POPStation

A **POPStation** is a cheaply produced handheld gaming console, often with an outer casing designed to resemble either a major handheld console such as the PlayStation Portable, or another well-known consumer electronics product, such as a BlackBerry mobile phone. POPStations are characterised by their gameplay (which is generally near-impossible to follow due to the poor-quality LCD screens); and by their primitive sound effects, often nothing more than beeping.

A typical POPStation has a D-pad and six buttons: A; B; On/Off; Reset; Start/Pause and Sound. In some cases, the D-pad is replaced with four buttons, one for each direction. Additionally, more buttons that this may be present, though they generally do nothing, and some models place some or all of the buttons on a separate controller that plugs into the unit. A few models featured on the Ashens channel have come with two controllers, or the same controls on both a controller and the main unit, suggesting a two-player capability, though this has never been demonstrated in an Ashens video.

Stuart Ashen often uses the packaging, safety information and instruction manuals that come with POPStations as a source of amusements in his videos: poorly translated or irrelevant text and stolen artwork is common.

## Models

Many models of POPStation have been reviewed on the Ashens channel.

### "Original" POPStation

This model features in the first POPStation video, and second video on the Ashens channel overall, entitled *POPstation review (PSP Rip off)* and published in March 2006. The game on the example featured in the original is Soccer. A subsequent video, *POPstation - Submarine Invasion mini-review*, demonstrated Submarine Invasion. It appears that this model was also sold with City Fighter and Fortress Guardian.

### Neo Double Games

The second POPStation to feature on Ashens, and the first to come with multiple games playable on one unit, is a knock-off of the Nintendo DS. As with all multi-game POPStations, the games are interchanged by removing a cartridge including the whole screen and clipping another one in. The cartridge in use fits into the upper part of the DS, while the other one fits into the lower part, seemingly to mimic the two screens of the DS.

One of the units reviewed by Stuart comes with Soccer and City Fighter. A subsequent video demonstrated Fortress Guardian, and Submarine Invasion was also advertised on the back of the box.

### PolyStation3

This unit is a knock-off of the Sony PlayStation 3, and was the first POPStation on Ashens to feature a separate controller. The game on this unit was Formula 1, with a variety of others advertised but not reviewed, including Soccer, Basketball, Submarine Invasion and City Fighter. On the unit reviewed by Ashens, the sound was not working.

### Pro-Pop

This unit features in the video *Pro-Pop and Neo Quad Games Review,* and is a knock-off of the Apple iPod - instead of a D-pad, there is a large circle designed to resemble Apple's "click wheel", with directional control achieved by pressing the top, bottom, left or right of the wheel. The edge of the screen is illuminated by bright white LEDs, which, according to Stuart, are unpleasant to look at and make the games difficult to play.

The featured games are City Fighter and Basketball.

### Neo Quad Games

"Neo Quad Games" is a name given by Stuart to a device similar to the Neo Double Games, but with four games instead of two. It features in the video *Pro-Pop and Neo Quad Games Review.* The games featured are City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"), Thunderbolt Helicopter (as "Helicopter"), Soccer (as "Football"), and Submarine Invasion (as "SeaLand Aviation War").

### ZC-868A / Thunderclap Attack

This unit features in the video *POP Station Watch 2: GBA SP Rip-Off* and is a knock-off of the Nintendo GameBoy Advance SP. The featured games are City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"), Formula 1 (as "Racing Car", and reskinned as "Motorcycle" and "Supreme Skiing"), Soccer, Basketball and Submarine Invasion (as "Sea-Sky War").

### ZC-952 / Notebook Action Game

This unit is designed to resemble a netbook, with an unusually large 7-inch display. It features in the video *POP Station Watch 3: Netbook Rip-off.* The controls are in the form of buttons on the underside of a controller designed to look like a computer mouse. In all other ways, this is a standard POPStation unit, with the game City Fighter.

### ZC-2032 / Game & Radio

This is another PlayStation Portable knockoff, but is slightly unusual by POPStation standards in that it does not use any of the standard games, instead featuring a brick game on an LCD screen which appears to be backlit with a single blue LED. It also contains an FM radio tuner, - according to the video featuring this unit, *POP Station Watch 4: Fake PSP v2*, functions quite effectively.

### ZX-338 / fighting game championships

This is yet another PlayStation Portable knockoff, this time with interchangeable games. The games, specifically, are Soccer (as "Football Match"), City Fighter, Formula 1 (as "Blazing Autocycle"), Submarine Invasion (as "Persian Gulf Battle") and Fortress Guardian (as "Space Counter Strike"). This unit has the real (albeit presumably illegally used) PSP logo, rather than the POPStation logo. It features in the video *POP Station Watch.*

### X-Changeable LCD Game Pack

A knock-off of the original Xbox, featured in the video *POP Station Watch 5: Xbox Rip-off Thing*, with the games City Fighter, Submarine Invasion, Fortress Guardian (as "Space Guardian"), Soccer (as "Soccer Champion"), and Formula 1 (as "Motorbike Race").

### PCP-8009 / PCP Station Game Advance

This unit is featured in the video *PCP Station Review,* with City Fighter (as Street Overlord), Thunderbolt Airplane and Super Mary. Despite being ostensibly a knock-off of the PCP, it is white and grey rather than black, and has Xbox-style coloured X, Y, A and B buttons.

### PCP-8063 / PCP Station Game Advance

The unit featured in *Another PCP Station Review* is similar to the previous unit, but silver and smaller. The featured games are Fortress Guardian (as "Space-Time Tercel"), F-22 Fighter Planes (an unknown game, as the cartridge was broken), Submarine Invasion (as "Championship on the Sea"), and City Fighter as ("This King of Fighters").

### XY-930 GAME / Retieval Mankind's Batman

This unit is in the shape of the Batman logo. It features in the video *POP Station Watch 6: Retieval Mankind's Batman.* There are four games: City Fighter (as "Knight Erranf Walk" on the packaging and "Hero in the World" on the unit), Thunderbolt Helicopter ("Dragonfly Battle Team" and "King of Air"), Soccer ("Hero of Ball land" and "Football Gbound of Legend") and Submarine Invasion ("Huge Warship Action" and "Strong Whale on the Sea").

Retieval Mankind's Batman has some unique features compared to other POPStations. To the left of the screen is an LED, which flashes in time with the music and sound effects in game, and which Stuart made a point of covering with electrical tape before starting to play the games. Also, apparently to overcome problems in previous models where they would fail to correctly detect which game was installed, which game is being played is selected with a switch rather than being detected automatically.

### 3D Color Game

This model featured in *POP Station Watch 7: 3D Color Games.* Its unique feature is that the display is inverted and faces a mirror, and the game is played by looking at the mirror rather than the display itself. Games are not interchangeable, but Stuart demonstrates four different variants, with City Fighter (as "Super Fighter"), Formula 1 (as "Rally Thunder"), Submarine Invasion (as "Submarine Attack") and an unusual variant of Soccer.

### WZ-889 / WLL

This is styled to look like a Nintendo Wii Remote (though there are no motion controls or haptic feedback), and features the games Soccer, Basketball, City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"), and Formula 1 ( as "Racing Car", and reskinned as "Snow Boarder") . The game cartridges themselves are not labelled, and the game names appear only on the outer packaging.

Stuart pronounces the name "WLL" phonetically in a high-pitched voice when he reviews this unit, in the video *POP Station Watch 8 - A New Wii Rip-Off, The WLL.*

### ZC-763A / 7-in-1 Multichangeable Cartridge

Styled to look like a Blackberry-style mobile phone, this unit comes with seven games - Submarine Invasion, Fortress Guardian (as "Space Guardian"), City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"), Formula 1 (as Racing Car, and reskinned as "Supreme Skiing"), Super Mary and Anti-Terrorism, which appears a heavy reskin of Sumbarine Invasion. It is covered in the video *POP Station Watch 9: Fake Blackberry.*

### AX-688 / Angry Birds vs Plants vs Zombies

This is a similar-looking unit to the PCP-8063, but white. It features knock-off versions of the then-popular mobile games *Angry Birds* and *Plants Vs Zombies*, rather than the traditional POPStation games. It is featured in the video *POP Station Watch 10: Angry Birds & Plants vs Zombies.*

### 8 in 1 Changeable Program

This is a very generic-looking unit - possibly a knock-off of the GameBoy Micro -, featuring City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"), Submarine Invasion (as "Sea and Aviation War"), Basketball, Football and Formula 1 (as "Racing Car", and reskinned as "Skee", "Skateboat" and Motorcycle).

The video this features in, *POP Station Watch 2015,* was the first after several years of not covering POPStations on the Ashens channel.

### XY-8016 / Palm Game Electronic

This is another fairly generic-looking unit , in two-tone grey. The featured games are City Fighter (as "Street Overlord" and reskinned as "Chanticleer Hegemony"), Thunderbolt Airplane, Super Mary and Formula 1 (as "Nonsuch Racing"). It features in *POP Station Watch : Chanticleer Hegemony.*

### FIGHT!

This is another knock-off of the GameBoy Micro. It is featured in the video *POP Station Watch: Fake Gameboy Micro.* It features only one game: City Fighter. The audio volume is unusually quiet, and the start/pause button is called "P/S" rather than "S/P". Additionally, it has a keyring on a short chain.

### Gamze 3 in one games console

This has three games, which are selected by twisting part of the unit. It features City Fighter (as "Kung-Fu"), Submarine Invasion (as "Submarine"), and a maze game, not seen anywhere else, known as "Piranha Man". It is featured in *POP Station Watch - Gamze, Cool Eye King*.

### Cool Eye King

This has an unusual form factor where the games slot into a moulded plastic character's back. The games are Submarine Invasion (as "Sea and Space Fighting"), Soccer (as "Foot Ball") and City Fighter (as "Street Overlord"). It features in *POP Station Watch - Gamze, Cool Eye King | Ashens.*

### SY-712 / Subway Surfers

This is a bright pink unit which plays a knock-off of the mobile game Subway Surfers, called "Sub Way Suaffas". In all other ways it is very similar to previous POPStations, and even carries the "POPStation" logo. It features in *POP Station Watch: Subway Surfers.*