Tiger R-Zone from Tiger Electronics

Summary

Tiger Electronics is an American manufacturer that has been in the electronic games business since 1978. Often it was simple LCD games, but Tiger Electronics has tried twice on replaceable module systems: with the R-Zone (1995-1997) and the later handheld console game.com (1997). They were not successful with both of them; the retail quickly took the R-Zone out of the shelves, as they hardly anyone wanted to buy.

The first version is comparable to the Nintendo Virtual Boy, but with the difference that the R-Zone was significantly cheaper and looks inferior accordingly. Because the R-Zone is almost only made of plastic, it weighs hardly anything and is put on the head with a rubber band. This is different with the Virtual Boy: it weighs almost 800 grams and is therefore positioned on a stand when playing.

The R-Zone is an LCD handheld, and came on the market in three versions:

• R zone (headgear), 1995
• R-Zone Super Screen, 1995–1996
• R-Zone X.P.G. (Xtreme Pocket Game), 1997

With regard to the game experience, the system chooses an unusual concept. The R-Zone modules have a transparent LCD and are plugged into the console. Red LED light shines through the LCD and projects it onto a fold-out plastic disc. The action input takes place via an external controller. The games are of rather inferior quality and the console produces very few frames per second. Since the plastic disc covers only one eye, the player squints. Many recipients therefore complain about headaches after just a few minutes. Nevertheless, manufacturer Tiger speaks very favourably of “virtual reality software” in his marketing texts. The TV advertising probably misled some buyers, but the saying “fist in your face reality” doesn’t make such a weak console a best-seller. In the past, buyers quickly disposed of the equipment, today they are rare. There are less than 30 games.

Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/R-Zone_Headgear_01.JPG