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Mega Duck

Handheld game console

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The Mega Duck WG-108 (also known as Cougar Boy) is a handheld game console that was developed and manufactured by Hong Kong-based Welback Holdings through its Timlex International division, and released in 1993.

It was marketed under various different brands worldwide including Creatronic and Videojet, and the shell of the console came in white or black plastic. It was sold for about fl 129 in the Netherlands, and for a similar price in France and Germany.

In South America (mainly in Brazil), the Chinese-made Creatronic version was distributed by Cougar USA, also known as "Cougar Electronic Organization", and sold as the "Cougar Boy". Cougar USA didn't widely release the Cougar Boy in its origin country.

The cartridges are very similar to those of the Watara Supervision, but slightly narrower with fewer contacts (36 pins, whereas Supervision cartridges have 40). But unlike the Supervision, the hardware of the Mega Duck is almost identical to that of the Game Boy, enabling easy ports between the two systems.

The Cougar Boy came with a four-in-one game cartridge and a stereo earphone.

01Laptop Models

A variant in the form of an educational laptop for children was released in Germany by Hartung as the Mega Duck Super Junior Computer, and in Spain by CEFA Toys as the Super QuiQue. It uses an external game pad tethered by a cable instead of an integrated one. There is a primary ROM cartridge slot and a secondary slot for a battery backed save RAM cartridge. An extra accessory called the Mega Duck Printer was also released for this variant.

Megaduck Laptop German Model
Megaduck Laptop German Model

02Technical specifications

The Mega Duck features a multi board design, separating the motherboard, LCD, and controller PCB into three different assemblies. The battery compartment is found on the back casing, being the contacts connected by wires and soldered onto the main board.

  • CPU: Sharp SM83 (Z80-like, embedded in the LR35902 System on a chip) @ 4.194304 MHz
  • RAM: 16 KB in two 8K chips (Goldstar GM76C88LFW)
  • LCD: 2.7" (48 (h) × 51 (w) mm) STN dot matrix. resolution 160×144 at 59.732155 Hz
  • Colours: 4 levels of dark blue on a green background
  • Player controls: 4 directional keys, A, B, Select and Start keys
  • Other controls: On/off switch, contrast and volume dials
  • Sound: 4 channels (2 pulse wave, 1 wavetable and 1 noise) with built-in speaker (8Ω 200 mW) and stereo headset output
  • Dimensions: 155 by 97 by 32 millimetres (6.1 in × 3.8 in × 1.3 in)
  • Weight: 249 g (w/o batteries)
  • Power: Four AA batteries or AC adapter 6 VDC / 300 mA
  • Current consumption: 700 mW
  • Play duration: 15 hours on one set of four AA batteries
  • Expansion Interface: Serial link for two player games (6 pins), or external joystick.
  • Game medium: 36 pins ROM cartridge, 63 (l) × 54 (w) mm and 7 mm thick, 17 gram.
The Mega Duck open
The Mega Duck open

03List of games

This is an (incomplete) list of Mega Duck/Cougar Boy games. Each Mega Duck/Cougar Boy game is similarly labelled as the same games were marketed for both systems, although not all games were released for the Cougar Boy. The notation MDxxx is used for Mega Duck Games, and the notation CBxxx for a Cougar Boy Games. A MD002 is exactly the same game as the CB002, even to a point that some "Cougar Boy" games start up with a Mega Duck logo. Some notation numbers go unused, going up to 037, but missing 012 and 023 for example.

With the exception of the pack-in game for the Mega Duck (The Brick Wall) which was developed by the manufacturer, all games were developed by Thin Chen Enterprise under the "Sachen" and "Commin" brand names, and were later re-released for the Game Boy in 4-in-1 and 8-in-1 cartridges without the license from Nintendo.

Although 24 cartridges (not counting Cougar Boy variants or add-ons for the Super Junior Computer) are known to exist, another game is listed on various websites called Tip & Tap, however, it is not known if the game was ever released, or if it existed at all.

   Background shading indicates games that have a Cougar Boy variant.
  # followed by a/b/c/d/e indicates included games in # cartridge.
# Title Developer Release year Notes
001The Brick WallTimlex International1993
002Street RiderCommin1993Rally-X clone
003Bomb DisposerCommin1993Dr. Mario clone
004VexCommin1993KLAX clone
005Suleiman's TreasureCommin1993Anteater clone
006Arctic ZoneCommin1993A horizontal Quarth clone
007Magic MazeCommin1993Also released as Dancing Block on NES and Watara Supervision
008Puppet KnightCommin1993Bomberman clone
009Trap and TurnCommin1993Reversi game
010Pile WonderCommin1993Sokoban clone
011Captain Knick KnackSachen1993Vertical shoot-em-up similar to TwinBee
013Black Forest taleCommin1993Similar to Sachen's earlier Little Red Hood game
014Armour ForceCommin1993Horizontal shoot-em-up
018Snake RoySachen1993A Snake variant
019RailwaySachen1993Pipe Mania clone
021Beast FighterSachen1993Side-scrolling beat-em-up
026Ant SoldiersSachen1993Lemmings clone
0282nd SpaceSachen1993A game similar to Pac-Man
029Magic TowerSachen1993A platforming game with a Rock paper scissors element
030Worm VisitorSachen1993Frogger clone
031Duck AdventuresCommin1993Wani Wani World clone
035Four in OneSachen1993Compilation of 4 games: Virus Attack, Electron World, Trouble Zone, Dice Block
035aVirus AttackSachen1993Space Invaders clone
035b Electron WorldSachen1993Maze action game
035cTrouble ZoneSachen1993Puzzle game
035dDice BlockSachen1993QBillion clone
036Commin Five in oneCommin1993Compilation of 5 games: Store Tris 1 and 2, Taiwan Mahjong, Japan Mahjong, Hong Kong Mahjong
036aStore Tris 1Commin1993Tetris clone
036bStore Tris 2Commin1993Tetris variant with irregular shapes
036cTaiwan MahjongCommin1993
036dJapan MahjongCommin1993
036eHong Kong MahjungCommin1993
037ZipballSachen1993Action puzzle game
The Mega Duck and Cougar Boy with identical games for both systems
The Mega Duck and Cougar Boy with identical games for both systems
Watch videos about Mega DuckExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Mega Duck, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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