[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-065/bf/J-065-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]During the early 1990s, many developers flooded the video game console market with attempts at being home multimedia centers - all-in-one units capable of performing supplementary functions in addition to their primary gaming platform purpose. The consumer was treated, but at most times disappointed, with releases like the Philips CD-i, Memorex VIS, Pioneer LaserActive and the Panasonic 3DO.  In 1995, Apple Computer Inc. joined the foray by finishing the development of a system based on a scaled down version of their System 7 OS. Named the Pippin, Apple followed the 3DO Company's lead by licensing this technology to an outside manufacturer - Bandai. The Bandai Pippin ATMARK was released in Japan in 1995 and was marketed as the first modern hybrid console merging the power of a computer with the ease of a gaming station - as well as integrated network capabilities (hence the connotation in the name). Too bad that by the time of it's release, the technological world had passed them by.

The Bandai Pippin was released to the public in three different models:

  o 1995 - Bandai Pippin ATMARK - Japan (white model)
  o 1995 - Bandai Pippin ATMARK - Japan (black model)
  o 1996 - Bandai Pippin @WORLD - USA release (black model)

Technologically, there are basically no differences between the three systems that I am aware of (I don't have the Japanese Black model version). All come equipped with the same features and user interface (buttons/ports/etc.). Since all three are the same machine, the console(s) will be referred to as the Bandai Pippin in the following paragraphs.

[img width=300 align=left]http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/1990s/95_Bandai_Pippin/95_Bandai_Pippin_ATMARK_top_1.jpg[/img]An attractive piece of hardware, the Bandai Pippin weighs in at a hefty 8 lbs and is sturdily built. The user-friendly control panel is featured on the top of this slightly curved console. One keyboard and two ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) controller ports are easily accessible on the front of the system. Being a gaming system that was trying to encompass characteristics of a MAC computer, network connectivity was supported right out of the box with the included 14.4k external modem. Further supporting this all-in-one theme, two serial ports (modem/printer), a PCI compatible expansion slot and a keyboard/writing tablet were standard on all units. The surprising fast 4x CD-ROM drive performed far better than the its competitors (the Sony Playstation, released the same year, only had a 2x Max drive).

The hard plastic chassis encompasses a mini-MAC under its hood. The PowerPC 603 RISC microprocessor ran at 66MHz and was supported by 6 MB of RAM memory (shared between the system and video output) and 128 KB of internal NVRAM. Both 8 bit and 16 bit video is supported and graphics are displayed 16.7M colors. Audio is delivered in full 16-bit stereo (44 kHz sampled output). At the time, the Bandai Pippin was technically a very powerful machine compared to the main competition at the time - 3DO, Philips CD-i and the Sony Playstation. The important question - How was all of this muscle and power put to use in game development? The answer - not very well.

[img width=300 align=right]http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/1990s/95_Bandai_Pippin/95_Bandai_Pippin_ATMARK_back.jpg[/img]The Bandai Pippin ran games using an abbreviated MAC System 7 OS (operating system), which was actually included on every compatible CD. Small updates to the core system files (stored in the NVRAM) were delivered and included on respective new title releases. Like the Sony Playstation, there is a boot sequence that performs an authentication process to validate CDs. Small, but efficient banana-styled wired game controllers feature an analog D-pad, 4 color-coded action buttons and a centrally located mouse-like roller. The Bandai Pippin combined Japan/USA library consists of approximately 22 titles - mostly games with a sprinkling of edutainment offerings. A couple of forgettable games were packaged with the hardware, along with a web browser application to allow internet website viewing on your television. This was a first for a video game console - WebTV type access and the possibility of online gaming. Having very few titles available at the time of its release coupled with the failed delivery of supporting existing MAC software was just one of many nails in the coffin for this console.

The Bandai Pippin, though technologically superior at the time, failed miserably on many levels. The first error was the positioning of this console within the market - a multimedia, mini-MAC, internet ready, gaming machine. Though the ambitious nature of their goals should be commended, the Apple R&D team on a whole should not. The general population was not yet ready to embrace this type of all-in-one unit. The internet, at that time, was not considered a 'utility' as it is today. As detailed earlier, lack of firstthird party software support and compatibility was also an issue. Then there was the initial price tag - $599 USD (roughly $830 USD in 2007 dollars). This put the Bandai Pippin out of reach of the majority of the buying public. With the price of computers dropping due to rapid advances in technology, this all-in-one unit was quickly an out-dated piece of hardware when it was released. Going against the Sony Playstation (amongst others) did not help either. Only around 5,000 units were sold in the USA, though the system did fare just a bit better in Japan. In fact, more peripheral devices were manufactured (and since sold off for parts) than actual consoles produced.

[img width=300 align=left]http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/1990s/95_Bandai_Pippin/95_Bandai_Pippin_ATMARK_face.jpg[/img]Overall, the Bandai Pippin was a more powerful and technically capable machine in 1995 compared to the eventual juggernaut Sony Playstation - if it had competed as a pure gaming console. Poor market strategy and positioning, coupled with an attempt to drive an internetcomputer hybrid console to a still technologically adolescent market was the primary downfall. The foundation and inspiration of online gaming and the networkinternet realities we now see from the current generation of consoles (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii) can be attributed in part to the Bandai Pippin.

This console is recommended for console collectors only. Though produced in limited quantities, the Bandai Pippin is available through auction sites and private sellers. The original Japanese version (white) is not hard to locate but will still cost you about $200 USD CIB (complete in box) plus around $85 USD shipping from Japan. The same rates, surprising, apply for the Japanese Black versions of the ATMARK (some say that these are the unsold units from the USA that have been modified with Japanese labels). The US version, the Bandai @WORLD, will run you quite a few dollars and is the rarest. Expect to spend $300+ USD for a CIB unit, anywhere from $200+ USD for a bare system.

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[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-112/hw/J-112-H-00010-A_00.jpg[/img]Notable game developer Bandai was very involved in hardware development and manufacturing beginning in 1977 with its popular line of TV-Jack pong based consoles (six total releases within two years). Building on their mild success in this arena, the Bandai Super Vision 8000 debuted in 1979 and was the very first programmable game cartridge system released in Japan. This timeline (1979) and notoriety (initial entry and the developer, Bandai) may be a surprise to some simply due to the fact that Japan has been a leader in video game technology for some time, with big hitters Nintendo and Sega in the fold.

While the video game player in the USA had been exposed to the new programmable game cartridge systems (Fairchild Channel F, Atari VCS, APF MP-1000, Bally Professional Arcade, Odyssey 2) beginning in 1976, pong based consoles enjoyed a prolonged following within the Japanese market. This initially retarded the growth, development and embracement of new technology. The release of the Super Vision 8000 was a small, but significant, step taken by Bandai in changing the atmosphere within the hardware gaming market in Japan.

Constructed of hard, thick plastics, the light grey chassis of the Super Vision 8000 is accented well with classic black molding resulting in a clean, crisp look. Cradles for the two included controllers flank the respective sides. This console will never be mistakenly described as being small. The Super Vision 800 is a healthy sized piece of hardware, relatively rectangular in design with a gradual incline of roughly 15 degrees from the bottom to the top. The seven (7) confirmed games were rendered in 16-bit color across three sound channels, graphically in between the output of the Atari VCS and the Mattel Intellivision. Powered by an 8-bit NEC D780C running at 3.58 MHZ that was complimented by a AY-3-8910 coprocessor, this advanced piece of hardware was quite revolutionary, as well as expensive, at that time in Japan. With an initial offering of around 60,000 yen ($560 USD, $1,300 USD comparable in 1979), the Super Vision 8000 was priced out of the reach of most Japanese gamers.

[img width=300 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-013/bf/U-013-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]This console is often mistaken for being a clone of the Mattel Intellivision, primarily due to controller design. However, the exact opposite actually applies. The Super Vision 8000 was released prior to the Intellivision, and the internal hardware specifics are completely different and not compatible at all. The story behind the controller similarity is varied, with half of those with actual knowledge of both systems siding with the thinking that Mattel was the original developer, the other stating it was Bandai. There seems to be more historical data to side with the former in this debate.

Though the hardware technology at the time (1979) in Japan was not as advanced as that in the USA, there is evidence that the Super Vision 8000 was developed independently, and prior to, the Intellivision. Further, there are claims that Bandai was going to sue Mattel for patent right violation(s) when the initial Intellivision was displayed at a gaming demonstration forum. There seems to be some validity to this story since Bandai gained the rights in 1980 to be the sole manufacturer of the Intellivision console in Japan. With the Super Vision 8000 not selling well at the time (due to the high price and a changing Japanese market), Bandai focused their efforts on production of Intellivision units. This eventually lead to the cessation of production and development for of the Super Vision 8000 within one year of its release.
[img width=300 align=right]http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/1970s/79_Bandai_Super_Vision_8000/79_Bandai_games.jpg[/img]
Bandai, though mostly known now as a great game developer, was a big player in the video game hardware industry in Japan and paved the way for juggernauts like Nintendo and Sega. The Super Vision 8000 is an extremely rare system and is considered to be a holy grail amongst console collectors. Games for this system will run you around $80-$100 USD due to their rarity. The system itself was not sold in great quantities. Finding one at all (working or non) is quite a chore. To land yourself a working, CIB unit, expect to lay out $700+, plus S/H. This is definitely a system that should be targeted by only the most serious of console collectors.

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