Graphics
224×144
- Colors on screen
- 241
- Palette
- 4,096 colors
- Sprites
- 128
- Screen
- 2.8″ reflective FSTN color LCD (no backlight)
WonderSwan Color
Also known as WSC
- Bandai
- Handheld
- Sixth generation
66 WonderSwan Color games, all playable free in your browser.
The WonderSwan Color is Bandai's color model of the WonderSwan handheld, released only in Japan on December 9, 2000 at ¥6,800. It keeps the original's single-AA-battery design and plays the existing monochrome library, while adding a larger 2.8-inch reflective color screen and four times the shared work and video memory. Like the original, it can be held horizontally or vertically depending on the game.
- First released · Japan
- 2000
- Units sold
- 1.1M
- CPU
- 16-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 66
TIMELINE
2000–2003
- JPJapan
- ENDDiscontinued (Japan)
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 |
| 2000 | 17 |
| 2001 | 11 |
| 2002 | 9 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2004 | 2 |
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
3.07MHz
- CPU
- SPGY-1002
- Core
- NEC V30 MZ (Intel 8086 variant)
- Word size
- 16-bit
Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
Sound
4channels
4 wavetable channels (32-sample, 4-bit); one can play 8-bit PCM and one noise; mono speaker, stereo through the headphone adapter
Sales
1.1million
- Scope
- Japan (only market)
Below: Neo Geo CD 570,000 · Above: Lynx 2 million
Media
Cartridge
- Cartridge
- up to 64 MB
Launch price
¥6,800
- Japan
- ¥6,800
Power
20h
- Batteries
- 1 × AA
- Battery life
- about 20 hours
Family line
- Before
- WonderSwan
- This system
- WonderSwan Color
- After
- SwanCrystal
THE STORY
About the WonderSwan
Square's remakes of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy IV, together with Bandai's Digimon and Gundam games, were among its best-known titles. The console sold 270,632 units in under a month and the WonderSwan family reached up to 8% of Japan's handheld market, but its sales did not recover once Nintendo's Game Boy Advance arrived in March 2001.
A redesigned model with a TFT screen, the SwanCrystal, followed in July 2002, and Bandai discontinued the WonderSwan line in 2003. The WonderSwan Color itself sold at least 1.1 million units.
- Shows 241 colors at once from a 4,096-color palette on a 2.8-inch reflective FSTN screen.
- About 20 hours of play from a single AA battery.
- Work and video RAM grew from 128 Kbit on the WonderSwan to 512 Kbit.
- Cartridges can hold up to 512 Mbit of ROM, up from 128 Mbit.
- Up to 128 sprites on screen, 32 per line.
- Sold 270,632 units in under a month after launch.
THE LIBRARY
66 WonderSwan games on Back2OldGames
66
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1999–2004
<p class="lib-span">44 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
66 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The WonderSwan library
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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