Bit Corp. (普澤) was a developer and publisher from Taiwan which developed numerous games for the Atari 2600, Famicom/NES and Gamate. Bit was one of the first Taiwanese console manufacturers[1] and game developers.
Overview[]
During their lifetime, they made numerous unlicensed games and consoles. Their games were unlicensed (although this was standard for Atari 2600 games) and their Atari 2600 games were released in Europe with both English and German titles.
Their Famicom/NES games were published by various companies in PAL regions, especially Australia and Brazil, and all were published by themselves in Taiwan. At this time, they were also releasing several famiclones known as the Bit-xx series which were originally made up of Atari and Colecovision clones. The famiclones also came with exclusively pirated games and none of Bit's original games.
Notably, the Bit-72 was planned to be rebranded as the ironically named Pirate MKII for release in the United States of America. Indicated by the text, "PIRATE MKII WILL ACCEPT CARTRIDGES MADE TO OPERATE WITH TH NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM™." and "NINTENDO AND NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM ARE TRADE MARKS OF NINTENDO AMERICA INC. The Bit Corp mascot was also changed to a pirate. Though it seems that they instead released it in Mexico distributed by a company known as Promotora Mine, S.A. De C.V. If the system were to of actually hit US store shelves, then Nintendo would of likely taken legal action against the company.
Bit Corp. went out of business in 1992 officially due to competition from Hong Kong and Chinese clone manufacturers.[1]. The real reason for their closure might actually be related to the Gamate. Due to the console being a commercial flop that created several financial difficulties that later lead to the company having to sell the rights to a company known as Hengshen Electronics Co., Ltd. which became a subsidiary of UMC.
International Activities[]
Back label advertising Bit Argentina.
In the early 90's, Bit Corp. created a subsidiary in Argentina called Bit Argentina. They were importing all kinds of Famicom games from Taiwan and sold them in South America. Bit Argentina outlived Bit Corp. For example, they had the time to import and release non original copies of Street Fighter II.
Bit Argentina distributed consoles through Bitgame Club. [2]In 1992, Nintendo entered Argentina thanks to H.Briones Argentina SA, which became the representative of this company. Looking at the huge wave of piracy in the form of the many famiclones, Nintendo got along with Bit and the company became an official distributor of Nintendo products in Argentina.[3]
Games Developed by Bit Corp.[]
Atari 2600[]
| Name | Released [1] | Description | Cartridge No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 in 1 | Sold with Bit Corp Creator 30, clone with a Famicom style design. | R-320 | |
| 4 Game in One (C432) | With Cat Trax, unreleased game of UA Limited. | C-432 | |
| Bobby is Going Home | 1983 | PG-206 | |
| Dancing Plate | 1982 | PG-205 | |
| Hockey, Hockey | 1982 | PAL version of Hockey, Hockey (Activision) | PG-210 |
| Mission 3,000 A.D. | 1982 | PG-207 | |
| Mr. Postman | 1983 | PG-209 | |
| Open, Sesame! | 1982 | PG-204 | |
| Phantom Tank | 1982 | Published by ZIMAG as Tanks But No Tanks. | PG-203 |
| Phantom UFO | Hack of Spider Fighter (Activision) | PG-212 | |
| Sea Monster | 1982 | PG-201 | |
| Snail against Squirrel | 1983 | AKA Snail on Squirrel | PG-208 |
| Space Tunnel | 1982 | PG-202 |
ColecoVision[]
| Name [2] | Region | Released | Description / Notes | Cartridge No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmic Crisis | Europe | 1983 | Published later by Telegames in 1986. | |
| Meteoric Shower | Europe | 1983 | ||
| Strike It! | Europe | 1983 | Published later by Telegames in 1986. | |
| Tank Wars | Europe | 1983 | Published later by Telegames in 1986. |
Famicom / NES[]
| Name | System | Released | Description | Cartridge No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Busters | Famicom / NES | 1989 | Published in Brazil (NES) by Dismac and Gradiente. | 7300 |
| Duck Duck Maze |
Famicom / NES NES PAL (AUS) |
1987 | First Taiwanese commercial unlicensed port. Published in Brazil (NES NTSC) by Dismac. In Australia by HES (NES PAL). |
7002 |
| Jackpot Shui Guo Li |
NES PAL Famicom |
1989 | Published by HES in Australia as Jackpot. | 7100 |
| Othello | Famicom NES PAL |
1988 | Published by HES in Australia. | 7103 |
| Sheng Hen Pao | Famicom | 1989 | AKA Twin Loud Cannon (cartridge) | 7102 |
Gamate (incompleted)[]
| Name [3] | Release | Description [4] | Cartridge No. [5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 in 1 | 1991 | Cube-Up / Minigolf / Vindicators / Brick Blaster | C1-401 |
| Baseball | 1992 | AKA Super Baseball | C1-048 |
| Bomb Blaster | 1990 | AKA Bomb Blast | C1-031 |
| Boom! | 1991 | C1-043 | |
| Box Forum | 1991 | Sokoban clone. | C1-003 |
| Brick Blaster | 1990 | C1-029 | |
| Cosmic Fighter | 1990 | C1-032 | |
| Cube-Up | 1990 | Tetris clone. | C1-001 |
| Devil Castle | 1991 | C1-017 | |
| Dino Ball | 1991 | C1-019 | |
| Dino Bibo | 1991 | C1-013 | |
| Enchanted Bricks | 1990 | Arkanoid Clone. | C1-005 |
| Fist of Thunder | 1991 | C1-033 | |
| Flipuzzle | 1991 | C1-026 | |
| Flying Goblin | 1991 | C1-042 | |
| Fortune 'n Luck | 1992 | AKA Fortune and Luck | C1-047 |
| Galaxy Invaders | 1990 | C1-007 | |
| GP Race | |||
| Jewel Riss | |||
| Kiki Inland | |||
| Kill Shot | |||
| Kung-Fu Fighter | |||
| Legend of Dragon Knight | |||
| Magic Jigsaw | |||
| Marauder | |||
| Mars Voyage | |||
| Mighty Tank | 1990 | Battle City clone. | C1-004 |
| Mini Golf | |||
| Money Maze | |||
| Money Maze | |||
| Monster Pitfall | |||
| Myth of Asamia | |||
| Nightmare of Santa Claus | |||
| Pharaoh Revenger | |||
| Pipemania | |||
| Punk Boy | |||
| Snowman Legend | |||
| Tennis | |||
| Time Warrior | |||
| Tornado | |||
| Treasure Hunter | |||
| Vindicators | |||
| Volcano Panic | 1991 | C1-016 | |
| Witty Apee | 1991 | Lode Runner clone. | C1-002 |
Hardware[]
Clones[]
- Amigo/賓果遊樂器 (Bingo Game Console) - Atari 2600 clone
- 創造者30 (Creator 30) - Atari 2600 clone
- 創造者50 (Creator 50) (aka Dina 2-in-1, Telegames Personal Arcade) - Combined SG-1000 and Colecovision clone
- 創造者70 (Creator 70) - Famicom clone
- 創造者100 (Creator 100) - Famicom clone
Computers[]
- Bit-60 - Compatible with Atari 2600 games
- Bit-90 - Compatible with ColecoVision games, has built in BASIC
- Bit-70 - Compatible with Famicom games. Released by Mastergames in Mexico
- Bit-72 - Compatible with NES games. Rebranded as the Pirate MKII and known as the Bit System in Brazil.
- Bit-79 - Compatible with Famicom games, has built in BASIC
Gamate[]
A Gamate.
The Gamate is a handheld console similar to the Game Boy (although not an exact clone) released by Bit Corp in 1990. Released as Super Child Prodigy in China and Super Boy in Taiwan. Around 50 games were published by Bit Corp, but after they went out of business in 1992, UMC continued to produce consoles and games, releasing about 20 further games for the system. Many of its games were developed by Gamtec.
Mascot[]
Bit's seal.
The NES and Famicom releases of Bit Corp.'s cartridges often featured a seal with a drawing of a small, white bearded, old man wearing a red shirt and glasses. It's kind of similar to Pascar which seemed to have some ties to Bit Corp.. This was changed to a pirate for the Pirate MKII
Gallery[]
