The R-Zone is a portable game console (originally head-worn, later
handheld
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
) developed and manufactured by
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) was an independent American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as ''Brain Warp'' and the Br ...
. The R-Zone was shown at the
American International Toy Fair
The North American International Toy Fair (formerly the American International Toy Fair and also known as Toy Fair New York) is an annual toy industry trade show held in mid-February in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and at t ...
in February 1995, and was released later that year.
The R-Zone was panned by critics, and was also a commercial disaster, with its lifespan lasting only 2 years before being discontinued in 1997. Although the R-Zone was not designed to compete directly with any other handhelds, it marked Tiger Electronics' first multi-game entry into the portable electronic game market.
The original R-Zone unit consists of a headset and a separate controller containing batteries.
Each game cartridge has its own transparent LCD display screen which is projected onto a mirrored surface held in front of the player's eye. It is thought that this original design, including the red color scheme, was designed to capitalize on popular buzz for the
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
Virtual Boy
The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. Released in 1995, it was marketed as the first console capable of displaying stereoscopic "3D" graphics. The player uses the console like ...
at the time.
However, Tiger has never confirmed this theory.
Three additional versions of the R-Zone were subsequently released: the R-Zone SuperScreen, the XPG (Xtreme Pocket Game), and the DataZone. It has been constantly regarded as one of the worst video game consoles ever made.
Games
![Tiger-RZone-Cartridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Tiger-RZone-Cartridge.jpg)
R-Zone games mostly vary only in title and subject; gameplay within the R-Zone's gaming library is almost identical from title to title. As with Tiger's other gaming units, the software lineup is dominated by licensed titles. Games released for the console include ''Batman Forever'', ''
Virtua Fighter
is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...
'', ''
Mortal Kombat 3
''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...
'',
[ ''VR Troopers'', '']Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...
'', ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', ''Men in Black
In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi-government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses t ...
'', and '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park''. This is a partial list:
*''A Bug's Life
''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...
''
*'' Alien vs Predator''
*''Apollo 13''
*''Area 51
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
''
*'' Batman & Robin''
*''Batman Forever
''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment of W ...
''
*''Battle Arena Toshinden
is a weapons-based fighting game developed by Tamsoft and published by Takara and Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995 for the PlayStation, followed by 1996 ports for the Sega Saturn, Game Boy and MS-DOS. It was one of the first fighting games to ...
''
*''Daytona USA''
*''Football'' (France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
exclusive)
*''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
''
*''Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
''
*''Indy 500''
*''Judge Dredd''
*''The Lost World: Jurassic Park''
*''Mask of Zorro'' ( UK exclusive, pack-in only. Also sold in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.)
*''Men in Black''
*''Mortal Kombat 3
''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...
''
*''Mortal Kombat Trilogy
''Mortal Kombat Trilogy'' is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as the second and final update to ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (the first being ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'') for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versio ...
''
*'' Nights into Dreams''
*''Panzer Dragoon
''Panzer Dragoon'' is a series of video games by Sega. The first three games were developed in the 1990s by Sega's Team Andromeda for the Sega Saturn. The fourth, ''Panzer Dragoon Orta'' (2002), was developed by Sega's Smilebit team for the Xbox ...
''
*''Primal Rage
''Primal Rage'' is a fighting game developed and released by Atari Games to arcades in August 1994. The game takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called "Urth". Players control one of seven large beasts that battle each other to det ...
''
*''Road Rash 3
''Road Rash 3'' is a 1995 racing and vehicular combat video game developed and published by Electronic Arts (EA) for the Sega Genesis. It is the fourth installment in the ''Road Rash'' series and the last to be released for the Genesis, as wel ...
''
*''Sonic R
is a 1997 racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It is the third racing game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and the first to feature 3D computer graphics. The player races on ...
''
*''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''
*''Star Wars: Imperial Assault''
*''Star Wars: Jedi Adventure''
*''Star Wars: Millennium Falcon Challenge''
*''Star Wars: Rebel Forces''
*''Virtua Cop
(known as ''Virtua Squad'' for the North American Windows version) is a 1994 light gun shooter game developed by Sega AM2 and designed by Yu Suzuki. It was originally an arcade game on the Sega Model 2 system, and was ported to the Sega Saturn in ...
''
*''Virtua Fighter
is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...
''
*''Virtua Fighter 2
is a 1994 fighting game, fighting video game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to 1993's ''Virtua Fighter (video game), Virtua Fighter'' and the second game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series. It was created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed Sega AM2, ...
''
*''VR Troopers: When Worlds Collide''
Hardware
The R-Zone has ten face buttons. The buttons on the right are labeled "A", "B", "C", and "D". The functions of these face buttons vary from game to game but typically the buttons correspond to a four-direction attack scheme (where the "C" button attacks to the left, the "D" button attacks up, the "B" button attacks right, and the "A" button attacks down or does nothing at all. The buttons on the bottom are labeled "ON", "START", "SELECT", "SOUND", "PAUSE", and "OFF". The functions of these face buttons are universal and do not vary from game-to-game. The "ON" button simply turns on the console but is largely un-used as inserting a game cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname) Ca ...
automatically turns the unit on. The "START" button is required to begin all games. The "SOUND" button toggles the audio on and off. The "PAUSE" button allows for any game to be paused. The "OFF" button turns the console off.
The R-Zone also features a directional pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...
, allowing four directions of movement in its games.
The R-Zone has no microprocessor or memory. Those components are contained in a microcontroller
A microcontroller (MCU for ''microcontroller unit'', often also MC, UC, or μC) is a small computer on a single VLSI integrated circuit (IC) chip. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable i ...
inside the game cartridge. The console itself acts as a front polarizer
A polarizer or polariser is an optical filter that lets light waves of a specific polarization pass through while blocking light waves of other polarizations. It can filter a beam of light of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam of well ...
for the LCD, a Speaker, and a shift register
A shift register is a type of digital circuit using a cascade of flip-flops where the output of one flip-flop is connected to the input of the next. They share a single clock signal, which causes the data stored in the system to shift from one loc ...
for the controls.
The R-Zone game cartridges are transparent in the center. This allows light to pass through and reflect off a specialized mirror to the gamer's eyes. The LCD in each cartridge operates identically to Tiger's earlier handheld LCD game units. All of the graphics were pre-drawn and permanently set into the LCD itself. Different portions of the display are darkened/activated at different times to provide animation.
The mirror has minor tilt adjustment and can be pushed up against the unit for protection and storage. The games only display a dark red color.
The bottom side of the console shows two ports (one on the left side, the other on the right). Each port is accessible with a screwdriver and holds the batteries.
A single speaker allows for mono audio output.
Variations
A few variations of the R-Zone were produced:
*The R-Zone Headgear was released in late 1995 and is largely different from later units in that the game cartridge is inserted into a device that is strapped onto the user's head. The user flips down a transparent lens that was designed to reflect the game images into the user's right eye. The head unit holds the game being played and is connected to a controller with a cable approximately long. The controller requires 4 AAA batteries
The AAA battery (or triple-A battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery. One or more AAA batteries are commonly used in low-drain portable electronic devices. A zinc–carbon battery in this size is designated by IEC as R03, by ANSI C18.1 ...
and sports a cartridge storage slot (for keeping an additional game protected and available), volume adjustment dial, and brightness adjustment dial. The console was priced $29.99 at launch and included a pack-in game
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
.[
*The R-Zone SuperScreen was released in late 1996 and initially cost $29.99.] It allowed R-Zone games to have color for the first time. Some games allow for a special lens to be used with this particular R-Zone and simply provide the user with a non-animated color background. Game movement on screen is black. The screen is considerably larger than the other R-Zone models;[ because of this, and the fact that the user is not required to look at a mirror at a precise angle to see the gameplay, other people can also see gameplay. The unit changed the layout again and requires 4 D batteries to run. In this model the ]D-pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...
was swapped out for four directional buttons (up, down, left, and right).
*The R-Zone DataZone was released in late 1996. It is another handheld version of the console, but includes a data organizer.[ It no longer projects the image through a mirror but rather just flat displays it with a backlight. It uses one watch battery to store data and 2 AAA batteries to run the games.
*The R-Zone XPG (short for Xtreme Pocket Game) is a completely handheld version of the console, released in 1997.] It lacks a headset, and instead projects the display onto a mirrored surface directly above the game controller area on the unit. This version also uses AAA batteries.
Reception
The console was panned by critics upon its release. At the time of its release, David Jones of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' called the R-Zone "a waste of time and money" and wrote that its screen "is hard to see and the controls are very awkward. That's not all – if you keep the headband on for, say, five minutes, you'll have two deep lines on your forehead and a headache." Jones noted the failure of the R-Zone's extra headband padding – which was designed to prevent pain – and concluded, "the R-Zone should be dumped into the trash can where it belongs."[ '']Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' remarked that while the display takes time to get used to and is not "even in the same league as the Virtual Boy's immersive experience," the R-Zone is much less expensive and, unlike the Virtual Boy, is functionally portable.[
In 2008, Mikel Reparaz of ]GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
included the R-Zone on a list of the 10 worst game consoles released up to that time. Reparaz considered the R-Zone to be a poor version of Nintendo's Virtual Boy and stated that it was essentially "just a gimmicky version of the same awful, clicky-beepy LCD games that Tiger had been dumping on the market since the '80s."
In 2016, Motherboard
A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...
called the R-Zone "perhaps the most infamous product ever associated with Tiger", stating that the console's games were "glorified versions" of Tiger's LCD games. Motherboard stated that the R-Zone was similar to the Virtual Boy in some ways, but considered the R-Zone to be "much, much worse".
References
External links
R Zone Head Gear commercial
link goes to commercial on retrojunk.com)
El Museo de los 8 Bits
with a list of games
Video Review by YouTube user Ashens
{{Handheld game consoles
1990s toys
Fifth-generation video game consoles
Handheld game consoles
Products introduced in 1995