Multiple:Option

The last of my Pippin videos, today we'll have a look at the CDs that came with the system itself. These aren't particularly interesting (as pack-in discs usually go), but they are worth posting.

The first video is of the PEASE disc. It has a bunch of Mac games and utilities. It's a Mac disc through and through, loading you straight into the MacOS GUI (complete with the Mac boot jigsaw icons, if you know what I'm referring to?) The games are mostly clones (Tetris, Space Invaders) but there are a few original Mac games (shareware, weirdly enough). If you weren't holding the controller, you'd swear you were just looking at an ordinary Mac.




My last video is of the Pippin Title CD-ROM Catalog Vol. 1, which is self-explanatory. Going through the catalog, you'll note that most Pippin titles are edutainment, reflecting its Mac background. Nothing really surprising in terms of games, but it's interesting to see the number of announced titles - far more than I've ever expected or seen (in real life or otherwise). I have no idea whether all of these were actually released or not. Sadly no demos were included on the disc.




Final Thoughts
So, should you get yourself a Pippin? No, unless you are a console collector or a Mac collector. For your average gamer, the Pippin offers no stand-out exclusive titles worth playing. The console is heavy, and the controller is awkward. The hardware and software are difficult to track down, and frankly you'll spend a lot of time for little gain. It isn't worth it.

Don't think I'm completely down on the Pippin though. There are two things I quite like about it:

• Internationalized hardware - Not only is the Pippin 100v-240v power capable, it also outputs NTSC/PAL and VGA with a simple switch on the back on the console. Lovely.
• Pippin technology licensing - Like the 3DO (though not in reality), the Pippin tech was meant to be licensed to other companies. So we could have had a Sony Pippin, a Sharp Pippin, a Panasonic Pippin, etc. I firmly believe in the tech licensing idea, and hope that one day Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo embrace it whole-heartedly.