Nintendo's Lost Console: iQue Player - Rare Obscure or Retro - Rerez

Subtitles created by Jacob Davis (Twitter @JacobDavis1992) Many

retro

gamers happen to be Nintendo fans, and for good reason. Nintendo has a huge history of incredible

console

s and video games that has spanned the last 30 years. But what if I told you that there was a video game system that was released at a certain point in Nintendo's history that we didn't know about? Sure, we all know the NES, the Super Nintendo, the Nintendo 64, the Wii, the Wii U, the Gamecube, and all those other video game systems we've become familiar with. But, if a system had come out that hadn't been released in Japan, North America, or Europe, well, we'd never have heard of it, right?

And that couldn't exist... What exists? This is Nintendo's iQue Player, Nintendo's hidden

console

. The iQue Player was released in 2003 in mainland China, a place known at the time for banning video game consoles. That's right: at some point in the early 2000s, China decided to basically try to destroy the video game market in their country... which didn't quite work, as somehow, thanks to the goodwill and persistence of Nintendo , this system was launched. . In China, Nintendo has a subsidiary called iQue, which launches Nintendo's line of handheld consoles for the Chinese market. So something like the Nintendo 3DS is known in China as the iQue 3DS.

The only real difference between the iQue variants of Nintendo systems is that they are region-locked, with specific games ported via a simplified Chinese-language interface. But, if the console ban was in full force at the time, why were these systems allowed to be released? The best I can tell is that the ban didn't seem to hurt local businesses, which is what iQue was positioned on. The ban also specifically mentions video game consoles. The 3DS could be considered a portable video game

player

, and not a console itself. And that's how I think iQue Player was launched. Look, it's not called "N64 Mini" or "iQue 64", the official name is "iQue Player" and it's a plug-n-play system.

It has always been called that, and not a video game console. While the Nintendo 64 has the ability to change video games with a cartridge, the iQue Player, on the other hand, does not. It doesn't even have multiple controller ports to connect other controllers. The iQue Player stands on its own as a simple device that can only play a handful of Nintendo 64 games, reissued in Simplified Chinese. Personally, I think this console looks pretty cool as it is a console and controller in one. While I like the Nintendo 64, I've never been a big fan of its controller. I feel like the iQue

player

was a huge improvement in design.

You can easily hold the iQue player with both hands, instead of the really strange and multiple ways of holding an N64 controller. The trigger is repositioned from the back center of the N64 controller to below the left shoulder button. The center joystick is now located at the top left and all the buttons have been adjusted slightly to better fit this layout. Despite Nintendo's incredible track record with directional pads, the one on the iQue Player is a bit soft and not the classic Nintendo design we're all familiar with. There's only one button on this controller that you won't find on an original Nintendo 64 controller, and that's the button right above the.

I'm not a big fan of the button placement, because you can easily press it while playing. The system includes four time demos: Starfox 64, Wave Race 64, Super Mario 64, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And once you've maxed out the demo, it's game over! You won't be able to play it again. However, each iQue player included a full game, Dr. Mario 64. And it's pretty much what the original release was like on the N64, only this one is in Chinese. So, that's... cool, I guess... I love that the only game they included in this package was a 2D game, instead of showing off the 3D effects that the N64 was known for.

A ton of Nintendo 64 games were released for iQue Player, such as MarioKart 64, Yoshi's Story, Paper Mario, and a few others, including Super Smash Bros., which is one of those games that really needs multiplayer. However, as I said before: iQue Player does not have multiple connection ports on the device. But there is a way to avoid it. There is an accessory you can buy for iQue Player, called 'Slim Box'. It's essentially a MultiTap device that you can connect secondary controllers to. The secondary controllers, called 'thin controllers', can't really do anything other than play multiplayer games loaded from the main iQue Player.

It's a pretty complex way of solving things, but it exists. The iQue Player we have comes included with the full version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's just as you know it, but in Chinese. The gameplay feels as sharp as ever and everything looks the same. Instead of using traditional Nintendo 64 hardware, everything in it is pretty much a System-On-A-Chip. And really, this little System-On-A-Chip is pretty cool, being able to do something like this back in 2003. I'm told this game runs a little faster than the original release on the N64. Apparently it could have faster loading times and faster scrolling dialogue text, but it wasn't all that noticeable to me.

Still, this is a faithful version of the game. One I would possibly suggest over the original, because I like the controller a lot better. If you ever wanted to buy more iQue Player games, there are two ways: The first was that you would have to connect to an iQue kiosk, which you would find at a gas station or places like that. You would unplug the iQue memory card from the bottom of the system, plug it into the kiosk, and simply download the games. The second way was to connect your iQue Player to a USB connector on your computer and download games from the iQue Player website.

Around 2006, the latest iQue Player game, "Animal Crossing", was released. The website to download the iQue Player software at home is still active, but no new games have been released since then, bringing the total number of iQue games to 14. However, after all this, a sequel was never released. of this system. No Nintendo home console after the Nintendo 64 came to the Chinese market under the iQue brand. And with China's video game console ban lifted in 2015, it's highly unlikely that another strange plug-n-play version of one of Nintendo's home consoles will be released that way. The iQue Player is a very strange device that was specifically designed to avoid some legal problems in China.

And honestly, there is no reason for a system like this to exist today. I consider this console to be a pretty good collectible, not because it is released in China and is very difficult to get, but because it is possibly one of the best controllers Nintendo has ever released. I mean, look at it! It's really an Xbox controller with a bunch of Nintendo 64 buttons. That's fantastic. This is one of the best systems they have ever released and I really wish they had released it in North America. In fact, Nintendo, if you want to re-release something and you want to do it for fun, try this one!

We never had this in our market. If Nintendo could release this here, it could be a huge hit. But they probably won't do that. So if you ever see one of these in the wild, you should try it! You could consider this to be one of the best Nintendo consoles you've ever played. Captions by Jacob Davis (Twitter @JacobDavis1992) Special thanks to Syd Bolton and The Personal Computer Museum for allowing us to borrow this device for so long. Thanks, Syd.