1990 · Bit · Taiwan · handheld
Bit Corporation Gamate
A Taiwanese Game Boy clone with a screen you could barely read.
A curiosity Trivial to run ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Image: Miguel Durán · CC BY-SA 2.5
A 1990 Game Boy clone from Taiwan's Bit Corporation, hampered by a blurry, ghosting screen and a library nobody remembers. It sold in odd corners of the world — South America, southern Europe, Australia — and then vanished.
Its cartridges were unlicensed clones of arcade staples, the sort of thing that filled a service-station bargain bin.
What it cost
a rounding error against a month’s pay in 1990 · about $144 today
| US launch list price ($59.99 with Cube-Up) |
$59.99 (1990)
Taiwanese 8-bit cartridge handheld developed by Bit Corporation. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈100,000 estimate Estimated 100,000 units sold. |
Why it mattered
The Gamate is a specimen of the wave of cheap Game Boy clones that trailed Nintendo's success — interesting as a market phenomenon, not for anything on its cartridges.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | Mupen64Plus / MAME (gamate driver) |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Trivial to run (0 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | A standard modern controller covers the ordinary controls, though unusual accessories may need custom mapping. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
Firmware
This system needs no firmware file. Install an emulator, open a game, and it runs.
How many files you need: none to go and find. No separate firmware file is needed for an ordinary setup.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Libretro documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
Preservation catalogues describe verified dumps; they do not grant permission to download commercial software. A curated, correctly matched set is easier to use than an undifferentiated archive.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Cross Cube 1990 puzzle
- Space Wars 1990 shooter
The verdict
A curiosity for handheld-clone collectors; the games are forgettable.
There is no reason to play this over a Game Boy — it exists as a footnote.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about obscure handhelds and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 2/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.