Game.Com - Handheld Game Console (GCOM)
Tiger Electronics had previously introduced its R-Zone video game console in 1995 as a rival to Nintendo's Virtual Boy, but that system was a failure. Prior to R-Zone, Tiger also produced handheld games consisting of LCD screens with printed graphics.
By February 1997, Tiger planned to release a new game console as a direct competitor to Nintendo's Game Boy. Prior to its release, Tiger Electronics stated that Game.com would "change the gaming world as we know it", with a spokesperson stating that it would be "one of this summer's hits". Game.com, the year's only new game console, was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 1997, with sales scheduled to begin in July. Dennis Lynch of the Chicago Tribune called the Game.com "the most interesting handheld" showcased at E3, calling it "kind of an adult Game Boy".
Game.com was released in the United States on September 12, 1997 with a retail price of $69.95, with an Internet access cartridge scheduled for October. Lights Out was bundled into the console as a bundled game, while Solitaire was built into the PDA itself. The release of the console was the largest Tiger product launch ever. Tiger also launched the system's website on the "game.com" domain. Game.com was advertised with a TV ad in which a spokesperson insults gamers asking questions about the console while stating that it "plays more games than you idiots have brain cells"; GamesRadar stated that the ads "probably didn't help the cause much". By the end of 1997, the console was released in the UK for a retail price of £79.99.
Game.com was black and white and had a design similar to the Sega Game Gear console. The screen is larger than the Game Boy's and has a higher resolution. Game.com included a telephone directory, calculator, and calendar, and had an older target audience with PDA features. Tiger designed the console features to be simple and cheap. The device was powered by four AA batteries, and an optional AC adapter was also available. One of the main peripherals that Tiger produced for the system was a Compete.com serial cable, allowing players to connect their consoles to play multiplayer games. The console includes two game cartridge slots. In addition to reducing the need to replace cartridges, this allowed Game.com games to include online elements,
Game.com was the first touchscreen video game console as well as the first internet-connected handheld video game console. Game.com's black and white monochrome touchscreen measures approximately one and a half inches by two inches and is divided into square zones printed on the screen itself to help players determine where to use the stylus. The touchscreen is not backlit. Game.com was also the first handheld game console with internal memory, which is used to store information such as high scores and contact information.
Due to poor sales of the original Game.com, Tiger developed an updated version known as Game.com Pocket Pro. The console was shown at the American International Toy Fair in February 1999 and was later shown alongside several upcoming games at E3 in May 1999. Game.com Pocket Pro was released by June 1999 with a retail price of $29.99. The new console was available in five different colors: green, orange, pink, purple and teal.
Although it lacked the color of its predecessor, the Pocket Pro was downsized to be equivalent to the Game Boy Pocket. The screen size was also reduced, and the new console featured only one cartridge slot. Unlike the original Game.com, the Pocket Pro only required two AA batteries. The Game.com Pocket Pro included a telephone directory, calendar, and calculator, but did not have internet capability.
Game.com Pocket Pro's main competitor was the Game Boy Color. Despite several games based on popular franchises, Game.com's line of consoles did not sell in large numbers and was discontinued in 2000 due to poor sales. Game.com was a commercial failure with fewer than 300,000 units sold, although the touchscreen idea was later used successfully in the Nintendo DS released in 2004.
Internet access required the use of an internet cartridge and a dial-up modem, neither of which was included with the console. Email messages could be read and sent to Game.com using an internet cartridge, and Game.com supported text-only web browsing through internet service providers. Email messages could not be saved to Game.com's internal memory. In addition to the Game.com-branded 14.4 kbit/s modem, Tiger also offered an ISP via Delphi that was built specifically to work with Game.com.
Subsequently, Tiger released the Web Link cartridge, allowing players to connect their system to a desktop computer. Using the Web Link cartridge, players could upload their high scores to the Game.com website for a chance to be listed on the high scores webpage. None of the console games used the Internet feature.