History of video games/Print version/Fifth Generation of Video Game Consoles

Fifth generation of video game consoles

Trends

3D Gaming

A typical CRT TV set from 1995. By this point the more capable RCA jacks were becoming more common on televisions, reducing the need for RF output.

Polygonal 3D gaming was supported by all major home consoles this generation. However real time 3D graphics on consumer level hardware was still a new concept, and there were many different wildly different approaches to how a 3D system should work in a console. This lead to some consoles being much better at 3D graphics performance and ease of use by developers, and some with performance much less than their at the time impressive specifications would indicate.

Many game series failed to make effective 3D versions of their traditionally 2D games. Crafting a believable 3D environment on the hardware available was difficult. Furthermore, developers not only had to design good controls for a 3D game, they had to explain them to players used to playing 2D games exclusively. All these issues were exasperated by a lack of developers familiar with 3D gaming, even within major development companies. Even developers that were able to competently make 3D games struggled somewhat, with large improvements in 3D game control schemes occurring within the generation as developers figured out ways to improve the player experience.

Display technology

The backlight of a Sega Nomad. While portable consoles could incorporate backlighting this generation, it wouldn't be till the sixth generation where backlighting became efficient enough to be practical.

Display technology improves rapidly during this time with the final major refinements in CRT displays, and the emergence of new technologies. In 1996 Sonys Trinitron (Aperture grille CRT) patents expire, allowing other manufacturers to produce similar quality television sets and improving the gaming experience. In 1998 Phillips introduces the first consumer plasma TV for $15,000. Such TVs would become common in the mid 2000's with improving technology and price drops.

This generation more portable consoles adopted color screens, though monochrome screens were still common.

References

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  Panasonic 3DO FZ1 with controller connected.
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  Goldstar 3DO GDO-101M with controller connected.
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  A Panasonic FZ-10 with controller connected.

History

3DO logo

Development

Development of the 3DO started in September 1989, when noted computer and game console designers Dave Needle and Robert J. Mical met with David Morse at a restaurant and noted initial 3DO on a paper napkin at a restaurant.

Launch

The 3DO was launched in North America on October 4th, 1993 at a cost of $699. Unlike many also rans of the era, the 3DO was widely publicized, and Time Magazine named the 3DO it's product of the year in 1993.

On March 20th, 1994 the 3DO was launched in Japan.

Legacy

Discontinued in 1996, about two million 3DO consoles were sold. Despite it's relatively small market share, the 3DO is known for the talent behind it, namely Trip Hawkins and third party supporting studios such as Naughty Dog, Crystal Dynamics, and Toys for Bob.

The 3DO was intended to be succeeded by the M2, though that system was never released.

Technology

A 3DO console with accessories.

The Panasonic FZ-1 3DO has a 32 bit ARM architecture CPU clocked at 12.5 megahertz. This was quite substantial at launch, though lower end competitors quickly caught up and surpassed this spec within a few years. The system has 2 megabytes of DRAM, and 1 megabyte of Video RAM, which was quite also quite a substantial amount of memory for a game console at the time of the 3DO launch.

The 3DO uses a custom Clio chip and a custom Madam chip to accelerate certain tasks. The 3DO supported texture mapping and anti-aliasing.

Games

A 3DO in a museum.

3DO Game Aesthetics

Many games for the 3DO were hallmarked by FMV (Full Motion Video) graphics, typically featuring real actors and often featuring early computer generated imagery. FMV was sometimes used nearly exclusively for FMV games. Some other games simply relied on FMV for story cutscenes or environment flair.

Gameplay graphics were often entirely FMV. More interactive games often used simple real time 3D graphics, prerendered 3D graphics, advanced 2D graphics, or some mix of the aforementioned techniques.

1993

Crash 'n Burn

A launch title and pack in game.

Read more about Crash 'n Burn on Wikipedia.

Escape from Monster Manor

An exclusive 3D survival horror first person shooter.

Read more about Escape from Monster Manor on Wikipedia.

Jurassic Park Interactive

A 3DO exclusive action game developed as a tie in to the prior year's hit movie Jurassic Park.

Read more about Jurassic Park Interactive on Wikipedia.

The Life Stage: Virtual House

A 3DO exclusive construction simulator, and a launch title for the Japanese release of 3DO.

Read more about The Life Stage: Virtual House on Wikipedia.

Twisted: The Game Show

A 3DO exclusive party game.

Read more about Twisted: The Game Show on Wikipedia.

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties

An adult FMV game.

Read more about Plumbers Don't Wear Ties on Wikipedia.

1994

Doctor Hauzer

Read more about Doctor Hauzer on Wikipedia.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer

Read more about Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer on Wikipedia.

Station Invasion

Read more about Station Invasion on Wikipedia.

Demolition Man

Read more about Demolition Man on Wikipedia.

Guardian War

Read more about Guardian War on Wikipedia.

Iron Angel of the Apocalypse

Read more about Iron Angel of the Apocalypse on Wikipedia.

John Madden Football

Read more about John Madden Football on Wikipedia.

PaTaank

Read more about PaTaank on Wikipedia.

Kurokishi no Kamen

A Japan only, 3DO only, game.

Read more about Kurokishi no Kamen on Wikipedia.

Way of the Warrior

Read more about Way of the Warrior on Wikipedia.

1995

Blade Force

A third person 3D shooter set in a dystopian future crime ridden city.

Read more about Blade Force on Wikipedia.

Foes of Ali

Read more about Foes of Ali on Wikipedia.

Guardian War

Read more about Guardian War on Wikipedia.

Iron Angel of the Apocalypse: The Return

Read more about Iron Angel of the Apocalypse: The Return on Wikipedia.

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S

A 3DO exclusive 2D fighting game based on the Japanese Sailor Moon media franchise. It was released the same month as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, a 2D beat em' up arcade machine with similar graphics.

Read more about Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S on Wikipedia.

Slam 'N Jam '95

A 3DO exclusive basketball game well regarded for its solid two player mode.

Read more about Slam 'N Jam '95 on Wikipedia.

Zhadnost: The People's Party

3DO exclusive party game with a dystopian theme and extensive FMV use. The intro cutscene appears to take clear inspiration from the collapse of the Soviet Union, a then recent event.

Read more about Zhadnost: The People's Party on Wikipedia.

1996

Doom

The 3DO port of Doom was notoriously poor as most development was delegated to a single person with only 10 weeks to perform most of the port.

In December 2014 the source code for this port of the game was released.

In January 2022 the example of Doom for the 3D0 became a common talking point in the NFT gaming community.

Read more about Doom on Wikipedia.

Gallery

Models

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  FZ-1 from the front left.
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  FZ-1 from the front right.
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  FZ-1 from the back left.
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  FZ-1 from the back right.
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  FZ-10 from the front left.
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  FZ-10 from the front right.
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  FZ-10 from the back left.
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  FZ-10 from the back right.
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  3DO TRY! from the front left.
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  3DO TRY! from the front right.
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  3DO TRY! from the back left.
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  3DO TRY! from the back right.
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  Goldstar 3DO from the front left.
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  Goldstar 3DO from the front right.
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  Goldstar 3DO from the back left.
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  Goldstar 3DO from the back right.

Controllers

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  Goldstar daisy chain capable controller with integrated headphone jack.
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  Capcom fighting controller

Chips

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  ARM60 CPU
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  ARM60 CPU
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  ARM60 CPU
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  Madam chip
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  Madam chip
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  Madam chip
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  Clio chip
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  Clio chip
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  Clio chip
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  Digital video chip (VP536ACG)

References

• 
  An Amiga CD32 and controller.

History

The Amiga CD32 logotype.

The Amiga CD32 was preceded by the unsuccessful Commodore CDTV.

The Amiga CD32 was launched in 1993. The CD32 sold decently at launch. The CD32 was met with cautious optimism and skepticism of a future for the system by some reviewers at launch.

The system was unable to be launched in the USA due to a legal issue, which further reduced the ability of the CD32 to gain a significant marketshare.

The production of the Amiga CD32 was cut short in April 1994 when Commodore went bankrupt.

Technology

Compute

The Amiga CD32 is based on the Amiga 1200, and uses a Motorola 68020 CPU and 2 megabytes of RAM. The CPU is clocked at 14.18 megahertz in PAL regions, and 14.32 megahertz in NTSC regions.

Gallery

Console

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  This CD32 was made in the Philippines in February, 1994.
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  Expansion port
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  Controller ports
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  The controller plug close up.

Controller

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  The directional pad is a circular disk with small bumps in the cardinal directions.
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  Oriented to media, the left shoulder button is marked reverse, the start button play and pause, and the right shoulder button fast forwards.
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  Each face button has a different color, and is marked with a logo above or below the button on the body plastic.
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  The spartan controller underside notes that it was made in China, and is dotted with Phillips head screws.

Internals

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Motherboard

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  The Spellbound Rev 3 motherboard top, densely packed with components from a number of different manufacturers.
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  The bottom of the motherboard sports long traces.

References

• 
  A Pippin Atmark console with wireless Applejack controller.

History

PIPPIN logotype.

Development

The console was primarily developed as a joint effort between Apple and Bandai. Apple was in dire straits and unable to dedicate many resources to producing a console, leading Bandai and other partners to handle most aspects of the console not related to it's core Mac architecture.

A prototype console was referred to as the "Power Player".

Launch

The Pippin was announced in late 1994. Marketing for the device was mainly handled by Bandai.

The Japanese and American launches occurred in 1995. The Apple Pippin cost $599.

Discontinuation

42,000 Apple Pippins were sold. The possibility of Pippin discontinuation had been speculated on since at least February 6th, 1997 as a result of restructuring brought on by the return of Stve Jobs. Such speculation that Jobs would eliminate the product line proved correct, and the Apple Pippin was discontinued later on in 1997. In Japan the system was discontinued much later, in 2002.

Technology

Compute

The Pippin used a 66MHz PowerPC Processor.

Video and System Memory was a combined 6MB.

Storage

128 Kilobytes of SRAM resided on the system for saving games and settings, with a modified Mac OS 7 operating system residing on each game disk to avoid compatibility and optimization issues.

The Pippin had a 4x speed CD-ROM drive.

Notable games

• Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure
• Gundam Tactics: Mobility Fleet 0079
• Super Marathon

Gallery

Bandai Apple Pippin

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Katz Media Player 2000

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Applejack Controller

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  The Applejack controller sports an unusual three buttons along the inner rim of the controller.
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IO

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  The IO on the rear of the console. This console was made in Japan.
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  Pippin modem
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  Controller plug

Internals

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  Bandai Apple Pippin Motherboard
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  Pippin Bios

Read more

There is a Wikibook on the History of Apple Inc.

References

• 
  A basic Atari Jaguar and controller.
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  An Atari Jaguar CD and Pro controller.

History

Sketch of the Atari Panther, the cancelled predecessor to the Atari Jaguar.

Development

The Atari Jaguar was the first major system to be marketed by Atari since the Atari 7800.

The number pad at the bottom of the controller was designed to offer extra control, and also to accept paper overlays per game.

The Atari Jaguar was manufactured in Charlotte, North Carolina and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Pre-Launch

The touted performance of the machine lead some to speculate it would overtake offerings from rival companies Nintendo and Sega.

Launch

Do The Math

—American Atari Jaguar Slogan, What's in a Name article by Tom Charnock.

The Atari Jaguar launched in 1993 for $250.

Atari did not overly focus on internal software development, instead focusing on their core competency of hardware and leaving software mostly to third parties. This was a critical issue for Atari because they had trouble attracting third-party developers to the Jaguar.

The Do the Math Slogan was part of a marketing effort to get consumers to recognize the Jaguar as a superior 64 bit system. The slogan was not used in British English markets.

Legacy

The Atari Jaguar was discontinued in 1996 and rights to the system were released to the public by Hasbro at E3 in 1999. The Atari Jaguar sold 250,000 consoles at most, a quite small number for a major console.

While the Jaguar game console had a relatively short production, its case mold was used for around a decade longer in other applications. The machines used to make Atari Jaguar cases were repurposed for making dental equipment cases. The Jaguar molds are said to have been reused for the canceled Coleco Chameleon console. The case design itself is a major divisive part of the legacy of the console with some comparing the Jaguar CD equipped systems to a toilet, and others praising the design as possessing a functional layout.

Technology

Compute

The Jaguar contains five processors, with the primary two 32 bit processors being named Tom and Jerry being clocked at clocked at 26 megahertz. The Jaguar was capable of 55 Million Instructions Per Second(MIPS). The Jaguar contains two megabytes of RAM.

Development Kits

The Jaguar development kit was considered to be well made. The Alpine Development Kit was simply designed as an cartridge with an extended PCB which would be inserted into regular Jaguar consoles.

Notable Games

1993

• Cybermorph - Flight

1994

• Tempest 2000
• Alien vs Predator - FPS
• Kasumi Ninja - Fighting game

1995

• Missile Command 3D - Shooter

Canceled

• Black ICE\White Noise
• Thea Realm Fighters

Gallery

Console

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  The front of the Atari Jaguar features heavy branding, as well as two front controller ports slightly obscured by a rim.
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  A red button is located in the front center of the Jaguar's casing.
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Controller

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  Regular controller
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  Pro controller, with extra face buttons visible.
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  Rear grip on pro controller
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  Added L & R buttons on the Pro controller.

Jaguar CD

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Internals

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  RF Cage
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  Jaguar Motherboard
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  The Tom and Jerry chips
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  Jaguar CD Motherboard top view.
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  Jaguar CD Motherboard angle view.
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  Jaguar CD Assembly
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  Jaguar Game Cartridge (Cybermorph)

Accessories

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  Memory Track cartridge for saving Jaguar CD games.
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  Jag Link interface
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  An aftermarket HDMI adapter for the Jaguar, produced long after the console was discontinued.

Places

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  Charlotte, North Carolina was one location where the Atari Jaguar was made.
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  Colorado Springs, another location where the Atari Jaguar was made.

References

• 
  A Casio Loopy with a controller connected. The text "My Seal Computer" and "SV-100" adorn the printer door.

History

Development

The Casio headquarters in Tokyo in 2006.

The Loopy followed the ill-fated PV-1000 as Casio's second major attempt to enter the home video game console market.

While in development, the Loopy was not initially intended to appeal to a specific demographic, with the progression to be a female oriented console being somewhat a matter of happenstance.

Launch

The Casio Loopy was released in Japan in October 1995 at a cost of cost 25,000 yen, and was marketed to women. First year production was expected to be 200,000 units, though little is known of actual production or sales numbers.

Legacy

Software development ended in November 1996, the final software released in 1997, and console production ended in December 1998.

Though the Loopy was not a big success, it was a much greater success than Casio's previous console, the PV-1000. However the main legacy of the Loopy is more concerned with its reception rather than with its performance on the market. Not only was the Casio Loopy was among the most atypical consoles of the fifth generation, it is one of a select few consoles marketed to appeal to women as a specific demographic. A similar tactic of appealing to non-traditional gamers by forgoing the latest technology, and focusing on a fun and appealing hardware differentiator would later find much greater success with other consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii.

Contentious discussion of the Loopy at the intersection of gaming and feminism emerged during and after the 2010's, with some finding the marketing of the Loopy as quite patronizing, and others hailing the console as a subversion of common narratives of gaming in the 1990's.

Technology

The Casio Loopy Power Supply. Made in Taiwan, this power supply takes 100V 50/60Hz 50VA AC in, and outputs 24V 1.0 A DC power to the console. The inner pole is labeled positive, the outer barrel is labeled negative.

In general, technology in the Casio Loopy was selected to be similar to the Super Famicom, then a market leader. This made the Loopy competitive with fourth generation consoles, but underpowered compared to other fifth generation consoles. As a result, Casio compensated for this by relying heavily on leveraging features of the console not found on competing devices.

The Casio Loopy is powered by a 32 bit RISC SH-1 CPU clocked at 16MHz. The front of the box proudly advertises 32-bit RISC CPU, suggesting that Casio thought that marketing the Loopy as an advanced 32-bit system was a key marketing point. The Loopy has 512 kilobytes of system RAM and 192 kilobytes of video RAM, and supports up to 4 megabytes of game cartridge ROM. Most games used only 2 megabytes of ROM, with some larger titles using 3 megabytes. Games also support battery-backed RAM for save data.

The console outputs graphics in 15-bit color with a maximum palette of 256 colors on screen. The graphics output is handled in part by a Sony CXA1645M RGB encoder chip. The Loopy outputs 4 channel 12 bit PCM audio.

This type of controller connector is used by both the controller, and the mouse. Only one can be used at a time since there is only one port.

The Loopy has a built in color thermal printer, with setting dial to adjust contrast. While the printer may seem like a strange choice, the ability to print custom art on stickers (Called "Seals" in the context of the Loopy) proved to be a fun and creative tool for play beyond video games. Output from the printer is 180 DPI resolution and is generally considered to be of good quality, and while a few game consoles of the 1990's would see optional printers released, none would match the quality of the colorful prints of the Loopy.

The Loopy was about one foot long, four inches high, and weighed 3.5 pounds. The console is powered by a 24 volt external power supply.

Optional hardware

Casio Loopy with Magical Shop add on installed.

The Magical Shop is an add on for the Loopy that allows for screen capture from video streams. The Magical Shop add on cost 14,800 yen, a significant cost at the time.

The Loopy two button mouse used a trackball mechanism.

Games / Software

Eleven titles were released for the system.

1995

• Dream Change: Kokin-chan's Fashion Party
• Anime Land - Character and scene creation software.
• Magical Shop - Video capture to image manipulator to sticker software.
• PC Collection - Suite containing 10 creative, supernatural, or productivity applications supporting the mouse.
• Lupiton no Wonder Palette - Art application.
• Wanwan Aijou Monogatari - Game featuring a dog named Peach. Worked on by Kenji Terada.
• HARIHARI Seal Paradise - Sticker printing game.
• Nigaoe Artist - Caricature art application

1996

• Loopy Town no Oheya ga Hoshii! - Life simulation game with room decoration, jobs, and a pet. The game was worked on by Kenji Terada, a writer on the first three Final Fantasy games.
• Little Romance - Dating simulator.

1997

• Chakurakun no Omajinai Paradise - Charm and spell making program.

Gallery

Console

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  Casio Loopy viewed from the front left. "Seal out" is where printed stickers are output. Note the button on the right for cutting the tape.
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  Casio Loopy viewed from the front right. "Control" slot is the sole controller port.
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  Casio Loopy viewed from the back left. From left to right, the contrast dial, 24V DC in jack, and RCA composite AV ports can be seen.
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  Casio Loopy viewed from the back right. "Cassette in" is where game cartridges are loaded.

Controller

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  The Loopy controller has A, B, C, D, and Start as face buttons.
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  The Loopy controller has a shield style direction pad.
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  The controller from the back left, showing shoulder buttons.
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  The controller from the back right, showing shoulder buttons.
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  The Loopy two button ball mouse.

Tape Mechanism

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  The Loopy with the printer door removed.
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  A sticker cartridge from the front.
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  A sticker cartridge from the back.

Internals

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  The inside of the Casio Loopy, with just the top cover removed. A metal shield covers the motherboard, and only the cartridge slot and printer mechanism can be seen prominently.
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  The inside of the Casio Loopy, with just the top cover removed. This view gives a better shot of the area where a printer cartridge is loaded.
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  The rear view of the case, with printer and shield removed. The motherboard and daughterboard are visible.
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  The rear view of the case, with printer and shield removed. The motherboard and daughterboard are visible.
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  The rear view of the case's top panel, showing button mechanisms.
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  The front view of the case's top panel, showing button mechanisms.
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  Motherboard
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  Motherboard
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  Motherboard top down view.
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  Sticker dock
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  Sticker dock

Variants

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  A Purple Loopy, with printed sticker hanging out.
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  A Grey Loopy console.

Preservation

As of October 2020 an incomplete skeleton Loopy driver exists for MAME.

References

History of video games/Platforms/Design Master Senshi Mangajukuuu

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  FM Towns Marty with controller.

History

In February of 1993 Fujistu released the FM Towns Marty in Japan.

The FM Towns Marty cost 98,000 yen at launch, and a 1994 revision cost 66,000 yen.

The Car Marty was briefly released in April 1994, acting as an in car entertainment setup and adding a GPS for car navigation, before it was discontinued in 1995 after failing to sell well.

Technology

An AMD 386SX processor, similar to the one used by the FM Towns Marty.

Compute

The FM Towns Marty uses a 32 bit AMD 386SX x86 architecture processor clocked at 16 megahertz.

The FM Towns Marty has 2 megabytes of RAM.

Storage

The FM Towns Marty had a single speed CD-ROM drive, as well as a 3.5" floppy drive. This was an unusual combination for a console, but it does make sense given the roots of this console in a home computer line.

Notable games

The FM Towns Marty is backwards compatible with FM Towns games.

Gallery

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References

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  The Tiger Game.com handheld system. The name is pronounced "Game Com", not "Game Dot Com".

History

Development

The Game.com was preceded by the R-Zone.

Launch

The Game.com was launched in the United States in September of 1997 at a cost of about $69.95. The game console launch was marred by a commercial which backfired.

Legacy

The Game.com was discontinued in 2000, and sold under 300,000 consoles.

Technology

Compute

The Game.com uses an 8-bit Sharp SM8521 CPU clocked at 4.9152 megahertz.

Hardware

The Game.com could use an external modem with a speed of 14.4 kbit/s to connect to the internet.

Notable games

• Sonic Jam
• Resident Evil 2
• Duke Nukem 3D

Gallery

Console

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Accessories

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  Game.com modem
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  Weblink cable
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  Com cable
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  Lights Out cartridge

External Resources

• Video Game Kraken - Game.com page.

References

• 
  A Sega Nomad handheld.

History

Development

The Genesis Nomad was originally the Sega Venus, which kept the naming scheme Sega had been using at the time.

Launch

The Genesis Nomad was released in October of 1995 in North America, a development on the previous Japanese Mega Jet which was a portable Mega Drive without a built in screen.

Legacy

The Genesis Nomad sold about one million units in North America, the only area where it was released. Around the end of 1996 the Genesis Nomad was discontinued.

The Genesis Nomad is typically either classified as a fourth generation console, or a fifth generation console. The classification of fourth generation console is typically used when viewing the system as a Sega Genesis that happens to be portable, and thus should be in the same generation. The classification of fifth generation console is used when observing its capabilities as a handheld in relation to other handheld systems of the era, which more closely match with fifth generation systems. Chronologically the console was either launched very late in the fourth generation, or rather early in the fifth generation. As a result of these factors, this console tends to be categorized differently under different points of view.

Technology

The Genesis Nomad has a 3.25" passive matrix LCD which uses composite video internally and tends to ghost.

The Genesis Nomad takes six AA batteries, which can power the Genesis Nomad for about two to three hours.

The Nomad audio is powered by a YM3438 chip and has a single speaker for mono audio, though it has a headphone jack.

Game Library

The Nomad is essentially a portable Sega Genesis, and plays standard North American region Genesis games. Add on devices like the 32X do not work with the Genesis Nomad.

Gallery

Console

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  Nomad bottom. The Control 2 Port allows for a second player to connect a controller.
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  Nomad top, showing AV out port, game cartridge port, DC in, and power toggle.
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Internals

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  Rare for a handheld, the Genesis Nomad contains a high voltage warning.
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  The backlight for the Genesis Nomad LCD.
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  The PCB still refers to "Venus" instead of the Nomad.
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History

Development

The Toaster VR was under development from 1992 to 1995 with an expected launch in 1996.

Legacy

Hasbro spent millions of dollars developing the Toaster VR before deciding to cancel the project.

The Hasbro Toaster VR is remembered as a potentially industry changing product that was not launched in favor of safer bets in the market.

Technology

The Hasbro Toaster VR would have been a 3D oriented system.

An unspecified VR system being made by Hasbro at the time, potentially the Toaster, used three ARC cores for processing.

References

• 
  The Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld console.

History

Launch

Neo Geo Pocket Logo.

The monochrome Neo Geo Pocket was released in 1998. Few third parties developed for the Neo Geo Pocket, though the company Dimps worked on many Neo Geo Pocket games. It's most major third party IP to see a release on the system was Sonic, when Sega partnered with SNK to make a portable version of Sonic 2 for the system.

SNK competed hard against the Game Boy line in the United States. This is especially true with the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which offered a console with superior technology compared to the Game Boy Color as wile also undercutting Nintendo, with the system costing only $69.95 at launch. By the year 2000, the Neo Geo Pocket was slightly profitable in the United States, and held a two percent marketshare of handhelds. For a new entrant to the market going against an entrenched company, those are quite good numbers given the small timeframe the system was available for sale. Unlike many consoles, internal problems with SNK in Japan rather then the console's market performance would lead to the withdraw of the console in American markets.

Legacy

Due to financial difficulties and new ownership of SNK by Aruze, including a rocky stint in the Pachinko business, the Neo Geo Pocket Color was discontinued in Canada and the United States on June 13th, 2000.

After resuming operations in March, 2001 in October of 2001, SNK was again defunct.

The Neo Geo Pocket sold two million consoles. The Neo Geo Pocket Color sold under 200,000 systems.

In 2020 SNK began rereleasing certain Neo Geo Pocket games on the Nintendo Switch.

Technology

Neo Geo Pocket

The specs of the Neo Geo Pocket are close enough to the Neo Geo Pocket Color that most Neo Geo Pocket Color games will run on it.

Neo Geo Pocket Color

Compute

The Neo Geo Pocket Color is powered by a primary 16-bit Toshiba TLCS900H processor clocked at 6.144 megahertz and 12 kilobytes of dedicated RAM. A secondary 8-bit Z80 processor used for sound clocked at 3.072 megahertz with four kilobytes of dedicated RAM..

The Neo Geo Pocket Color has 12 kilobytes of RAM, and four kilobytes of sound RAM.

Hardware

The system has a built in clock.

A wireless link accessory for the Neo Geo Pocket Color was planned.

Notable games

1998

• Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color
• Baseball Stars
• King of Fighters R-1

1999

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

A portable version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The game was well received at the time and was seen as a major title for the system in a market dominated by the Nintendo GameBoy.

Read more about Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure on Wikipedia.

2000

• Metal Slug 2nd Mission
• Cool Boarders Pocket
• Delta Warp
• Infinity Cure - Visual novel

2001

• SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash 2 Expand Edition

Gallery

Original

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  Note the two different battery bays.
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Color

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  Note the two different battery bays.
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Accessories

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  Neo Geo Pocket Link Cable.
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  Dreamcast link adapter for the Neo Geo Pocket.

Interior

Original Interior

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  Motherboard Back
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  Motherboard Front

Color Interior

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  Note the use of ABS plastic
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External Resources

• Old Computers Museum - Neo Geo Pocket page with specs and history.
• Old Computers Museum - Neo Geo Pocket Color page with specs and history.

References

• 
  A standard Nintendo 64 with a controller.
• 
  A Nintendo 64DD.
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  An iQue Player.

History

Nintendo 64 logotype.

Development

The Nintendo 64 was proceeded by the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Famicom, a family of systems capable of refined 2D graphics, but only extremely limited 3D graphics. Notably the Playstation, among the biggest rivals to the Nintendo 64, also had its roots in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Nintendo 64 would be the first major home console released by Nintendo with no significant regional differences between American, European, and Japanese releases, The innovative analog stick on the N64 controller was designed by Genyo Takeda. though the China focused iQue player would depart from the design standard of the system.

On February 11th, 1994 Nintendo announced that Project Reality would not use a CD Rom drive, surprising the industry with decision which went against industry trends.

A chip shortage in early 1996 delayed the launch of the Nintendo 64 in North America to fall.

Launch

"Change the System" and "Get N or Get Out"

—Nintendo 64 Slogans, Polygon article, LA Times article

The Nintendo 64 was launched in the United States in September of 1996 at a price of $200.

Legacy

In North America the Nintendo 64 was discontinued in 2003. The Nintendo 64 sold 32.93 million consoles, and 224.97 million software titles.

The Nintendo 64 was succeeded by the Nintendo GameCube.

A notable lasting legacy of the Nintendo 64 is the gaming journalism outlet IGN, which got its start as an online news outlet focused on the Nintendo 64.

iQue Player

In 2003 the iQue player was released as a version of the N64 with enhancements and modifications for the Chinese market.

The iQue Player ceased receiving updates and new games in 2006. Ten years later on December 31st 2016, iQue game download support officially ended. By 2018 the service was fully shuttered. Also in 2018, community members figure out how to unofficially access the iQue software

Technology

N64's push to SGI style pixels was technologically premature.

—John Carmack, Tweet on February 21st, 2013.

Compute

The CPU of the Nintendo 64 is a 64-bit NEC VR4300 (Compatible with the SGI RISC R4300i) MIPS III architecture processor clocked at 93.75 megahertz. Despite having a 64 bit CPU, more efficient 32 bit operations were often used by developers.

The Nintendo 64 uses a SGI Reality Co-Processor clocked at 62.5 megahertz, combining the Reality Immersion Processor GPU and Reality Signal Processor Audio system on a single chip. The GPU alone is capable of 500 MIPS, and can render 150,000 polygons a second.

The Nintendo 64 has four megabytes of RDRAM. The system could be expanded to eight megabytes of RAM.

The Nintendo 64 is capable of 100 megaflops.

Cartridges

Official Nintendo 64 Cartridges had a maximum capacity of 64MB. Because of the expense of cartridges, Nintendo 64 games cost much more than games for other systems on CD. To compensate for limited space on cartridges, developers were encouraged to use dynamic music progmatically rather then recorded but static soundtracks.

Cartridges used a CIC lockout chip to stop bootleg games from being produced and to stop piracy.

Nintendo 64 DD

A version was produced for an American release, but was ultimately never sold.

Special Editions

A translucent orange Nintendo 64, an example of the clear craze of the 1990's.

Special editions and versions of the console.

• Starlight Gaming Station - Kiosk for hospital use.
• McDonalds Kiosk - A kiosk using a Nintendo 64 for use in McDonalds restaurants.

Notable Games

Qualities

• Fast paced action adventure, platformers, and first person shooter games were quite popular on the system. This is due in part to the specialties of developers who chose the system, and due in part to the unique technological properties of the system favoring such games.
• The Nintendo 64 did not enjoy the same level of support for popular JRPGs as it's predecessor, the SNES. Major JRPG franchises tended to release on competing consoles instead, leaving the Nintendo 64 with more obscure titles.

1996

Super Mario 64

Of all the games for the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 perhaps has the most historic and lasting impact. It's successful translation of Mario from a 2D to a 3D platformer set an example of how a 3D platformer should enhance gameplay, look and control, paving the way for quality games in the genre by it's example. It was the first 3D game experienced by a number of 90's gamers.

Noted developers Cliff Bleszinski and Gabe Newell cite Super Mario 64 as an influence.

Long after the discontinuation of the system, the game would find new relevance as a popular game for speedrunners. There are a wide variety of glitches in the game, such as the "Backwards Long Jump", used to skip sections of the game, and some unknown ones, such as an upwarp that occurred, speculated to be the result of a cosmic ray causing a bit flip.

Read more about Super Mario 64 on Wikipedia.

Mario Kart 64

An influential game in the Mario Kart series, and the first to take the series into true 3D environments.

Read more about Mario Kart 64 on Wikipedia.

Wave Race 64

Jet-ski water racing game.

Read more about Wave Race 64 on Wikipedia.

Pilotwings 64

A launch title and casual flight simulator.

Read more about Pilotwings 64 on Wikipedia.

Killer Instinct Gold

A port of the arcade fighting game Killer Instinct 2. Known for it's technical excellence with cutting edge graphics for the era.

Read more about Killer Instinct Gold on Wikipedia.

1997

GoldenEye 007

A standout title, which paved the way for other console first person shooters. It's well remembered for it's local couch co-op mode.

Read more about GoldenEye 007 on Wikipedia.

Star Fox 64

An influential on rails shooter. Commonly counted as one of the best entries in the Star Fox series.

Read more about Star Fox 64 on Wikipedia.

Diddy Kong Racing

The Diddy Kong Racing soundtrack was shaped to be like Diddy Kong's head, an unusual choice.

Read more about Diddy Kong Racing on Wikipedia.

Doom 64

Read more about Doom 64 on Wikipedia.

Yoshi's Story

Read more about Yoshi's Story on Wikipedia.

Mischief Makers

Shake, Shake!

—Marina, Mischief Makers

An eclectic 2D platformer with a distinct style. It was poorly received at launch before later becoming a cult classic.

Read more about Mischief Makers on Wikipedia.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Read more about Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on Wikipedia.

1998

• Wipeout 64
• Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
• Space Station Silicon Valley
• Quest 64
• 1080° Snowboarding

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

A considerable amount of crunch occurred during development.

The game is considered to be among the most important of the generation due to it's pioneering use of 3D game design to make a vast action adventure game with mechanical fluidity paired with excellent audio and graphical fidelity for the era. As a result of these factors, this game is often considered among the best ever made.

Read more about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Wikipedia.

Mario Party

The first entry in the popular Mario Party series.

A minigame control resulted in hand palm injuries by some gamers leading to an investigation by the New York Attorney General, which resulted in protective gloves being shipped to some affected parties.

Read more about Mario Party on Wikipedia.

F-Zero X

Fast paced futuristic racer.

Read more about F-Zero X on Wikipedia.

Banjo-Kazooie

A 3D platformer and collectathon made by the company Rare.

Read more about Banjo-Kazooie on Wikipedia.

Hey You, Pikachu!

A digital pet game about learning to communicate with a Pokemon creature, a Pikachu.

One of two games to use the Voice Recognition Unit (VRU). The system could recognize up to 256 words. The game was said to be difficult to control due to either poor voice recognition and or bad microphone quality.

Read more about Hey You, Pikachu! on Wikipedia.

1999

• Super Smash Bros.
• Turok: Rage Wars
• Superman 64
• Star Wars Episode I: Racer
• Pokémon Stadium
• Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Mario Golf
• Jet Force Gemini
• Mario Party 2
• Harvest Moon 64
• Donkey Kong 64

2000

• Paper Mario
• Perfect Dark
• The World Is Not Enough
• Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
• StarCraft 64
• Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo
• Pokémon Stadium 2
• Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
• Sin and Punishment
• Ridge Racer 64
• Mega Man 64
• Mario Party 3
• Mario Tennis
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
• Excitebike 64
• Banjo-Tooie

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

A short documentary on Eiji Aonuma and the creation of Majora's Mask by YouTube channel Video Game Story Time.

Read more about The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask at Wikipedia.

2001

• Dr. Mario 64
• Conker's Bad Fur Day

Post Market

A number of notable titles saw release after the platform was officially discontinued.

40 Winks

A game with a rocky development finally shipped an Nintendo 64 version in December of 2018.

Read more about 40 Winks on Wikipedia.

Dinosaur Planet

A December 1st, 2000 build of Dinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64 by Rare was unofficially released on the 20th, of February, 2021 as the result of an online leak.

Dinosaur Planet had previously been released under a different name following a significant overhaul. Read more about Star Fox Adventures for the GameCube on Wikipedia.

Gallery

N64 Console

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  Four controller ports are built into the front panel.
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  The top of the unit contains the cartridge slot, the RAM expansion port, power toggle, and reset button.
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  The Hyundai Comboy 64.

N64 Controllers

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  The unique Nintendo 64 Controller
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  A common way of holding the N64 Controller. The controller was meant to be gripped different ways for different games.
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  The Nintendo 64 Controller with Rumble Pak installed, allowing games to have force feedback.
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  The Nintendo 64 DD Mouse was for the Japanese Mario Paint game.

Accessories

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  Nintendo 64 Game Cartridge
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  The Jumper Pak
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  The N64 Transfer Pak
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  A 4MB Expansion Pak
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  The Nintendo 64 Power Supply used in the United States of America.
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  The Controller Pak memory card
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  The Rumble Pak
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  The N64 Bio Sensor
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  The Nintendo 64 Voice Recognition Unit (VRU)
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  The unofficial Z64 backup tool.
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  A SharkWire Online kit.

64DD

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  The Nintendo 64 DD installed in under a Nintendo 64.
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  The Nintendo 64 Disk Drive by itself.
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  A Nintendo 64 Disk in its protective case.
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  A Nintendo 64 Disk viewed from the bottom.
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  The Nintendo 64 Modem was used with the disk drive add on.
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  The Nintendo 64 Modem had its telephone jack in the rear, hiding the cable somewhat while in use.

Developer Tools

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  The Nintendo Ultra64 DevKit with the cover off, based on the Silicon Graphics Indy computer.
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  The Joybus board connected to the Ultra64 DevKit.
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  An additional Joybus board for the Ultra64 DevKit.
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  A 256 megabit Nintendo 64 Developer Cartridge.
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  The WideBoy64 AGB was meant for publishers reviewing GameBoy Advance games. It was not made available to the general public.
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  Doctor V64, an unofficial dev kit.
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  The rear of the Doctor V64.
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  The Doctor V64 with N64 installed.

iQue Player

The Nintendo backed iQue Player released in 2003 exclusively in mainland China, and was an all in one system that played Nintendo 64 games.

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  The iQue player. The system is built into the controller.
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  An iQue with memory card.
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  The iQue motherboard.
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  How the iQue player is set up.
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  iQue Player healthy gaming popup.
• ISBN info from the iQue Player.
  ISBN info from the iQue Player.
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  iQue settings menu.

Technology

• 
  The N64 Motherboard.
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  The N64 Controller Motherboard.
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  WideBoy 64 Motherboard. A Xilinx Spartan FPGA is used.
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  A NEC VR4300
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  RCP

Development

There is a WikiBook on N64 Programming.

External Resources

Archived web materials

• Nintendo of America website - 1996
• N64 Website - 1998
• N64 Hardware website - 1998

Other Websites

• Video Game Console Library - Nintendo 64 page with technical info.
• Video Game Console Library - Nintendo 64 DD page with technical info.

References

• 
  The NEC PC-FX with controller attached.

History

Development

NEC had previously attempted to enter the home console market with the TurboGrafx-16 line of consoles.

Launch

The PC-FX was launched on the 23rd of December, 1994.

The PC-FX GA expansion card was made to allow the PC-FX games to be played on personal computers running the DOS/V operating system and a free ISA expansion slot.

The final game for the PC-FX was released in 1998.

Legacy

The PC-FX is primarily remembered as a console that excelled in 2D and FMV performance, in an era dominated by demand for 3D gaming. Compared to other consoles of the era, the Japan focused library of games stands out. While many games for the system have aged poorly, they represent design trends that would shortly thereafter fall out of favor, making them an important window into 1990's game design trends. The system is also remembered for it's highly unusual industrial design.

Technology

Compute

The PC-FX uses a 32-bit RISC NEC V810 CPU clocked at 21.5 megahertz. The PC-FX had a performance of 20 million instructions per second (MIPS).

The PC-FX has 3.25 megabytes (26 megabits) of RAM, split between 2 megabytes of system RAM, and 1.25 megabytes of Video RAM.

Co-Processors

The PC-FX had a number of subsystems designed to show video streams and other features without taxing the CPU.

The most unusual chip, was the Huc6273 3D Accelerator chip, which was found only on the PC-FX GA and not on the PC-FX. Though underutilized, this chip allowed computers with a PC-FX GA to run some real time 3D software that would not be easily possible on a standard PC-FX console.

Hardware

The PC-FX CD-ROM drive is a 2x speed drive. The console could be linked with a PC-9800 computer via a special SCSI adapter to allow it to use the CD-ROM drive of the PC-FX, a useful feature in an time where such drives were quite expensive.

The system contained 32 kilobytes of battery backed RAM for long term save game storage and could also accept a memory card in the form of the 128 kilobyte FX-BMP. The PC-FX GA emulated this hardware and stored save game data standard floppy disks, hard disks, or other DOS/V accessible storage instead.

The system is noted for being hard to assemble.

Notable games

1994

Team Innocent: The Point of No Return

Team Innocent was a launch title for the PC-FX that used an animated intro screen and sprites on predrawn backgrounds.

1995

Kishin Dōji Zenki FX: Vajra Fight

A beat em up well know for its artful 2D presentation. The game made good use of environmental storytelling in background details as well. The gameplay is well regarded, but the game is notably short, especially for the era in which it was released.

Read more about Kishin Dōji Zenki FX: Vajra Fight on Wikipedia.

Gallery

Console

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PC-FXGA

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  A PC-FX GA (PC-9800 C-BUS formfactor) expansion card for computers.
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  V810 CPU used on the PC-FXGA.
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  HuC6230 sound chip used on the PC-FXGA.
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  HuC6261 image encoder chip used on the PC-FXGA.
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  HuC6271 Motion JPEG decoder chip used on the PC-FXGA.
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  HuC6272 memory controller used on the PC-FXGA.
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  HuC6273 3D chip used on the PC-FXGA (But not the regular PC-FX console).

Controllers & Accessories

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  FX-BMP
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  FX-MOU

Internals

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  An aftermarket modchip has been installed on this motherboard.
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External Resources

• Video Game Kraken - PC-FX page about the history of the console.
• Old Computers Museum - PC-FX Page with console history.
• LGR Oddware episode - On the PC-FX GA.

References

• 
  Bandai Playdia with wireless inferred controller.

History

Development

At the June 1994 Tokyo Game Show Bandai announces the BA-X, showcasing a Dragon Ball Z game.

Launch

The Playdia was released by Bandai in 1994 only in the Japanese market.

Legacy

The Playdia was discontinued in 1996, with remaining units being repurposed for use in arcades.

Technology

Compute

The Playdia is powered by an 8-bit Toshiba TMP87C800F clocked at eight megahertz, and another 8-bit NEC μPD78214GC processor.

The Playdia has 256 kilobytes of RAM, and 512 kilobytes of VRAM.

The Playdia uses a Asahi Kasei AK8000 processor for audio and visual processing.

Hardware

The Bandai Playdia has a CD Drive.

The Bandai Playdia uses a wireless controller.

Notable games

1994

• Dragon Ball Z - Shin Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku Chikyū Hen
• Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S - Quiz Taiketsu! Sailor Power Kesshū!!
• SD Gundam Daizukan

1995

• Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS

1996

• Gekisou Sentai Carranger

Gallery

Console

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  The Playdia with the CD bay open.

Internals

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References

• 
  Original PlayStation, with upgraded Dual Shock controller.
• 
  The smaller PSone without an LCD attached.

History

PlayStation wordmark.

Nintendo Partnership

The Play Station was initially a partnership between Nintendo and Sony to develop a disk based add on for the SNES. The partnership fell through when Nintendo made a surprise announcement in 1991 that they were partnering with Phillips for their CD-i system instead, as they did not want to yield control over the SNES CD format to Sony.

Development

Ken Kutaragi, an important figure in the development of the PlayStation.

Despite litigation from Nintendo, Sony continued to develop their game console independently.

Ken Kutaragi was able to keep costs low by leveraging Sony's existing semiconductor and CD-ROM factories. This vertical integration gave Sony a huge cost advantage over competing hardware, which had to buy from external firms instead of an internal supply chain.

The entry of Sony into the console market was initially not taken seriously by the industry. However by building a solid support infrastructure for their console prior to release, Sony was able to sign a number of developers, and even get a few developers to switch their franchises entirely to their platform. The PlayStation was also considered relatively easy to develop for, which was a huge advantage in a market featuring a number of consoles with hard to master architectures.

Launch

A PlayStation in use.

Japan

The PlayStation launched in Japan on December 3rd, 1994.

North America

Sony employee Steve Race announced the cost of the PlayStation in North America at E3 1995, shortly after Sega announced the release of it's Sega Saturn at a cost of $399.

$299

—Steve Race, Entire speech at E3 1995.

This short speech launched the room into applause, as the PlayStation was significantly less expensive than competing systems.

Europe

The PlayStation was quite popular after launching in France, with a March 4th, 1997 article in Le Monde claiming 600,000 consoles were sold over the prior 18 months.

Revisions

Various PlayStation revisions.

A number of revisions were made during the production of the PlayStation, resulting in the removal of RCA ports and later on the parallel port.

Net Yaroze

The Net Yaroze was launched in March of 1997 for $750 to promote independent development for the PlayStation. While not comparable to the full development kit with features like a debugger missing, the system gave Indie developers the opportunity to have demos of their games included in official Demo CDs.

Legacy

The original PlayStation had worldwide popularity. Here two children can be seen playing an original PlayStation in Nigeria in 2003.

The original PlayStation was followed by the PlayStation 2.

Manufacturing of the original PlayStation stopped in 2006. The PlayStation was a massively popular console, ultimately selling over 102 million units.

The original PlayStation had a popularity long surpassing its launch. Due to its status in the modding community as a cheap and beginner friendly console, unofficial mods for the system continued to be released as recently as 2021.

Technology

The PlayStation 1 CPU die.

PS1 was the best design of its generation.

—John Carmack, Tweet on February 21st, 2013.

Compute

The PlayStation CPU uses a 32 bit RISCI processor derived from an LSI CoreWare CW33300 design, and is clocked at 33.87 megahertz.

The PlayStation has 2 megabytes of RAM and 1 megabyte of VRAM.

The PlayStation did not generate enough heat to need a fan.

Graphics

The PlayStation Aesthetic

The unique technical attributes of the PlayStation lead to games developed for the system possessing a unique aesthetic. A defining aspect of this are visually sharp polygons which "wobble".

Because of the relatively large storage space available on CD, many games used relatively high resolution textures. However a lack of compute resources meant that these textures were generally not very filtered or smoothed.

It's important to note the context of which the PlayStation would have been used to understand how its graphics would have actually looked to a gamer of the day. Generally game consoles of that period were played on cheap or modest consumer grade CRT televisions, which naturally had a fuzzy sort of quality and distortion to them. These imperfections and flaws thus somewhat worked to obscure console limitations. When playing original PlayStation games on superior displays, it should be noted that the result one sees is different from what would have been generally seen at the time.

Hardware

The Net Yaroze Development Tool

CD Drive

The PlayStation has a 2x speed CD Drive. Though the console is not the first to leverage CD-ROMs, the original PlayStation is perhaps the most iconic console to use CD-ROMs, and is often seen as the archetype of a CD-ROM Console.

Advantages

Sony was a major player in the CD-ROM industry, and the PlayStation exists precisely because of this given its origin as an SNES and Super Famicom CD-Add On. However the CD-ROM was important for more than design inertia. The use of CD technology was a major selling point of the system, for both consumers and manufacturers. This is because CD-ROMs were capable of much more storage then consumer grade cartridges of the time, allowing for more expansive games. CDs could be pressed at a lower cost for the manufacturer then the manufacture of cartridges.

Disadvantages

While the PlayStation was not the first console to use optical disks, the technology still had a long way to go. The most notable downside was speed, with many games requiring significant loading times. Despite the massive increase of capacity over cartridges, some ambitious developers required even more space than what could be offered by a CD-ROM, requiring some games to be shipped on multiple disks. Additionally, as the 1990s progressed, the proliferation of consumer CD-Burners made piracy for the system extraordinarily easy compared to cartridges.

Accessories

Memory Cards

Since the PlayStation could not burn save data to CD-ROMS and game saves had become a somewhat standard feature among games, a way for users to save games was needed. This was accomplished with memory cards.

PocketStation

In Japan, the Pocketstation was released as a basic handheld console and memory card combo that could sync mobile minigames with PlayStation games.

Games

The PlayStation section of the Super Potato game store in Akihabara, Japan in 2017. The console continued to be widely played after it was discontinued.

Qualities

• The original PlayStation is seen as an usurper in the JRPG field, with major publishers taking advantage of the system's enhanced storage capabilities, as well as a much lesser degree of publisher restrictions on game content to create new and innovative experiences. Many JRPGs for the original PlayStation are seen as "Killer Apps" for the system.
• Racing and sports games all did well on the original PlayStation.
• Platformers on the original PlayStation have a mixed legacy. While some of the most acclaimed platforms released on the original PlayStation, the system would also see the release of some of the most notorious platformed blunders of the genre.
• Thanks in part due to it's native CD audio capabilities, rhythm and music games did well on the system.

1995

Tekken

Read more about Tekken on Wikipedia.

Twisted Metal

Read more about Twisted Metal on Wikipedia.

Air Combat / Ace Combat

Read more about Air Combat on Wikipedia.

1996

Crash Bandicoot

The first Crash Bandicoot game.

Read more about Crash Bandicoot on Wikipedia.

Tomb Raider

Read more about Tomb Raider on Wikipedia.

Tekken 2

Read more about Tekken 2 on Wikipedia.

PaRappa the Rapper

Read more about PaRappa the Rapper on Wikipedia.

Revelations: Persona

The first of a series of games noted for loosely drawing concepts from Jungian psychology.

Read more about Revelations: Persona on Wikipedia.

Resident Evil

The first Resident Evil game.

The game included some Live Action cutscenes, and despite using some cutting edge filmmaking techniques for the time, credits for the actors involved were not properly recorded, leaving only the actor's first names in the credits.

The 1998 Resident Evil Director's Cut had music said to be composed by the then famous deaf composer Mamoru Samuragochi, only for it to later be revealed in 2014 that a Samuragochi used a ghostwriter, and that Samuragochi was not fully deaf. Samuragochi would later claim he actually had written the music for the Basement section of the game, and backed this up with a recorded VHS performance of him playing it on keyboard in the 1990's. The music of the Directors Cut is often seen as hit or miss, depending on the individual track.

Read more about Resident Evil on Wikipedia.

1997

• Gran Turismo - Best selling game on the system
• Final Fantasy VII - First 3D Final Fantasy game
• Tomb Raider II
• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Tomba! - 2.5D platformer adventure
• Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
• Mega Man Legends

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

2.5D mascot platformer Read more about Klonoa: Door to Phantomile on Wikipedia.

Ace Combat 2

Read more about Ace Combat 2 on Wikipedia.

1998

• Tekken 3
• Tomb Raider III
• Resident Evil 2
• Crash Bandicoot: Warped
• LSD: Dream Emulator
• MediEvil

Xenogears

Xenogears was originally supposed to be Final Fantasy 7.

Read more about Xenogears on Wikipedia.

Metal Gear Solid

The first 3D game in the Metal Gear series. This game was originally a 3DO title before development shifted to the PlayStation.

The game featured an advanced stealth system, accounting for events such as enemy guards tracking footprints the player left in the snow, using wolf urine to mask the player scent, and other innovative mechanics.

The acclaimed main theme of the game is notably similar to the earlier composition of Winter Road by the famed Russian composer Georgy Sviridov.

Read more about Metal Gear Solid on Wikipedia, or read the WikiBook on the general Metal Gear Series.

Spyro the Dragon

The first game in the Spyro the Dragon series. This innovative 3D platformer and collectathon allowed more open movement then most other games in the genre at the time.

Read more about Spyro the Dragon on Wikipedia.

1999

• Gran Turismo 2
• Final Fantasy VIII
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
• Silent Hill
• Chrono Cross
• Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return
• Ape Escape
• Pepsiman
• The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
• 40 Winks
• Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
• Crash Team Racing

Persona 2: Innocent Sin

Despite being the older release, Innocent Sin was released in North America years after Eternal Punishment due to localization issues arising from including Adolf Hitler as a character.

Read more about Persona 2: Innocent Sin on Wikipedia.

Um Jammer Lammy

The sequel to PaRappa the Rapper. The game is noted for it's guitar focused spin on the mechanics of PaRappa the Rapper.

Read more about Um Jammer Lammy on Wikipedia.

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

The sequel to Spyro was released just a year later, and featured greater movement options, as well as more side quests.

Read more about Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! on Wikipedia.

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere

Read more about Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere on Wikipedia.

2000

• Final Fantasy IX
• Spyro: Year of the Dragon
• Crash Bash
• Dragon Quest VII
• Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
• Mega Man Legends 2

Vagrant Story

Vagrant Story is known for its system defying artwork, which used subtle application of pixel art and 3D tricks to create an incredibly detailed environment, especially given the limitations of the hardware.

Read more about Vagrant Story on Wikipedia.

2001

Tear Ring Saga

A tactical role playing game developed by Shouzou Kaga, the creator of the Fire Emblem series. Nintendo would later take legal action over the close similarities between this game and Fire Emblem.

Read more about Tear Ring Saga on Wikipedia.

Gallery

PlayStation

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  The PlayStation Motherboard

PSone

• 
  PSone with an LCD. This was not a handheld solution, but did allow for easy transport for use anywhere with a power outlet.
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  PSone with an LCD, rear view.
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  PSone with an LCD, lid closed.
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PSone Internals

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  The PSone Motherboard
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Controllers

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  Original Controller
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  DualShock Controller
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  Analog Joystick Controller
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  A fight stick for the Playstation.
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  Namco Jogcon
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  Namco Guncon
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  Ascii grip controller

Accessories

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  The standard PlayStation memory card.
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  The PocketStation memory card.
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  A PlayStation link cable
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  A Multitap adaptor
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  Composite cables
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  GameShark for Playstation
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  Third party 2X Memory Card
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  PlayStation Mouse

Development

• 
  NTSC blue Debug station
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  PAL blue debgging station.
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  Serial plate for the debugging station.
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  Net Yaroze

Nintendo Play Station

The prototype Nintendo Play Station.

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Marketing

• 
  PlayStation Logo
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  PlayStation console logotype.
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  PSOne logotype.

References

• 
  Pokémon Pikachu
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  Pokémon Pikachu Color.

History

Pokemon Pikachu was released in Japan on Friday, March 27th, 1998 for 2,500 yen. The system was later released in North America on November 2nd, 1998 for $19.95. This dedicated console used a pedometer to measure player activity and create an fusion of exercising and a digital pet gaming experience on the go. The system also featured a slot machine gambling mechanic.

The Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS was released in Japan on Sunday, November 21st, 1999 for 3,000 yen, and in North America and Europe the following year.

The Pokémon Mini was a cartridge based followup console released in 2001. Some consider the later Poke Walker accessory for the Nintendo DS to be part of the legacy of this device, as it shares a similar concept.

Technology

A CR2032 disposable lithium coin cell battery, similar to that used by the Pokémon Pikachu handheld console.

The console had built in clock, as well as a pedometer for measuring player activity. The system can be cliped onto a belt, making it an early example of wearable computing and a wearable console.

The original Pokemon Pikachu used a black and white screen.

The Pokemon Pikachu 2 GS featured a color screen and inferred port, which could send data to other Pokemon Pikachu 2 GS handhelds, as well as to GameBoy Color consoles.

The system is powered by a single CR2032 disposable lithium coin cell battery.

External Resources

• Google Arts and Culture - Contains a picture of a unit in packaging.

References

• 
  R-Zone headset with controller attached.

History

The R-Zone HeadGear was launched in 1995 at a cost of $30. This system was not successful for a number of reasons, notably including giving players headaches.

The R-Zone SuperScreen was launched in 1996. The R-Zone X.P.G. and R-Zone DataZone were released in 1997.

After selling poorly production of the R-Zone ceased in 1997.

The R-Zone was succeeded by the Game.com.

Technology

The R-Zone uses 4-bit Sharp SM5xx series processors.

Notable games

• Batman & Robin

Gallery

General Technology

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  R-Zone cartridges also included the console screen.
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  A Sharp SM510 processor die with top metal removed, similar to the one used in the R-Zone.
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  A Sharp SM510 processor die with top metal present, similar to the one used in the R-Zone.

Headset

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  The R-Zone headset.
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  The R-Zone controller.

XGP

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  The Xtreme Pocket Game with mirror deployed.
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• 
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SuperScreen

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  The SuperScreen in closed position
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  The SuperScreen in open position.

External Resources

• Video Game Kraken - R-Zone page with additional history and gallery of game cartridges.

References

• 
  Sega Saturn Model 1
• 
  Sega Saturn Model 2

History

Development

Sega approached both Sony and Silicon Graphics about collaborating on console hardware, but these deals fell through. Both companies would market consoles that would prove to be significant competitors to the Saturn. Sony would launch the original Playstation and Silicon Graphics became a key technology partner with Nintendo during the development of the Nintendo 64.

The Sega Saturn was initially focused on 2D games, but fearing competition from Sony's Playstation, Sega engineer Hideki Sato decided to add another CPU to give the Saturn extra power this without consulting the company's main experts in 3D Graphics, who were busy in the Arcade division. This lead to a strange and unique technical architecture for the Saturn, which somewhat increased it's capabilities at the great expenses of additional production costs and development complexity.

Launch

The Japanese Mark 1 console.

The Sega Saturn was launched in Japan in November of 1994 at a cost of 44,800 yen.

The Sega Saturn was launched in the USA four months earlier then initially planned when a surprise E3 1995 announcement was made that the Saturn would be released that weekend at a price of $399, which caused Sega to take a $100 loss on each Saturn sold. The surprise launch damaged relations with 3rd party developers and retailers.

Sega had a hard time attracting 3rd party developers in part because the Saturn very difficult to develop for on its own, and this was made worse by the Saturn initially lacking a compiler - requiring programmers to use platform specific assembly for Saturn games.

In December 1995 the Hi-Saturn was released in Japan at a cost of 150,000 yen. The Hi-Saturn is an automotive version of the Saturn that was a GPS navigation system and entertainment system.

Legacy

The Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998. The system sold less than 10 million units, but has a cult following. The Saturn was followed by the Dreamcast.

Following the failure of the Saturn, Ken Kutaragi of Sony would boast to Saturn designer Hideki Sato of the vertical integration advantage Sony had over Sega, and urged them to become a software focused developer, which Sega eventually did following the inability of the Dreamcast to gain marketshare.

By 2020 the Sega Saturn was known as a difficult console to collect for.

Technology

Saturn was nuts

—John Carmack, Tweet on February 21st, 2013.

Compute

The Sega Saturn has two Hitachi 32-bit SH-2 processors clocked at 28.63 megahertz with 4 kilobytes of cache memory.

The Sega Saturn has 2MB of RAM, split into one megabyte of SDRAM, and one megabyte of slower DRAM. The Saturn also has 1.5 megabytes of VRAM.

The Saturn uses two custom GPUs, the VDP1 and the VDP2.

Hardware

Audio was handled by the Saturn Custom Sound Processor, the Yamaha YMF292.

Development Hardware

A special development model, Sega Saturn Address Checker, was used by developers to verify memory usage compliance. Early revisions of this hardware is notable for it's length, at approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long.

Notable Games

Used Sega Saturn games for sale in a Japanese store.

1995

Panzer Dragoon

A cult classic rail shooter.

Read more about Panzer Dragoon on Wikipedia.

1996

• Nights into Dreams
• Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
• Sakura Wars

1997

Shining Force III

Read more about Shining Force III on Wikipedia.

Last Bronx

Read more about Last Bronx on Wikipedia.

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

An entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Read more about Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers on Wikipedia.

Sonic R

A racing game in the Sonic series, and the poster Sonic game for the Sega Saturn. Well known for the song "Super Sonic Racing".

Read more about Sonic R on Wikipedia.

Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru

A sidescroller action game noted for its extremely limited production run.

Read more about Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru on Wikipedia.

Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams

A port of the arcade side scrolling shooter game.

Read more about Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams on Wikipedia.

Bulk Slash

Open 3D environment mech game.

Read more about Bulk Slash on Wikipedia.

1998

The House of the Dead

Read more about The House of the Dead on Wikipedia.

Radiant Silvergun

Read more about Radiant Silvergun on Wikipedia.

Gallery

Consoles

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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn Mark 1
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  Sega Saturn US Mark 2
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  Sega Saturn US Mark 2
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  Sega Saturn US Mark 2 V1
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  Sega Saturn US Mark 2 V2
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  Victor JX2
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  Victor JX2
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  Victor JX2
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  Victor JX2

Controllers & Accessories

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  Japanese Mark 2 controller
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  Sega Saturn 3D Control Pad
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  Japanese Sega Saturn 3D Pad
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  US Sega Saturn Mouse
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  Sega Saturn Multitap
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  Sega Saturn
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  GameShark
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  Composite cables
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  S video cables
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  Net Link
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  Installed Net Link Modem
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  Sega Saturn Net Link PS/2 keyboard adapter.
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  Sega Net Link keyboard.
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  Sega Saturn extended RAM cartridge

Internals

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  Mark 1 internals
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  Mark 1 internals
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  Mark 1 internals
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  Mark 1 internals
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  Mark 1 power supply
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  Mark 1 power supply
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  Mark 1 laser assembly
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  Mark 1 laser assembly
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  Mark 2 V1 internals
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  Mark 2 V1 internals
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  Mark 2 V1 internals
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  Mark 2 V1 internals
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  Mark 2 V2 internals
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  Mark 2 V2 internals
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  Mark 2 V2 internals
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  Mark 2 V2 internals
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A US Sega Saturn Motherboard
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  A Sega Saturn Motherboard

Marketing

• 
  Sega Saturn USA version logotype.
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  Sega Saturn Japanese version logotype.

References

• 
  Virtual Boy with games

History

Virtual Boy logotype.

The Virtual Boy was Nintendo's first attempt at semi-portable virtual reality.

Background

A company in Cambridge, Massachusetts had come up with an inexpensive heads up display that they tried to pitch to several gaming companies, including Sega and Mattel, but only Nintendo took serious interest in the technology. Following a 1991 pitch, Gunpei Yokoi, the head of Nintendo's R&D1 division, took interest in the technology and put his retirement plans on hold.

Development

Concern about liability from people moving without awareness of their surroundings caused the concept for a wearable virtual boy to be abandoned in favor of a tabletop unit.

Hardware testing reportedly involved testers placing their heads in a vice grip, and then undergo pupil dilation and air puffs to the eye to then stare unblinkingly for a minute with plastic rods sitting in front of their eyes in addition to a light source.

Launch

The Virtual Boy launched in Japan in July of 1995 and in North America on August 21st, 1995 at a price of $179.99 with the game Mario Tennis included. On October 18th, 1995 the price of the Virtual Boy was lowered to $159.95. By May 1996 Nintendo dropped the price of the Virtual Boy to $99.

Legacy

The Virtual Boy being shown at E3 2006.

The console was discontinued in August 1996. Lasting about a year on the market before being pulled, the Virtual Boy was significant as one of the first major game console by Nintendo to fail on the market.

The Virtual Boy only sold 770,000 units worldwide.

Critics of the Virtual Boy, including founder of Oculus Palmer Luckey, claim it damaged the VR industry in the long term.

Following the failure of the Virtual Boy, Gunpei worked on the redesigned GameBoy Pocket, then resigned from Nintendo in August of 1996 surprising many in the industry. Gunpei stated that his resignation was not due to the Virtual Boy, but rather to go independent. While his independent work would later become the WonderSwan, Gunpei himself died in 1997 from an automobile accident.

Technology

Compute

The Virtual Boy used a NEC V810 32 bit RISC CPU with additional instructions clocked at 20MHz. The CPU was capable of 18 MIPS.

The system had 128kb of DRAM and 64kb of WRAM. For graphics there was 128kb of VRAM.

Display

The color spectrum of the Virtual Boy.

The Virtual Boy used an oscillating mirror display using red LEDs, similar to the Entex Adventure Vision an earlier and more primitive tabletop console without stereoscopic capabilities.

Each eyepiece had a resolution of 384 by 224 and operated at 50 hertz. The display could output black and three hues of red at 128 different intensities. Mirrors were placed at a 45 degree angle. The LEDs used by the Virtual Boy gave it very good contrast, especially compared to other contemporary display technologies.

User specific calibration is important for displays of this form, and the Virtual Boy is no exception. The console had controls for adjusting focus, as well as a dial for adjusting inter-pupillary distance.

Hardware

The Virtual Boy supported 16 bit sound.

Cartridges can have between 512 kilobytes and 2 megabytes (2048 kilobytes) of ROM for game data and can have up to eight kilobytes of battery backed RAM for game saves.

Controller

The decision to use two D-Pads was said to be spurred by Gunpei Yokoi.

Software

Virtual Boy Game Paks.

About 30,000 lines of assembly code is used in the Virtual Boy game Mario Tennis.

Games

The Virtual Boy only saw 22 games released across all regions during its production.

1995

• Golf
• Panic Bomber
• Innsmouth no Yakata
• SD Gundam Dimension War
• Space Invaders Virtual Collection
• Vertical Force
• Virtual League Baseball
• Mario Clash
• Mario's Tennis

Teleroboxer

A well received boxing game.

Read more about Teleroboxer on Wikipedia.

Virtual Boy Wario Land

Often regarded as the best game for the system.

Read more about Virtual Boy Wario Land on Wikipedia.

Waterworld

This game was considered among the most notable third party titles for the Virtual Boy.

This game supported single console multiplayer, which was done by having users play compete in individual sessions.

This game received poor to mediocre reception.

Read more about Waterworld on Wikipedia.

Galactic Pinball

The performance of the announcer in this game led the voice actor to strive for a more energetic performance in the later Nintendo 64 game F-Zero X.

Read more about Galactic Pinball on Wikipedia.

Jack Bros

A well received Halloween themed action game. This game featured the Jack Bros from the Megami Tensei series, and was the first entry of the series to have an international release.

Read more about Jack Bros. on Wikipedia.

Red Alarm

An ambitious and technically impressive flight combat game. The game did not receive a great critical reception, in part due to a lack of shading making gameplay difficult.

Developers of Red Alarm had to contend with the then new idea of 3D console gaming, and how such a game could be easily controlled by the player.

Read more about Red Alarm on Wikipedia.

1996

• 3D Tetris

Nester's Funky Bowling

A tie in with the magazine Nintendo Power.

Read more about Nester's Funky Bowling on Wikipedia.

Canceled and Unreleased

• Dragon Hopper - Action adventure game.
• Bound High! - Action puzzle game.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Port
• Galaxian3: Project Dragoon - Port
• Worms - Port

Star Fox

Tech demo at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show of 1995 and E3 1995.

Zero Racers/G-Racers

F-Zero game said to be completed but unreleased.

Read more about Zero Racers on Wikipedia.

Gallery

Virtual Boy

• 
  The Virtual Boy
• 
  The Virtual Boy viewport
• 
  The Virtual Boy ports

Controller

• 
  The Virtual Boy Controller
• 
  The Virtual Boy controller contained the battery pack for the unit.
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Accessories

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  The Virtual Boy Battery pack attaches to the controller.
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  The Virtual Boy AC Adapter attaches to the controller.

Display Output

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  Normal Left eye display output
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  Glitched Right eye display output

Virtual Boy usage

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  Virtual Boy demo kiosk in use
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  A person uses a virtual boy while lying down. While not officially the correct way to use a virtual boy, many claim this is the most comfortable way.
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Console Internals

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• 
• 
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  Eye mechanism assembly
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  LED arrays in the eye mechanism. An oscillating mirror creates the 3D effect.
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  The Virtual Boy motherboard from the back
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  The Virtual Boy motherboard from the front
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Notes

• 
  Various WonderSwan consoles

History

WonderSwan logotype.

Development

Following his 1996 departure from Nintendo, Gunpei Yokoi, the designer of the Game Boy and the Virtual Boy, spearheaded the creation of a new handheld with Bandai through his new company Koto Laboratory. Though Gunpei would die in a traffic accident in 1997 the console continued to be developed.

Launch

The original WonderSwan was released in Japan on March 4th, 1999 by Bandai at a cost of ¥6800 yen.

In 1999 an accessory was announced that would allow photos from a specific digital camera to be sent to a WonderSwan, however this device was not released.

In 2000 the WonderGate was announced, a device which would allow the WonderSwan to connect to NTT DoCoMo mobile phones and connect to the Internet.

The improved Wonderswan Color was released in December 2000, and managed to climb close to a 10% marketshare of Japanese gaming handhelds before the GameBoy Advance was released.

An ultimately unreleased GPS add on was demoed in 2001, as well as three games by Namco that would leverage the GPS support. Also in 2001 an unreleased wireless adapter for a Casio watch camera was announced.

The WonderSwan crystal was released in 2002 with an improved display.

Legacy

The WonderSwan Monochrome, Color, and Crystal collectively sold an estimated 3.5 million systems in Japan, the only region it was officially sold.

Technology

Compute

The WonderSwan uses a 16 bit SPGY-1001 processor, a custom version of the NEC V30 MZ, clocked at 3.072MHz.

The WonderSwan has 16 kilobytes of RAM.

Design

The WonderSwan could be used vertically, as well as horizontally.

The layout of buttons on the system was designed to allow for either vertical or horizontal play.

Notable Games

1999

• Gunpey
• Digimon Adventure: Anode/Cathode Tamer
• Ganso JaJaMaru-kun
• Buffers Evolution
• Clock Tower
• Kaze no Klonoa: Moonlight Museum
• Magical Drop for Wonderswan
• Makaimura for WonderSwan
• Mr. Driller
• Puyo Puyo 2
• Tekken Card Challenge
• Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chōsensha

2000

• One Piece: Become the Pirate King!
• Rainbow Islands: Putty's Party
• Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
• Ring: Infinity
• Rhyme Rider Kerorican - The only game to use the system diagonally.

2001

• Blue Wing Blitz
• Digimon Battle Spirit
• Guilty Gear Petit
• Guilty Gear Petit 2
• Final Fantasy II
• Judgement Silversword
• Romancing SaGa

2002

• Final Fantasy IV - RPG
• Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit Ver. 1.5
• Digimon Battle Spirit 2
• The Final Fantasy Legend
• Front Mission
• Namco Super Wars - Crossover Tactical RPG
• Riviera: The Promised Land - RPG
• X: Card of Fate - Card battle game based on a manga.

2003

• Rockman EXE N1 Battle
• Rockman EXE WS
• Kidou Senshi Gundam: Gihren no Yabou Special - Mobile Suit Gundam: Gihren's Greed
• Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord

Gallery

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  The monochrome WonderSwan
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  The WonderSwan Color
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  The WonderSwan Color back. The console ran on a single AA battery.
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  The red-purple wine colored SwanCrystal.
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  The blue colored SwanCrystal.
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  The WonderSwan WonderWave allowed limited IR communication with other WonderSwan consoles, as well as the Sony PocketStation as shown here.
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  The Headphone Adapter and WonderWave modules.