Game.com
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Tigergamecom.jpg
The Game.com (pronounced in TV commercials as "game com", not "game dot com") was a handheld gaming system released by Tiger Electronics in 1997, with the hopes of overcoming Nintendo's Game Boy. Its target audience was more mature (it had licenses for video games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Resident Evil), and it sported functions similar to electronic organizers and a touch screen with stylus. Also unlike other handheld gaming systems, it had two slots for both game cartridges and a 14.4K modem peripheral (later releases of the Game.com had only one game cartridge).
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History
Launch titles included such titles as Indy 500, Duke Nukem 3D, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and sometime after the launch Lights Out was included with the hardware as a pack-in game (Lights Out was never sold separately). Like the Game Boy, Tiger released the usual set of peripherals. There was the complete.com serial cable, which allowed players to connect their handhelds to exchange high scores or play multiplayer games. The expected AC adapter, earphones, carrying cases, etc. were also available.
Unfortunately, many of these exclusive features had only limited functionality. The touch screen had a fairly low sensor resultion, so it was hard to use it for precise input in games. The PDA functions were mildly useful, but, at the time, few people were interested in keeping phone numbers or addresses on their game system. In practice, the most used function was the built-in solitaire.
Tiger mostly botched the job of marketing the Game.com to an older audience. While they were able to line up licenses like Mortal Kombat, Duke Nukem, and Resident Evil, few of these portable adaptations were developed by their original creators, or even very true to the original games. At the time, they were completely ignored by the enthusiast gaming press. Tiger also used insulting marketing, including ill-considered slogans such as, "It plays more games than you slackers have brain cells."
In an effort to revitalize their ailing system, Tiger would later release the Game.com Pocket Pro, a slimmer version of the Game.com hardware. It featured a backlit screen, and only required two AA batteries (as compared to the original's four), but dropped the extra game cartridge slot. A later revision, known as the Game.com Pocket, had a form factor identical to the Pocket Pro and was available in four translucent colors (green, blue, pink, and purple) but lacked a backlight.
This re-release wasn't much of a success, and the console would be cancelled in 2000, along with its exclusive ISP. Most of its problems were due to a small lineup (only 20 games), poor distribution, and poor marketing. Notably, its display, like the original Game Boy's, suffered from very slow screen updates (known as "ghosting"), which particularly hurt the fast-paced games Tiger sought licenses for.
Internet features
Using the Game.com with the modem was cumbersome. The user had to insert the Game.com modem into one of the unit's game cartridge slots, connect the Game.com to a phone jack, and dial into the Game.com-exclusive (and fairly expensive) 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). 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. No games had actual online play with other people, only high score uploads. The monthly fee, two extra peripherals, and exceedingly confusing setup required meant that only a small percentage of the admittedly few Game.com owners had a subscription to the Game.com internet service, which would barely survive until the cancellation of the handheld itself.
Technical specifications
| Original System Size | 7.5”L x 4.25”W x .75"D |
| Processor Chip | Sharp 8-Bit CPU |
| Screen Specs | 3.9 square inches, 13 x 10 grid based touch screen. 200 x 160 resolution |
| Color System | Black and White, with 4 gray levels |
| Sound/Music | Mono, 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;
3.5mm Audio In Jack for headphones; DC9V in (AC Adapter); 2 Cartridge Slots (1 on the Pocket and Pocket Pro) |
| Buttons | Power (On/Off);
Action (A, B, C, D); 3 Function (Menu, Sound, Pause); 1 Eight-way Directional Pad; Volume; Contrast; Reset (On system’s underside) |
Games
Released
- Batman and Robin
- Centipede
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Fighters MegaMix
- Frogger
- Henry
- Indy 500
- Jeopardy!
- Lights Out (shipped with new Game.com handhelds; never sold separately)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Monopoly
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- Quiz Whiz: Cyber Trivia
- Resident Evil 2
- Scrabble
- Sonic Jam
- Tiger Casino
- Wheel of Fortune
- Wheel of Fortune 2
- Williams Arcade Classics
Internet connection accessories for the Game.com were also released.
Canceled titles
- A Bug's Life
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert
- Deer Hunter
- Furbyland
- GigaPets Deluxe
- Godzilla
- Holyfield Boxing
- Madden Football '99
- Metal Gear Solid
- Mulligan's Golf Challenge
- Mutoids
- Name That Tune
- NASCAR Racing
- NBA Hangtime
- NBA Live '99
- Rugrats
- Small Soldiers
- Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
- WCW Wrestling
- The X-Files
Notably, some of these canceled titles (including GigaPets, Madden, and the NBA titles) were to have a battery backup built into the cartridge to allow for persistent saved game states. It was also rumored that the boxing title would have a built-in force feedback device, similar to the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak. However, none of these specially equipped cartridges were ever released to the public.
External links
- Google's archive of alt.games.video.tiger.game-com (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.games.video.tiger.game-com?start=2356)