Game.com
Encyclopedia
The Game.com is a handheld game console
released by Tiger Electronics
in September 1997. It 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 consoles included two slots for game cartridges and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem
. Later models reverted to a single cartridge slot.
, Duke Nukem 3D
, Lights Out
, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy
, along with Tiger Casino which came packaged with the system, and Solitaire built in the system ROM. Tiger also produced equivalents to many Game Boy peripherals, such as the compete.com serial cable
allowing players to connect their consoles to play multiplayer games or exchange high scores. Brand
ed items such as an AC adapter
, earphones, and a carry-case were also made available.
Many of the Game.com's extra features had only limited functionality compared to later portable devices such as the Nintendo DS
. The touch screen had a fairly low sensor resolution along with no backlight, so it lacked precision and made it hard to see the on-screen controls. Entering phone numbers, addresses or the like was cumbersome. As with most portable devices from the 1990s, data storage was entirely dependent on a button battery, and failure of this backup battery
would erase any high scores or information stored on the console.
Tiger failed to sell the Game.com to an older audience. While they were able to obtain game licenses like Wheel of Fortune
, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat
, Duke Nukem
, and Resident Evil
, none of the games sold in great numbers.
All game development, even on licensed games, was done in-house. SDK
s were not known to be widely available, and third party development (essential to the success of most gaming systems) was absent.
At the time, the platform was almost completely ignored by the gaming press. Tiger used provocative and potentially insulting marketing, satirizing the condescending commercials of other gaming platforms with a video of a mock marketing spokesman bellowing "It plays more games than you idiots have brain cells!", which may have lost supporters instead of gaining them. Not only was the satirical nature of the commercial lost on the target audience, but most gamers assumed that it was a video of an actual Tiger press conference, despite the fact that the commercial ends with the marketing spokesman being overwhelmed by a mob of angry gamers.
In an effort to revitalize their low sales, Tiger
would later release the Game.com Pocket Pro. This was a smaller version of the game.com which had the same specifications as the original except that it had a single cartridge slot and required only two AA batteries
. The initial version of the Pocket Pro featured a frontlit screen (advertised as backlit) and is distinguished by its rough-textured black case. A subsequent re-release omitted the frontlight and came in four translucent colors (green, blue, pink, and purple).
This re-release enjoyed very limited success, and the console would be canceled in 2000, along with its exclusive internet service. Most of the console's problems were due to a small lineup (only 19 games), poor quality of some games, lack of third party support, poor distribution, and poor marketing. Moreover, its display, like the original Game Boy's, suffered from very slow screen updates (known as "ghosting"), which makes fast moving objects blur and particularly hurt the fast-moving games Tiger sought licenses for. The Game.com Pocket Pro had a slightly better display than the first model — on par with the Game Boy Pocket
's — with less of a ghosting problem.
While the Game.com was a commercial failure, similar features were later used with great success by Nintendo in their DS handheld console. The Game.com was the first console to use a touchscreen, the first to include basic PDA-functions, the first to allow two game carts to be inserted at once, and the first handheld to allow internet access.
To access the Internet, the user had to connect an external dial-up modem to the Game.com via a serial cable and dial into the Game.com-exclusive ISP
. From there, the user could upload saved high scores, or check e-mail
and view the web
if they had the Internet cartridge (sold separately from the modem). The Game.com also supported other ISPs, although accessing them via text with the touch screen and stylus was far from user friendly. This process would end up being a matter of trial-and-error; both Tiger's now-defunct website and the included manual gave incorrect instructions for setting up a Game.com for internet access.
Web access was text-only, and the later, single-cartridge versions of the Game.com could not access the web or send e-mail at all. None of the games had actual online play with other people, only high score uploads. The monthly fee, two extra peripherals, and clumsy and confusing setup which required users to remain close to a phone line to connect the console to the modem meant that only a small percentage of Game.com owners had a subscription to the Game.com internet service.
Internet
connection accessories for the Game.com were also released, including "Game.com Internet" and "Tiger Web Link" carts.
An unnamed (and unannounced) RPG title can be seen in one of the game.com television commercials. It was later discovered that this was to be a game.com version of the PlayStation
role-playing video game
Shadow Madness
.
access created the newsgroup
[news://alt.games.video.tiger.game-com alt.games.video.tiger.game-com] (Google Groups link below) shortly after the handheld's release in 1997. This group served as a focus point for Game.com owners, with often-heated discussion about the handheld's future and merits relative to other systems; as well as reviews of existing games and speculation about future releases. Tiger representatives sometimes posted using the now-defunct America Online account "TigerGcom". At one point, a gameplay video of the never-released Metal Gear Solid was distributed among group members. Most of the information about unreleased games herein was gleaned from postings to alt.games.video.tiger.game-com.
.
In 2006 they announced a working game.com emulator was in their possession, but denied a public release of it was forthcoming. This emulator was originally distributed to Game.com developers, in the same vein as Ensata
.
A preliminary driver for the Game.com hardware was added to the MESS
emulator in 2006.
In October 2011, the official Game.com emulator for developers was released on the internet.
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
released by Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience
Target audience
In marketing and advertising, a target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed .....
, sporting PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first Game.com consoles included two slots for game cartridges and could be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
. Later models reverted to a single cartridge slot.
History
Titles released at Game.com's launch included Indy 500Indy 500 (arcade game)
Indy 500 is a 1995 arcade racing game by SEGA Japan. It follows the format of previous driving games such as Daytona USA. It includes the famous Indianapolis 500...
, Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software. The full version was released for the PC . It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
, Lights Out
Lights Out (game)
Lights Out is an electronic game, released by Tiger Toys in 1995. The game consists of a 5 by 5 grid of lights. When the game starts, a random number or a stored pattern of these lights is switched on. Pressing any of the lights will toggle it and the four adjacent lights...
, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1996. It is a compilation of content from the previous Mortal Kombat titles, based primarily upon the gameplay mechanics of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3...
, along with Tiger Casino which came packaged with the system, and Solitaire built in the system ROM. Tiger also produced equivalents to many Game Boy peripherals, such as the compete.com serial cable
Serial cable
A serial cable is a cable that can be used to transfer information between two devices using serial communication. The form of connectors depends on the particular PHY used...
allowing players to connect their consoles to play multiplayer games or exchange high scores. Brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ed items such as an AC adapter
AC adapter
The AC adapter, AC/DC adapter or AC/DC converter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in what looks like an over-sized AC plug. Other names include plug pack, plug-in adapter, adapter block, domestic mains adapter, line power adapter, or power adapter...
, earphones, and a carry-case were also made available.
Many of the Game.com's extra features had only limited functionality compared to later portable devices such as the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The touch screen had a fairly low sensor resolution along with no backlight, so it lacked precision and made it hard to see the on-screen controls. Entering phone numbers, addresses or the like was cumbersome. As with most portable devices from the 1990s, data storage was entirely dependent on a button battery, and failure of this backup battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
would erase any high scores or information stored on the console.
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
, Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software. The full version was released for the PC . It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
, and Resident Evil
Resident Evil (series)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a media franchise owned by the video game company Capcom. It was created by Shinji Mikami as a survival horror game series that was initiated with the eponymous PlayStation title Resident Evil in 1996. Since then, the game series has strayed from its roots to...
, none of the games sold in great numbers.
All game development, even on licensed games, was done in-house. SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
s were not known to be widely available, and third party development (essential to the success of most gaming systems) was absent.
At the time, the platform was almost completely ignored by the gaming press. Tiger used provocative and potentially insulting marketing, satirizing the condescending commercials of other gaming platforms with a video of a mock marketing spokesman bellowing "It plays more games than you idiots have brain cells!", which may have lost supporters instead of gaining them. Not only was the satirical nature of the commercial lost on the target audience, but most gamers assumed that it was a video of an actual Tiger press conference, despite the fact that the commercial ends with the marketing spokesman being overwhelmed by a mob of angry gamers.
In an effort to revitalize their low sales, Tiger
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
would later release the Game.com Pocket Pro. This was a smaller version of the game.com which had the same specifications as the original except that it had a single cartridge slot and required only two AA batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
. The initial version of the Pocket Pro featured a frontlit screen (advertised as backlit) and is distinguished by its rough-textured black case. A subsequent re-release omitted the frontlight and came in four translucent colors (green, blue, pink, and purple).
This re-release enjoyed very limited success, and the console would be canceled in 2000, along with its exclusive internet service. Most of the console's problems were due to a small lineup (only 19 games), poor quality of some games, lack of third party support, poor distribution, and poor marketing. Moreover, its display, like the original Game Boy's, suffered from very slow screen updates (known as "ghosting"), which makes fast moving objects blur and particularly hurt the fast-moving games Tiger sought licenses for. The Game.com Pocket Pro had a slightly better display than the first model — on par with the Game Boy Pocket
Game Boy line
The line is a line of battery-powered handheld game console sold by Nintendo. It is one of the world's best-selling game system lines with a combined 200+ million units sold worldwide....
's — with less of a ghosting problem.
While the Game.com was a commercial failure, similar features were later used with great success by Nintendo in their DS handheld console. The Game.com was the first console to use a touchscreen, the first to include basic PDA-functions, the first to allow two game carts to be inserted at once, and the first handheld to allow internet access.
Internet features
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
. From there, the user could upload saved high scores, or check e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and view the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
if they had the Internet cartridge (sold separately from the modem). The Game.com also supported other ISPs, although accessing them via text with the touch screen and stylus was far from user friendly. This process would end up being a matter of trial-and-error; both Tiger's now-defunct website and the included manual gave incorrect instructions for setting up a Game.com for internet access.
Web access was text-only, and the later, single-cartridge versions of the Game.com could not access the web or send e-mail at all. None of the games had actual online play with other people, only high score uploads. The monthly fee, two extra peripherals, and clumsy and confusing setup which required users to remain close to a phone line to connect the console to the modem meant that only a small percentage of Game.com owners had a subscription to the Game.com internet service.
Technical specifications
| System Size (LxWxD) | Original: 190 x 108 x 19 mm / Pocket Pro: 140 x 86 x 28 mm |
| Processor Chip | Sharp SM8521 8-Bit CPU |
| Screen Specs | 200 x 160 resolution, 12 x 10 grid based touch screen, 3.5 in. diagonal (Original) / 2,8 in. diagonal (Pocket Pro) |
| Color System | Black and White, with 4 gray levels |
| Monoaural, with 8-bit PCM and FM-synthesis, through a single speaker located in the upper left corner | |
| Power Source | 4 AA Batteries (2 AA batteries in Pocket and Pocket Pro) or AC Adapter |
| Ports | Serial Comm Port for the Compete.com cable, internet cable and weblink cable; 3.5 mm Audio Out Jack for headphones; DC9 V in (AC Adapter); 2 Cartridge Slots (1 on the Pocket and Pocket Pro) |
| Buttons | Power ( Action (A, B, C, D); 3 Function (Menu, Sound, Pause); 1 Eight-way Directional Pad; Volume; Contrast; Reset (On system’s underside) |
Released
- Batman & RobinBatman & Robin (video game)Batman & Robin is the name of two console video games based on DC Comics' Batman, one for the PlayStation, the other for the Game.com. The PlayStation game was developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC...
- CentipedeCentipede (video game)Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...
- Duke Nukem 3DDuke Nukem 3DDuke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software. The full version was released for the PC . It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
- Fighters MegamixFighters Megamixis a 1996 fighting game developed by AM2 for the Sega Saturn and Game.com. It combines several characters from various Sega games, from the complete cast of Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers to Janet from Virtua Cop 2 and the Hornet car from Daytona USA, while allowing to play the bosses of both...
- FroggerFroggerFrogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
- Henry
- Indy 500Indy 500 (arcade game)Indy 500 is a 1995 arcade racing game by SEGA Japan. It follows the format of previous driving games such as Daytona USA. It includes the famous Indianapolis 500...
- Jeopardy!
- Lights OutLights Out (game)Lights Out is an electronic game, released by Tiger Toys in 1995. The game consists of a 5 by 5 grid of lights. When the game starts, a random number or a stored pattern of these lights is switched on. Pressing any of the lights will toggle it and the four adjacent lights...
- The Lost World: Jurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic Park (handheld game)The Lost World: Jurassic Park was a game designed by THQ for the original Game Boy and based on the book of the same name. Another handheld version, The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Sega, was also the final game released in North America for the Sega Game Gear, released in August 1997.After...
- MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
- Mortal Kombat TrilogyMortal Kombat TrilogyMortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1996. It is a compilation of content from the previous Mortal Kombat titles, based primarily upon the gameplay mechanics of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3...
- Quiz Wiz: Cyber Trivia
- Resident Evil 2Resident Evil 2Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
- ScrabbleScrabbleScrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
- Sonic Jam
- Tiger Casino (shipped with new Game.com handhelds; only sold separately through the official website)
- Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (video game)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, premiering in 1975 with a syndicated version airing in 1983. Since 1986, the show has been adapted into various video games, most based on the syndicated nighttime version. Most versions released before 1998 were...
- Wheel of Fortune 2
- Williams Arcade Classics
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
connection accessories for the Game.com were also released, including "Game.com Internet" and "Tiger Web Link" carts.
Canceled titles
- A Bug's LifeA Bug's Life (video game)A Bug's Life is a video game based on the Disney·Pixar film of the same name. It was released for various systems in 1998 and 1999. The game's storyline is similar to that of the movie, with a few changes. After completing levels the player can unlock actual clips from the movie. This was actor...
- Command & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
- Castlevania: Symphony of the NightCastlevania: Symphony of the NightCastlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
- Furbyland
- Metal Gear SolidMetal Gear Solidis a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
- NBA HangtimeNBA HangtimeNBA Hangtime is a basketball video game developed by Midway and released in arcades in 1996. Home versions followed for Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, and Windows. A version for Game.com was cancelled....
An unnamed (and unannounced) RPG title can be seen in one of the game.com television commercials. It was later discovered that this was to be a game.com version of the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
Shadow Madness
Shadow Madness
Shadow Madness is a turn-based RPG and the first video game released by Crave Entertainment. The game achieved mixed reviews. Shadow Madness was packaged with a separate demo disc for Jade Cocoon.-Gameplay:...
.
Community
A Game.com enthusiast with UsenetUsenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
access created the newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
[news://alt.games.video.tiger.game-com alt.games.video.tiger.game-com] (Google Groups link below) shortly after the handheld's release in 1997. This group served as a focus point for Game.com owners, with often-heated discussion about the handheld's future and merits relative to other systems; as well as reviews of existing games and speculation about future releases. Tiger representatives sometimes posted using the now-defunct America Online account "TigerGcom". At one point, a gameplay video of the never-released Metal Gear Solid was distributed among group members. Most of the information about unreleased games herein was gleaned from postings to alt.games.video.tiger.game-com.
Hacking and homebrew development
In early 2005, a group called game.commies was formed with hopes of hacking the Game.com hardware and creating new homebrew video gamesHomebrew (video games)
Homebrew is a term frequently applied to video games or other software produced by consumers to target proprietary hardware platforms not typically user-programmable or that use proprietary storage methods...
.
In 2006 they announced a working game.com emulator was in their possession, but denied a public release of it was forthcoming. This emulator was originally distributed to Game.com developers, in the same vein as Ensata
Ensata
Ensata is an official Nintendo DS emulator provided to developers in NDS development kits.So far Ensata has emulated the ARM7 and ARM9 dual screen processor at 100% with some software exceptions...
.
A preliminary driver for the Game.com hardware was added to the MESS
MESS
Multi Emulator Super System is an emulator for many game consoles and computer systems, based on the MAME core.The primary purpose of MESS is to preserve decades of computer and console history...
emulator in 2006.
In October 2011, the official Game.com emulator for developers was released on the internet.
External links
- Game.com Official Website (Archive)
- The end of the game.com Features game screenshots and developer interviews