Now you’re playing with…glowing robot hands?!

Brother and sister are finally getting along with “Multiple Player Action.”

A friend recently noticed I haven’t posted a new Retro Scan since 2019 (by the way—wasn’t 2020 hell?), so I thought I’d dig through the archives and look for something fun. My scanner isn’t even hooked up at the moment. That’s how long it’s been!

Here’s a nice high-resolution scan of the Nintendo Game Boy box art, front and back, that I scanned a few years ago for an article. One of the most fascinating things about it for me is how the text on the back refers to the Game Boy’s D-pad as a “cross key joystick.” As far as I know, this is the first and only time I’ve seen it described that way. So maybe that’s the official Nintendo term for the D-pad?

I know I’ve let this site wither on the vine for too long, but I’m glad some people are still out there reading it. Hope you enjoy the scan.

Discussion Topic: What’s your favorite Game Boy game?

I need to start a historical coupon collection

Apparently I ripped this Tiger Game.com $10 rebate coupon off the back of some unknown cereal box around 1997 or 1998. I found it recently in the papers cleaned out from my childhood desk.

The Tiger Game.com seemed like a neat machine when I first read about it — with its touch screen and potential for “Internet access” — but it ended up being a major let-down.

I did eventually get a Game.Com — I could have sworn I got it on clearance at K-Mart or Toys’R’Us (but I didn’t mention that in this earlier post)…or maybe it was a birthday present from my dad in 1998. Despite buying many Game.com games over the next few years on clearance, I pretty much only played the built-in Solitaire game on it. But that was fun enough.

I remember thinking something along the lines of “For the price I paid for it, it’s a pretty good solitaire machine.” So maybe I did get my first Game.com on clearance. It’s sad that my memory is fading like this. I can typically remember how and when I got everything in my collection. I will have to look through my papers later and see if I have a receipt for it. That could shed some light on things.

See my previous Retro Scan posts about the Game.com (listed below) for more of my stories about this odd console. It’s the only video game console I ever used to call a BBS. Now that’s odd.

Discussion Topic of the Week: Did you buy a Tiger Game.Com in the 1990s? What did you think about it?

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See Also:
Tiger Game.com (RSOTW, 2010)
Game.com Internet Module (RSOTW, 2012)

The original touch-screen game system.

Pop quiz: which video game console first featured a touch screen? (Hint: It’s not the Nintendo DS.) How about this one: Which handheld console first supported Internet connectivity?

Believe it or not, Tiger Electronics — a toy company famed for its cheap electronic games — came in first on both counts with the Game.com in 1997. (Sega Saturn was the first home console to support Internet in 1996).

I was a Game.com early adopter, having bought one close to its release. The wonder of its primitive touch screen alone seemed to make up for its deficiencies at the time, so I was pleased at first. The unit shipped with a built-in version of Klondike Solitaire and a Lights Out game cartridge, both of which showed off the system’s touch capabilities well. But my infatuation with the Game.com turned out to be brief.

[ Continue reading [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Tiger Game.com » ]