game are:
Games included are remakes or clones of classic arcade and 8-bit console games. Many reviewers have commented on the surprising quality of the console's screen.
Includes 25 games: Frogger (licensed Konami classic), Stellar Attack, Motorcross Racer, Billiards, Sudoku Quiz, Mutant Hunt, Funny Fungi, Leaper the Frog, Lord of the Jewels, Off-Roader, Risk It!, Battle Blocks, Construction Jack, Memory Matching, Track Star, River Quest, Star Alley, Pinball Labyrinth, Vitamania, Mr. Onion, Delivery Express, Birds of Prey, Whack the Critter, Stuntman Daredevil, Delta Fighter.
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
dedicated console
Dedicated console
A dedicated console is a video game console that is dedicated to a built in game or games, and is not equipped for additional games, via cartridges or other media.- History :...
, built by Jungletac and sold by Performance Designed Products LLC under their Pelican Accessories brand. It was the first console of its type to have a 2" backlit
Backlight
A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays . As LCDs do not produce light themselves , they need illumination to produce a visible image...
color LCD screen.
The VG Pocket has built-in games, the number of which varies with each model. Many of the games are clones of old Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
s. This gaming device also has a TV-out
TV-out
The term TV-out is commonly used to label the connector of equipment providing an analog video signal acceptable for a television AV input. TV-out is different from AV-out in that it only provides video, no audio....
port with composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
and audio streaming through a non-standard stereo mini headset jack.
In 2008, the VG Pocket Caplet and the VG Pocket Tablet were finalists in the International Design Excellence Awards. They were designed by Stuart Karten Design
Stuart Karten Design
Karten Design is a Los Angeles-based industrial design consultancy that assists companies in multiple stages of product development, from customer research and concept generation through product engineering and production...
, a Los Angeles based industrial design firm.
Versions
There are five VG Pocket models available:- VG Pocket Mini: 30 built-in games and a 1.5" screen. This game unit had poor sales, and has been discontinued.
- VG Pocket 50: 50 built-in games and a 2" screen.
- VG Pocket Max: 75 built-in games and a 2.5" screen.
- VG Pocket Caplet: 50 games, including licensed versions of Space InvadersSpace Invadersis an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
, Bust-a-Move, and BurgerTimeBurgertimeis a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding...
. - VG Pocket Tablet: 25 games, including a licensed version of FroggerFroggerFrogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
.
VG Pocket Max
The VG Pocket Max is a handheld dedicated console distributed by Pelican Accessories. The system contains 75 games, which are mostly modified NES games. It has a 2.5" backlit color LCD screen (which is very easily scratched, as mentioned by many reviewers of the product), four buttons (plus a reset and a power button), a directional pad, volume control, a single speaker, a headphone jack, and a TV-outTV-out
The term TV-out is commonly used to label the connector of equipment providing an analog video signal acceptable for a television AV input. TV-out is different from AV-out in that it only provides video, no audio....
port.
Although made by Pelican Accessories, it does not have the company's name on the system itself. Instead it has a sticker on the back crediting Performance Designed Products. In the UK a handheld was made called the Gamespower 50. The Gamespower 50 contained almost all the games (with names changed, such as Bird Droppings retitled as Birdies Nest) and looked exactly the same, except with different color. A plug and play version was made by Dream Gear, being essentially the same as the Gamespower 50. The plug n' play looks like a Dreamcast controller, but internally there is not much of a resemblance. This version is more focused on racing games, and only has 30 to 40 games in it. Unlike the VG Pocket Max, both the Gamespower 50 and the plug n' play version lack a selection menu.
Games
Action- Balloon Catcher
- Get it Right
- Jump
- Leap
- Night Monster
- Penguin Island
- Quick Match
- Road Works
- Sea Voyage
- Smash Ball
- Worm Catcher
Racing
- Autobahn
- Bandit Racer
- Bridge Driver
- Freeway
- Motor Rally
- Off-Roader
- Race and Ram
- Road Ace
- Road Race
- Road Rally
- Street Bike Racing
- Trucker
- World Racing
Shooting
- Air War
- Earth'sstarfighter
- Mutant Hunt
- Quick Shot
- Sky Fighter
- Starcraft Attack
Sports
- Boat Racer
- Bulls-eye
- Free Throws
- Knockem Down
- Rackets
- Surfs U P
- Target Shop
Wits
- Bird Craze
- Bird Droppings
- Bounce
- Cutterfly Catch
- Cats and Dogs
- Chuck Holes
- Dragon's Tail
- Drop and Stock
- Egg Catcher
- Fire Fight
- Flying Fish
- Fungi
- Fun Moves
- Globs
- Go Ball
- Go bang
- Grow and Mow
- Jewels
- Marble Max
- Matching Dimonds
- Paddle Ball
- Paint
- Patch'n Go
- Pipelines
- Pool Pro
- Pop the Lop
- Puzzle Box
- Ricochet
- Risk It
- River Racing
- Sea Destroyer
- Sea world
- Sky Mission
- Smart Monkey
- Spin Ball
- Table Ball
- Tile Tizzel
- Wake the Baby
VG Pocket Caplet
Dedicated console
A dedicated console is a video game console that is dedicated to a built in game or games, and is not equipped for additional games, via cartridges or other media.- History :...
created by Performance Designed Products, under Pelican Accessories. Its graphics are considered an improvement over those of the earlier models of the VG Pocket, with a very bright 2.5” backlit 320×240 TFT display. (The package claims its resolution is 960×240, counting the RGB triads to make 3× the number of pixels.) It is a 16-bit system that appears to utilize some form of arcade emulation, since the majority of its games are either direct ports or clones of arcade games. The unit has the capability of being displayed on any TV set with the purchase of a separate “starter kit” that includes a storage carrying case and special AV cables unique to the system. There are no save features for high scores or game progress. Caplet comes in four colors: blue, silver, red, orange; and is powered by 3 AAA batteries.
Early versions of the Caplet contain 35 games, with the current version having 50. Both units have the same outward appearance. The packaging of the unit is the only way to identify how many games are on the system without turning on the unit. The included game are:
- Space InvadersSpace Invadersis an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
(licensed arcade port) - Bust-A-MovePuzzle Bobble, also known as Bust-a-Move, is a 1994 arcade puzzle game created by Taito Corporation, based on Taito's popular 1986 arcade game Bubble Bobble, featuring characters and themes from the original...
(licensed arcade port) - BurgerTimeBurgertimeis a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding...
(licensed arcade port) - SudokuSudokuis a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9...
Quiz (something of a misnomer, as there is no quiz included) - Boxboy (SokobanSokobanis a type of transport puzzle, in which the player pushes boxes or crates around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The puzzle is usually implemented as a video game....
clone) - Adventures of Waldog (platform gamePlatform gameA platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
) - Deep Storm (3d shooter like Star FoxStar Fox (video game), released as Starwing in Europe and Australia due to a game of the same name and subsequent trademark issues in those regions, is the first game in the Star Fox series of video games. It was released in the spring of 1993 for the SFC/SNES...
) - Bubble Wubble (TetrisTetrisTetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
clone) - Final Escape (Pengo clone)
- Wolfy's Quest
- Legendary Hero (clone of don-doko-don)
- Craig the Caterpillar (Go! Go! Smile Mile clone)
- Crystal Cavern (Magical DropMagical Drop, sometimes referred to by native Japanese users as , is a series of puzzle games originally released in the arcade, and later primarily released for several platforms such as the Neo Geo, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn and Neo Geo Pocket Color developed by Data East...
clone) - Final Round Tennis!
- Magic Jelly (nothing like BombermanBombermanBomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, the commercially successful Bomberman is featured in over 70 different games...
, the goal is to use your bombs to change the color of every block on the screen, without leaping to your death.) - Blazebusters (ArkanoidArkanoidis an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.-Overview:...
/Breakout cloneBreakout cloneA Breakout clone is a sub-class of the "bat-and-ball" genre introduced with the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis and Atari's Pong...
) - Rotating Puzzle (animated slide puzzle game)
- Underwater Pinball (ArkanoidArkanoidis an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.-Overview:...
/Breakout cloneBreakout cloneA Breakout clone is a sub-class of the "bat-and-ball" genre introduced with the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis and Atari's Pong...
) - Bubble Blaster (Zuma clone)
- Greedy Grabber
- Puzzle Chance
- Victory Road (FroggerFroggerFrogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
clone) - Jet Racing (Pole Position clone)
- Yummy and Tasty (Gussun Oyoyo clone)
- Code Name: Plumber (platform gamePlatform gameA platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
) - Hanoi Tower
- Leapfrog
- Win or Lose
- Pop goes the Ball! (Pang! clone)
- Kart Racer X (overhead racer)
- Battle Blocks II (ArkanoidArkanoidis an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.-Overview:...
/Breakout cloneBreakout cloneA Breakout clone is a sub-class of the "bat-and-ball" genre introduced with the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis and Atari's Pong...
) - Switch and Mix (Lights outLights Out (game)Lights Out is an electronic game, released by Tiger Toys in 1995. The game consists of a 5 by 5 grid of lights. When the game starts, a random number or a stored pattern of these lights is switched on. Pressing any of the lights will toggle it and the four adjacent lights...
clone) - Survival Challenge
- Go Back Home!
- Motojet Mania (overhead racer)
- Tiger Rescue (vertical scrolling shooter close relative to AeroFighters)
- Billiards Master
- Mr. Onion
- Wacky Racing (Pole PositionPole PositionPole Position is a racing video game released in 1982 by Namco. It was published by Namco in Japan and by Atari, Inc. in the United States...
clone) - Tennis Caddie
- Blaze of Glory (horizontal scrolling shooter)
- Underwater Memory
- Crane Maniac
- Go Bang
- Jewel Master 2 (Super Columns' clone)
- Smashing Ladybugs
- Submarine
- Slot Machine (casino game)
- Video Poker (casino game)
- Black Jack (casino game)
VG Pocket Tablet
The VG Pocket Tablet is a portable handheld video gaming system created by PDP and Pelican Accessories in 2006. The console is self-contained, as there is no cartridge slot, but rather it is pre-loaded with 25 games. It sold for $29.99 at outset, but is now $19.99 along with the bigger VG Pocket Caplet. It has a round tablet-shaped design in four colors: orange, green, red, and white; a very bright 2” backlit 640×240 TFT display; and is powered by 3 AAA batteries. The unit has a port that allows connectivity to television via stndard analog RCA port. The cable was available with the purchase of a separate “starter kit” that includes a storage carrying case and AV hookup cables, but is not an uncommon cable, also used for portable DVD players.Games included are remakes or clones of classic arcade and 8-bit console games. Many reviewers have commented on the surprising quality of the console's screen.
Includes 25 games: Frogger (licensed Konami classic), Stellar Attack, Motorcross Racer, Billiards, Sudoku Quiz, Mutant Hunt, Funny Fungi, Leaper the Frog, Lord of the Jewels, Off-Roader, Risk It!, Battle Blocks, Construction Jack, Memory Matching, Track Star, River Quest, Star Alley, Pinball Labyrinth, Vitamania, Mr. Onion, Delivery Express, Birds of Prey, Whack the Critter, Stuntman Daredevil, Delta Fighter.