Power Joy Classic TV Game

The Power Joy Classic TV Game console (commonly known as the Power Joy) is an unauthorized Famiclone manufactured by Trump Grand. It was sold in the UK and North America. The system resembles a Nintendo 64 controller, and the second player's controller shares many similarities with a Playstation controller. It is similar to the infamous Power Player Super Joy III. The console was first known to be sold in 2001, but variants are still produced by Trump Grand to this day.

Background

The consoles came with a Famicom multicart and 10 built-in games, mostly graphical hacks of NES lightgun games.

Two different versions of the cartridge exist, a "PJ-008" 84-in-1 version and a "PJ-001" 64-in-1 version. The version with the PJ-008 cartridge was marketed as the "Power Joy II", but the "II" never appeared on the packaging or the console itself. Most of the included games were originally released for the NES or Famicom, and as usual for pirate cartridges, they have had their original company logos and copyright details removed.

The game selections on each cartridge are similar, although the PJ-001 contains some repeats. There are also two known variations of the PJ-008 cartridge, which, despite having an identical label and product number, have a slightly different selection of games.

The console was first manufactured around 2001, and its UK distributors claimed over 1 million sold by 2004. However, the Power Player Super Joy III was much more ubiquitous in North America. Despite no longer being produced in this form, the UK/US release of the Power Joy is still sold at other dealers (e.g. flea markets).

Technical aspects

• The player 1 controller features a cartridge slot that supports most cartridges designed for the Famicom.
• Most have a battery pack. It takes 4 AA cells, which are not included.
• It comes with an AC adapter (center-negative DC9V mA350).
• It has composite and audio outputs.
• It is able to run unlicensed NES/Famicom games
• It only comes in one color (white).

Unit aspects

• The player 1 controller resembles a Nintendo 64 controller with a cartridge slot for most Famicom games.
• It comes packaged with a second controller. It has a similar button layout to a standard Playstation controller.
• The first controller has a light gun built into it. The trigger is the shoot button.
• Unlike its successor, the joystick on the first controller is functional.
• Although the Power Joy's button layout is identical to that of the Nintendo 64 controller, the buttons have been mapped differently. The C buttons of the N64's controller function as A and B on the Power Joy, the A and B buttons of the N64's controller are Start and Select on the Power Joy, respectively. Finally, the N64 controller's Start button is the Reset button on the Power Joy.
• It can run off of a 9V battery (negative tip) or 4 AA cells.

Successors

A number of other consoles were released in the Power Joy line following the original unit. These include:

• Power Joy III aka Power Joy Crusader - featured an LCD "brick game" built into the controller
• Power Joy Supermax - similar to the original, but with built-in rumble and 90 original games included
• Power Joy Navigator - joystick-based with 50 original games, released in both wired and wireless versions
• Power Joy Solo
• Power Joy Turbo Racer
• Power Joy Streamline
• Power Joy Voyager

Trump Grand also continues to use the Power Joy brand name on many of its current products.

Gallery

The two controllers and the cartridge

The Power Joy cartridge, containing over 70 games. This is the PJ-008 version.