Watara Supervision

Lore & Background

The Supervision was exhibited as a prototype at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in 1992 and released before Christmas that year with eighteen launch titles. Its main marketing point was its low price: US$49.95 for the console and US$8.95 to US$14.95 per game, compared to the Game Boy at US$89.99. Advertisements emphasized this difference, with one British ad calling it 'the affordable hand-held games machine'. It was bundled with headphones, batteries, and Crystball. To keep costs down, Watara farmed out international marketing and distribution to third parties, leading to many regional versions: Watara Supervision (US, Canada, Colombia, Spain, Italy, Mexico), Quickshot Supervision (UK, Greece), Hartung Supervision (Germany, Netherlands), Tiger Boy (Taiwan, Hong Kong), Audio Sonic Supervision (Italy, France, other European countries), Vini Supervision (Denmark), Videojet Supervision (France), Magnum Supervision (US and Europe), Electrolab Supervision (Argentina), and Hypervision Hyberboy SW (Argentina). The Supervision was once offered as a final prize on the television game show Legends of the Hidden Temple and on Masters of the Maze, as well as on the premiere of The New Price is Right in 1994. Quickshot's UK version was heavily featured on ITV's gaming show Bad Influence!.

Reader's Guide

The Watara Supervision is notable as a direct budget competitor to the Game Boy, but it ultimately failed to unseat Nintendo's handheld. Reasons commonly cited include the poor quality screen prone to blurring, a general lack of games, and the simplistic nature of those released. Most games were developed in Taiwan or Hong Kong, so fans of big-name Western and Japanese developers were underwhelmed by the lack of support from those companies. Only a tiny handful of games were developed by third parties, including Sachen and the British developer B.I.T.S. Against Nintendo's popular franchises—Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Castlevania, Mega Man—the Supervision's games were of little interest. Soon after its release, the Game Boy Basic packaging option made the Game Boy more affordable at only ten dollars more, undermining the Supervision's budget strategy. A full color TV link was planned but cancelled due to the console's failure to make a major impression. More third-party games were planned for 1993, including movie licenses such as Rambo and Terminator, but never materialized. The Supervision has lived on through emulation (MESS), and as of 2020 the first aftermarket game, Assembloids by PriorArt, became available.

Did You Know?

• The Supervision could be linked to a TV via an official accessory, displaying games in four colors.
• It was bundled with headphones, batteries, and a Breakout clone titled Crystball.
• The Supervision was offered as a prize on the TV shows Legends of the Hidden Temple and The New Price is Right.