The Fairchild Channel F, short for "Channel Fun", is a video game console, the first to be based on a microprocessor and to use ROM cartridges instead of having games built-in. It was released by Fairchild Camera and Instrument in November 1976 across North America at a retail price of US$169.95. It was launched as the "Video Entertainment System", but when Atari released its Video Computer System the next year, Fairchild rebranded their machine as "Channel F" while keeping the Video Entertainment System descriptor.
A handheld TV game or plug and play game is an integrated home video game console and game controller, usually battery powered, which connects directly to a television. The game software is built directly into the unit, which is typically designed to look like a toy or classic game console controller with the addition of a composite video cable to connect the unit. These systems usually contain either a collection of classic games or original games based on licensed properties. Because the game software is integrated into the game unit and almost never designed to be changed by the user, these game systems are typically marketed as electronic toys or collectibles rather than game consoles.
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is an educational entertainment and electronics company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning products and related content for the education of children from infancy through grade school. The company was founded by Michael Wood and Robert Lally in 1994. John Barbour is the chief executive officer of LeapFrog.
A dedicated console is a video game console that is limited to one or more built-in video game or games, and is not equipped for additional games that are distributed via ROM cartridges, discs, downloads or other digital media. Dedicated consoles were very popular in the first generation of video game consoles until they were gradually replaced by second-generation video game consoles that use ROM cartridges.
The Atari Flashback series are a line of dedicated video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari SA. The Flashback consoles are "plug-and-play" versions of the Atari 2600 console. They contain built-in games rather than using the ROM cartridges utilized by the 2600. Most of the games are classics that were previously released for the 2600, although some Flashback consoles include previously unreleased prototype games as well.
The V.Smile is a sixth-generation educational home video game console manufactured and released by VTech. The system was first released on August 4, 2004. Its titles are available on ROM cartridges called "Smartridges", a pun on the system's educational nature. The graphics are primarily sprite-based. When there is no cartridge inserted, the logo plays continuously. The console is often bundled with a particular game, with most models including a game called "Alphabet Park Adventure". Several variants of the V.Smile console are sold, including handheld versions and models with added functionality such as touch tablet integrated controllers or microphones. The V.Motion is a major variant with its own software lineup that includes motion-sensitive controllers and has titles designed to take advantage of motion-related "active learning". The V.Motion and Smartridges are fully backwards compatible with other V.Smile variants and V.Smile Smartridges, and a V.Motion Smartridge can also be played on any V.Smile console, albeit with limited functionality.
VG Pocket is a series of handheld dedicated game consoles built by JungleTac and sold by Performance Designed Products LLC. The VG Pocket model was the first console of its type to have a 2" backlit color LCD screen.
Thomas Kalinske is an American businessman who has worked for Mattel (1972–1990), Sega of America (1990–1996) and LeapFrog (1997–2006).
The LJN Video Art is an educational home video game console that was developed and manufactured by LJN. It was launched in 1987 with a two-year market presence of mostly negative critical reviews but sharing retail prestige among hit toys. It was discontinued in late 1989 at a heavy price drop, as ultimately a commercial failure. It is LJN's only video game console, and only nine games were made for it.
The Leapster Learning Game System is an educational handheld game console aimed at 4- to 10–11-year-olds, made by LeapFrog Enterprises. Its games teach the alphabet, phonics, basic math, and art and animal facts to players. Along with a directional pad, the system features a touchscreen with a stylus pen that enables young users to interact directly with the screen. LeapFrog released the Leapster2 handheld device as a successor to the Leapster in July 2008. The Leapster2 is essentially the previous system with an added USB port and SD card slot. These additions give the ability to play a downloaded full game or short game including the ability to log data on gameplay, such as what has been learned by the user or art created by the user. Downloadable games are not for sale.
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a division of Sony.
The ClickStart is an educational computer system created for children aged between 3 and 6 years by LeapFrog Enterprises and was introduced in 2007. The entire system consists of a console unit and a wireless keyboard and mouse set. It also uses cartridges, simply called My First Computer Software. The console also introduces Scout, a green-colored dog character who also appears in later LeapFrog products.
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, Sega's Dreamcast, and Microsoft's Xbox. It is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide, nearly triple the combined sales of the Dreamcast, GameCube, and Xbox.
View-Master Interactive Vision is an interactive movie VHS console game system, introduced in 1988 and released in the USA in 1989 by View-Master Ideal Group, Inc. The tagline is "the Two-Way Television System that makes you a part of the show!" The titles include four Sesame Street games, two games featuring the Muppet Show characters, and a Disney game, Disney's Cartoon Arcade.
The LeapFrog Didj is a handheld console made by LeapFrog Enterprises. The Didj was priced at $89.99 when it debuted on August 22, 2008. Its library mostly consists of educational software aimed for children based on licensed properties such as those from Disney, Nickelodeon, and Marvel.
The LeapPad Explorer was the first release in a new line of LeapPad products after the discontinuation of the original LeapPad line by LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. LeapPad Explorer was released on August 15, 2011.
Just Dance is a rhythm game series developed and published by Ubisoft. The original Just Dance game was released on the Wii in 2009 in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Off-TV Play is a feature of Nintendo's eighth-generation video game console, the Wii U. Like all video game consoles, the Wii U uses a console and a controller to manipulate an image on a television screen. The Wii U's unique feature is that its controller, the Wii U GamePad, has its own built-in screen for displaying images. It can display an entirely different image, or duplicate the television screen into the Wii U GamePad. Off-TV Play is the term used for when an entire game is played strictly on the controller, without the use of a television. The GamePad also features two speakers that can be used for Off-TV Play. There is no standardized way to activate Off-TV Play and how it's implemented depends on the game.
Crossy Road is an arcade video game released on 20 November 2014. It was developed and published by Australian video game developer Hipster Whale, with the name and concept of the game playing on the age-old joke/anti-joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" The game has also been described as endless runner version of Frogger.
As the Sonic the Hedgehog series of platform games has grown in popularity, its publisher Sega has expanded the franchise into multiple different genres. Among these are several educational video games designed to appeal to young children. The first attempt to create an educational Sonic game was Tiertex Design Studios' Sonic's Edusoft for the Master System in late 1991, which was canceled despite having been nearly finished. When Sega launched the Sega Pico in 1994, it released Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld and Tails and the Music Maker for it. Orion Interactive also developed the 1996 Sega PC game Sonic's Schoolhouse, which used a 3D game engine and had an exceptionally large marketing budget. In the mid-2000s, LeapFrog Enterprises released educational Sonic games for its Leapster and LeapFrog Didj.
