The $250 Koei PasoGo: A Bizarre Game Console From 1996
Back in 1996, Koei, a renowned developer of historical strategy games, released the PasoGo handheld console in Japan. The PasoGo was designed as a personal computer (Pasocon) and Go game hybrid. Priced at approximately $250 USD, it offered 20 hours of gameplay from six AA batteries and was much larger than its contemporary, the Game Boy Pocket.
Although the Game Boy Pocket cost just $43, Koei’s PasoGo seemed rather steep at $250. Despite this, it aimed solely to cater to Go enthusiasts, with only 11 games ever developed for the system—each focused on Go.
According to James Channel (yes, the one who created that incredible SNES PlayStation mod), these games were divided between educational, competitive, and historic matches of the strategic board game.
What should Koei have done differently to release a successful handheld in 1996?
The price does sound high, but I know a lot of Japanese stuff was overpriced back in the day, their economy had some situation.
Was Go seen as like a luxury game? Or are Go players considered willing to spend extra for their hobby? Wild that Koei made their own console & everything for it. Chess game was out on the original Game Boy in 1991, but I know Go can demand more CPU than chess.