History Platform / SuperACan

* [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]: UMC [=UM6618=] with 128 KB VRAM displaying 256 out of a possible 32,768 colors at 320x240 resolution. Max sprite size of 256x256. Supports scaling and rotation similar to Mode 7.

Despite being of little value to all but the most dedicated of video game historians and collectors[[note]]It's actually considered a, if not ''the'', holy grail of console collecting due to its rarity outside Taiwan (it's been said that you can count the number of A'Cans in North America on one hand) but given that games are just as hard to find as the console and there's not many of them to begin with it ends up being just a display piece. In other words, this is what collectors go for when they've already acquired everything else. If you ''really'' want one your best bet is simply going to Taiwan and seeing if any used games stores have one, though they're not particularly common even there, especially 25 years later[[/note]], the A'Can became an interesting footnote in video gaming history owing to it being perhaps one of the few original video game hardware released by a Taiwanese company, besides living on in the form of a UsefulNotes/{{MESS}} [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?9741-Super-A-can-emulation-finally-a-reality-D emulator core]] for posterity's sake.

* FollowTheLeader: The Taiwanese company wanted a piece of the pie in the console market, but unlike most who simply clone the NES and call it a day[[note]]Though others, namely BBK Electronics, later of Oppo, Vivo and [=OnePlus=] fame, [[https://helloacm.com/the-8-bit-dos-by-famicom-clone-bbgdos-in-the-1990s/ did expand upon the NES]] to some degree or release original consoles such as the UsefulNotes/{{Supervision}}[[/note]], this one is a more or less original effort if not for ripping off the Genesis in some way e.g. the processor and (cancelled) peripherals.

A noble but ultimately half-hearted attempt by Funtech, a subsidiary of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Microelectronics_Corporation UMC]], to compete with the more established consoles, the '''Super A'Can''' marked a departure from the countless [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct clones]] and bootleg games being churned out by shady companies in Taiwan and China during the 80s and 90s.

By the looks of it, you'd initially think this is nothing more than an [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] clone, and there is indeed a resemblance. Under the bonnet however is a Motorola 68000, the same architecture as used in the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh amongst others. By all intents and purposes, this made the A'Can essentially a Genesis of sorts, though on paper it boasted superior capabilities to the Genesis and SNES with faster clock speed, bigger RAM, the same amount of colours as the SNES, 16-channel PCM audio, as well as bigger and more sprites per screen...

...if not for the fact that it was released too late in the market, just as gamers were more excited about the ''real'' next-generation consoles - the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, all of them obviously able to effortlessly smoke the A'Can both on paper and in practical terms. That, coupled with the combined mind share of foreign consoles versus a homegrown console nobody has heard of, let alone care about, along with UMC's dubious reputation for copyright and patent infringement[[note]]UMC infamously produced chipsets and related circuitry used on NES clones and bootleg cartridges, much to Nintendo's dismay, besides a clone of the Intel 486 called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMC_Green_CPU Green CPU]][[/note]], sealed the A'Can's fate and brought the console and Funtech to oblivion. With the console discontinued, unsold units were scrapped and UMC left the console business, shifting its focus on being a merchant foundry instead, manufacturing chips under contract for various [=OEMs=].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/super_acan_console_set_h.jpg]]

By the looks of it, you'd initially think this is nothing more than an [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] clone, and there is indeed a resemblance. Under the bonnet however is a Motorola 68000, the same architecture as used in the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh amongst others. By all intents and purposes, this made the A'Can essentially a Genesis of sorts, though on paper it [[UpToEleven boasted superior capabilities]] to the Genesis and SNES with faster clock speed, bigger RAM, the same amount of colours as the SNES, 16-channel PCM audio, as well as bigger and more sprites per screen...

* UpToEleven: The console's capabilities are a notch or two above both the Genesis and SNES, but at the time of its release, it couldn't hold a candle to the [=PS1=] and Saturn, let alone the Nintendo 64.

Despite being of little value to all but the most dedicated of video game historians and collectors[[note]]It's actually considered a, if not ''the'', holy grail of console collecting due to its rarity outside Taiwan (it's been said that you can count the number of A'Cans in North America on one hand) but given that games are just as hard to find as the console and there's not many of them to begin with it ends up being just a display piece. If you ''really'' want one your best bet is simply going to Taiwan and seeing if any used games stores have one, though they're not particularly common even there, especially 25 years later[[/note]], the A'Can became an interesting footnote in video gaming history owing to it being perhaps one of the few original video game hardware released by a Taiwanese company, besides living on in the form of a UsefulNotes/{{MESS}} [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?9741-Super-A-can-emulation-finally-a-reality-D emulator core]] for posterity's sake.

Despite being of little value to all but the most dedicated of video game historians and collectors, the A'Can became an interesting footnote in video gaming history owing to it being perhaps one of the few original video game hardware released by a Taiwanese company, besides living on in the form of a UsefulNotes/{{MESS}} [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?9741-Super-A-can-emulation-finally-a-reality-D emulator core]] for posterity's sake.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Microelectronics_Corporation UMC]]'s noble but ultimately half-hearted attempt to compete with the more established consoles, the Super A'Can marked a departure from the countless [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct clones]] and bootleg games being churned out by shady companies in Taiwan and China during the 80s and 90s.

By the looks of it, you'd initially think this is nothing more than an SNES clone, and there is indeed a resemblance. Under the bonnet however is a Motorola 68000, the same architecture as used in the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh amongst others. By all intents and purposes, this made the A'Can essentially a Genesis of sorts, though on paper it [[UpToEleven boasted superior capabilities]] to the Genesis and SNES with faster clock speed, bigger RAM, the same amount of colours as the SNES, 16-channel PCM audio, as well as bigger and more sprites per screen...

* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Most of the A'Can's game library is this, like ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwMsUC-rAU Speedy Dragon]]'' being more or less a ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' clone with a human protagonist. In fairness they aren't simply hacks with assets lifted off popular video game franchises, but their lack of originality and depth made gamers snub the system. This is besides the fact that the console itself is of poor build quality compared to its rivals.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: Suffice it to say, UMC aka Funtech was waaaaaay too late for the 16-bit party, just as when more advanced systems showed up on the marketplace. The A'Can was basically dead on arrival when it was released in 1995.

* Video RAM: 128MB

Plans for peripherals similar to the Genesis, namely a CD-ROM addon and a 32X-esque co-processor were announced, but those never panned out due to the console's failure, leaving the expansion port on the A'Can unused.

Despite being of little value to all but the most dedicated of video game historians and collectors, the A'Can became an interesting footnote in video gaming history owing to it being perhaps the only original video game hardware released by a Taiwanese company, besides living on in the form of a UsefulNotes/{{MESS}} [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?9741-Super-A-can-emulation-finally-a-reality-D emulator core]] for posterity's sake.

...if not for the fact that it was released too late in the market, just as when gamers were more excited about the ''real'' next-generation consoles - the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, all of them obviously able to effortlessly smoke the A'Can both on paper and in practical terms. That, coupled with the combined mind share of foreign consoles versus a homegrown console nobody has heard of, let alone care about, along with UMC's dubious reputation for copyright and patent infringement[[note]]UMC infamously produced chipsets and related circuitry used on NES clones and bootleg cartridges, much to Nintendo's dismay, besides a clone of the Intel 486 called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMC_Green_CPU Green CPU]][[/note]], sealed the A'Can's fate and brought the console and Funtech to oblivion. With the console discontinued, unsold units were scrapped and UMC left the console business, shifting its focus on being a merchant foundry instead, manufacturing chips under contract for various [=OEMs=].

Despite being of little value to all but the most dedicated of video game historians and collectors, the A'Can became an interesting footnote in video gaming history owing to it being perhaps the only original video game hardware released by Taiwanese company, besides living on in the form of a UsefulNotes/{{MESS}} [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?9741-Super-A-can-emulation-finally-a-reality-D emulator core]] for posterity's sake.

* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Most of the A'Can's game library is this, like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwMsUC-rAU ''Speedy Dragon'']] being more or less a ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' clone with a human protagonist. In fairness they aren't simply hacks with assets lifted off popular video game franchises, but their lack of originality and depth made gamers snub the system. This is besides the fact that the console itself is of poor build quality compared to its rivals.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Addons for the system were proposed and announced in local magazines, taking a page from Sega's Genesis, but given how the system failed miserably in the marketplace, would anyone care much about it?

* ''Sango Fighter'' (1995)

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Suffice it to say, UMC aka Funtech was waaaaaay too late for the 16-bit party, just as when more advanced systems showed up on the marketplace. The A'Can was simply dead on arrival when it was released in 1995.

...if not for the fact that it was released too late in the market, just as when gamers were more excited about the ''real'' next-generation consoles - the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, all of them obviously able to effortlessly smoke the A'Can both on paper and in practical terms. That, coupled with the combined mind share of foreign consoles versus a homegrown console nobody has heard of, let alone care about, along with UMC's dubious reputation for copyright and patent infringement, sealed the A'Can's fate and brought the console to certain obscurity. Plans for peripherals similar to the Genesis, namely a CD-ROM addon and a 32X-esque co-processor were made, but those never panned out due to the console's failure, leaving the expansion port on the A'Can unused.

* [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]: UMC [=UM6618=] with 128 KB VRAM displaying 256 out of a possible 32,768 colors at 320x240 resolution. Max sprite size of 256x256. Supports zooming, rotating, mosaic effects.

* 256 colours out of 32,768

* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Most of the A'Can's game library is this, like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwMsUC-rAU ''Speedy Dragon'']] being more or less a ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' clone with a human protagonist. In fairness they aren't simply hacks with assets lifted off popular video game franchises, but their lack of originality and depth made gamers snub the system.

* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Most of the A'Can's game library is this. In fairness they aren't simply hacks with assets lifted off popular video game franchises, but their lack of originality and depth made gamers snub the system.

* [[UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit Main CPU]]: Motorola 68000, clocked at 10.738635 [=MHz=]
* Secondary CPU: MOS 6502

* ''Magical Pool'' (1996)