During the early mid 1990s, the video game market exploded due to the new technology available to developers, specifically the jump in processor speed and the release of the CD-ROM format. No longer were game programmers limited by the small canvas standard cartridges provided - the CD-ROM was their dream come true. With this new media format at their disposal, manufacturers began to truly expand the definition of a video game console. Computer hybrids (Commodore 64 GS, FM Towns Marty, Amiga CD32, etc.) and all-inclusive multimedia devices (Philips CD-i, Panasonic 3DO, Pioneer LaserActive, etc.) were designed to target a new, and older, audience. Taking a slightly different approach, popular game developer Bandai decided to enter the foray with their release of the Playdia. Instead of following the current trends, Bandai marketed the Playdia to children and families. Would this Japanese-only release hit the mark? Far from it as you will see.

The Playdia is a rather unsophisticated looking unit. The rectangular chassis is comprised of medium weight plastics, sporting an indigo-blue top section with a leprechaun-green base. The design is simple and to the point. A simple power and reset switch reside on the left top of the console, with a large banana-yellow 'open' button on the right to open the door of top loading CD drive. There is a rectangular recess directly in front of the unit to park the wireless IR controller (the first system ever to have a wireless controller standard). The weight of this unit is a bid odd, with most of the weight residing in the back. A standard composite output and DC 9V power supply jack adorn the rear of the unit. Though simplistic in appearance, I do have to say it does stand out in a collection due to the unique colors utilized in its construction. But that is the only reason it stands out.

With a younger audience in its sights, the library of games for the Playdia is comprised of mostly edutainment titles. All games for this system are interactive FMV movies - there is no real game play with this system with the exception of selecting an action for your character to perform from a lit of presented options. The FMV titles are really not that bad. The anime sequences are presented well with very little frame rate drop off, but this is easy to accomplish since there is no real-time input from the user during these sequences. Surprising around 40 titles were released for this system. But not all of these were for the kids.

The Playdia was not succeeding at all and Bandai began feeling the fiscal repercussions of a failed system. The Sony Playstation entered the market just  months after its debut and sealed this system's fate. Looking to recoup their losses, Bandai released interactive anime adult titles to stem the negative financial losses incurred in the first two years of this console's life. Odd that a system initially tailored to the family would resort to these measures, but it worked. Bandai was able to get out with minimal losses after all was said and done in 1996. Plus, Bandai had significant resources devoted to a bigger project - the Bandai Pippin. But that is for another article.

The Bandai Playdia was a short lived and unsuccessful system. Even with devoting their efforts to a rather untapped market (children / families), the Playdia could not survive the release of the Sony Playstation. This is definitely not a recommended purchase for the gamer - only for a console collector. Though unique, the unit is not that pricey.  $100 USD should net you a CIB system. The Playdia is nice to look at in your collection, not so much when you fire it up and experience it.

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The link to the full review of this system (including ratings, pictures and video):
http://www.videogameconso...rary.com/pg90-playdia.htm

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[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-026/bf/U-026-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]In 1982, Emerson Radio Corporation decided to enter the video game hardware arena with their release of the Arcadia 2001. Better known for their development of affordable electronic products, this move was not entirely a big surprise. Emerson was always looking for market niches to penetrate to utilize their existing electronics manufacturing team. As with their previous releases of low-end, price friendly electrical component ventures, the Arcadia 2001 would eventually suffer the same fate.

The Arcadia 2001 is not necessarily a bad looking machine. The sturdy, brown plastic housing has a nice accent of wood grain trimming (which was very popular at that time). The console sports a very clean user interface, located in the front and center of the unit. Soft, rounded, gold colored buttons provide easy access to the main systems functions (Reset, Select, Option, Start). The square shaped Power button that flanks these buttons to the right does not really quite fit into the scheme - almost as if this was an afterthought of the chassis design team. The two, non-detachable keypads (Intellivision-type clone) rest in cradles to the left and right, though do not truly fit visually into the design of the console (maybe another afterthought). The Arcadia 2001 does sport one of the longest video RF cables I have seen - 12' long. The plug for the 12 Volt external power supply and a channel 3/4 switch adorn the back side of this system. There are two (2) screw 'holes' on the back as well. I have no idea what these are used for.

Underneath the hood, the Arcadia 2001 was powered by Signetics 2650 CPU running at 3.58 MHz which produced games in 8 colors and at a screen resolution of 208 x 108. The best way to describe games for the Arcadia 2001 is to think of an Atari 2600 release and inject it with a heavy does of steroids. The Arcadia 2001 was a more powerful machine that the console it was intended to dethrone, but Emerson lacked a critical component for success in the console wars - third party support.
 
[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-026/bb/U-026-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]Cartridges came in two different sizes and are black in color (USA) with well rendered artwork adorning the front of the cart (almost like a mini water color painting) and game instructions on the back. The title is displayed along the 'spine' of the cartridge in easy to read 'rainbow' lettering. The silver colored boxes are similar in size to the Atari 2600, but much more sturdy and are handsomely numbered. Many games come packaged with a controller overlay identical to the same concept used by Intellivision.  A number of popular games were developed for the Arcadia 2001, including Pacman, Galaxian and Defender.  Atari successfully sued Emerson, and other companies, claiming they had exclusive rights to these game franchises. These games never saw the light of day and resulted in a waste of a great deal of capital. This left Emerson scrambling for suitor(s) to develop game software. With the Atari 5200 and the Coleco Colecovision about to be released, both being superior systems, development for the Arcadia 2001 was non existent. A total of 35 games (most arcade clones) were released for this system. Surprising, this console was manufactured and released in many different countries outside of the USA. All are basically the same, but differ in one significant way - cartridge size. Games are not necessarily compatible with all systems.

Development for the Arcadia 2001 ceased about one year after it's debut. Unable to compete with technologically superior consoles that were released at virtually the same time (Atari 5200 and Coleco ColecoVision) coupled with the lack of third party software support sealed this system's fate.
 
Prices seem to fluctuate greatly on this system and appear to be dependant on the respective model. Though this console was a relative failure and a mere blip on the radar, it is not that rare and can be easily obtained.

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The link to the full review of this system (including ratings, pictures and video):
http://www.videogameconso...rary.com/pg80-arcadia.htm

Thanks all.

Terry (a.k.a. Marriott_Guy)
The Video Game Console Library
http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com

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