The (officially stylized as Pokémon mini) is a

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the co ...

that was designed and manufactured by

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

and themed around the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

. It is the smallest game system with interchangeable cartridges ever produced by Nintendo, weighing just under . It was first released in North America on November 16, 2001, (two days before the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

was released) then in Japan on December 14, 2001, and in Europe on March 15, 2002. The systems were released in three colors: Wooper Blue, Chikorita Green, and Smoochum Purple. Features of the Pokémon mini include an internal

real-time clock A real-time clock (RTC) is an electronic device (most often in the form of an integrated circuit) that measures the passage of time. Although the term often refers to the devices in personal computers, servers and embedded systems, RTCs are pr ...

, an

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...

port used to facilitate multiplayer gaming, a

reed switch Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

for detecting shakes, and a motor used to implement force feedback. ''

Pokémon Channel ''Pokémon Channel'', released in Japan as , is a 2003 video game in the ''Pokémon'' series for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo. The player's goal is to help Professor Oak re ...

'' features playable emulated demo versions of Pokémon Mini games, including the console exclusive "Snorlax's Lunch Time". Games such as "Togepi's Adventure" were only released in Japan. Various hackers have

reverse engineered Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

the Pokémon mini (with the aid of the aforementioned emulator in ''

'') in order to enable the creation of homebrew games, and to allow official games to be played on other platforms (such as a PC,

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...

and various others).

Technical details

* CPU 8-bit, 4 MHz Epson S1C88 * 96 x 64

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochr ...

LCD *

Game Pak Game Pak is the brand name for ROM cartridges designed by Nintendo for some of their earlier video game systems. The "Game Pak" moniker was officially used only in North America, Europe, and Oceania. In Japan, as well as other Asian territories and ...

(512KiB cartridge) * Internal BIOS of 4kB * Internal RAM 4kB (shared with video subsystem) * 21-bit cartridge bus * 256 hardware register; in most cases Open-Bus registers * Dimensions: * Weight: with Game Pak and

AAA battery The AAA battery (or triple-A battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery. One or more AAA batteries are commonly used in low-drain portable electronic devices. A zinc–carbon battery in this size is designated by IEC as R03, by ANSI C1 ...

inserted * Power: 1 AAA battery (lasting ~60 hours)

List of games

The games were published in Japan by The Pokémon Company and in other countries by Nintendo. In all three regions the console was released, the Pokémon mini handheld launched with four games that could be bought separately: * A collection of several

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than t ...

s, included with the Pokémon mini. The minigames include: '' Hitmonchan's Boxing'', where you shake the system to 'punch'; ''

Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...

's Rocket Start'', a game where you have to launch off a starting line before another Pokémon; '' Bellossom's Dance'', a

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...

-like game; '' Chansey's Dribble'', kick the ball to the finish line as quickly as possible; '' Slowking's Judge'', predict if the tennis ball will land in or out of the court; '' Sneasel's Fakeout'', a

rock paper scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

-like game for two players; ''Battlefield'', where two to six players battle for the highest score; and '' Celebi's Clock'', which is essentially a clock with date, alarm and stopwatch function. * A pinball game with several levels where a Diglett or a

acts as the 'bumping' mechanism. * A collection of different puzzle-games such as: ''Shadow Puzzle'', where different shapes are put together to make an image of a Pokémon; ''Motion Puzzle'', a sliding game where an image of a Pokémon has to be unscrambled; ''Escape'', where one has to move blocks to let a Pokémon out of a maze; and a bonus for completing most of your Minidex is the game ''Power On'', a ' Pipe Dream'-like game where one has to connect a Pikachu to a light bulb, creating a circuit). * A small collection of four card games featuring Pokémon-oriented cards. Due to low sales, no further games for the system were released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. Developed by Nintendo, ''Pokémon Tetris'' was then released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

: *

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...

with Pokémon. Clearing lines will unlock Pokémon from ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'' in the Pokédex. All subsequent games were only released in Japan: * Similar to the first puzzle collection, but some games are different and there are 80 new puzzles. * A platform racing competition where the player controls a Pikachu racing against other Pokémon. * A collection of several mini-games, similar to ''Pokémon Party mini''. * The player guides Togepi out of a tower, avoiding traps. * The player cares for a young Pokémon, such as Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip.

Homebrew

Through

reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

the Pokémon Mini was hacked; since then it has been possible to program the Pokémon Mini for homebrew purposes. A demo ''SHizZLE'' which was released at Breakpoint in 2005 caused some excitement within the

demoscene The demoscene is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off programming, visual ...

and media.SHizZLE
by Team Pokeme

Notes

References

External links

Pokémon-Mini.net
- Pokémon Mini Database and Dev Site by Team Pokémé
Pokémon mini development Wiki (technical information)

a
NinDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon Mini Handheld game consoles Monochrome video game consoles Nintendo consoles 2000s toys Products introduced in 2001 Products introduced in 2002

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

Sixth-generation video game consoles