Was the CD-i a good console without good games?
No
It was really expensive and compared the N64 it was fucking shit
>>2840691
PCs were better. Those had CD-ROMs and Gravis game pads as well. They also had games worth playing instead of weak titles that played more like the bonus features on a DVD.
>>2840691
People seem to think that the CD-i was intended to be a game console, which is why they think it's shit. (It doesn't help that the only people that tend to care about old technology are retro gamers like us.)
The CD-i was an interactive media device. It was intended for music or movie buffs to get a little more out of their hobbies. The fact that it had a few game-like releases on it is purely coincidental. It certainly wasn't a selling point.
Rather than thinking of it as a shitty game console, instead think of it as a cool CD player.
>>2840707
It may be intended as a interactive media player. But that doesn't mean you should release bad games for them and go "lel we didn't mean to make games for it".
Could you consider a console good if it had no good games?
i liked playing it at the department store
>>2840707
Where do you get that? At least at some point they definitely chose to advertise the games as a feature.
>>2840707
This.
Even nowadays DVD-Players, and since backward compatibility, BlueRay-Players are able to play interactive Video-CDs or DVDs(-Games). It's a nice gimmick, but like you know, not the actual selling point.
>>2841215
Maybe as a developer, otherwise not really. Specs don't sell consoles.
>>2841254
Well, I think that is understating things. Games were made specifically for the CDi, games that weren't just bonus features on something. And, at the very least, skimming the meaning of life CDI infomercial will show that interactive games were at that time a selling point. They even show off Faces of Evil gameplay.
The one good CD-i exclusive
>>2841485
That video that always gets posted when someone brings up the apprentice cdi
Skip to 4:30 if you just want to see the point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DangrZxDLbQ
It was more like a video CD player which happened to also play games. I've never used it but I've heard the controllers aren't very good even though they made like four different versions. The gameplay I've seen seems to be choppy at times which makes me think it just wasn't a very good system.
You can only judge if a console is good by its games, good consoles without good games don't exist.
>>2841514
>cdi
*CD-i
These only existed in late night infomercials. And they were trying to target an adult audience with that cheezy Voyeur game which I guess had some softcore porn scenes or something along those lines... They even marketed this thing wrong. No one bought one.
>>2841514
>>2843896
they sold them at FAO Schwarz and at Babbages. I remember because I used to play the demo units there as a kid
>>2840707
>mfw
>>2841295
Just because Smart-TVs also advertise that you can play Apps-Games on it, makes it not a legit selling point or even a game console. Sure they make it look like, but it's mainly because to show off how much it "can" do. Enforced or not.
In the end it's just a (cheap) gimmick.
>>2840707
Yeah except a computer could do the same things and do it better. Although, computers were a bit less pervasive back then, so maybe there was some demand for a non-pc-based version of the "multimedia experience" everyone was going crazy about in the mid-90s.
>>2847446
But only rich fucks and super nerds had computers in the 90's
>>2847451
This really depends on country.
Also you have to differ what kind of computer. In Europe already many people had some computer in some form at that time.
They were planning to release a keyboard and mouse and some other shit to kinda turn it into a home computer, but it was never finalized.
Didn't even have a port of Doom though.
>>2849628
>Didn't even have a port of Doom though.
That thing right there, that happens and you know your system is doomed.
>>2849629
The Sega 32X sucked and even that had a pretty decent port of Doom
>>2841232
Well yeah but why not?
You ever been to a museum or something in the 90s and you saw some interactive feature with a trackball giving you information? thats the kind of thing the CDI was used for.
>>2840707
>It was intended for music or movie buffs to get a little more out of their hobbies.
I've read this a lot but is there really anything interesting that actually does this? The most I've seen are things like interactive slideshows with some music playing in the background. I'm fascinated with uncommon video formats like VCD so it'd be really cool to know if there's anything like that for the CD-i.
>>2849685
Wow I'm a moron. After making this post I go find out the CD-i actually supported VCD.
>>2849628
I'm sure we all know what'd it look like.
>>2841232
I remember the infomercials they used to run for this thing; about 90% of it was kids using the CD-ROM encyclopedia for their school projects, the mother looking up cooking recipes or whatever, and then they had the middle-aged father playing whatever that fighter jet rail shooter was at the end.
It was an early version of a long series of failed attempts at marketing a living room media device.
CD- I sounded awesome but failed on nearly every level. The games sucked, the Video cd's werent any better quality than VHS and as a music player its way to expensive.
>>2847476
This.
We had a PC at the time, yet weren't wealthy or anything. They were rather affordable.
>>2849703
Is this a movie?
Name pls?
>>2841293
But they do. Why do you think 16-bit was plastered everywhere in the late 80's-90's
>>2849745
It's an FMV from a canceled port of Doom.
>>2840698
Why the hell would you compare it with the N64? The N64 came out 5 years later.
>>2849745
Promotional bullshot for the 3DO Doom port
>>2847451
We had a computer and internet by like... '98 or '99? And we were kinda poor desu. My dad needed one at home because he was trying to switch careers into IT.
>>2847451
not really
>>2849804
My family was always dirt poor, and even we had a TI-99 in the 80's. Owning a computer in the 80's was pretty common. No one talks about it though because computers back then were a fucking mess with everything having it's own OS. It's spent most of its time in a closet because software was basically limited to games and shitty finance programs. Trying to do anything PC related was a bitch because you had to find shit that would work on your computer.
It got better in the 90's when windows got big enough it became an industry standard and suddenly shopping for programs was easy and running a computer didn't involve using a command line. Windows 95 was the big one for me personally, though as I understand it Windows 3 was also pretty big.
>>2840691
What is a console without software? 100% useless. Technical potential isn't fun, games are fun. A console with better specs might give a developer mire tools to create a good game with, but in the end the only thing that matters is what games they create.
A console without games is a worthless little pile of metal and plastic. Software is everything.
>>2847451
My dad was divorced and living in a really shitty neighborhood in the 90s yet still had a computer.
>>2840691
No, that would be the 3DO, and actually had a number of gems drowned in a deluge of shitty FMV and FPS games.
why is there a screw hole in the middle of the dpad?
>>2851432
Isn't there a plastic stick that can go in it? So you can rock the D-pad like a ghetto joystick/thumbstick combo?
>>2851438
My aunt had a CDi for some odd reason and I remember Kether being pretty good, but for some reason it scared the crap out of me somehow. Maybe because the whole game felt like a feverdream version of Star Fox. I wish I could find better footage of it without some fucking annoying letsplayer talking over it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7-4UdHSOdA
Honestly this is the only game that I really would like to have a CDi for.
"Modern"games like Heavy Rain, Life Is Strange, Telltale shit and all that type of garbage would have been ideally suited to be produced on CD-i. In more limited modest graphics of course but that sort of slow paced multimedia heavy shit is exactly what it was made for.
>>2847446
>Yeah except a computer could do the same things and do it better.
Not in 1991-2 when the CDI came out. Only a few years later, and only using very expensive hardware for the time. Shit you barely had CD drives for a PC at the time.
>>2851457
Nope, I primarily used keyboard and mouse for PC games. I was gifted a Sidewinder or something like that but I don't think I ever used it.
>>2849787
Because they were both 5th generation consoles.
>>2851449
This shit looks like an abomination.
>>2849712
You can disable the music.
>>2851453
I wonder why LucasArts and Sierra didn't ported their games to the console seeing how the system was focused on point and click games.
>>2841514
Seeing this is just bizzare.
Who made this game?
Wouldn't get this on the snes.
>>2851453
Yeah, it should've had a fuckload of good adventure games.
Instead it had terrible shit.
>>2841514
What the fuck...
>>2841485
>>2841514
This game looks horrible.
And then that shit at the end.
>>2851527
It actually looks pretty nice. Reminds me of Amiga games a lot. The animation is damn smooth.
>>2851624
I'm going to masturbate to that later
It's some high quality retro-loli
>>2849712
>implying I said the music is good
Overall, it's a much better port than SNES Doom
>much better controls
>much less slowdown and more consistent speed
>better resolution
>actual flat textures
>no audio compression
Yes, the music is balls, and the SNES port has great music in comparison, but it beats it in every other regard.
Hell, the Genesis is capable of better music, it was just rushed.
>>2849745
>>2849784
>>2849797
When Doom was ported to the 3DO, they wanted to do some FMV sequences. The publishers pretty quickly said "What? Fuck no." and told them this would not get funded.
All that remains of what little work was done are a few edited stills that served as a proof of concept. I doubt they even got around to shoot even one scene.
>>2849628
Well, it had this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otp_chdnc4g
>>2852729
It still blows my mind that the 3DO had such a large catalog of Japanese games. I would have liked to see the M2 come out properly.I need to write an article about it for a website too, always fun.
>>2840698
>and compared the N64 it was fucking shit
the atari 2600 was shit compared to the ps4
>>2853369
compared to the SNES and Genesis it was still shit
>>2853375
>compared to the SNES and Genesis it was still shit
I agree, the PS4 is indeed shit compared to the SNES and Genesis.
>>2853385
Can the Mega Drive or the Super Famicom play Blu-Ray Discs? Play DVD's even? Or audio cd's? Have USB ports? Do they have wireless controllers?
Nope.
PS4: ∞
Retro "game consoles": 0
>>2853437
Trill troll DESU senpai
>>2853437
I know it's bait, but wired controllers are better than wireless controllers, no need to worry about batteries.
I picked up one of these in 1996 from a local TV store for $60 on the as-is clearance table. Spent another $300 on games from eBay (pre-paypal money order mail days)
Shit was junk from the get go. All the games were awful and the interactive recipes / encyclopedias were gimics at best.
I bought some legit VCDs though (matrix and Wayne's world) and that as ok, but DVDs came out soon after.
>>2840707
>>2841232
>>2849685
Anon is absolutely right here. The CD-i and it's closest rival the Commodore CDTV were both intended to be "living room multimedia devices". Basically to help kids with their school work etc. So you'd have encyclopaedias and atlases etc that were more interactive than books.
Think Microsoft Encarta a few years earlier.
It was only when Philips and Commodore realised this market they were hoping to emerge, wasn't going to, that they tried to claw back some money and be like "err yeah it's a games console!".
That's why it looks like a VCR and came with a VCR style remote control, not a game pad. It was supposed to sit in the living room and play informative/educational titles.
https://youtu.be/dlBIUTXHOiI
>>2847451
Underage fag detected. We were pretty average income family, and we had a Commodore 64 in the 80s.
>>2851508
Not really, the CD-i wasn't technically a "console" and if you want to lump it in with them, it came out in 1991, before the SNES, so it was definitely part of the 16-bit era.
>>2840707
Yes
https://youtu.be/BfzgbYgUcjM
>>2853664
not this FUCKING CUNT again
>>2853437
Can a PS4 play Herzog Zwei?
checkmate atheists
>>2851508
It was fourth gen, dingus. It came out a year after the SNES.
>>2851624
It says Vision Factory on the titlescreen, which was a cracking group on Amiga. Don`t know if they are the same, but I wouldn`t be surprised.
Best CD-i game or best CD-i game?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfym9O_Jwq8
>>2853926
>Herzog Zwei?
Wasn't he executed for war crimes?
>be in first place for the water contest
>responds every question answers correctly
>win two medallions
>enter the temple
>build the silver monkey without trouble
>don't get caught by any guards
>beat the temple
>get this as a price
>>2840691
>Nintendo fucks over Sony to work with Philips
>Sony is platinum mad and makes Playstation instead of the SuperSNES
>Philips gives Nintendo "mah boi"
Worst blunder in gaming business history, p much.
>>2856462
But isn't thiswhat all true warriors strive for?
>>2854902
most accurate analogy to the time period tbqh af pham
B R A V O P H I L I P S
R
A
V
O
>>2840707
This. It seems very similar to the Nuon DVD players released later
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuon_%28DVD_technology%29
>>2840691
The hardware was completely and utterly retarded for making games, so it didn't have a chance at being a good console.
High-quality display output without the hardware to really do anything with that output at a reasonable speed, backed by people who didn't care about writing good software, just about hopping on the next big fad.
the only thing it had going for it was the fact that a computer that could do the video playback it did would have cost more than $2500 at the time, maybe even more (fast-ass CPU and/or an MPEG card, had a CD drive, and had a video card to output full color, decent size hard-drive, etc).
By 1995, you could get such a machine in the $1000 range or so (and the price was dropping fast), and you could get a shit-ton more software, information (at this time, the internet began to become mainstream, even if it wasn't quite there yet), and video for your PC.
>>2840707
it barely had a chance at that, early 90s digital video encoding and decoding was terrible, with 320x240 video files at like 20fps with obnoxious file sizes and miserable CD seek+load times
and Phillips actually did use games to market it, at least later on in its life
As a multimedia system, it lacked convenience, who wants to thumb through a shitton of menus to look up information? As a game system, it lacked power. Almost all the software and media for it lacked quality. There wasn't anything that matched the '93 release of Microsoft Encarta.
Probably the one thing it could have done well at, maybe, was allow for nifty extras on normal audio CDs, but most players didn't ignore data tracks at the time and would happily try to play them, killing your ears in the process.
>>2852716
this
32X Doom isn't too bad, especially considering the timeframe it was made in.
>>2851474
this
even if you had a machine that matched the MPC spec at the time of the CD-i, you were still going to be displaying 160x120 video in a 320x240 window on your 640x480 monitor, slowly
Philips always made cool shit, but video games clearly weren't their thing.
>>2856615
It did, but it was removed probably after complaints of losing pieces.
>>2857203
I think it was just because it usually got in the way and made the controller more awkward. I'm pretty sure the only reason they put it there in the first place was so it didn't look as much like a NES controller ripoff.
>>2849886
Windows 3 was definitely big. Office administrators, computer enthusiasts, finance-related workers, etc. we're all over it. Windows 95 was big on a different level. It made Windows a household name. Suddenly, even stay at home moms were interested.
Hearing Burger Bill's account from how terrible the development of 3DO Doom was, maybe a CD-i port could have been just as bad.
Maybe it was better that it wasn't given a port.
>>2861846
The CD-i could barely handle the sort of games you'd find on the SNES and Genesis, let alone Doom.
>>2861863
So what's the most impressive game in terms of on-screen action and graphics for the CD-i?
>>2862963
I saw a crappy Wolfenstein 3D-esque FPS for it once. I don't recall what it's called, but it actually had online play which was pretty neat for the time.
http://www.retrogamer.net/top_10/top-ten-philips-cdi/
>Hotel Mario
>Zelda Wand Of Gamalon/Faces Of Evil
>"they're actually good, you guys!"
The design of that controller certainly doesn't help in preventing people from having preconceived ideas of what the CD-i was for.
>>2863203
>I-it's not meant as a game console! But an interactive entertainment system!
>>2863521
It was like a DVD player that couldn't play movies.
>>2841514
I am curious to why it is Japanesy.
>>2863521
That controller came later when they tried to push it as a console.
Originally, it had a regular remote.
I HOPE SHE MADE LOTS OF SPAGHETTI
>>2863702
It plays VideoCD movies.
>>2851508
cdi is fourth gen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_generation_of_video_game_consoles#Other_consoles
