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 iQue Player console/controller | |
| Developer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | iQue |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fifth |
| Release date |
|
| Introductory price | CN¥498 |
| Discontinued | 2016 |
| CPU | MIPS R-4300i @ 140.625 MHz |
| Memory | 8 MB |
| Graphics | SGIRCP @ 62.5 MHz |
| Connectivity | USB (iQue@Home) |
| Best-selling game | Dr. Mario 64 (pack-in game) |
| Related | Nintendo 64 |
| Website | iQue(in Chinese) |
TheiQue Player (Chinese:神游机,romanized: Shén Yóu Jī,lit. 'God Gaming Machine') is ahandheld TV game version of theNintendo 64 console manufactured byiQue and released exclusively in China. It was developed as ajoint venture betweenNintendo andWei Yen following China's ban on the sale of home video game consoles. The console and controller are a single unit that plugs directly into a television, with a multiplayer accessory sold separately.[1]
The first part of itsChinese name,Shén Yóu, is adouble entendre meaning "to make a mental journey."
Due to the widespreadblack market for video games in China—where consumers often purchasedpirated cartridges or downloaded game files for use withconsole emulators—Nintendo sought to offer a secure and affordable official alternative.[2] The iQue Player adopted a handheld plug-and-play format to circumvent a 2000 ban by theMinistry of Culture on the sale of traditional home video game consoles.[3]
Nintendo established the iQue company in December 2002 as a joint venture with Taiwanese-American engineer Wei Yen, a veteran of prior Nintendo collaborations. Yen had served as Senior Vice President atSilicon Graphics during the early 1990s, where he played a key role in the creation of Project Reality, which later became theNintendo 64. His company, BroadOn, developed the cryptographic security system used in the iQue Player to deter piracy.
Although early development plans considered support forNES,Super NES, and Nintendo 64 titles, the final product was limited to Nintendo 64 games.
The iQue Player was officially announced at theTokyo Game Show in September 2003, with a planned launch in mid-October in major cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, and a broader nationwide rollout scheduled for 2004.[4][5]
To gain approval from theMinistry of Culture and potentially reverse the national ban on home video game consoles, Nintendo emphasized the educational and developmental benefits of gaming in its marketing strategy. The console featured a real-time clock, enabling parents to restrict playtime to specific hours. Upon launching a game, the system displayed a message discouraging prolonged play and encouraging regular breaks.
The launch of the iQue Player was slightly delayed to November 18, 2003, with a limited selection of fivelaunch games.[6][7] Sales of the iQue Player were modest, with estimates ranging between 8,000 and 12,000 units.[8]
The final localized game released for the platform wasAnimal Crossing in 2006.[9] On October 31, 2016, iQue announced that the iQue@Home service would be discontinued by the end of December that year.[10] Servers were gradually deactivated, and all digital distribution services ceased by 2018.
The iQue Player is a compact version of the Nintendo 64, usingsystem-on-a-chip technology to run Nintendo 64 games ported specifically for the system.
The iQue Player has been used inspeedrunning due to its faster loading times and quicker text scrolling compared to the Nintendo 64 versions.[11]
The iQue Player’s library comprises 14 titles, all based on Nintendo 64 games previously released in other regions. AlthoughThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was advertised on packaging and promotional materials, it was ultimately cancelled.[12][13]
Games were localized into Chinese with translated text and, in most cases, dubbed voice acting. However, some titles, such as theMario series andSin and Punishment, retained their original English voice tracks. Several games also included minor bug fixes and gameplay adjustments to account for the iQue Player’s lack of peripheral support, including theRumble Pak.
Game distribution followed a model similar to theFamicom Disk System andNintendo Power cartridge rewriting service in Japan. Users would bring their memory cards to retail iQue Depot kiosks to download games directly. In October 2004, Nintendo introduced iQue@Home, allowing users to connect the console to a PC via USB and download games from iQue’s servers.
With either system, games were bound to a specific console, a form ofdigital rights management (DRM). Games were downloaded to memory cards as encrypted files and re-encrypted on first launch using a console-specific private key. This system proved highly effective at deterring piracy, even in one of the world's most piracy-prone markets.[14]
The iQue Player was bundled with a memory card containing several games.Dr. Mario 64 was fully playable, whileSuper Mario 64,Star Fox 64,The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, andWave Race 64 were limited-time trials. The built-in real-time clock enforced trial limits based on minutes of play time. Full versions could later be purchased at kiosks or via iQue@Home without redownloading.
| † | Full gameincluded on the bundled memory card. |
| ‡ | Game demo included on the bundled memory card. |
| Original title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Dr. Mario 64 † | November 18, 2003 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ‡ | November 18, 2003 |
| Star Fox 64 ‡ | November 18, 2003 |
| Super Mario 64 ‡ | November 18, 2003 |
| Wave Race 64 ‡ | November 18, 2003 |
| Mario Kart 64 | December 25, 2003 |
| F-Zero X | February 25, 2004 |
| Yoshi's Story | March 25, 2004 |
| Paper Mario | June 8, 2004 |
| Sin and Punishment | September 25, 2004 |
| Excitebike 64 | June 15, 2005[15] |
| Super Smash Bros. | November 15, 2005 |
| Custom Robo | May 1, 2006 |
| Animal Crossing | June 1, 2006 |
