Action Max

Last updated
Action Max
Action max logo.png
Action-Max-Set-FL.jpg
Action Max with light gun
Manufacturer Worlds of Wonder
Type Home video game console
Generation Third generation
Release date1987
Media VHS tape
CPU HD401010
Display2 Character, 7 segment LED score display

The Action Max is a home video game console using VHS tapes for games. [1] [2] It was manufactured in 1987 by Worlds of Wonder. [3] [2] The system had a very limited release outside the U.S.

Contents

Gameplay

The Action Max system requires the player to also have a VCR, [4] as the console has no way to play the requisite VHS tapes itself. Using light guns, players shoot at the screen. [2] The gaming is strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy, and as a result, players can't truly win or lose a game. The system's post-launch appeal was limited by this and by the fact that the only real genre on the system were light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, [2] leading to its quick market decline. [5]

Games

Scan of a VHS tape game for Action Max Action-max-sonic-fury-(pal).jpg
Scan of a VHS tape game for Action Max

Five VHS cassettes were released for the system:

Technical specifications

The Action Max motherboard Action-Max-Motherboard-Flat-Top.jpg
The Action Max motherboard
Inside the system Action-Max-Console-Opened.jpg
Inside the system

See also

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References

  1. "Action Max". OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum. 2011-03-22. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 James, Adam (2017-11-21). "The Most Bizarre Console Flops In Gaming History". SVG. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  3. Slaven, Andy (2002). Video game Bible, 1985-2002. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford. p. 352. ISBN   1553697316.
  4. Gellene, Denise (14 December 1987). "BIG TROUBLE IN TOYLAND : Debt-Ridden Worlds of Wonder, the Maker of Teddy Ruxpin, Is Looking for Way Out of Woods". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  5. Plunkett, Luke (March 28, 2011). "Only In The 80's Would They Put Video Games On A VHS Tape". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  6. Meston, Zach (2007). "Rare Systems". Video Game Collector Magazine. No. 9. p. 10.
  7. Rozenkrantz, Jonathan (1 June 2017). "Action Max: Notes on a Deictic Dispositif". residual media depot. Milieux Institute of Concordia University. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.