Pegasus (console)
Type | Video game console |
---|---|
Media | ROM cartridge |
CPU | 1.779 MHz 8-bit MOS 6502 |
Pegasus was a video game system sold in Poland, Serbia, and Bosnia. It was a hardware clone of the Nintendo Famicom.
Hardware
Processor | 8-bit MOS 6502 1,79 MHz | |
Video | Clock | 5.37 MHz |
Resolution | 256×240 | |
Colour Palette | 25 on screen (out of 64 possible) | |
Standard | NTSC ("forced" to PAL standard, 50 Hz refresh rate) | |
Sound | 5-channel mono | 1 channel noise 1 PCM 3 channels for sounds |
Media | ROM cartridge (Nintendo 60-pin equivalent) |
Background
This particular Famiclone was hugely popular in Poland, Serbia, and Bosnia, where it has gained cult status, and is still widely available on auction websites and flea markets.
The system was manufactured in Taiwan by Micro Genius, and was built to resemble Nintendo's Famicom. Pegasus, like most known Famicom clones, was compatible with 60-pin Famicom cartridges, and partially compatible with some NES games, which could be played using a special converter. Original Nintendo games were not popular however, due to widespread copyright violation and the lack of officially licensed products on the market. The majority of the games sold with and for the system were cheap unlicensed copies, manufactured mostly in Russia and China.
The typical retail set included the system, two detachable controllers (both with "turbo" buttons, which meant 4 buttons in total; 6-button controllers also existed.), a light gun (very similar in design to NES Zapper), power supply, RF cable, as well as audio-video RCA connectors. The system itself did not include any built-in games, but was bundled with an infringing cartridge labelled "Contra 168-in-1", which contained a few of the best-known NES titles, like Contra, Super Mario Bros., and Tetris, listed multiple times with slight variations. Most of the games had a "trainer" feature, which allowed the player to adjust the number of lives, and even the starting level of the game.
The 8-bit Pegasus was originally released in two versions:
- MT777DX
- IQ-502 (much rounder casing with controller ports on the sides of the system and an eject button instead of a lever, manufactured by Micro Genius)
There was also a 16-bit version of the Pegasus system, known as "Power Pegasus 16-bit", a clone of Sega Mega Drive.
References
External links
- EMU-NES, a Polish website about Pegasus and similar systems
- Cartridges/carts gallery
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Famicom/NES unlicensed hardware clones. |