Jopac_Zone

JOPAC Zone

Hardware

The correct name of Brandt was "Brandt électronique". This brand manufactured Videopac + systems named Jopac JO 7400, and commonly called "Jopac". I don't know when it was released, probably a little time after the G7400/G7401 release. It seems that its internal features are the same as the Philips Videopac + systems (such as G7400). But the external appearance is completely different : it is flatter than the other Videopac systems. There is still a membrane keyboard, but not exactly the same one. The video output is an antenna plug, but there is also a plug behind the machine that enables a cable to be connected, if the using of a Scart plug is preferred. External grey plastic is easy to scratch, so it's not easy to find one which is not (actually, it's not easy to just find one at all). Joysticks (that can be plugged) are grey (lower and upper parts) except the plastic parts that are at the top and at the bottom of the iron rod. It's not the same grey shade as the one used for the Radiola Jet 25 joysticks and it seems that it's not exactly the same plastic substance as the other Videopac joysticks. Anyway, click here to see the ad that showed the Brandt Jopac console and games in a few magazines (about video-games and computers) in 1983. Brandt Jopac JO 7400 I don't know the link between Brandt (and Thomson) and Philips. "© Thomson - Brandt" is written on some of the back-covers of the JOPAC games manual. There is another link between Jopac and Thomson. "TO TEK Editions" is written on the manual of every Jopac game and on the label of each cartridge. It may only concern the latter. TO TEK was also the publisher of the Thomson MO 5 computer manual (and perhaps the publisher of the other Thomson computer manuals of this time). Moreover, Thomson computers of this time were the MO 5, TO 7 and TO 9. And JOPAC is always written with "J" and "O" letters in bold, and not "PAC". So , MO, TO, JO... Is this a coincidence? Lastly, joysticks used for these Thomson computers and Videopac systems are the same (maybe their color and plug are different, I will check it). I discovered in the middle of 1998 that Continental Edison/SABA also manufactured Jopac consoles. As usual, the name of the console is different of the others : "Jopac JO 1450". This version is much rarer than the one manufactured by Brandt ! I know only one french magazine (whose name is Micro 7) that dealed with it in its special issue of summer 1983, and I even don't own this issue... The differences with the Brandt version are : the shade of the external grey plastic is not exactly the same; the plastic part around the cartridge slot is no more blue but black (as well as an other plastic part); "JOPAC" label is stuck on the right of the cartridge slot and the warning writing is on the left; the keyboard is still a membrane keyboard, but it is not the same one as the Brandt one. Joysticks are the same, although the Continental Edison/SABA Jopac I saw (in this Micro 7 issue) was supplied with two joysticks that were completely grey, even the plastic part that are at the top and at the bottom of the iron rod. This Jopac console was supplied with a poster (around 100*63 cm) that shows a picture on the three quarters that is on the cover of the game manual named "Laser". At the bottom, there are the photos of 20 covers of game manuals labelled by Jopac. Continental Edison/SABA Jopac JO 1450... ... and its box !

Software

There are four kinds of Jopac games :

Games that Philips also produced. Those games are either old games without hi res background graphics such as #18 (called Laser by Jopac) or #36 (called Stadium), or "+" version of games that Philips already did such as #01+ (called "Grand Prix +" by Jopac), #11+ (called "Cosmos +"), #20+ (called "Catapult +")... These games are exactly the same as the ones Philips marketed except for the color of the cartridge cases and the label; the name of the game that is a little different and especially the picture on the cover of the manual, that is completely different. "+" versions of some games that Philips didn't release. I mean Jopac added high resolution background graphics to some old games, such as #06+ (called "Basket Bowling +") and #35+ (called "Billard +"). New games for Videopac/Videopac + game computers ...such as "Chez Maxime" (without high resolution background graphics) and "Le Trésor Englouti +" (with high resolution background graphics)... New game(s) for Videopac + game computers only ...such as "Moto Crash +", which includes high resolution background and foreground graphics.

I don't know where Demon Attack + can be classed, as I'd like to know if Imagic really released this game with high resolution background graphics.

Moto Crash + is therefore one of the rare Videopac + game with hi-resolution foreground graphics. On every Jopac manual cover, "Compatible Videopac" is written and there is a round orange sticker behind the black bottom of the plastic box saying (in french) : "This cartridge is compatible with all Videopac, Videopac + and Jopac game computers". For Moto Crash +, the retailers added "+" (with a pen) after "Compatible Videopac" (on the manual and) on the sticker since the game does not work on non-Videopac + units. The plastic of the Jopac cartridges is grey, though I've got Billard + (in grey and)... in black! Mystery... Most people think (and so do I) that Jopac software and hardware were only marketed in France, but some of the manual of some games are written in several languages (up to 10!). So, were they really marketed in France only ? They were most probably planned to be also marketed somewhere else, but they didn't ? If you have bought some out of France, please tell me.

Perhaps some other cartridges from Jopac are still to be discovered (one copy of Des Chiffres et des Lettres, a completely unknown game was discovered since I wrote this line)...

Name	Ref.on manual	Reference on back-cover	Other reference on back-cover	Ref. on cart.	Year	Number of languages	Comment
JOPAC GAMES LIST
Legion	VXA A01	3111 176 3164	966 TX 0632	S2 5802	1983	10	#30
Western +	JXA A02	?	?	?	?	?	#14+
Armada	VXA A03	3111 176 3158	966 TX 0615	S1 5788	1980	10	#04
Catapult +	JXA A04	3111 176 3121	966 TX 0625	RD 5605	1983	10	#20+
Magibrick	VFA A05	3111 176 3146	966 TX 0631	S1 5795	?	1	#29
Acrobats	VXA A06	3111 176 3167	966 TX 0633	S2 5797	1981	10	#33
Syracuse	VXT A07	3111 176 3131	966 TX 0715	S1 5609	1981	6
Chez Maxime	VXT A08	3111 176 3133	966 TX 0714	RN 5610	1983	6
Restaurant	VXT A08/2	3111 176 3499	966 TX 0714	S4 5610	1983	6
Syracuse +	JXT A09	?	?	?	?	?	Existence not confirmed
Le Trésor Englouti +	JFT A10	3111 176 3676 0	-	S9 5975	1984	1
Mith & Math	VXA B01	3111 176 3170	966 TX 0621	S2 5790	1980	9	#13
Cosmos +	JFA C01	3111 176 3116	966 TX 0620	S1 5684	1983	1	#11+
Laser	VFA C02	3111 176 3150	966 TX 0624	S3 5791	?	1	#18
Monster	VXA C03	3111 176 3173	966 TX 0626	S1 5793	1980	10	#22
Satellit +	JXA C04	3111 176 3126	966 TX 0634	RD 5607	1983	10	#34+
Exojet +	JXT C05	3111 176 3502	966 TX 0620	So 5968	1983	6
Demon Attack +	JXT C07	3111 176 37290	-	S9 5969	1983	1	Licensed by Imagic
Flipper +	JFA D01	3111 176 3123	966 TX 0628	S1 5685	1983	1	#24+
Baby Foot	VXA D02	3111 176 3161	966 TX 0629	S1 5794	1980	10	#27
Billard +	JFA D03	3111 176 3128	966 TX 0636	RD 5686	1983	1	#35+
Des Chiffres et des Lettres	JFT D03	?	?	SD 5971	1984	1
Grand Prix +	JFA E01	3111 176 3110	966 TX 0614	RN 5682	1983	1	#01+
Golf	VXA E02	3111 176 3176	966 TX 0618	S2 5789	1980	9	#10
Basket Bowling +	JFA E03	3111 176 3113	966 TX 0617	RD 5683	1983	1	#06+
Stadium	VFA E04	3111 176 3154	966 TX 0638	S1 5798	?	1	#36
Moto-Crash +	JXT E05	3111 176 37260	-	So 5973	1984	1
ROM Size : 1Ko : 2Ko : 4Ko

What can be deduced from the table above ?

Let's explain what can be infered from the reference on the cover of manuals. This reference is always written like this : L1L2L3 L4N.

L1=V or J only. L1=V means this is a game without high resolution background graphics and "V" could mean "Videopac". L1=J means therefore this is a game with high resolution background graphics and "J" could mean "Jopac".

L2=F or X only. I really wonder what L2 means !

L3=A or T only. L3=A means this is a game that Philips had already marketed (but maybe the Jopac version includes high resolution background graphics. L1=T means this is an original game that Philips had never manufactured.

L4=A or B or C or D or E only. Jopac games are explicitly classified in 5 categories : action (L4=A and red header), education (L4=B and faint green header), science-fiction/ shoot them up (L4=C and yellow header), party games (L4=D and green header), sport (L4=E and blue header).

N=01 or 02 or 03, etc... I think (and is seems obvious that) N is just the number that represents the order in which the Jopac games of one category were released. I mean, for instance, that "Legion" was released before "Western +". Note that there is no game in the table above with the L1L2L3 C06 reference between (Demon Attack + JXT C05 and Exojet + JXT C07). Nevertheless, Exojet + has "So 5968" for cartridge reference number and Demon Attack + has "S9 5969". I mean 5969 comes just after 5968 and no other number can be inserted, but this is not the case with the reference on their manual. So, maybe at least one game misses to my list, maybe not? As the orginal games always appear (along with their reference and copyright year) at the end of each category, it seems obvious that if there is a game with L1L2L3 C06 reference, this would be an original game that Philips didn't manufacture. It could be Atlantis "+"... or it might be a game that was planned and that was never released...

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