GameKeys are expansion modules made by Jakks Pacific for the purpose of adding games to GameKey-ready entries in their Plug It In & Play TV Games product line.
History[]
The GameKey concept was first announced at the 2005 International Toy Fair, and the first products were released in July 2005 for the retail price of $9.99.
Several value and combo packs were released, such as the Super GameKey Combo Pack, which included a GameKey-ready controller and one GameKey, and the Super Value GameKey Mega Pack, which include a GameKey-ready controller and two GameKeys. Super Value Power Packs were also released which contain GameKey-ready controller, GameKey and the Universal Power Adapter.
GameKeys were mainly marketed for the Namco Ms. Pac-Man controller, but there also existed GameKeys for other TV Games manufactured by Jakks Pacific, including Nicktoons, Star Wars, and Disney. There were also GameKeys that never saw release, such as Winnie the Pooh & Fantastic Four.
Some GameKeys (such as Dora the Explorer, Nicktoons and Disney Princess) were sold individually, while others (such as Star Wars, Disney and Spider-Man) were only available through the value and combo packs.
GameKeys were discontinued in mid-2006 in a bid to save money. Only eleven GameKeys were ever released.
List Of Released GameKey Units[]
- Disney Princess (1 GameKey, pink, containing games Rescue Race and Memory Chase based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) [DP]
- Disney (3 GameKeys: one, black, containing Disney Sports Tennis and Disney Face Chase; one, black, containing Disney Sports Bowling and Disney Goofy's Underwater Adventure; one, red, containing Disney Sports Tennis, Disney Face Chase and The Riches of Agrabah with Disney) [DY]
- Marvel (1 GameKey, red, containing Spider-Man games Black Cat and Doc Ock) [MV]
- Namco (2 GameKeys: one, orange, containing Dig Dug and New Rally-X; one, black, containing Pac-Man, Bosconian and Rally-X) [NM]
- Nickelodeon (3 GameKeys: one, blue, containing Nicktoons games Nicktoons Volleyball and Birdie Putt; one, purple, containing Dora the Explorer games Soccer and Dora's Star Mountain Adventure; one, green, containing SpongeBob SquarePants games Sponge Pop and Snowball Showdown) [NK]
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (1 GameKey, black, containing Star Wars games Yoda's Escape and Turret Defense) [SW]
Trivia[]
- If a GameKey is inserted into the incorrect controller, a splash screen will appear that says the following: "This GameKey™ is only meant for use with the [controller type] TV games controller. Please turn off the unit and remove the GameKey™." and have a logo of the specified GameKey and controller type (ex. "NK" for Nicktoons).
- There are a number of GameKey units that were either teased or documented in someway, but never released. These include:
- Batman (1, was listed on the ESRB ratings database, but not released)
- Capcom (1, would've contained Mega Man 2 and Gun.Smoke, was developed but not released.) [CC]
- Care Bears (1, would've contained Champ's Cloud Fishing, Cheer Bear's Umbrella Drop, and Friend Bear's Castle Maze, was listed on the ESRB ratings database but not released) [CB]
- Dragon Ball Z (1, would've contained a sequel to Butoretsuden and a puzzle game called Capsule Conquer, was developed but not released.) [DB]
- Fantastic Four (1, was developed but not released.) [F4]
- Jeopardy! (2 "Refill" GameKeys)
- Justice League (a slot for a GameKey was included in the base unit) [DC]
- Midway (2, one would've contained Joust and Sinistar and the other would've contained Defender and Toobin', these games may have been originally planned for a standalone Midway unit as the only other Midway plug-and-play, Mortal Kombat, did not have a GameKey slot)
- Nickelodeon (2, one would've contained two Nicktoons games called Creature Capture and Bumper Car Rally and the other would've contained Dora the Explorer games, both were listed on the ESRB ratings database but not released)
- Scooby-Doo [SD]
- Star Wars Original Trilogy (3, one would've contained Catamaran Strike and Corusant Fire Patrol, another would've contained Imperial Cunner and Escape from Cloud City, another would've contained Red Leader and Battle of Endor, all were listed on the ESRB ratings database but not released)
- Wheel of Fortune (2 "Refill" GameKeys) [WF]
- Winnie the Pooh (1, would've contained a memory game possibly called Sweet Treat, a platformer called Hunny Pot Hunt, and a racing game called Roll Race, was developed but not released.) [WP]
- WWE [WW]