History of video games/Platforms/Pokémon Mini

History

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Pokémon Mini logotype.

Background

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The Pokémon Mini was proceeded by the Pokémon Pikachu handheld, which was not cartridge based.

Launch

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The Pokemon Mini was launched in 2001 at a cost of $40, with games costing $20.[1] The system came in Wooper Blue, Smoochum Purple, and Chikorita Green, and included a AAA battery, wrist strap, and the game Pokemon Party Mini.[2]

Legacy

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Development for the system ceased in 2002, though an official emulator was later developed for it for use in the 2003 GameCube game Pokemon Channel.[1]

A potential port of the game Silver Falls to the Pokémon Mini was announced in May of 2022.[3]

Technology

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Compute

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The Pokémon Mini is powered by an 8-bit Nintendo Minx CPU (A version of the Seiko S1C88 CPU) clocked at 4 megahertz, has 4 kilobytes (4096 bytes) of shared RAM, and 4 kilobytes of ROM.[4][5]

Hardware

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The system had a monochrome screen with a resolution of 96 pixels by 64 pixels.[4]

Further specs include an inferred communications port, a real time clock, a shock sensor, rumble feedback.[1][2]

The system can run off of a single AAA battery for up to 60 hours[1][2], which was very good battery life for the time, and suggests that the system is able to operate quite efficiently compared to other contemporary handheld game consoles.

Games

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10 Pokemon branded games were released for the system.[1][6]

2001

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  • Pokémon Party mini[7] - Minigame collection
  • Pokémon Pinball mini[7] - Pinball game
  • Pokémon Puzzle Collection[7] - Puzzle game
  • Pokémon Zany Cards[7] - Card game compilation

2002

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  • Pokémon Tetris[7] - Version of Tetris
  • Pokémon Puzzle Collection vol. 2[7]
  • Pokémon Race mini[7] - Platformer racer
  • Pichu Bros. mini[7] - Minigame collection
  • Togepi's Great Adventure[7] - Adventure game
  • Pokémon Breeder mini[7] - Caretaking game

External Resources

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References

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  1. a b c d e "Hardware Classics: Pokémon Mini". Nintendo Life. 30 June 2016. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/06/hardware_classics_pokemon_mini. Retrieved 25 October 2020. 
  2. a b c "Nintendo - Customer Service Other Systems - Pokémon Mini". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  3. Hagues, Alana (16 May 2022). "Random: Indie Horror Dev Launches Kickstarter To Create A Game For Pokémon Mini". Nintendo Life. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/05/random-indie-horror-dev-launches-kickstarter-to-create-a-game-for-pokemon-mini. 
  4. a b "Chris Covell's Epoch Game Pocket Computer page". web.archive.org. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. "Pokémon Mini by Nintendo – The Video Game Kraken". Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. "Rediscovering Nintendo’s Forgotten Console, the Pokémon Mini" (in en). www.vice.com. https://www.vice.com/en/article/mvx9qy/nintendos-other-forgotten-console-the-pokmon-mini-231. Retrieved 25 October 2020. 
  7. a b c d e f g h i j "Pokémon Mini". Wikipedia. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.