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Strange and forgotten consoles

1,898 bytes added, 21:16, 30 April 2020
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|[[Atari_8-bit#Atari_XEGS|Atari XEGS]]
|PreliminaryDecent
|Yes
|A repackaging of the [[Atari 8-bit]] computer line marketed as a game console. Notable for having possibly the worst physical design ever. It has preliminary support in MAME, as does the 65XE computer it's based on. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2gF5wWns0E Overview] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVK3ukQmMA CGR Review]. It is also supported on [[Altirra]].
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|[[wikipedia:BBC_Bridge_Companion|BBC Bridge Companion]]
|[http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=bbcbc Good]
|Yes
|An 8-Bit console made exclusively for teaching people to play bridge.
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|[[wikipedia:PV-1000|Casio PV-1000]]
|None
|Sega also had a go with the VHS-Based console market with the Family Driver from 1988 and unlike most of these type of consoles, this did not play Light-gun games but instead played driving games. Only three games were released for the system; it's unknown when Sega discontinued it.
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|Funsation
Off-The-Wall Projector
|None
|None
|Released circa 1989 by European company, Funsation (The Exact Origin is Unknown).This Projector based console somehow sold worse and is even rarer then the "Mega Video Game" (A similar console that also flopped). It's unknown how many games were made for it, how many units sold or when it was discontinued.
 
It was also released in France (and Germany?) by French toy company, Savie as the [https://imgur.com/gallery/ZawKz "Projector Jeu Électronique LCD"]
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|[[wikipedia:LJN Video Art|LJN Video Art]]
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|[[wikipedia:Philips_Videopac_%2B_G7400|Philips Videopac + G7400]]
|[http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=g7400 ImperfectDecent]
|[https://mega.co.nz/#!MRMCGKSJ!x8Mk78ClxL5y2Js3IdRts0GiY8U9TS46JcuXbTx9S1c No-intro]
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|Playtime Projector Mega Video Game
|None
|No
|Released in 1988 by the Hong Kongese company, Playtime Products. The Mega Video Game played Game & Watch style games and used a built-in projector as the display. Less then 15 games were released for the system, and was discontinued sometime between 1989 and 1990. how many units were sold is unknown.
 
Furthermore, it's important to note that PlayTime licensed the console to various toy and electronics companies to rebrand and available in other countries. In the UK, Grandstand sold it as the [[wikipedia:Grandstand_(game_manufacturer)#Projector-based_'Light'_games|Light Games]], and was released in Italy by Fantastiko.
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|[[RDI Halcyon]]
|Decent
|[https://archive.org/details/Epoch_Super_Cassette_Vision_TOSEC_2012_04_23 TOSEC]/[https://archive.org/details/supercassettevision_library ✓]
|1984 successor to the original Cassette Vision. Much easier to emulate as the hardware is similar to some other obscure systems. There's an emulator for it called [http://takeda-toshiya.my.coocan.jp/ eSCV]. The graphical quality is somewhere between the ColecoVision and NES. Was actually fairly successful in Japan until the Famicom came along and kicked its ass. Then [http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/11/117006/1757950-ladycassettevision.jpg this] [https://www.svg.com/94780/bizarre-console-flops-gaming-history/ happened]. It has a homebrew scene that is still alive with some cool stuff like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MudYEDUK3Nw a port of Super Mario Bros] and was the first console with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWPapt33UgQ Dragon Ball] videogame.
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|[http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=2&c=1294 Soundic SD-290]
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|[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%94%E3%82%AF%E3%83%8E Konami Picno]
|NonePreliminary
|None
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|[http://videogamekraken.com/%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%B0-by-skb-kontur-%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B1-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80 Krokha]
|NoneDecent
|None
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|[[wikipedia:Tandy_Video_Information_System|Memorex VIS]]
|ImperfectDecent
|None
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|A beautiful monster sold only at RadioShack in the early 90s. The software may be playable on Windows 3.x emulators, as the console's OS was an altered version of that.
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|[https://fcgamer.wordpress.com/category/cai-system/?fbclid=IwAR0EIdqkVwGZyLEBzAxFPRuHY2aSim4PInPRe0U_g9e2TPj7nyL4oVuXLY4 Lico CAI System]
|None
|None
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|An educational console released by Lico around the early to mid 90s. Little is known about the CAI System other then it was only sold in Taiwan. It's unknown how many units were sold, when it was discontinued or how many games were released.
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|[[Philips CD-i emulators|Philips CD-i]]
|ImperfectDecent
|Yes
|[https://archive.org/details/redumpPhilipsCdi ✓]
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|[[wikipedia:Sega_Pico|Sega Pico]]
|Good
|[https://archive.org/details/Sega_Pico_TOSEC_2012_04_13 TOSEC]/[https://archive.org/download/No-Intro-Collection_2015-03-03 No-intro]
|None
|None
|Released in 1998 by VTech, The Unlimited is a Console-Computer hybrid akin to something like the Coleco Adam or the Odyssey 2. the Precomputer brand dates back to 1988 with the Modal 1000, and was your typical educational computer of the era. The Unlimited's main OS was heavily influenced by Windows 3.1 and the system it self included 45 programs built-in. it also had cartridge slot for more programs and games. Features Basic features and oddities that came standard on all most late 90s and early 2000s VTech educational computers can be found on the PCU as well. this includes a cartridge slot for more programs and games, a parallel port for printing and an odd mouse that plugged into an RJ11 port. It is unknown how many units were sold, how many game were made for it or when it was discontinued
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|[https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Video_Buddy Video Buddy]
|None
|Trurip<br />[https://archive.org/details/Nuon.7z Images?]
|A hybrid DVD player/game console with enhanced movie-viewing tools, from a bunch of former Atari personnel. Only a few games were made for the system, as the cheaper PS2 slaughtered it. There was a closed-source emulator in production called [http://www.nuon-dome.com/files/Nuance_051.zip Nuance], but its author died and he didn't release the source code himself. Though it became [http://atariage.com/forums/topic/254444-nuon-game-system-talk-discussion/page-3#entry3564288 publicly] [http://www.dragonshadow.com/ available] and is in continued [https://sourceforge.net/projects/nuance-nuon-emulator/ development]again with better compatibility and faster performance.
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|[[wikipedia:V.Smile|V.Smile]]
|ImperfectDecent
||Yes [https://archive.org/details/VTechV.Smile ✓]
|An educational game machine by VTech. It derived from Sunplus' 16-bit SPG-series CPU architecture, which had similar peers including most [http://pnp-info.angelfire.com/ Jakks Pacific TV games] and Vii. The XaviXPORT was similar but had its own custom XaviX CPUs.
|[https://archive.org/details/ZAPiT_GameWave_Redump_2017-12-23 Redump]
|A failed attempt to steal sales from the upcoming Nintendo Wii, the Game Wave was an obscure console released in 2005 by ZAPiT Games that only had trivia games. It also had a VeggieTales family party game.
Giga Pets Explorer TV Game System
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|GoGo TV Video Vision
|NonePreliminary
|None
|Released in sometime between 2005 and 2006 by Manley, the GoGo is Another PS2 Eye-Toy turned into edutainment console and like the Ion, it flopped and has since fallen into obscurity, it's unknown how many games were made for it, how many units sold or when it was discontinued.
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|Telestory Interactive Storybook System
|NonePreliminary
|None
|Release in 2006 by Jakks Pacific for kids aged 3 and up, The Telestory is yet another edutainment console from 2000s and all the games are exactly what the console name would suggest, it's unknown how many games were made for it, how many units sold or when it was discontinued.
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|[[wikipedia:Vii|Vii]]
|[http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=vii Preliminary]Decent
|Yes
|A rather poor excuse of a response to the [[Wii emulators|Wii]], made by JungleTac, KenSingTon, and a dozen or so manufacturers churning out shoddy variants of it. Emulators have recently been made for the platform, with several projects aiming to provide support for Sunplus' rather oddball architecture, such as [http://www.maxconsole.com/maxcon_forums/threads/280551-MuchimeX-v0-5-has-been-released! MuchimeX for the original Xbox], and [http://hackmii.com/2010/04/sunplus-the-biggest-chip-company-youve-never-heard-of/ Unununium], the latter being the basis for a [[MESS]] core. The same goes for VTech's [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=vsmile V.Smile], the [[wikipedia:Xavix|XaviXPORT]] and most [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=batmantv Jakks Pacific] TV games including those [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=walle Disney tie-in ones].
|None
|None
|A failed microconsole that started from a Kickstarter project. The controller sucks and the games can be found elsewhere. Since the Ouya runs on Android, emulation is technically possible by extracting menu/application apk files and running them in an Android emulator or VM.
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|[https://www.clementoni.com/it/myclembox/ My Clem Box]
|None
|None
|Launched sometime in the early 2010s by Italian toy company , Clementoniseemingly as a partnership with Hong Kongese toy company, WinFun, Smart TV is series of educational consoles mainly sold almost exclusively in Italy. The controllers of these console ranged from traditional to the gimmicky with some having motion and PS2 EyeToy-like controls. There is around 10 to 20 25 games were released for these Italian European systems. An english It's unknown how many units have sold been or when these line of systems were discontinued. Smart TV console was also release in north american circa 2015 by Wal-Mart, under their Kid Connection brand, called the "Funtastic TV Adventures". It was a failure and only two games were released for the system, and both came bundled in with the console. It's unknown how many units were have sold been or when these line of systems were NA console was discontinued.
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|Yes
|Only 5 games exist for this handheld (Released in 1984). All can be found [http://www.theoldcomputer.com/roms/index.php?folder=Epoch/Game-Pocket-Computer/Cartridges here].
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|[[wikipedia:Grandstand_(game_manufacturer)#Projector-based_'Light'_games|Grandstand Light Games]]
|None
|No
|Have you every played a poor Game & Watch clone and said to yourself "I Would Love to Play This On The Big Screen"? Then the Light Games from 1988 is for you. It has a built-in projector and less then 10 games released for it. It's unknown how many units were sold or when it was discontinued.
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|[[wikipedia:Game_Master_(console)|Hartung Game Master]]
|DecentPreliminary
|Yes (No-intro)
|A German Game Boy knockoff released in 1990. Also distributed in the UK as the '''Systema 2000''' and under alternate names in other countries, including '''Super Game''' and '''Game Tronic'''. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay9dZ-RBpQA Demonstration]
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|[[wikipedia:Design Master Senshi Mangajukuu|Bandai Denshi Manga Juku]]
|NonePreliminary
|No
|Released in Japan by Bandai in 1995, the Denshi Manga Juku was a touchscreen-based console that was the predecessor to the WonderSwan. It was discontinued in 1996 and only four games were released for it (including of all things, an exclusive Rockman aka Mega Man game).
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|[[wikipedia:Cybiko|Cybiko/Cybiko Xtreme ]]
|Imperfect Decent
|[https://archive.org/download/TOSEC_V2017-04-23/Cybiko/ TOSEC]
|The Cybiko is a Russian handheld computer introduced in the U.S. by David Yang's company Cybiko Inc. as a retail test market in New York on April 2000, and rolled out nationwide in May 2000. It is designed for teens, featuring its own two-way radio text messaging system. It had over 430 "official" freeware games and applications.
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|Koei PasoGo
|NonePreliminary
|No
|In 1996, Koei released a Game Boy competitor in Japan called the PasoGo, and for some reason Koei decided to market it as being designed specifically to play the traditional Asian board game, Go. The console flopped thanks to its high price tag of 39,800 Yen (about $600 when adjusted for inflation), the size of the device, and the fact that all six launch titles were slightly different versions of Go. It's unknown how many units were sold or when it was discontinued.
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|[[wikipedia:Mega_Duck|MegaDuck/CougarBoy]]
|GoodDecent
|Yes
|Chinese knockoff Game Boy (Made and released in 1993 by a Hong Kong firm) that was branded with various bizarre names, despite each version being exactly the same. Used cartridges. ROMs are out there, surprisingly.
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|[[wikipedia:Game.com|Tiger Game.com]]
|ImperfectDecent
|No-intro // [https://archive.org/download/TOSEC_V2017-04-23/Tiger/ TOSEC]
|Launched on August 1997. An infamous piece of shit, with quite possibly the worst screen on any handheld ever. Somehow still had a "port" of Resident Evil 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfxzVFzvizE CGR review]. Notable milestones in industry: it was the first video game console to include a touchscreen and the first handheld console to include Internet connectivity.
!colspan="4"|2001-2010
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|[[wikipedia:iPod|Apple iPod(Classic/Nano)]]
|None
|No
|The Leapster Learning Game System (Released in late 2003) is an educational handheld game console aimed at 4 to 10-year-olds (preschool to fourth grade) and made by LeapFrog Enterprises. Its games teach the alphabet, phonics, basic mathematics (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), art, and animal facts to players. It featured a touchscreen and games from various licenses from Thomas & Friends to Sonic X. Oddly enough it's successors, i.e. the Didj, Leapster Explorer, and LeapPad series of tablets which run on the Pollux and NXP3200 platforms along with a customized Linux distribution has a homebrew scene that even features some emulators.
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|[[wikipedia:Pokemon_MiniPokémon mini emulators|Nintendo Pokémon Mini]]
|Decent
|[https://archive.org/download/TOSEC_V2017-04-23/Nintendo/Pokemon%20Mini/ TOSEC]
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|C2: Color & Card
|NonePreliminary
|No
|Released in 2015 in China by Baiyi Animation, The extremely rare, C2 was made to bank on the popularity of Roco Kingdom films but ultimately it was a flop. Only 6 games were made for it and was discontinued shortly after released.
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