The POP Station is a Chinese electronic handheld game, designed to resemble the PlayStation Portable. The technology is similar to Nintendo's Game & Watch Super Color series, where the LCD panel is covered by strips of coloured plastic, but with illumination added. Because of the often poor animations (even by the standard of handheld LCD games) and the overall bad design, it is difficult to understand what is happening in several games.
The handheld was manufactured by Shenzhen City Zhengchang Electronics Factory, using game software licensed/cloned (?) from Synco Tech Company Limited. The console would be followed by the NEO Double Games.
Overview[]
Original model[]
The original POP Station models (referred to as the POP Station Value Pack on the box) feature one built-in game, chosen out of a selection of four. A set of earphones and a wrist strap are also included.
POP Station Silicon Die
The games included on the console are from a generic selection of common LCD game software, which likely originates from Synco Tech Company Limited (being seen in their 1990s "Super Electronic Handheld Game" series). The POP Station notably uses colorized versions of the games. The available selection of titles includes:
- Street Fighter (City Fighter) - A Street Fighter clone. Due to the limited graphics, the fighters appear to be throwing their own arms and legs at each other.
- Soccer - A generic soccer game with players moving vertically.
- Submarine Invasion (Scuffle) - A clone of Casio's CG-330 Submarine Battle from 1985. Shooting game involving a submarine gunning down planes.
- Fortress Guardian (Sky Shooter) - A clone of Casio's CG-370 Heli-Battle from 1987. A shooting game where the player must keep their bases safe.
Later models[]
A number of later handheld consoles also feature "POP Station" branding, often further mimicking the PlayStation Portable in design. However, it is unclear if these variants are intentionally tied to the (presumed) original model; it is possible that other manufacturers coincidentally used the POP Station name for similar products (given it is easily derived from "PSP"). Other "POP Station"-branded handhelds include:
- POP Station ("Brick Game"-based) - a console featuring a 9999-in-1 "brick game" program rather than the selection of Synco Tech-derived titles. Variants of this console are notably more common than the original model, and were produced in various forms up until the late 2010s (though are seemingly now out of production).
- POP Station Game & Radio - a "brick game"-based console (using the same design as the above model) that adds a backlight and a built-in FM radio.
- POP Station Digital Hand Held Game (8288) - a console based on the hardware of the "1.8" Handheld Games (rather than the primitive LCD architecture), featuring 20 built-in games. Originally released in 2012.[1]
- POP Station (SY Corp. series) - a set of three consoles released in 2014, featuring different LCD-based games than the original series. The games include Subway Surfers (SY-712), Carrot Fantasy (SY-713), and Porter (SY-715); the former two are ports of the mobile/PC games of the same name, while Porter is a clone of the Mario Bros. Game & Watch.[2]
Similar systems[]
Due to the ubiquity of the technology used, many different consoles exist with nearly identical hardware to the POP Station. The name "POP Station" is commonly dubbed for these types of handhelds due to its infamy; though in actuality, many of these devices predate the POP Station in creation, and it is not the sole "source" such games and console formats originated from.
Although some POP Station-like handhelds are made by the same manufacturer of the POP Station (such as the NEO Double Games), most are made by different Chinese companies with different shapes; some have an original appearance, while others instead mock other famous handhelds or consoles. For example, the PCP Station is another PSP clone, the Mini PolyStation 3 has the shape of a miniaturized PS3 and the WLL resembles a Wii Remote. The games are often built with cheap materials and are not very durable, particularly with models that require the player to switch games by switching the LCD screens.
Certain POP Station clones allow the user to play different games changing the LCD "screen cartridge". This is the same method used by electronic handheld systems of the 80's like the V-Tech Variety or the Bandai Digi Casse, and in the 90's by the Tiger R-Zone. The cartridge contains the LCD display, while the game hardware is built into the console; the screen triggers a switch to tell the system what game is inserted. The original four POP Station games (which themselves likely originate from Synco Tech) often appear on these systems, but usually in pure black-and-white rather than with a color overlay. The games can have varying differences between units, and are sometimes extensively modified to have different graphics and gameplay mechanics (a notable example being Chanticleer Hegemony, a modified version of City Fighter).
Possibly the most infamous "POP Station"-like console is the single-game handheld Laden vs. USA. The system features actual 9/11 images on the package and the unit, with the backdrop showing the World Trade Center collapsing. The game inside is identical to the POP Station game Submarine Invasion, which in itself is a modified version of Casio's Submarine Battle.
In terms of manufacturing, POP Station-like hardware was largely abandoned by the 2010s (with the exception of "brick games", which are still common). Several POP Station clone manufacturers switched to producing GameKing clones in the late 2000s, followed by the "1.8" Handheld Games (and several variations thereof) from 2012 onward; in addition to a large increase in handheld Famiclone devices.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Variants of this have been featured in various videos on ashens' YouTube channel. A playlist of these videos by ashens himself, titled The POP Station Saga, can be found here.
- In 2022, the die of the POP Station was decapped by Athosworld revealing a logic gate array and a CMOS ROM saving function.