The Game Child is an LCD handheld game, released sometime in the early-to-mid 1990s by Synco Tech Company Limited (also known as Queentex Company Limited). It's designed to resemble Nintendo's Game Boy. The console was predominantly distributed across Europe, including Great Britain and the U.K. The Game Child would spawn a "series" of further console variants, generally featuring different games and/or plastic molds.
Overview[]
The original Game Child (ID K-733) is almost identical in appearance to the original Game Boy, although with some differences. There is only one button, the d-pad is red instead of black, the start and select button placement is different, and there is an on-and-off button instead of a switch. Humorously, the back of the console even has a fake battery door where the Game Boy's is located, despite batteries going in the top of the unit instead.
The Game Child was followed by a sequel system titled the Game Child MK II (also known as the Card Game MK II and Game Kid MK II). The MK II features a more original appearance; most apparently, it has no d-pad at all, only two large buttons. The MK II had interchangeable "screen cartridges" with different games, with at least some releases seemingly bundling two games in each box.
Another successor to the Game Child was released titled the Game Kid (ID QGH-78), which was reportedly also sold under the Game Child name. It features interchangeable screens and the same control layout of the MK II, but uses the Game Boy-like casing of the original Game Child. Oddly, it does not appear that any models of the Game Kid were bundled with multiple games, despite having the screen-changing functionality.
The final known console model is the Sound Effect Game Child (QGH-37), which uses a form factor closer to the original K-733 model. The console was released in an "A" set and a "B" set of variants, with two additional "dinosaur" versions being released later on.
Games[]
The Game Child consoles claim to have multiple game options available, with either one built-in game or one-to-two bundled "screen cartridges" per unit. In actuality, however, each game shares virtually identical program logic, from a set of one to three available options (depending on the console series). The screen's graphics are changed to give the illusion of a separate game. The Game Child games, across all units include the following:
- Game Child (K-733) - Plays a basic game where the player blocks oncoming enemies from the center of the screen. Graphic variants include Football (or Soccer), Space War, and Desert War; a set of later models includes City Fighter, Ice Hockey, and Ghost Hunter.
- Game Child MK II (unknown ID) - Released as two "sets" of games with different game logic:
- A simple catching game; graphic variants include Soccer, Baseball, Volleyball, Basketball, UFO, and Space War.
- A racing game; graphic variants include Car Racing, Motorcycle, and American Football.
- Game Kid (QGH-78) - Released as three "sets" of games with different game logic:
- The first set is a game where the player blocks incoming objects from the bottom of the screen. Graphic variants include Soccer, Basket Ball, Volley Ball, and Ice-Hockey.
- A racing game, using different logic than the MK II version(s). Graphic variants include Car Racing, Motor Cycle, Invadar, and Highway.
- A game in which its gameplay cannot be determined. Graphic variants include Painter + Smart Baby, Rescue + Bumpy, and Catty + Basketball.
- Sound Effect Game Child (QGH-37) - Released as two "sets" of games with different game logic:
- A "Speed series" of racing games (ID QGH-37 A). Graphic variants include Formula 1, Motor Cross, Crazy Submarine, Super Jet, and Super Boat. An additional Giant Dinosaur model was released later on, which was also sold in a non-Game Child-branded "Dinosaurs" package.
- A "Shooting series" of Space Invaders-like games (ID QGH-37 B). Graphic variants include Alien Attack, Galaxy War, Super Hero, Ninja, and Combat Game. An additional Dinosaur Battle model was released later on, which was also sold in a non-Game Child-branded "Dinosaurs" package.
Trivia[]
- While Synco Tech/Queentex's later LCD handheld software would be reissued on other consoles throughout the 2000s, the Game Child games were rarely, if ever, re-released on such devices. The sole exception to this is the Game Child MK II version of Soccer, which is known to appear on several 2000s handheld consoles (including a World Soccer handheld and a mirror-projection 3D Color Games system.[1][2]
- The Game Child was prominently featured in the 2013 film "Ashens and the Quest for the Game Child". The film's plot satirizes Ashens searching for the Game Child as an elusive necessity for his collection; referencing his internet review videos of bootleg consoles such as the Sport Vii and POP Station.
- The Game Child is also referenced in an episode of The Amazing World of Gumball ("The Console").
- The QGH-78 model was also sold under the names 3-in-1 Interchangeable Game and Interchangeable Game Child. On the back of the box it shows the model number as being QOK-78.
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