Mega Duck

Mega Duck

The Mega Duck console.
Also known as	Cougar Boy
Manufacturer	Welback Holdings
Type	Handheld video game console
Release date	1993 (1993)
Introductory price	fl 129 (Netherlands)
System on a chip	Custom
CPU	Sharp LR35902 @ 4.194304 MHz (embedded in custom made SoC)
Memory	16 KB RAM (Goldstar GM76C88LFW)
Graphics	160×144 pixels
Sound	Built in speaker
Controller input	4 directional keys, A, B, Select and Start keys
Power	Four AA batteries or AC adapter 6VDC/300mA
Mass	249 g (w/o batteries)

The Mega Duck WG-108 (also known as Cougar Boy) is a handheld game console that was developed and manufactured by Hong Kong-based Welback Holdings through its Timlex International division, and released in 1993.

It was marketed under various different brands worldwide including Creatronic and Videojet, and the shell of the console came in white or black plastic. It was sold for about fl 129 in the Netherlands, and for a similar price in France and Germany.

In South America (mainly in Brazil), the Chinese-made Creatronic version was distributed by Cougar USA, also known as "Cougar Electronic Organization", and sold as the "Cougar Boy". Cougar USA didn't release the Cougar Boy in its origin country.

The cartridges are very similar to those of the Watara Supervision, but slightly narrower with fewer contacts (36 pins, whereas Supervision cartridges have 40). Conceptually, the electronics inside the Supervision and the Mega Duck are also very similar. The position of the volume controls, contrast controls, buttons, and connectors are virtually identical. However, the LCD of the Supervision is larger than the Mega Duck's.

The Cougar Boy came with a four-in-one game cartridge and a stereo earphone.

With an external joystick (not included) two players could play against each other simultaneously.

A variant in the form of an educational laptop for children was released in Germany by Hartung as the Mega Duck Super Junior Computer, and in Brazil as the Super QuiQue. An extra accessory called the Mega Duck Printer was also released for this variant.

Technical specifications

The Mega Duck open.

The Mega Duck features a multi board design, separating the motherboard, LCD, and controller PCB into three different assemblies. The battery compartment is found on the back casing, being the contacts connected by wires and soldered onto the main board.

• CPU: Sharp LR35902 (Z80-like, embedded in the main VLSI)
• Clockspeed: 4.194304 MHz
• RAM: 16 KB in two 8K chips (Goldstar GM76C88LFW)
• System logic: 80 pins VLSI chip
• LCD: 2.7" (48 (h) × 51 (w) mm) STN dot matrix. resolution 160×144 at 59.732155 Hz
• Grayscales: 4 levels of dark blue on a green background
• Player controls: 4 directional keys, A, B, Select and Start keys
• Other controls: On/off switch and contrast and volume regulators
• Sound: Built-in speaker (8Ω 200 mW) and stereo headset output
• Dimensions: 155 by 97 by 32 millimetres (6.1 in × 3.8 in × 1.3 in)
• Weight: 249 g (w/o batteries)
• Power: Four AA batteries or AC adapter 6 VDC / 300 mA
• Current consumption: 700 mW
• Play duration: 15 hours on one set of four AA batteries
• Expansion Interface: Serial link for two player games (6 pins), or external joystick.
• Game medium: 36 pins ROM cartridge, 63 (l) × 54 (w) mm and 7 mm thick, 17 gram.

The Video Display Controller of the Mega Duck/Cougar Boy has one special feature, the display logic uses two "display planes" that are used to create parallax scrolling backgrounds, as if the picture is drawn on two sheets of which the top sheet is partly transparent.

List of games

The Mega Duck and Cougar Boy with identical games for both systems.

This is an (incomplete) list of Mega Duck/Cougar Boy games. Each Mega Duck/Cougar Boy game is similarly labeled as the same games were marketed for both systems, although not all games were released for the Cougar Boy. The notation MDxxx is used for Mega Duck Games, and the notation CBxxx for a Cougar Boy Games. A MD002 is exactly the same game as the CB002, even to a point that some "Cougar Boy" games start up with a Mega Duck logo. Some notation numbers go unused, going up to 037, but missing 012 and 023 for example.

With the exception of the pack-in game for the Mega Duck (The Brick Wall) which was developed by the manufacturer, all games were developed by Thin Chen Enterprise under the "Sachen" and "Commin" brand names, and were later re-released for the Game Boy in 4-in-1 and 8-in-1 cartridges without the licence from Nintendo.

Although 24 cartridges (not counting Cougar Boy variants or add-ons for the Super Junior Computer) are known to exist, another game is listed on various websites called Tip & Tap, however, it is not known if the game was ever released, or if it existed at all.

   Background shading indicates games that have a Cougar Boy variant.

  # followed by a/b/c/d/e indicates included games in # cartridge.

#	Title	Developer	Release year
001	The Brick Wall	Timlex International	1993
002	Street Rider	Commin	1993
003	Bomb Disposer	Commin	1993
004	Vex	Commin	1993
005	Suleiman's Treasure	Commin	1993
006	Arctic Zone	Commin	1993
007	Magic Maze	Commin	1993
008	Puppet Knight	Commin	1993
009	Trap and Turn	Commin	1993
010	Pile Wonder	Commin	1993
011	Captain Knick Knack	Sachen	1993
013	Black Forest tale	Commin	1993
014	Armour Force	Commin	1993
018	Snake Roy	Sachen	1993
019	Railway	Sachen	1993
021	Beast Fighter	Sachen	1993
026	Ant Soldiers	Sachen	1993
028	2nd Space	Sachen	1993
029	Magic Tower	Sachen	1993
030	Worm Visitor	Sachen	1993
031	Duck Adventures	Commin	1993
035	Four in One	Sachen	1993
035a	Virus Atack	Sachen	1993
035b	Electron World	Sachen	1993
035c	Trouble Zone	Sachen	1993
035d	Dice Block	Sachen	1993
036	Commin Five in one	Commin	1993
036a	Store Tris 1	Commin	1993
036b	Store Tris 2	Commin	1993
036c	Taiwan Mahjong	Commin	1993
036d	Japan Mahjong	Commin	1993
036e	Hong Kong Mahjung	Commin	1993
037	Zipball	Sachen	1993