
IQue Player

The iQue Player (, stylised as iQue "PLAYER) is a home video game console that was manufactured by iQue, a joint venture between Nintendo and Chinese-American scientist Wei Yen after China had made claims of banning video games. The system's Chinese name was Shén Yóu Ji" (神游机), literally "Divine Gaming Machine". "Shényóu" (神游) serves a double entendre because the term also means "to make a mental journey". Although the console was never released in any English-speaking countries, the name "iQue Player" appears in the console's instruction manual. The console itself takes the form of the controller and plugs directly into the television. A box accessory is available that allows multiplayer gaming. It was only marketed in mainland China, as the console's unusual game distribution method is an attempt to curb game piracy in that region.
Games for the iQue Player are stored on a 64 MB flash card which is contained within a cartridge that plugs directly into the controller/console. Games were purchased at a special "iQue depot", where games could be downloaded onto the cartridge and played later, in a similar manner to the Famicom Disk System, Satellaview, Nintendo 64DD and Nintendo DS Download Play. Games could also be downloaded by connecting the iQue to a PC. Time-limited demos that come with the iQue include "", "Super Mario 64", and "Star Fox 64". Full versions of the three titles are available, as are other first party Nintendo titles such as "Dr. Mario 64", "Mario Kart 64", "Wave Race 64", and "F-Zero X".
Technical details.
The iQue Player is based on the Nintendo 64, but uses system-on-a-chip technology to reduce size. It plays Nintendo 64 games specifically ported to the system.
Main menu.
Once the player has turned on the system, the iQue logo will appear. Then, an image of a character from a game will appear alongside some options, selectable using the stick, such as "游戏" (games), "管理" (management), and in some cases "俱乐部" (club, referencing iQue Club), and it will say to press the A button to continue. Once the player has entered the games menu, the system lists the games and demos that the player owns and some info on each, such as size, name and status.
Once the player has selected a game with the stick, they can press the A button to start it. A warning will appear, the "healthy gaming advice" screen required to be shown by Chinese law, followed by a screen with some more information about the game, such as its ISBN (if it has one). The first time a game is played after having been transferred to the console, a loading bar will also appear as the console 'recrypts' (i.e. applies a second layer of encryption using a randomly-generated key) the game.
If the player instead presses the Z button on the highlighted game, a menu will appear allowing the player to allocate memory pak files for the game, if this feature is required.
The console allows parents to set a limit on the usage of the console, similar to parental controls in modern consoles, in the management menu. The first item in the menu, "设置密码" (set password), can be used to enable a 4-digit code that must be entered correctly to access the menu. The second item, "设置时钟" (set time), is used to set the console's RTC (this option only has an effect if the console's internal battery is not depleted). The third item, "设置游戏时间" (set gaming time), allows a parent to set a limit on the amount of time that can be spent playing games, selectable from values starting at 00:00 and increasing in 30-minute increments until 08:00, with one more option for 24:00 (essentially removing the limit). The final item, "密码过期时间" (password expiration date), allows a date to be set for the password and other settings to expire, allowing the console to be used normally.
On older firmware versions, the player can also start the iQue Club application from the main menu, which allows them to set a username, phone number, date of birth, gender and address.
Online services.
The iQue Player has online services for buying games, cloud storage, game updates, etc. Currently, there is only one online service for the iQue Player, which is broadband based. In the past, some gas stations had a kiosk based service for accessing games.
iQue Depot.
The iQue depot is a network of kiosks that allows users to download games, update games, and more. Each game comes with a game code that can be used so the user can download the game. Players can also store their games on the iQue Depot network for free. Users must be a member of the iQue Club and have a special iQue Ticket to download games.
iQue@Home.
iQue@Home (神游在线, "iQue Online") was an online service that allowed users to get free access to trial software, update their system, purchase games and more, at home. To connect to the iQue@Home service, players connected the iQue Player to their computer via USB. Games were downloaded onto the computer, in a similar manner to an MP3 player. The user needed an "iQue Ticket", which was similar to a gift card and was used to purchase games. iQue@Home was only compatible with iQue Players that had been upgraded to one of the two most recent firmware versions. The drivers for the iQue Player only support 32-bit versions of Windows, and cannot run on 64-bit or non-Windows operating systems.
Accessories.
iQue Card.
The iQue Card (神游卡) is bundled with the system. It is required to start the system and to load the games. The games, the console's operating system and the game saves, as well as various other system files, are stored on the iQue Card.
Multiplayer Box.
The iQue Player Multiplayer Box (共游盒) is a multitap, and is required to play local multiplayer. The Multiplayer Box has four ports; one for the main iQue Player system, and three for Multiplayer Controllers. Due to this design, only one iQue Player system can be used, and the other players must use Multiplayer Controllers. When using the Multiplayer Box, the iQue Player system is Player 1.
Multiplayer Controller.
The Multiplayer Controller (共游机) is used for local multiplayer. The Multiplayer Controller connects to the Multiplayer Box, and can't load games alone. Games have to be loaded on the iQue Player system.
History.
Development.
China has a large black market for video games and usually only a few games officially make it to the Chinese market. Many Chinese gamers tend to purchase pirated cartridge or disc copies or download ROMs and ISOs to play via emulator. Nintendo wanted to curb the software piracy in China, and bypass the ban that the Chinese government has implemented on home game consoles since 2000. Nintendo partnered with Wei Yen, who helped Nintendo in other projects, and together they created a game system to get around China's black market, as well as loophole through the government's ban. Originally, the system would support games released on Nintendo consoles prior to the GameCube, which include the NES, Super NES and Nintendo 64, but later in the system's development, it was decided only to include Nintendo 64 games. Additionally, "" was going to be included in the software library but it was later cancelled; however, the game's promotional picture is still on the back of the box.
Release.
The iQue Player was released on November 17, 2003 with a few launch titles. Nintendo's strategy to market games in China was to show how video games can help improve children's mental and social development. However, the launch was not successful. The total estimated sales was between 8,000 and 12,000 units. At first, the only way to get games was to buy them via the iQue Depot, but in 2009, Nintendo released iQue@Home to download games at home. The last game for the console, Animal Crossing (动物森林, "Animal Forest") was released in 2006.
Discontinuation.
On October 31, 2016, iQue reported that iQue@Home service would be discontinued by the end of December 2016. The service was gradually phased out until the content distribution servers went offline in 2018.
Games.
The iQue Player's library has 14 games. All these games were released for the Nintendo 64 in Europe, North America and Japan prior to the iQue Player. One game - ' - was cancelled and another - a Traditional Chinese version of ' - was completed but never announced.
Differences.
iQue Player games differ slightly from their Nintendo 64 counterparts, with the text and voices having been translated to Chinese. The only exceptions are the "Mario" games and the previously Japan-only title "Sin and Punishment", where the text has been translated while the voices remain in English. Additionally, many glitches and errors from the original games have been fixed. Some features were removed due to the system's lack of support for Nintendo 64 controller accessories like the Rumble Pak. Due to this, many games that originally supported the rumble feature no longer support it. Some features were added. Many games that allow the player to enter their name now have the option to use their iQue Player's username, which can be set at the iQue Player's main menu. Speedruns of several games, such as "" and "Star Fox 64", are sometimes carried out on the iQue Player due to quicker loading times and faster scrolling text than the Nintendo 64 versions.
Nintendo had plans to support network multiplayer in games that originally only supported local multiplayer, which would work in a similar manner to that of an emulator.