Difference between revisions of "Tiger Game.com"
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|Media type = ROM cartridge}} | |Media type = ROM cartridge}} | ||
− | The Game.com featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first Game.com console included two slots for game cartridges and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem. | + | [[Nintendo]] had just proven with the Japanese Pokemon craze that its nearly 10-year-old [[Game Boy]] still had the ability to dominate the handheld market without even trying, keeping themselves afloat despite problems with their two most recent console releases, the [[ Nintendo 64]] and [[Virtual Boy]]. |
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+ | After the [[R-Zone]], Game.com was Tiger Electronics’ second attempt at jumping in the handheld video game market. The Game.com featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first Game.com console included two slots for game cartridges (the second revision reverted to a single cartridge slot) and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem. It was the first handheld to enable Internet connectivity and use a touch screen and stylus. | ||
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+ | It brought several new ideas to the table, but its scope outpaced the available technology, its marketing was atrocious, and its games list was small and based solely around recognizable name brands. It was very much ahead of its time, as the [[Nintendo DS]] successfully borrowed many ideas from it 7 years later. | ||
==Hardware== | ==Hardware== | ||
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There's a modem. | There's a modem. | ||
==Variants== | ==Variants== | ||
− | + | The [[Tiger Game.com Pocket Pro]] is a revision of the Tiger Game.com, in a smaller form factor, with multiple casing color options, though the display remained grayscale. With a significantly smaller form factor, the Pocket Pro variant has but a single cartridge slot, while the original Game.com was equipped with two slots, and uses two AA cells, compared to the four AA cells used by the original model. | |
[[Category:Handheld]] | [[Category:Handheld]] |
Revision as of 23:27, 4 January 2014
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Manufacturer | Tiger Electronics |
---|---|
Generation | Fifth generation |
Release date | September 1997 |
Media type | ROM cartridge |
Nintendo had just proven with the Japanese Pokemon craze that its nearly 10-year-old Game Boy still had the ability to dominate the handheld market without even trying, keeping themselves afloat despite problems with their two most recent console releases, the Nintendo 64 and Virtual Boy.
After the R-Zone, Game.com was Tiger Electronics’ second attempt at jumping in the handheld video game market. The Game.com featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first Game.com console included two slots for game cartridges (the second revision reverted to a single cartridge slot) and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem. It was the first handheld to enable Internet connectivity and use a touch screen and stylus.
It brought several new ideas to the table, but its scope outpaced the available technology, its marketing was atrocious, and its games list was small and based solely around recognizable name brands. It was very much ahead of its time, as the Nintendo DS successfully borrowed many ideas from it 7 years later.
Hardware
Item | Specifications | Additional data |
---|---|---|
Processor | Sharp SM8521 8-Bit CPU | HERE |
Display | 200 x 160 2-bit 3.5" reflective grayscale LCD | |
Audio | Monaural 8bit PCM with FM Synthesis | |
Controls | Four (A, B, C, and D) face buttons, digital directional pad, three menu interface buttons (menu, sound, and pause) | |
I/O ports | Serial COMM port | |
Media | Tiger Game.com ROM cartridges | NOW PRINTING |
Dimensions | 190 x 108 x 19 mm |
Add-ons
There's a modem.
Variants
The Tiger Game.com Pocket Pro is a revision of the Tiger Game.com, in a smaller form factor, with multiple casing color options, though the display remained grayscale. With a significantly smaller form factor, the Pocket Pro variant has but a single cartridge slot, while the original Game.com was equipped with two slots, and uses two AA cells, compared to the four AA cells used by the original model.