Strange and forgotten consoles

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Tired of the same old high-selling commercialized crap? Do you yearn for the unnatural, unloved, and potentially unholy world of knockoffs and failed consoles? Well we have just the section for you! Note that not everything on this page can be emulated. If it exists and technically classifies as a video game console, it's on this page for your viewing pleasure.

Consoles

  • Commodore 64 Games System
  • Zemmix
  • XaviXPort gaming console
  • EVO Smart Console

Action Max

VHS tape console released in 1987 by Worlds of Wonder. It relied on a light gun and score counter for all of its 5 games, which could not really be lost. Cinemassacre Demonstration (WARNING: Contains Mike)

Amstrad GX4000

A consolized PC. System Overview

Apple Bandai Pippin

Apple's attempt at being relevant to games. It failed. Vintage review Currently, there is only preliminary MESS support, but some of its games may be playable on other Apple emus.

Atari XEGS

A repackaging of existing hardware, marketed as a game console. Notable for having possibly the worst physical design ever. Overview

Casio Loopy

A Japan-only game console designed for girls, focused on printing stickers. A Magical Shop add-on allowed for the printing of any screenshot, not just Loopy games. Preliminary support in MESS. Drunken Printing Demonstration

Casio PV-1000

A 1983 console pulled from shelves very quickly. Like many others, its titanic failure makes it a rarity nowadays.

Dendy

The NES, but for slavs. Only Kinaman can properly explain this one (turn on CC). Has decent support in MESS, and its status as an NES clone means its "exclusives" can be played on NES emulators that support broken pirate carts.

Mattel Hyperscan

Something you would expect to see under a bargain bin at Wal-mart, the Mattel Hyperscan was a card/disc based system released in 2006 to appeal to some poor child's aunt at Christmas. CGR Review No known emulators.

Memorex VIS

A beautiful monster sold only at RadioShack in the early 90s. No known emulators, but its software may be playable on Windows 3.x emus, as the console's OS was an altered version of that. Overview

Nintendo iQue Player

An official game console released in China in an attempt to stop piracy in the region. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. It's basically an N64 clone with no original titles. Overview No known emulators.

Nuon

A hybrid DVD player/game console with enhanced movie-viewing tools. Only a few games were made for the system, as the cheaper PS2 slaughtered it.

RDI Halcyon

A terrifying machine based on HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, featuring voice-recognition and AI learning. Its failure bankrupted RDI. There are no known emulators for the Halcyon, as mankind has yet to fully comprehend its awesome power. Demonstration

Super A'Can

An extremely rare Taiwan-only console released in 1995. Some preliminary support in MESS. Overview and Game demonstration

Nintendo Famicom Box

A hybrid NES/Famicom arcade box distributed to hotels in Japan. The hotel would set the amount of time you could play on one token, and choose the games available.

Playdia

A disc based system released in Japan by Bandai in 1994. Notably, it had a wireless controller and all of its titles were interactive movies like Dragon's Lair. No known emulators.

Sega Pico

Child's edutainment console released in 1993. Was actually fairly successful. Has good support in MESS, but why the hell are you trying to emulate baby games?

Zeebo

Brazilian everything-box.


Handhelds

Gamate

Another attempt to capture part of the Game Boy market, the Gamate was released in the early 90s by Bit Corporation. The magnitude of its failure makes it and its software obscenely rare today, with prices over 500 dollars for the handheld alone on ebay. It's so obscure, the developers of MESS don't even list it as having preliminary support, and no known ROM dumps exist.

Tiger Game.com

An infamous piece of shit, with quite possibly the worst screen on any handheld ever. Somehow still had a port of Resident Evil 2. CGR review

Hartung Game Master

A German Game Boy knock off. Also distributed in the UK. Demonstration

Nokia N-Gage

Nokia's attempt at making a cell phone/handheld system hybrid, before mobile gaming really took off. Although it was the most powerful handheld in its time, it failed due to a high price, a terrible button layout, numerous design flaws, and its underdeveloped cell phone component. Had a redesign called the QD, but it was only slightly better. Most of its games were ports, either from the GBA or from the PS1 and Saturn. While it didn't have any standout titles, it still had a few odd original entries from big franchises such as Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey and SSX: Out of Bounds. Review

Watara Supervision

An attempt at making a real competitor for the Game Boy. Has some support in MESS. Overview