Subor
Subor (Chinese: 小霸王; pinyin: Xiǎobàwáng), produced by Zhongshan Subor Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese consumer electronics brand founded in 1987, specializing in video game consoles, personal computers, and educational devices.[1][2] The company achieved early success in the late 1980s and 1990s by manufacturing unlicensed clones of Nintendo's Famicom system, often rebranded as learning machines to comply with China's video game restrictions, which dominated the domestic market and extended popularity to regions like the former Soviet Union.[3][4] Subor's defining products included keyboard-integrated Famiclones for purported educational use, alongside later computer systems, reflecting a pattern of adapting gaming hardware to regulatory and market demands. In a pivot toward legitimate modern hardware, the brand released the Subor Z+ in 2018, a compact gaming device featuring a custom AMD system-on-chip with four Zen CPU cores, 24 Vega graphics compute units, and 8 GB GDDR5 memory, designed as a hybrid PC-console for running Windows games and Chinese exclusives.[5][6][7] Despite initial hype and partnerships, including with AMD, the Z+ encountered sales shortfalls and development challenges, resulting in the disbandment of its dedicated team by mid-2019, underscoring persistent hurdles in transitioning from bootleg origins to competitive global gaming.[8][3]History
Founding and Early Years
Nihwa Electronics Factory, the predecessor to Subor (known in China as Xiaobawang or 小霸王), was established in 1987 in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, by the Yihua Group as part of efforts to enter the burgeoning consumer electronics market.[9][10] Initially focused on basic electronic production, the factory pivoted toward video game hardware amid rising demand for Nintendo Famicom-compatible systems in China, where strict regulations limited pure gaming devices.[11] In 1989, electrical engineer Duan Yongping was appointed director, overseeing the factory's shift to developing Famicom clones equipped with keyboards to position them as "educational computers" for learning English and other subjects, thereby circumventing government bans on video games.[12] Under his leadership, the first models, such as the D-25, were produced, featuring built-in cartridges with language lessons alongside unlicensed games ported to Chinese.[13] These devices emphasized affordability and accessibility, selling at prices significantly lower than imported originals, which fueled initial market penetration despite intellectual property concerns.[14] By 1991, the company was renamed Xiaobawang Electronics Industrial Company, solidifying the Subor brand internationally, and expanded production of improved models like the SB-218 with enhanced keyboards and cartridge compatibility.[11] Early marketing campaigns, including endorsements and ads portraying the devices as tools for intellectual development, drove sales exceeding millions of units annually by the early 1990s, establishing Subor as a pioneer in China's gray-market gaming sector while navigating regulatory scrutiny through its educational facade.[9] Duan Yongping's tenure until 1995 marked this foundational phase of aggressive innovation and brand-building.[12]Rise of Famiclones and Market Dominance
In the late 1980s, amid China's import restrictions on foreign video game consoles and a burgeoning demand for affordable entertainment, Xiaobawang (known internationally as Subor) pivoted from electronics manufacturing to produce unauthorized clones of Nintendo's Famicom system. Founded in 1987 as Nihwa Electronics Factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong, the company recognized the Famicom's popularity and released its first models around 1988, featuring unlicensed Chinese-localized versions compatible with pirated cartridges.[15][16] These devices, branded as "Xiao Bawang" (Little Tyrant), incorporated keyboards marketed for educational purposes like typing Chinese characters and basic computing, circumventing government prohibitions on dedicated gaming hardware that viewed consoles as distractions from study.[17][9] By 1991, following a company rename to Xiaobawang, Subor's Famiclones achieved rapid prominence through aggressive advertising, including endorsements from celebrities like Jackie Chan, who promoted them as family-friendly learning tools in television commercials.[18] This strategy exploited the absence of official Nintendo presence in mainland China, where import bans from 1981 to 2000 created a domestic vacuum filled by clones. Subor's models, such as keyboard-integrated variants like the SB-225 and standard controller-based units, offered compatibility with thousands of bootleg games, driving widespread adoption among urban and rural households seeking inexpensive entertainment.[4][19] Subor attained market dominance in the 1990s, becoming the leading provider of Famicom-compatible hardware in China, often described as the "overlord" of the segment due to its scale and visibility.[20] The company's output flooded retail channels, with Famiclones comprising the primary entry point for video gaming for millions, as evidenced by their nostalgic status among post-90s generations. While exact sales figures remain undocumented in public records, Subor's prevalence overshadowed competitors through superior distribution networks and branding that aligned with state-approved "educational" narratives, capturing an estimated majority share in a market reliant on gray-market imports and local production.[19][4] This era solidified Subor's role in shaping China's early console culture, though dominance waned by the late 1990s as cheaper imitators proliferated.[11]Shift to Educational Devices and Later Ventures
In the late 1990s, as China's domestic video game market faced intensifying competition from imported systems and precursors to the 2000 console production ban, Subor pivoted toward explicitly educational hardware to align with parental preferences and regulatory pressures against pure entertainment devices. This involved developing "learning machines" (xuéxí jī) such as the Xiaobawang series, which integrated BASIC programming interpreters, preloaded academic software for mathematics, language drills, and vocabulary building, and sometimes hybrid Famicom-compatible slots rebranded for "edutainment" cartridges teaching Chinese idioms or English words through gamified interfaces.[21] These devices, like the second-generation models released around 1994, emphasized keyboard inputs for typing exercises and educational peripherals over standalone gaming, achieving widespread adoption in households wary of video games' perceived harms.[10] By the early 2000s, following the formal console ban that halted unlicensed gaming hardware production, Subor further diversified into non-gaming educational electronics, including electronic dictionaries and pocket translators focused on bilingual learning tools without embedded emulation capabilities. This era saw the company produce devices like advanced learning pads with LCD screens for interactive quizzes in core subjects, marketed through state-aligned channels to capitalize on demand for affordable edtech amid economic reforms. Sales of these products sustained Subor through the ban period, though they lacked the volume of earlier Famiclone dominance, reflecting a strategic retreat from IP-infringing gaming toward compliant, pedagogy-oriented ventures.[11] In a bid to revive its gaming legacy after the 2014 lifting of the console ban, Subor launched the Z+ hybrid system in August 2018, partnering with AMD for a custom "FireFlight" APU featuring a 4-core/8-thread Zen CPU at 3.0 GHz, a 24-CU Vega iGPU at 1.3 GHz, 8 GB GDDR5 shared memory, and storage combining 128 GB SSD with 1 TB HDD, positioned as a 1080p/60 fps gaming PC-console for domestic titles and Steam compatibility.[5] [6] The device aimed to blend computing for education and productivity with modern gaming but struggled with software ecosystem limitations, high pricing relative to PCs, and underwhelming market reception in a landscape dominated by smartphones and established consoles.[22] Financial strains from these ambitious but faltering projects culminated in the November 2020 bankruptcy filing by Subor Culture, a primary operating entity handling content and hardware distribution, amid debts exceeding 100 million yuan and executive restrictions on asset transfers.[3] [9] Despite nostalgic revivals of learning machine lines into the 2020s, such as eye-protection-screen models with synced curricula, Subor's later ventures underscored challenges in transitioning from bootleg-era success to legitimate, innovation-driven markets.[23]Products and Technology
Console Systems
Subor's console systems primarily comprised unauthorized hardware clones of Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom), an 8-bit system released in 1983, reverse-engineered to replicate its CPU (Ricoh 2A03, a modified MOS 6502), PPU (picture processing unit), and cartridge slot for compatibility with Famicom games.[19] These Famiclones, marketed under the Xiaobawang (Little Tyrant) brand, targeted China's domestic market where official Nintendo imports were scarce and expensive due to import restrictions and high tariffs in the late 1980s.[18] Production emphasized cost reduction through locally sourced components, enabling retail prices significantly below genuine systems, often bundled with pirated game cartridges.[9] The company's initial console, the D25 Video Game System, launched circa 1989 under the direction of engineer Duan Yongping, who adapted Famicom schematics for mass production.[24] This model featured a black plastic chassis mimicking the Famicom's layout, two controller ports, and AV output for composite video, supporting up to 256x240 resolution and the system's characteristic 52-color palette.[19] It gained traction through door-to-door sales and advertisements emphasizing family entertainment, evading early regulatory scrutiny by avoiding explicit "gaming" labels.[11] Subsequent iterations expanded the lineup with cosmetic variations and minor enhancements, such as improved joysticks or light gun compatibility for titles like Duck Hunt. Notable models included the D30, D99, DR21, and DR31, all retaining core Famicom emulation while differing in enclosure design and accessory packs.[25] Keyboard-integrated variants, like certain Subor 90-series units, added QWERTY interfaces for typing-based educational cartridges, enabling rudimentary BASIC programming exercises alongside game ROMs; these hybrids were pitched to parents as "learning computers" to align with cultural preferences for edifying technology over pure recreation.[18] Celebrity endorsements, including from Jackie Chan in promotional materials, boosted visibility and sales.[18] These systems dominated China's informal gaming sector through the 1990s, with widespread availability in rural and urban areas, often paired with multicarts containing hundreds of hacked or unlicensed titles.[19] Technical fidelity varied, with some units suffering from sprite flicker or audio glitches due to cheaper mapper chips, but overall compatibility with Famicom media exceeded 90% for popular games.[9] Production ceased for these 8-bit clones by the early 2000s as market saturation and competition from PC gaming eroded demand, though their legacy persists in nostalgic retro communities.[11]| Model | Release Era | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| D25 | Late 1980s | Standard Famiclone; AV output; cartridge compatibility.[24] |
| D99 | 1990s | Enhanced casing; bundled games; light gun support in variants.[25] |
| DR21/DR31 | 1990s | Controller variations; educational cartridge options.[25] |
| 90R/SB-series | 1990s | Keyboard add-ons for BASIC; hybrid learning/gaming.[18][25] |