I remember seeing a 2 page Alston ad for the Gamate in EGM magazine as a kid and what really grabbed my attention was the MegaMan Me-Tool on the "BOOM!" box cover (EGM issue #38, September 1992, pages 72/73). Over time, that ad faded away in my memory until I stumbled across a Gamate system and a large lot of games sitting in a shoebox at a flea market in the Los Angeles area about 4 years ago. I sifted through the games and didn't see "Boom!" so I passed it up. The lady was asking $30 for the lot, and I thought that was a tad bit overpriced. Guess I couldn't have been more wrong. If I remember correctly, the Gamate console version I saw had an "x" type d-pad, not "+".

I started collecting Atari 2600 games, and some of my favorites were NTSC bootlegs of some PAL games originally developed by a company named Bit Corp. In my search for Bit Corp 2600 games, fate brought me back to the Gamate console. I couldn't believe it, Could the Gamate really be from the same Bit Corp that made these strange 2600 games in the early 1980s? It appears so.

I own a handful of Gamate games these days, and I'd love to discuss the system and games, if any of you want to. I feel very lucky to have found this site, and am very thankful to Taizou for compiling such a comprehensive list of information about this unique handheld. ^^

awesome! glad you liked it. i did feel that there was a general lack of Gamate coverage on the internet, generally just a page here and there with a bit of "failed competitor to the Game Boy" or "funny name lolz" business, and possibly a game list copied from somewhere else.

i'd be glad to talk about the console and its games, anyway - it's not very often you come across someone with a genuine interest in the thing, most owners seem to be collectors who only bought one because it's weird and rare (and, yeah, not to rub it in or anything, but $30 was an absolute bargain - i can't afford to buy Gamate games anymore with the prices they sell for on eBay these days)

You're completely right about how most people on the internet just call it another failed GB competitor. I will admit, the name is kinda' funny. I have a strange feeling that had the Gamate Color been released, it just may have been marketed as the "GaLover". :p

I'll try to find the time to get you some high res scans of things you don't have. I don't own any of the mystery games, but I do at least have some games that you haven't reviewed. One day if I get the guts, I may just attempt to modify a console to either have an A/V output, or simply install a nicer backlit LCD screen. ^^

scans would be brilliant - which games do you own that I haven't reviewed? all the games i haven't reviewed, i haven't played, so i'm always interested to hear more about them.

as for modifying the thing, if i had any knowledge of electronics i would have had a crack at it myself; even on my newer gamate with a slightly better screen, some games are only just playable.

whoops. post above was me

Games that I have that you haven't reviewed are:
Legend of Dragon Knight
Money Maze
Pharaoh Revenger
Kill Shot
Pipemania
Vindicators
Baseball
Metamorphosiser
Magic Jigsaw
Grand Prix

I can also get you lots of box and manual scans. What size and format are you looking for on the images? I already have some 600dpi scans of carts, manual covers, boxes... but those files are pretty BIG. ^^

ooh nice. any particular standouts in that lot? Legend of Dragon Knight and Metamorphosiser I've always wondered about, just because I don't even know what genre they are.

i don't mind much about image size and format, i can always convert and resize for the site as necessary - anything that doesn't break the attachment limit on my gmail account is fair game, i reckon. as long as it isn't too much of a pain in the arse to send over or anything.

shite! forgot my name again. i really should get this board to use cookies to save that sort of thing. ah well.

I need to get all my stuff together so I can send you everything in an orderly fashion. Each one of my images is about 5mb to 8mb in size, to much of a hassle to email all of those. By any crazy chance you wouldn't happen to live in the Los Angeles area yourself, would you? If so I'd just drop everything off at your house and you could deal with it. :-p

Some of the boxes and manuals are hilarious. The back of the Magic Jigsaw box says this verbatim:

1. Now, this is what I call sweet girl.
2. A pack of creatures are disturbing Mr. Q.
3. Just several more pieces, and the motorcycle will be done.

Is it just me, or does that description sound like...quite possibly the coolest game ever f*cking made!? I mean, they really touch all the bases with that one. ^^

brilliant! i do love gamate boxes. unfortunately most of mine are in italian though, which sort of limits the awesomeness since i don't speak the language.

and i live in the UK, might be a tiny bit too far for you to drop the stuff off :p
fair enough on the image sizes. if you just send them as decent quality jpeg's, size-wise anything at or above this kind of resolution, that'd be fine

Well, I've sat down and played Legend of Dragon Knight a few times today. It sort of feels like a level-based Legend of Zelda clone. When you start the game, you see your character walk up to a house on a map, and you can see there are about 10 or 11 stages. It's a top view game, and you kill enemies to collect coins and keys. There are many little shops scattered about each little level, which give you the option to buy new weapons. The problem is, the second you kill an enemy you have absolutely no time to grab the item they drop unless you kill them at point blank, so newer long distance weapons seem pretty useless. There is a glowing boxed in orb in the center of the stage, that you can access once you've collected enough keys and beat the level. During the level one button lets you attack, and the other seems to do nothing but freeze your character in place when you hold it. You have a life bar, and it seems that you can take about 4 hits before you die.
The game is frustrating and difficult, like so many other Gamate titles. Once you've tediously collected those keys for an eternity and beat the level, you go to a side view platformer boss stage where that useless freeze button becomes a jump button. *Of course*, the boss kills you in one hit and you can barely figure out what's going on when concentrating on the blurry LCD screen. Maybe those newer weapons could be useful in the boss stages. I have no idea how you could possibly beat this game without having the option to save. When you pause the game, a little menu pops up in the center of the screen displaying the amount of coins and keys you have, and what type of weapon you are using. Due to this and how quick enemies kill you, getting in-game scans will be a headache.

On a different note, I would highly suggest you play your Gamate when using headphones. The audio clarity is much better, and has separate left and right Stereo audio channels.

Also....

I was wondering if you have any tips for easily getting the game cards out of the system? Maybe you understand what I mean, those game cards really don't dislodge easily, and as a collector I really don't wish to damage the plastic at the top of the game at all. ^^;

ah, i was sort of expecting dragon knight to be something like that. i bet more than a few gamates were broken at the hands of frustrated kids in the 90s playing stuff like that and Myth of Asamia. Probably could have been a good(ish) game as well, if it'd had a bit more time spent on its development.

dunno about the cards, it is tricky to get them out without using the indentation at the top and running the risk of damaging the plastic (a few of my cards already had signs of that when i got them) - i suppose you could sort of wiggle them until theyre far enough out to get a decent grip on it, but that probably wouldn't be good for the connectors.

oh and i completely agree about headphones, the speaker is bollocks.