Apple Failed! Apple Bandai Pippin Prototype Console! Best Games and Whether or Not Its Worth It

[@Jabjabs]

Oh man... everytime that M2 turns up... it was such a slick design and one wonders about the path not taken with that tech!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Those “what ifs” are half the reason I started this channel

[@srvuk]

Watching this reminded me to try and power up the sole Apple product that I ever bought, the Newton. It still works after all this time in a box.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha you only bought ONE Apple product ever and it was newton. What are the odds

[@genghisbunny]

Great video, definitely not something I'd buy, but it was interesting to learn about for sure.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s not something anyone should buy lol. Glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@Pawnband]

I really love the look of the console. It's kind of like if N64 and Dreamcast had a baby.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Now I’ll never not see that lol

[@JopieHaargel]

The front face looks like a stretched out Discord logo.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha I’m not seeing that

[@wyglif]

Marathon 2 only has music in the menu. The compromise is the ambient sound effects. I suspect they wanted to save on the CPU cycles taken up by the software-only MIDI support of the Mac.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Makes sense. I just wish the game couldn’t crash / freeze. It’s too unstable to really enjoy later in the games

[@wyglif]

I don't recognize the track in the video. Maybe the Pippin version has redbook?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d have to check but perhaps

[@Jabjabs]

As possible that by that point of development the code was so messed up that to add another media feature would just break it. ;) From what i have heard from folks that have worked with the original source code - it is an absolute mess under the hood. Mind you this kind of code apparently carried over to Halo and Halo 2 only getting the needed clean up with Halo 3 on X360.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s wild how long code can stay useful for

[@Charlie-Cat.]

I like the Apple Pippin VGE. I really do. In fact I have one in the collection and wasn't that expensive to buy new. Plus, they still have a good amount being offered unused for those interested off Ebay. 8^) Anthony..

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’m surprised but you and another commenter own Pippin units. Two more than I expected!

[@summerlaverdure]

Went down a rabbit hole of this system today , this video was part of it and honestly it is an excellent overview. I found out about super marathon music (apologies if you already found out since you made the video) and the reason no Pippin plays the music is because bungie deleted the QuickTime instrument library to save memory, not sure if there's a way to restore it or not Reading about how Apple handled this like the 3do but even worse because they didn't want to market it just makes me realize no matter how much technical improvement this system would have gotten, Apple would have always made it fail x_x Anyway thanks again for the great video!!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you enjoyed it. Pippin is a weird machine. Intriguing but weird

[@summerlaverdure]

@@VideoGameEsoterica very much so 🤣👍

[@TrevHolland]

"But getting all the plastic off of a Pippin is one of the most difficult things you can do outside of dismantling a PC-FX." Say no more. I will not try this. lol

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha it really is a giant pain to deal with

[@archive3do769]

I would love to see someone make the pippin mac os run on the m2 so we can play marathon on the m2

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha I mean it’s in the nuclear 6XX family so the code base would be V close

[@gunsmithx]

I think everyone needs a pippin!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean why not lol

[@giddra69]

This video has convinced me I need to purchase a PiPP!N

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Then I did the wrong thing 🤣

[@Kidsmoker]

Attach a BlueSCSI hard drive, a FloppyEmu, the RAM upgrade, and an ADB adapter and you have a fun little Mac.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe one of these days

[@VOID_ERRor333]

Jungle Park feels like one of those games I would play for a while with my brain turned off and maybe I would pull up a walkthrough just so i can see what weirdness it throws at me next

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s the thing I don’t even think there IS a walkthrough. I’ve tried to beat the game. I’ve never succeeded

[@VOID_ERRor333]

I tried to see if there is a walkthrough online and there's only a scan of the user manual on the internet archive, that either means that no one has beaten the game or that it's just so obscure that no one has cared to make a walkthrough for it. Or it just means there is no end to the game.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Could be all of the above haha

[@Peach_Preach]

Here is a seven part playthrough of the game from a KZbinr called KimaMass: kzbin.info/aero/PLWOb1HTn7M8HeOy3yfkb67Y5qZEKg6kFj&si=HqB0zxwkmL-jQX9c

[@protox07]

I like your videos

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Appreciate that!

[@dorfus]

Sir as a co-chair of the BAPC (Bandai Apple Pippin Community) you have cut me to my core today

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Wait do you have one? Now I can’t remember

[@dorfus]

@@VideoGameEsoterica sir I have the most rare and impractical television in existence how dare you assume I wouldn’t have other rare and impractical things

[@Clodd1]

There’s a Pipi community. Jesus!

[@dorfus]

@@Clodd1 VGE aren’t you a member of the pipi community

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You have pancake syrup. I know you do

[@NotaPizzaGRL]

Will the Pippin ever get a Mister core?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It could work but someone has to want to do it

[@logan_cadfgs]

aw shit, definitely gotta play Jungle Park now. Regarding the Pippin/Mac version, seems like it’d be a huge pain to play with a controller 🤢

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

With the trackball it’s not bad at all

[@Vara91391]

That controller reminds me of the moon.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Kinda does have that crescent moon vibe doesn’t it

[@craigvard1639]

Looks like many games for this system aimed for 640x480 resolution. For CPU driven system (and with not fast CPU and buses) it was not good.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The biggest flaw is no 3D hardware. CPU had to do everything

[@craigvard1639]

@@VideoGameEsoterica and no 2d hardware to speak of. And using high resolution games developers made things only worse. If my memories don't fail me, in PC space you need at least P133 for decent experience in 640x480 with dynamic graphics. And P133 is much faster than PPC602.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

This was 603 but yes same idea stands

[@craigvard1639]

@@VideoGameEsoterica 603 even worse than 602. Less cash, multiplexed bus.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

602 was my beloved M2

[@zagreatandini2345]

Come on mister core ;-)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha wouldn’t take much. PowerPC 603 and some random scsi bits

[@timh6319]

Joke’s on you, I already bought a Pippin a couple years ago! (And it’s how I found your channel.) I planned to use it with a SCSI2SD to turn it into a “TV Mac,” but I never got it working. So if anyone out there has, I’d love to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

What didn’t work exactly?

[@timh6319]

@@VideoGameEsoterica IIRC, I was trying to use the Pippin Kickstarter to get the system to recognize my SCSI2SD as a bootable volume, but it never did. Never figured out if I configured my SCSI2SD wrong, set up my SD card incorrectly, or had some kind of hardware issue.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe you had the SCSI2SD settings wrong. I can’t remember what virtual jumper / ID it needs but I know it’s specific. I’ve used them for arcade boards and it’s always a bit of a trial and error to get them to be recognized and read

[@timh6319]

@@VideoGameEsoterica That’s what I suspected, but never found the right setup. It didn’t occur to me before, but maybe I could boot with the Tucson disc and use that to verify/tinker with my settings and get the drive recognized before trying to jump right to booting from SD.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes maybe try and get a secondary scsi device to recognize first. I’ve never tried it myself but I know you can boot from SCSI2SD somehow as a bootable “disk image”

[@terijackson2958]

Ola! 😀🤘🏼

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Seems like you enjoyed lol

[@real_Pinoy]

If Apple Fanboys & Supporters knew about this Console and it had the right Marketing back then it would fly off the Shelves since Sheeple of Apple would buy it

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It had potential. It just failed to deliver on any of it

[@METR0lD]

Apple never misses! 😅

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Never 🤣

[@maroon9273]

Apple and bandai put the pippen in the gaming console rather marketing it as a multimedia internet gaming pc. I wish is was easier to upgrade its hardware and upgrade MAC OS

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it’s a bummer it’s basically a locked platform hardware wise

[@maroon9273]

​@@VideoGameEsotericaanother reason why it failed and imagine being able upgrade it to latest Mac os. Plus, people had to hack it so they can play doom. I wish it was fully compatible with systems 7 games and software.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yea it’s so limited as to what it can do sadly

[@SkyScourgeGod]

I love how you continually press the fact that you should NOT buy this system rofl XD. It sort of reminds me of a scene from the Scott the Woz Virtual Boy episode where he tries to do reverse psychology to get people to buy the Virtual Boy by telling them NOT to multiple times (For the love of god! Don't buy it!). Seriously though, nobody should be buying this stuff unless they enjoy setting money on fire. I'd sooner buy an Atari Jaguar and that is on my list of systems NOT to buy lol. The Pippin is interesting though, at least from a historical standpoint. The FPS you showed looks really freaking cool but, as you said, there are better and cheaper ways to play that. Point n' Click'ers are not my thing either so this system is DEFINITELY not for me. If there were a couple of obscure systems I don't own that I would buy if I could it would be the X68000, Amiga CD32 and the FM Towns Marty. All are rare, expensive as hell and very interesting pieces of tech that I'll probably never be able to afford let alone get games for.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha it’s one of those “If you lack common sense and want to buy something dumb” consoles

[@SkyScourgeGod]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Joker while standing in front of a burning pile of cash: It's not about the money, its about sending a message... everything burns... 😂🤣

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

My prototype Pippin is the result of browsing eBay while drinking

[@SkyScourgeGod]

@@VideoGameEsoterica rofl you had a drunk one night stand with a pippin! 🤣💀

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Happens more times that I care to admit (eBay and drinks)

[@balaam_7087]

That controller 😅 It looks like it has the awful ‘ps3 prototype boomerang’ shell, those horrendously bad Xbox face buttons, and an N64 analog stick.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a weird controller but oddly I don’t hate it

[@PouchPotato]

I haven’t heard of this before now.. You’ve been true to your esoterca title.. I’m guessing it’s so esoteric there won’t be a mister core for it Your comments about a generation of people not knowing about point and clicks sounds like a future series you need to do.. headlined by Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha sounds like a fun series. Never know!

[@DehnusNorder]

When Nintendo got so bad, that even Apple is more relaxing with their control ;) .

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I am shocked Apple has not released a game console. ESP now that they have their own silicon

[@DehnusNorder]

@@VideoGameEsotericaThe problem is that they wish to make money on hardware and software. But they are trying these days with apple TV and that Apple Game subscription, but you know that a console from them simply won't be there for the same prices as a MS or Sony product. As they know their fanbase will swallow it (much LIke Nintendo, but unlike them not even Nintendo fans are that crazy in the case of money ;) - joking -) and love being early adopters.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d still like to see them try

[@H6rdc0re]

Which is more useless Pippin or PC-FX?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

100% Pippin