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In certain areas of the gaming world, consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One aren’t readily available. Naturally, cheap knockoffs have been crafted to tap into the high demand. We’ve seen some crazy and often hilarious gaming console knockoffs over the years that go so far as to use familiar designs and naming. Here’s a look at seven of the best examples of gaming console knockoffs the world has ever seen.
1. Game Theory Admiral
We’re relatively sure that Subor just looked for random words in the dictionary when naming this obvious Game Boy Advance clone. The cartridge-based Chinese gaming system is sold with the tagline, “Appearance of high accuracy color.” Clearly, its marketing team knows what it’s doing.
It might look like a Game Boy Advance, but it’s missing shoulder buttons and the d-pad is so cheaply made that you’ll probably grind off your thumb trying to play games with it.
It is capable of playing NES games, provided you purchase an NES to Famicom cartridge converter. I suppose that’s a neat feature, but you’re probably better off just buying an NES or SNES Classic for the same price.
2. Ouye
Ok, let’s digest this one by one: It’s named Ouye, almost the same as the Ouya yet somehow even less pronounceable. The console is shaped almost exactly the same as the PlayStation 4. It has a controller shaped exactly like the Xbox One controller. Whoever thought this was a good idea is insane.
The good news is that the Kickstarter for this project was shut down early due to negative feedback, so it’ll never actually exist. It almost did, though, and that fact alone is depressing.
3. PCPStation
While not exactly the most elegant name, PCPStation kind of has a ring to it, doesn’t it? Don’t be won over too easily, though. This is definitely not the sort of thing you want to take with you during a bus ride or vacation.
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Sure, it’s just a Sony PSP made with the kind of low-quality plastic you expect from a Fisher Price toy and is only capable of playing a few games that aren’t worth even a minute of your time, but at least they tried. By “they,” we are obviously referring to the team of people on PCP who made this monstrosity.
4. PolyStation
Yes, it really says, “It’s jist not a game anymore” on the box. The PolyStation is the most well-known gaming console knockoff in history. This travesty doesn’t make any effort to hide that it’s just a really bad clone of the original PlayStation, with matching controllers and all. “The Poly Machine,” as they call it, is actually a best-seller. Despite it appearing to be a CD-ROM based console, it’s just an NES hardware clone, so don’t get too excited.
5. Treamcast
The Dreamcast died. This should have, too. The least it could have done is also steal the Dreamcast’s amazing controller. Why would you replicate the Sega Genesis controller of all things? Come on.
The LCD display attached to the console comes standard, allowing you to play just about any Dreamcast game while on the go. Well, provided you have a power outlet to plug it into. While the Treamcast had a good run, SEGA eventually managed to halt its production after a series of aggressive lawsuits. Good on them.
6. WiWi
As stupid of a name as WiWi is, it’s still better than Wii U. And actually, this console is probably better than the Wii U. Not that that’s a hard thing to achieve or anything.
Surprisingly, it is capable of delivering a working motion control experience, albeit an inconsistent one. Using cartridge games, most of its titles are related to sports that closely emulate the best-selling Wii Sports.
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Notice all the buttons on the motion controllers. Good luck pressing them while trying to fling the controller around like a baseball bat, all while the sensor is having trouble tracking your movements.
7. X-Game 360
While this might look like something you’d win for a few tokens at an arcade, it’s actually relatively well-known in Central America alongside the Powerstation 3. Much of its popularity is owed to Microsoft taking over a year to make the Xbox 360 available in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking territories, and by the time it arrived, it was extremely pricey ($899 in Brazil, for example).
You could say that the XGame 360 was primed for success despite really just being an NES emulator. Needless to say, many children were disappointed by their birthday gifts that year.
