Macro Winners Electronics Ltd. is a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of game consoles, most notably the MiWi, which was founded in Taiwan in 1988[1]. The company is also known as "BS" (possibly standing for "Belsonic") which appears in its logo, and previously used the name "GameStar".
MiWi[]
The MiWi series is a line of game consoles designed to mimic the Nintendo Wii. Most of these consoles run on 16-bit hardware (mostly VT168, possibly also Sunplus SPG), although 32-bit versions are also listed on Macro Winners' website. The controllers do not use accelerometers to sense motion in the same way as the Wii's (or more advanced Wii clones such as the Sport Vii or the Conny Q3), but any sharp motion simply acts as another button press.
Some of the software supplied with MiWis is developed by Waixing, but the Miwi Xtra also includes 16 games developed by Cube Technology; they are stylistically different from Waixing's and do not include the Chinese copyright registration number which nearly always appears on Waixing's games' title screens.[2] The "interactive" sports games included in all versions seem to be a mixture of Waixing and Cube games.
The MiWi series should not be confused with the WiWi series by Qi Sheng Long, although at least one model of each console looks identical.
Other products[]
Some of Macro Winners' other products include:
- Mi-Guitar
- Mi-Fiit Aero DANZ
- V-Mega
- Andy Brown, a talking bear toy [3] who also seems to have acted as something of a mascot for the company, as he appeared on some of their console packaging from the era and in "Andy Brown's World", the V-Mega's built-in software.
- 88 in 1 joystick - contains 88 hacks of NES/Famicom games, some of these (unique to this joystick) appear to have been made by Cube Technology exclusively for Macro Winners themselves, but others are generic hacks which appear on many other Famicom clones, particularly Qi Sheng Long's. Has a cartridge port for a type of small cartridge which appears to be Macro Winners' proprietary design.
- V-pod - a handheld console, uses the same type of cartridge as the 88-in-1
- 2000 Educational Computer
- 48-in-1 multicart for educational Famiclones, including the above.
Connections[]
One "Game Star" product looks identical to the Console TV Famiclone by Advance Bright Limited (ABL)[4] - ABL and Macro Winners appear to have been based in the same building in Hong Kong in the early 2000's, so they may have collaborated at some point, although there is no longer any overlap between the two companies' current product lineups.
The Mi Nect, a model of the MiWi, seems to have been sold as the Woo Complete Video Game (distributed by Woo Mobility) in the United States, Specifically North and South Carolina.