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History of video games/Platforms/PasoGo

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History

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The PasoGo revolved around playing the board game Go.

The PasoGo was released on April 5, 1996 in Japan by the company Koei for 39,800 Japanese Yen.[1][2][3][4]

Games were released to at least 1997.[5] The system is known to be relatively rare.[6][7][4]

Technology

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The system uses a Vadem VG230 chip, which incorporates a NEC V30HL 8086 compatible CPU and support components into a single chip.[5] The system had of 1 megabyte of RAM contained in twin 512k Hitachi HM514800 8-bit DRAM chips.[5] Most of the console circuitry is dedicated to driving the LCD.[2]

The system has a 5.6" monochrome LCD, which required ample ambient light to be viewable.[1] The screen has a resolution of 320 pixels by 240 pixels.[3] The system had a contrast slider.[5]

The system was powered by 6 AA batteries which provide approximately 20 hours of battery life, and could also be powered by an AC adapter.[2][3]

The system weighs 395 grams (13.9 oz), had dimensions of 225 millimeters (8.9 in) by 125 millimeters (4.9 in) by 36 millimeters (1.4 in), and was made in Japan.[3][5]

Cartridges typically contained only a storage chip, but were designed to be able to use RAM and a battery.[2]

Games

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PasoGo game cartridges were only made to play the traditional board game Go.[4]

Notes

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The PasoGo is similar in concept to the earlier BBC Bridge Companion, though that device was a home console which singularly focused on the card game of Contract Bridge.

References

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  1. a b "PasoGo by Koei". The Video Game Kraken. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. a b c d "The Koei PasoGo Portable". nfggames.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. a b c d "Did you know that Koei released a cartridge based handheld game console? Info inside!". ResetEra. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. a b c Barsanti, Sam; Hughes, William (22 March 2021). "The rise and fall of the Game Boy's weirdest rivals" (in en-us). The A.V. Club. https://www.avclub.com/the-game-com-cometh-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-game-boy-1846501180/slides/7. 
  5. a b c d e "Complete Koei Pasogo Collection Deep Dive + Rarity Guide" (in en). Krae_man's Koei Pasogo Page. 20 May 2020. https://alexjforsyth.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/complete-koei-pasogo-collection-deep-dive-rarity-guide/. 
  6. "The Incredibly Hard to Find Koei Pasogo" (in en). Krae_man's Koei Pasogo Page. 10 August 2014. https://alexjforsyth.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/the-incredibly-hard-to-find-koei-pasogo/. 
  7. "Will it Work? - PasoGo - Console #372". Retrieved 30 May 2022.