The end of the game.com

[CMA Death Adder]

Howdy, y'all.

This has been in the works for far too long and today, I'm nauseous to announce that:

“The end of the game.com” rides again.
www.diskman.com/presents/gamecom

Yep. My formerly threadbare website about a handheld game system that's even less enjoyable than the Supervision [!!]... is back. Now bloated with far more information than you'll ever care to know, to experience it is a grand adventure in masochism. (Though still less painful than actually playing game.com games.)

If you're wondering why I've wasted so much time building a virtual shrine to such a useless piece of plastic stuffed with shoddy electrical components, it's simple: I did it because I knew no one else would. Amen.

So come on by and relive all your game.com favorites.
(I'd say, "You'll be glad you did," but we both know you'll regret it.)

[gbpxl]

I remember seeing those games on a Best Buy shelf and thinking "Man those games look so cool!!!" I wouldve been pretty disappointed had I actually got my mom to buy me any game.com stuff. To me they are about as worthless as those V-tech systems

[T]

I'm gonna check this site out. I have long considered the game.com to be the worst system ever.
BUT, i am a sucker for underdog systems. I might have to dig mine out of storage and give it another try.

[Greg2600]

There's a PC emulator for Game.com that works pretty good. That's about as far as I'd go!

[DeputyMoniker]

Commercials page: You accidentally posted the same commercial twice. Top and bottom ones.
I wanted one of these when they were new. I thought I'd be able to surf the full web, chat, play the games online. lol. Looking back, I'm glad I bought a pager instead. Not even joking.
I like the site! I'll spend some more time there.

[CMA Death Adder]

Commercials page: You accidentally posted the same commercial twice. Top and bottom ones.

Fixed, thanks for letting me know!

[� Gideon �]

All right, I'll be the one to ask, as I couldn't seem to find the answer on your site: Can the Game.com still connect to the Internet today?

You've done a great job, by the way--from the crisp screenshots to the generous downloads. Thank you. Also, if anyone knows of a similar site for the R-Zone, I'd be interested in checking it out. Here is one for the Virtual Boy.

[CMA Death Adder]

Can the Game.com still connect to the Internet today?

Sure, why not? There are still plenty of providers that continue to offer dial-up internet. So nothing much has changed, you'll still need: a game.com + game.com Internet kit + dial-up modem + dial-up ISP + phone line + patience + an appetite for the absolutely zany. But I'll leave that adventure for someone else.

You've done a great job, by the way--from the crisp screenshots to the generous downloads. Thank you.

Sure, you're welcome. And thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.

[IMJ]

That's definitely a passion project website.... nice work!

[CMA Death Adder]

Today's update:

Added some details and screenshots for Holyfield Boxing, NBA Live '99, and Small Soldiers to the rumored games page. This info was mostly scooped from the archived website of developer Handheld Games.

game.com rumored games page

[� Gideon �]

Their CEO certainly knew how to hype up a game, it seems. Holyfield Boxing actually sounds like a good deal of fun. The camera angle for NBA Live looks atrocious, however.

Sure, why not?

So the Internet cartridge doesn't first try to connect to game.com, for example, failing if it doesn't receive an expected response?

Ahh, never mind. I didn't watch the whole video, but apparently that's exactly what happens. Bummer. Edit: Apparently, email functions normally. Also, it seems the video uploader was just a kid without much of a grasp of networking concepts or even retro gaming--so perhaps his assessment was unfounded. Gotta hand it to him for his level of interest, though.

[CMA Death Adder]

Their CEO certainly knew how to hype up a game, it seems.

Understatement, heh heh. I rolled my eyes several times while adding those statements to the site.

The camera angle for NBA Live looks atrocious, however.

As do the players' heads: they're floating several pixels above their bodies!

it seems the video uploader was just a kid without much of a grasp of networking concepts or even retro gaming

Uhh, yeah. Questionable "reference material" there, Gid. He has zero concept of what he is talking about.
Also - I believe you may have been confused when he was referring to Delphi? You don't *have* to use Delphi. It was just the service that Tiger was partnered with at the time.

Thing is, I'm afraid I can't get you all the facts on this like I'd prefer to. I hope one day to be able to muck about with the game.com Internet kit, and see just what can be done with it in modern times. If and when that happens, I'll prepare a full report for my website, and also share it here. For now, we'll just have to remain patient.

[Steve W]

This thread triggered a memory... I actually own a Tiger Game.com handheld, in box. Never played it - I've never seen so much battery corrosion on an electronic device before. But I have one, for "bragging" rights only. I also have several games for it, mostly bought at a thrift store for 89� each. Never even opened the packages up. There's no need, I'm only going to be disappointed with the result of playing the games. Like the Tiger R-Zone games I have - I'm pretty sure that Panzer Dragoon game on the R-Zone will not compare equally to the Saturn game.

At least somebody is taking the time to keep the faint memory of the Game.com alive, that's laudable. Good job!

[CMA Death Adder]

I actually own a Tiger Game.com handheld, in box. Never even opened the packages up. There's no need, I'm only going to be disappointed with the result of playing the games.

That's the spirit! Brother, you're OK in my book.

I also have several games for it, mostly bought at a thrift store for 89� each.

Still a rip-off.

At least somebody is taking the time to keep the faint memory of the Game.com alive, that's laudable. Good job!

Thanks! I enjoy doing the research, and sharing my findings.

[CMA Death Adder]

Today's update:

When I discovered that the UK version of the game.com Internet package featured a slightly different box, manual, and cartridge label than the US version, not to mention additional inserts, my initial reaction was, “No. NO! NOOOOO!!” I bought it anyway, knowing full well I'd have to scan everything. Yuck. But now the dirty deed is done, and the downloads are waiting for you over on the scans page.

[Rickstilwell1]

I actually had one for a while and tried Sonic Jam. It was unplayably slow. Like Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for Game Boy Advance was far better and that one got a lot of hate for its inaccuracies, especially the poor play controls.

[Steve W]

Saw a couple unopened Game.com cartridges in retro game stores today, warmed my heart for a second. Also saw a boxed Supervision handheld that's been at a game store for some time now, I always get excited to see it hoping they might mark that damn thing down (it would have to be a lot) so I could justify getting it. I absolutely cannot pull the trigger on it for $99. The cost-to-entertainment factor is just too low.

[CMA Death Adder]

The 1999 Tiger Electronics toy fair catalog recently landed on my doorstep with a big ol' thud, which would have been fine – if I didn't have to scan it. Sadly, duty calls. So I brought it inside, snipped its binding rings, carefully removed all of its game.com related pages, aaaaand... D'OH!! The pages were too wide to fit any of my scanners! Grrrr! Thanks, Tiger: you have screwed me again.

But, whatever. After a bit of disgruntled scanner shopping, I found myself in possession of a brand new Plustek OpticSlim 1180 jumbo flatbed scanner (very expen$ive): perfect for the task of properly archiving the aforementioned catalog pages.

And... HEY!! There's some interesting stuff here, y'all: namely info & pics for a slew of unreleased games. So have a look!

The end of the game.com

[CMA Death Adder]

High time I added some new interviews, isn't it? After all, I had two former Tiger employees on the horn back in June of 2020 [!]. Why not finally share our convos with the world?

First up is Anthony Grimaud, who was the Regional European Sales Director at Tiger Electronics from 1995 - 2002. Then we have Marc Rosenberg, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tiger Electronics from 1987 - 1998, and Executive Vice President of Marketing from 1998 - 2003. Give 'em some applause!

These gentlemen were kind enough to share their unique, firsthand insight into the ups and downs of the game.com, and of Tiger in general. The resulting interviews – which I've just finished properly transcribing and editing – are the most in-depth and extensive yet, to appear on this website!

Anthony Grimaud interview
Marc Rosenberg interview

[CMA Death Adder]

I should probably be packing a suitcase for my imminent trip to Japan – especially since I've been unable to visit for the past three years [!] – but what the hell: Let's make the game.com a priority.

I'd be a Halloweenie if I missed the “opportunity” to announce the discovery of the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night prototype (or as I like to call it, “Simfauxny of the Naught”) in time for the upcoming holiday. So... BOO! I'm announcing it.

Go to the unreleased games page, where you'll find a link to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Click that link, et voilà: Drac is back. I've also added the game's icon to the cartridge icons page.

BTW: In case you're curious about the origins of this prototype, I invite you to read some of this website's recent updates: a few of which snuck in just now! *wink*

Also, suffer through this video if you like...

https://youtu.be/G9p2ceWSWYI