Pour conclure, la Foire au Questions de l'ami Sylvain (sylvaindc@-antispam-videotron.ca) sur  http://www.chez.com/slydc/ )

The Watara Supervision Frequently Asked Questions

Version SV.02 - June 2001

O.K.,Here's the legal stuff: Copyright (c)2000-2001, Sylvain De Chantal
All rights reserved. This document may be copied, in whole or in part, by any means provided the copyright and contributors sections remain intact and no fee is charged for the information. Contributors retain the copyright to their individual contributions. The data contained here in is provided for informational purposes only. No warranty is made with regards to the accuracy of some informations.


Additional contributions IS welcome, please send additional informations, opinions, and comments to : mailto: "sylvaindc@videotron.ca"

Where to get this F.A.Q.:


Welcome to the Watara Supervision F.A.Q.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


1.0) The Watara Supervision

The Supervision was first sold in 1992. Trying to compete with the Game Boy by offering a very low price on the unit and games, they thought that they could had taken a piece of the market with their system. Similar to the Game Boy in hardware and design, it has some advantages: the screen has a better resolution and a bigger size, the console could be bent (well some Supervisions) to adjust the screen preventing unnecessary wrist torsion. It also has a better stereo sound using an extra DMA channel.

Very few people know that Watara made an agreement to be sponsored on the TV show "The Price Is Right" (Come on down! You're the next contestant to win a Supervision!! LOL!!), so that Watara could advertise their ads on national TV and giving away from time to time as prices. Unfortunately, trying to detrone the Game Boy (or the Game Gear too) was a dead end. Even with it's TV-Link and games that was available for very less than the others Hand-Held systems, it didn't cut it. It wasn't the lack of publicity nor the quality of the console that flopped the Supervision, it was their games of poor quality. There are a few that are "gems" but mostly, the games didn't come close to what was available on the market. The SuperVision includes one game (Crystball), 4 "AA" batteries, and small stereo headphones. The is also another packaging that exist, the box for the Watara is different (with brown background) and comes with the game "Classic Casino".


1.5) Supervision around the World

But not known to many of us collectors, the Supervision was available pretty much around the world. Here's a list of Supervision that were available around the world:

So for now, we have 11 variation of Supervision. Is there any more?

Other Note: I already posses six different Supervision: The Quickshot, The Videojet, the Audio Sonic GB-2000 model, the Hartung, the ?? Boy and the Magnum (all 3 colors). If anyone has any other Supervision i don't have, please e-mail me. Thanks!


2.0) Supervision Specs


3.0) Cartridge List

Company Abbreviations
Name

W/M/B

Q

Hartung

A

Vini

2-In-1-A*    x  SV10024   31695
2-In-1-B*      SV10033   31694
4-in-1*  x        
Alien 2109    SV10010   31660
B52 Battle    x      
Balloon Fight 2147        
Block Buster    x  SV10001   31656
Brain Power      SV10023   31679
Bubble World 2162        
Carrier 2107  x  SV10004   31658
Challenger Tank 2115    SV10013   31665
Chimera 2118  x  SV10016   31667
Chinese Checkers 2130  x  SV10038    
Classic Casino 2200        
Climber 2164        
CrystBall  x  x  x  x  x
Dancing Block  x  x  SV10030   31683
Delta Hero  x    SV10040   31680
Dream World 2137        
Eagle Plan 2108    SV10005   31659
Earth Defender 2134        
Fatal Craft  x  x     31681
Final Combat 2141    SV10031   31684
Galactic Crusader 2129    SV10029   31667
Galaxy Fighter 2187        
Grand Prix  x    SV10021   31671
Happy Pairs 2142    SV10035   31685
Happy Race 2127    SV10027   31675
Hash Block 2101    SV10002   31665
Hero Hawk  x        
Hero Kid    x  SV10011   31662
Honey Bee  x    SV10018   31670
Jade Legend 2191  x      
Jaguar Bomber 2123    SV10025   31673
John Adventure 2143    SV10036   31686
Journey To The West 9601        
Jugglers 2163  x  SV10043   31692
Kabi-Island 2177        
Kitchen War 2170        
Kung-Fu Street  x        
Linear Racing 2112  x  SV10007   31663
Ma Jong 2116    SV10012    
Magincross 2154    SV10039   31690
Matta Blatta 2125    SV10020    
Olympic Trials 2124    SV10019   31672
P-52 Sea Battle 2106    SV10006   31657
Pac-Boy And Mouse  x  x  SV10008   31661
Pacific Battle 2133        
Penguin Hideout    x  SV10032   31687
Police Bust      SV10014   31668
PoPo Team 2148    SV10037   31690
Pyramid 2150        
Recycle Design 2138    SV10041   31682
Scaffolder 2174        
Soccer Champ      SV10034   31691
Sonny X'Press 2193        
Space Fighter 2120    SV10017   31669
Ss-Snake 2114    SV10009   31664
Super Block  x  x  SV10022   31678
Super Kong 2149    SV10042   31689
Super Pang  x    SV10028   31676
Tasac 2010 2126  x  SV10026   31674
Tennis Pro '92 2117  x  SV10015   31666
Thunder Shooting 2178        
Treasure Hunter 2165        
Untouchable 2171        
USA Sea Battle          
Witty Kitty 2166        

* 2-in-1-A Games: Hash Block/Eagle Plan

* 2-in-1-B Games: Police Bust/Magincross

* 4-in-1 Games: Hash Block/Jacky Lucky/Challenger Tank/Brain Power


4.0) Accessories

Well this won't be a big section since there's only two accessory that was made for the Supervision. The first one is called the "TV Link". This awesome device let's you play the Supervision on a TV !! It displays in color, well 4 color actually like the Super Game Boy and not full screen like some people think.

Also they was supposed to be released a Color-Link in full color but due to low rate sells of the Supervisions and carts, it was never released. Two games were in progress but also where never released:

Rambo and the Terminator.

The Second accessories in a Carrying case which a picture can be seen on the Web Site of Syd Bolton. The Carrying case is black with a yellow strap for carrying and a patch in similar leather with the name "Supervision" on it.


4.5) Supervision Emulator

Yes, you are not dreaming. There is a Supervision emulator being done as you read this. It's still in a very early stage but be sure that it will eventually be available to test it out pretty soon (i hope!). In case that you are wondering what is the name or person(s) that is/are working on this emulator, many of you already knows the name of this legendary emulator: the Multi Emulator Super System or simply the M.E.S.S. (http://mess.emuverse.com/main.html).

Heres the work-in-progress (WIP) about the Supervision emulator part:

Mess Emulation State

very preliminary support (plays Crystball and Delta Hero) with no sound support, no serial port, no tv adapter support, work stopped until more cartridges are available

Pinout of cartridge : mess/messroms/svision.txt

And here's some informations from the "messroms.txt" file:  messroms.txt

Files

svision.txt info for building an adapter for supervision cartridge to 27c4001 eprom pinout

Dumping roms

Watara Supervision Cartridges

look into mess/messroms/svision.txt for building an adapter

Seems that they never included the text file that has the pinout for the adapter. I tried to e-mail PeT at this e-mail adress:mess@atanet.at

but my e-mail was sent back to me. So if anyone from the M.E.S.S. read

this FAQ, please contact me so i can add the informations so that some few folks aou there could aid you dumping some carts to get the emulator better developed.

Oh and please people, don't ask me or the guys of M.E.S.S. where to get some ROMS for playing with the emulator. I don't know (and them too)

where to get the ROMS and i don't have any. Don't be a freaking lamer and and start bitching about the emulator or the ROMS, just be patient like so many of us. If you can't wait playing some games, then get yourself the real thing, 'nuff said.


5.0) More Inputs

Some thinks that the Supervision is associated with the same company that made carts for the Atari 2600 in europe and some carts for the Nintendo Entertainment system. Well it's not true. Nintendo looking cart today called "Supervision" Entertainment Game Cartridge, are shaped exactly like a Nintendo NES cartridge. On the back is a list of 52 games that are on the cartridge. They are other Multi-Carts available by Supervision too.

Here's some few Service Centers adress which at the time, you could have send your Supervision for repairs. I don't think these adress are valid now these days but if one works, please let me know.

Electronics Netherland bv:

Tijnmuiden 15/17/19

1046 AK Amsterdam Sloterdijk

Tel: (020) 139960

SA Electronics Belgium NV:

Brixtonlaan 1H

1930 Zaventem

Tel: (2) 7208945

Audio Sonic France:

103/115, Rue Charles Michels

93200 St.Denis Cedex 1

Tel: (01) 42433622


I received an e-mail from "Matt Knudson" the 10th of march 2001. I replied to his e-mail but never got back a reply, pity since he could have some valuable informations. Check out the e-mail :

From: "Matt Knudson" <knudson98@???.com>

Subject: Supervision

Date: 10 march, 2001 00:04

I came across your Supervison site and was very impressed. I was a dealer of the Supervision (Watara Version) and games in the Salt Lake area for a couple years in the early 90's. I sold about 20 of the units to friends and family and about 50 games. I still have 2 units (1 stopped working for some unknown reason) and about a dozen games, some still sealed in original packaging. Let me know if you need any additional info on what I have.

Thanks,

Matt Knudson

801-xxx-xxxx

Damn....geeting the inside story from a dealer would have been great!

Well, if you Matt, ever read this FAQ, please contact me (if you're still out there of course!).


Here's a review by Ed Dille that was published in Electronic Games

Magazine in November 1993:

The Hall of Fame: East Meets East

SuperVision

Watary Industries Limited

Distributed in the U.S. by Goldnation

(U.S.A.), Inc.

Hong Kong has been a hotbed of electronic gaming activity since the early '80s, when this author first browsed the streets of Kowloon.

Although not as congested as Tokyo's Akihabra district, there had already developed a tremendous interest in video and computer based gaming. Unfortunately, due to inadequate trade and copyright law enforcement, Hong Kong's marketplace suffered from a maligned reputation

revolving around software piracy. As such, it is not surprising that it has taken almost ten years for companies such as Watary Industries to emerge in the Western marketplace in direct competition with one of the Japanese giants, Nintendo. However, Watary has a new flagship item, and it should make the competition with the "Big N" quite exciting for the next few months. The product is SuperVision, and it is targeted squarely at capturing the exiting Game Boy market.

SuperVision has a very slight technological edge over the Game Boy, but it does offer some unique design features. The first of these is a bendable midsection which allows the player to easily adjust the angle of the LCD screen. This feature offers two immediate advantages: the ability to eliminate glare without moving one's head at odd angles and the freedom to alter the balance point of the unit to make long play sessions less painful to the wrists. SuperVision also offers the largest display in the handheld market, eliminating the need for a follow-up attachment like the lighted magnifier utilized with Game Boy. Bravo to SuperVision for having the foresight to think of player eyesight. Another feature which will be appreciated by ergonomically concerned and point players alike is the design of the control buttons and rocker panel.

Both A & B buttons are 1.5 times the size of the Game Boy and slightly more separated, minimizing the chance of hitting the wrong one inadvertently in a moment of passion. The rocker panel is also larger and features raised knobs at the control points, ensuing more positive directional control.

The similarities between the units are actually greater than the differences like Game Boy, SuperVision offers a two player link for head-to-head competition as well as full stereo sound output. The latter has four tonal and one noise channel like Game Boy, but adds a separate channel for Audio DMA output. Both units use VLSI processors and 8-bit MPU video chip controllers.

SuperVision's controller is capable of 160 x 160 resolution versus 160 x 144 for the Game Boy, but the visual difference is negligible. Given the large degree of equivalency in terms of technology, one might reasonably ask why they should purchase SuperVision either in addition to or in lieu of Game Boy, which has an available library of 215 cartridges at the time of this writing. Watary has two strategies to address inherent consumer skepticism. The first of these involves unit pricing. SuperVision is currently being test marketed at $49.95 with one included game, Crystball (more on that later). Interestingly, Nintendo of America recently announced a new packaging option called the Game Boy Basic. Priced at $59.95, the package includes the base unit and batteries only. When questioned as to the timing of the announcement, Nintendo representatives denied that their marketing plan was influenced by the introduction of Supervision to the U.S. market. Individual Supervision games will be priced from $8.95 to $14.95. This pricing directly targets consumers who are irritated at spending $30 and up for individual games, many of which are mastered by their adept offspring in a week or less.


6.0) Credits


7.0) Web Links about Supervisions

If you have a web page or site that talks about Supervision, please let me know so i can add you in the links, thanks!


Thanks and see you in the next version !!!
Copyright(c)2000-2001, Sylvain De Chantal, "sylvaindc@videotron.ca"
Come visit the Supervision Museum: "http://slydc.20m.com/supervsn.htm"


 
 
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