Support NeoGAF

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

Game.com from Tiger Electronics (I think). It had a black and white screen, but you could touch it! To play Solitaire and everything!! :lol


How many people owned that system? I did.. I got it for Christmas shortly after it released.. and it was pretty bad. I had Lights Out (came packed with the system, best game I had for the system, besides solitaire), Wheel of Fortune (not too terrible), and Jurassic Park (really terrible.. worst motion blurring ever).

 

[Laurent]

What?

 

[AniHawk]

It had Tomb Raider or RE or RE2 or something IIRC.

 

[Laurent]

Any PICTURES?

 

[ferricide]

http://archive.gamespy.com/top10/january04/handhelds/

 

[AniHawk]

 

[Laurent]

They even did a PRO model...

 

[Spiritreaver]

I actually almost got one of these, but it was one of those childhood impulse buys. The I just decided to stick with the GB line of things.

Fanboys had to have existed at some point though.

 

[captmcblack]

I bought the original model second hand for $5 w/Lights Out and Jurassic Park from some kid when I was in HS some 6 years ago.

...I wish I had my $5 back.

Seriously though, they did try some semi-cool things with it, like that modem thingy.

 

[impirius]

The power of the screaming midget compels you

 

[Tenguman]

Nintendo is teh innovation!

The original Game.Com as shown above featured two cartridge slots on the right side for placing games. Both could be utilized at start up, as the system asked the user which cartridge they would like to play. The system came with a limited speach function. The unit also used a stylus pen with a touch based screen for their system functions. Functions programmed in the system included a calender, calculator, address book, and solitaire. The system could also keep and manage the user's high scores. The Game.Com came with pack in cartridges sometimes, they varied from Wheel of Fortune, Henry, Batman & Robin, Mortal Kombat Triology and Lights Out.

* 8-Bit CPU
* On Screen Resolution: 200x160
* Colors on screen: 4 shades of grey (available 4 shades)

 

[cvxfreak]

I bought the system with RE2 two or three years ago. Returned it a week later. Piece of junk it was.

 

[Lyte Edge]

game.com was the biggest piece of shit I ever had the misfortune of purchasing.

I was there from the start with this system. Saw and played the system at E3 that year, and while the demos were extremely basic, they were impressive. Got the system at launch for $70. There were no games out for a little while. From that point on, every other weekend I'd go to Toys R Us with a buddy of mine and see if any new games were released. It took a while, but every time something new out, I'd pick it up, and then find out how SHITTY the games were. It was also hard to see anything on the screen since there was no backlight and the blur/ghosting was terrible. Titles like Midway's Arcade Classics and MK3 were completely unplayable because of this, never mind the bad controls.

The game.com titles were almost no better than Tiger's handheld LCD games. Duke Nukem was probably the most impressive game, and all you did was move forward; you could not turn in any other direction. I finally got rid of this piece of crap after that.

Tiger then released the "pro" version and promised big-name titles like Castlevania SOTN, RE2, and Command and Conquer, but IIRC only RE2 made it out, and it blew too.

The best part about the game.com was the usenet message board filled with 12 year olds that were blindly devoted to the system, attempting to support it and trying to make themselves feel better about the horrible purchase they had made. There were some hilariously-biased posts there in support of the system. I always got a laugh when I went there.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Can you believe it nearly had THIS?

 

[explodet]

Can you believe it nearly had THIS?

Holy Crap!

 

[Defensor]

Duke Nukem was probably the most impressive game, and all you did was move forward; you could not turn in any other direction. I finally got rid of this piece of crap after that.

:lol

 

[Link316]

Can you believe it nearly had THIS?

that actually looks pretty good

 

[M3wThr33]

Yeah, I had this with a bunch of games. It was meant to be a higher-level LCD game, not really Game Boy competitor. Then I got the Pocket Pro and loved the new feel of it.
Sonic and Fighters megamix weren't bad either.

 

[ferricide]

don't blame me. when i quit gamespy, i was actually very relieved to be getting away from those damn things.

 

[Agent X]

I've always got the impression that the screens they showed of Game.Com Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and some of the other big-name titles they announced for that system in 1998-1999 were merely mock-ups. They likely never got very far in development, and (judging from other Game.Com games that actually made it out the door) if development had been completed, they probably would've been severely watered down from what they showed in the early screen shots. Imagine a slightly higher-resolution version of the original Game Boy...that's about the level we're talking here.

The Game.Com was better suited to simple puzzle games, board games, and game show/trivia games, than it was to action-oriented play.