Apple Made a Game Console!

Download Bungie's Marathon Free - snazzy.fm/marathon
Apple made a game console... in 1996! Apple Pippin (stylized PIPP!N) was a collaborative project between Apple and Bandai. As a part of the Official Macintosh Clone Project, Apple permitted 3rd party manufacturers to install Mac OS 7 on non-Apple hardware-essentially a legal hackintosh. Bandai was a parter of the Macintosh Clone Project-but unlike the other partners-Apple was directly involved with the development and failure of PIPP!N. Today, Pippin is considered one of the gaming industry's biggest failures. Yes, even worse than Nintendo Virtual Boy. Snazzy Labs' Quinn Nelson does an unboxing of a brand new (old) Apple Bandai Pippin.

[@gruffyddgozali]

Basically, it sucked

[@snazzy]

+gruffydd gozali Basically.

[@stili774]

Basically, it is Apple !

[@MsHojat]

Actually, that doesn't seem to be a particularly accurate statement. It just didn't have lots of support by game developers, so there were virtually no good games for it. In addition, it probably wasn't advertised well either.

[@daishi5571]

+Mshojat It really was an accurate statement. This was basically a stripped back Power Mac 6100 from 2 years previous, which was already the slowest Power Mac released. It had no additional hardware for games programmers, terrible sound, and non-accelerated graphics. The whole system runs everything through that CPU which causes bandwidth issues. To put it another way, the hardware was not designed for games.

[@DonaldTubbs]

Apple never designed Pippin as a games machine. Prior to DVD, when VCD video was popular in Asia, Apple designed the Pippin as a non-linear VCD player, and started looking for development partners. Bandai had a number of underpowered, underdesigned video game systems and signed on because Apple was doing all the heavy lifting and they could try to compete with 3DO, CDTV, Sega CD, etc. for cheap. Pippin was a cheap, headless, dumbed-down Mac that could run some MacOS software and play HR training videos which Bandai then hyped as an inexpensive alternative to actual CD-based consoles. And all people 'remember' now is "Apple had a crappy console".

[@sw201444]

Oh my god, I JUST realized you're back! Haven't watched you in soooo long

[@snazzy]

+sw201444 Welcome back!! ;)

[@sw201444]

I hadn't watched you in so long, IIRC you went on a trip YEARS ago. I forgot to check back :(

[@CJT3X]

Always love a Pippin video!

[@snazzy]

+Charles Thompson III Wahoo!

[@supergeek007]

The console looks sick! Shame it never took off :(

[@yahyakebbe1205]

Although I'm no Apple fan.. I love this channel, this guy is awesome

[@snazzy]

Yahya Kebbe Thank you!!

[@sarthak.shrivastava]

we have progressed so much

[@snazzy]

+Sarthak Shrivastava Incredible, isn't it?!

[@sarthak.shrivastava]

Snazzy Labs indeed it is

[@DetroitBORG]

Outstanding Quinn, thoroughly researched and fun to watch.

[@BSingh-on4qr]

DetroitBORG can you please build a Hackintosh

[@jourphoria1204]

I agree

[@connro]

$300? Dang, that's a great deal for a Pippin, especially considering that it came in the box.

[@snazzy]

+Connor Higgins It is. I was stoked. Been looking to buy one for a year but couldn't justify spending $600-800 for one in new condition.

[@SuperNitroZ64]

@@snazzy plus, the @World Pippin (the North American version of the console) is more expensive than the Atmark (according to eBay).

[@kzed]

I know this is a 2yo comment but Linus paid $500

[@snoopdoggthecertifiedg6777]

This is wild to imagine now

[@Larry]

I got one a few years ago, but what made me laugh was EA developed games for this system, but not for the Dreamcast! Great decision there guys :D Also get Race Days for it, very 3DO like.

[@snazzy]

+Larry Bundy Jr Indeed. Whoops! Got Racing Days. Fun idea but holy crap the controls are putrid. Lol

[@Larry]

Oh yeah, it's something to show how nice the graphics are, just don't let anyone play it :D

[@EposVox]

Oh I love videos like these.

[@snazzy]

EposVox 😉

[@s1nRG]

So... did anyone crack the macOS that ran on the Pipin so we can run homebrew stuff?

[@snazzy]

+xX_SpeedyScout_Xx Not really. It was pretty locked down with signed certificates.

[@Zestypanda]

"when you could upgrade to the latest software on the internet" "Incompatibility was rampant" Or, developers didn't just mess with stuff for the hell of it. If you made your code, you had to make it work the first time, not just push out a bunch of bug fixes. So, in a way, coding was a lot better in the 90s, 80s, 70s. You didn't have to upgrade to the next version of a software release every three weeks.

[@vojin63]

ye but also games were much simpler

[@CoWinkKeyDinkInc]

Zestypanda you mean update every two seconds?

[@spedmonie416]

I wonder if some KZbin idiot will sell me an apple console for half the price he bought it for

[@snazzy]

+sped monie Fat Chance!

[@TexasCruisin]

sped monie And then use it to make a KZbin Video where he uses ads to make profit! Good Job!

[@winfieldk6692]

Apple... Console... This is the PCMR nightmare :(

[@hunterm4172]

Winfield Konkel I

[@alaeriia01]

Not really. More of a thing to point and laugh at.

[@colegilliam2379]

Winfield Konkel nah. Pc master race isn't even a thing with all the crashes and glitches it has. I can deal with 30 frames, A couple of missing games, and some minor setbacks on graphics. I have a gaming pc and it crashes all the time.

[@alaeriia01]

Try opening it up and cleaning out the dust. You can buy air dusters at any electronics store.

[@Fatty13]

you're 100% doing something wrong..

[@dysfunctionalwombat]

Cool to see more since there are so few videos about it

[@snazzy]

+Arewand463 Gaming Thanks for watching!

[@spyrmac]

apple game console with an i9 ,1080ti, mouse and magic keyborad,siri remote, apple tv funcionality , all big games ... 4000 $

[@lucasrem]

Spyrmac You call Xbox One an Apple or a Dell? Bandai, not apple noob, cheap budget crap! Just some Apple/ PowerPC technology inside.

[@foxbit8982]

It's *_Revolutionary_*

[@michaelbacon8698]

Courage.

[@thonmoyrahman2270]

So Bungie used to develop exclusively for Mac bu is owned by Microsoft now?

[@suJayhh]

This just proves how bad mac is at gaming

[@rosetintedtankergoggles897]

but can it run crysis

[@snazzy]

+Digdagpacnam Not even close. 😂

[@MobileDecay]

Digdagpacnam Crysis 3 max settings 4k 90 fps! Best experience ever. Throw away your gaming pc and get a pippin! 😎

[@rosetintedtankergoggles897]

MobileDecay 😁😁😁

[@blitzoretro9522]

I'm a Retro Video game Collector and let me Tell you, It is Really Hard to get Games for the pippin, I mean I have rare consoles Like 3DO, Jaguar, Or the NES Toploader. But the Pippin is a whole new Story... 😂

[@snazzy]

+BlitzoRetro Mine are all burned. They're basically impossible to find.

[@RX7JG83]

well no shit it was a failure and Steve Jobs said he will never go into gaming or have his company go in that direction again .......apple is talking about getting into gaming again.

[@Bobsican]

Then again, since he died, they don´t even care anymore. Same thing happened with Disney.

[@RX7JG83]

who thinks apple and tesla should do a joint venture?

[@alaeriia01]

Tesla's actually making good products.

[@maccxxster]

Alex Snitzer …and they share similar price tags as well! 🤑

[@Zlyphor]

I mean technically Apple is already into gaming, except it's the mobile gaming market.

[@zollotech]

Great video. One of the few consoles I never get to see and am glad I never wasted my money on.

[@snazzy]

+zollotech Thanks for watching, Aaron!

[@JoelFunny]

Marathon looks like Wal-Mart brand Doom

[@kirishima638]

It was actually released at the same and was much, much better.

[@alaeriia01]

It had mouselook, which Doom didn't.

[@jamezxh]

Better . err no .

[@gaming_grape_526]

so his sneakers are doom?

[@TheEndersMine]

We've come a LONG way In 22 years

[@snazzy]

+BYG86 Yes we have!

[@ThePlanetProject]

What a coincidence, I just bought a Pippin from Japan yesterday!

[@snazzy]

+PlanIt Cheers! Hope you like it. If you take it apart, be careful to undo the ribbon cable to the button carriage.

[@maccxxster]

Snazzy Labs …or, as always: don't just yet open up that lid fully…rather make that CAREfully! ☝🏼️🤓

[@cali4tune]

I worked at Apple and remember when we did this. I wasn't on the project but had friends who were and saw it a lot before it shipped. It's basically a Mac Performa (consumer line at the time) MLB in a different form factor. Code name for those boards was "Alchemy" if I remember correctly. Used in many products of the day. So do you know about the Mac Television? I think that may be more rare than Pippin.

[@lenseclipse]

I know this is an old comment, but I'm curious. How did you and your colleagues feel about the Pipin at the time? Did you think it would be a success, or did you have doubts?

[@cali4tune]

@@lenseclipse in Cupertino it was a relatively small side project since it was Japan only. People thought it was cool but not super excited about a console in general. Guys I knew who worked on it really liked it but they were the only people I know who used it. Of course they had hopes for it especially since it seemed like such a good deal for all the "power" you were getting. I think they realized it was probably bound to be a limited market due to being region specific.

[@todberry5068]

My iPhone 7 is my primary game console. GTA & Minecraft & KHUx & cut the rope and so forth and I feel entertained. 

[@Anamnesia]

What's that Clicking sound on the left-hand side, beginning at 5:20 & clicks once every ~2 seconds?

[@bibasik7]

*Clicks on download link in the description* *Sees 3 Marathon games* Download ALL the games!

[@joserobertocastellon]

Awesome video! I'm amazed you got your hands on that console, especially because it's in perfect working condition.

[@snazzy]

JoeyBobC I lucked out!

[@RaimarLunardi]

Funniest Video ever... not because Pipiin was such a trash... because fanboys trying to defend this shit...

[@snazzy]

+Raimar Lunardi I don't think anyone is trying to defend it...

[@RaimarLunardi]

Snazzy Labs try to read the responses to comments... there is always one or two...

[@impact704]

Ayyyye them Adidas uncaged ! My man!

[@snazzy]

+AfroAndy 😉

[@ZXTech]

at least it has an audio out

[@tipoomaster]

I still think an Apple TV with an A10X and maybe active cooling would be a nifty microconsole. Wouldn't change the bill of materials much.

[@sO_RoNerY]

If they went back in to the console business, I would totally save up and buy it. I'm sure they would include mouse and keyboard support for the games that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft don't implement for gaming. We're not forced or stuck buying the xim4, but it would help everyone else that ALREADY have them in their home, just hook'em up and play. I mean sure. If Apple wants to have their console support only their mouse and keyboards, that would be fine too. It would be an optional accessory of course. A choice totally up to the gamer. Because they would include a controller anyway.

[@PranayPathole]

How is Israel trip going on?🔥🙌🏼

[@sethspears1630]

Hey Quinn, I really enjoy all your videos and appreciate all the hard work you put into making them. I was wondering if you had any opinions on the bluedio vinyl plus headphones and how they compare to other headphones in their price range, I'm thinking about getting a pair. I'm not sure if you have a pair but if you do, some insight on their value would be much appreciated. Also I know that a dedicated video is a lot of work so even a reply in the comments would suffice.

[@RealNarod28]

Wow, cool! Never knew about it. And thanks, your video made me remember all the good days of games like Doom 2, Heretic, Hexen, Duke Nukem 3D...

[@lucasrem]

Tim P, Did you run those titles on that Bandai crap thing, you loved it?

[@RealNarod28]

lol never even had a console till ps3... I played it on PC of course, I wouldn't even think that this Bandai crap could even handle awesomeness of Duke Nukem

[@firewaffles5411]

wait, apple existed back then?

[@snazzy]

+Fire Waffles Apple has been around for over 40 years.... Lol

[@Luisgvn]

This console be pippin. The fact that this wasn't the tag line is why it failed.

[@wingedwolf4719]

SV

[@arina86]

I like your counter unit!

[@VoloKinProject]

Never knew of the existence of that device, no wonder why.

[@linuxlounge]

A games console running a mac operating system is a great idea, shame to see this thing did so poorly, probably due to all of apples stupid mistakes...

[@aydenmarietta4906]

When you think of the fact of Apple‘s counsel only sold 42,000 units, that makes the virtual boy look like a success in comparison. Yes the virtual boy was a failure let’s keep it real. But the top two biggest fails for the Tiger Telematics Gizmondo Which is less than 25,000 units and Had company executive tied to the Swedish mafia, and of course the Apple pippin which sold 42,000 units and had pretty decent hardware for the time but considering how much they charged for it it’s no wonder it failed.

[@guspaz]

The Pippin is just a huge mess of questionable design decisions. For example, it had a 66MHz PowerPC 603 processor with 6MB of RAM, and yet it came out a year (more than a year in the US) after the PowerMac 8500, which had a 120MHz PowerPC 604 with 16MB of RAM. Furthermore, the 603 was notoriously bad at emulating 68k code due to cache issues, and yet the Pippin shipped with an OS that was still mostly written in 68k, and then shipped 68k games like Marathon 2 for it! No wonder the game ran so slow for you, it was an underpowered processor running an emulated game on an emulated OS... What were they thinking? Apple was selling macs at the time that were far more powerful than the Playstation or N64 (Quake ran better on a 1996 mac than the 1998 N64 port) and yet they shipped it with hardware that was only a fraction of that performance and then further crippled it by loading it down with emulated software... I get that cost reasons may have precluded high-end parts, but they went way too far in the cost saving direction.

[@RacerX-]

Nice video. But a couple points: 1. Playstation came out 9/9/1995 in the USA, Pippin June of 1996 that's 9 months not 9 days. It was way over for Pipin before it even released. 2. Pippin was geared more as a multimedia device and marketed terribly. With no dedicated 3D hardware it just could not compete with the PS1 and Sega Saturn at the time.

[@Carsonj13]

I thought everybody already knew about the Pippin? It wasn't under-powered at all, by the way. The games are simply bottlenecked by the OS. If games were programmed with the Pippin hardware in mind instead of the OS on the disc, they could've exceeded visuals on the PlayStation. The Dreamcast had a similar issue with Windows CE, which is why the handful of games that use it look and run poorly.

[@lucasrem]

Apple didn't made these things or branded them under any Apple brand, if Apple would have build this it would be $2000, just some cheap Bandai product using PowerPC, on a open Pippin Power Player Mac OS version. You call Autonomous cars NVidia Tesla cars hahaha, Elon Musk will kill you!

[@kirishima638]

The Pippin has a 66MHz PPC 603 and no graphics accelerator. That's pretty much the most underpowered PowerMac configuration available at the time and is further crippled by the need to emulate the OS's 68k instructions AND from a slow optical drive no less! No wonder it struggle to play Marathon 2. Still the design hasn't aged all that badly. The controller looks to be an ergonomic nightmare but then so was the Ouya from just a few years back. This was a very half hearted project by Apple at a time when they were throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick; Bandai pretty much did all the leg work and without games to sell the system it was doomed from the outset.

[@daviyen]

I feel like you're drawing the wrong conclusion and not necessarily providing a comparison with the technology of the time. Sure, it didn't have a hard drive, but at the time, the other game consoles didn't have hard drives either. There were cartridge based consoles and optical drive based consoles, and all of the optical drive based consoles suffered from load times. The project started when Bandai approached Apple about making a CD-ROM based gaming system, and feature creep pushed the launch back some years. It might be fair to blame the failure on the modem as Apple had been looking for ways to cheap out on hardware and was using software modems which required more powerful CPUs which was also part of that feature creep. The Pippin and later the Macintosh Network Computer would later lead to the original iMac. It's an interesting moment in history, but should really be analyzed in context, with attention to how it influenced the future (present).

[@MichielHaisma]

Just a small mention that the 'brilliance' of having no storage and shipping the OS on every disk was standard in the gaming industry before, during and after the pippinm as far as it is applicable. Most of them didn't really have the notion of an OS because there was no way to leave the game and the hardware was so simple that it didn't really need a full multitasking OS, but they often still had some sort of kernel or OS other than the BIOS embedded in them. Most obvious example would be the Dreamcast (although that was released a bit after the pippin, but was in development for quite some time before that of course) where game disks also came with a real OS on it, ironically the Deamcast itself had Microsoft branding on it (some games used a Windows NT kindof OS). So yeah, having no storage and shipping your kernel/OS with the games was more standard than the exception, but kinda funny to think about it from a modern perspective. Final other note: the Dreamcast is often attributed as the first console to ship with a build-in modem, even though the pippin had one before that. It, although, suffered from the same problem that people just didn't know what the internet was.

[@rozzy3528]

Holy fuck the other day my friend and I were talking about if apple made a game console and said it'd be expensive have 1 port and no HDMI port and cost 1300 dollars.. WAS I RIGHT 0:13 and suck

[@MikeThePsykat]

So wait, the port of Marathon couldn't be bothered to even use the fucking trackball to at least TRY and emulate mouselook? The one "killer app" one this thing and they made it a gimped port when they had something that could have helped built into the controller? WTF? I do like the look of the "Applejack" though, in a novelty sort of way. It's a shame there's like, nothing to play on it.

[@1984Brandon]

I think it is a pity that they so few games, people needed to burn CD Roms. It had support with NBA star Scotty Pippin. I think like other systems that failed it was not 100% video game system or home computer. But actually the Famicom, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Channel, and Super Nintendo also had Net access at one time or another.

[@TableWolfMusic]

People lament over these things and wish they once owned one, and yet ignore things like arduino running a several hundred mhz for FOSS gaming or quake2 etc. It's very simple to just buy a bunch of high end arduinos all custom made for you.

[@bagoston325]

Applejack controller?? The name sounds familiar from a certain TV series with ponies involved... Apple didn't even think of an original name, just "ah, there is the name! let's rip it off of a TV show meant for 6 year olds and no one will notice!"?

[@ItsPyrus]

Nice video, but I really must question what brought you to wear shoes inside and then prop your feet up on a desk with your shoes still on. Oh, and low resolution mode didn't look that bad from what I saw in the video. It probably would look a lot better on a CRT as well since your LCD monitor will end up scaling it, wont it?

[@jonathanfletcher4759]

So standard Apple product. Overpriced, underpowered and gimmicks that although 'ahead of their time' (usually implemented by someone else first) are virtually pointless.

[@CurtisWaltermire]

I've recently converted to being an "all Mac/Apple" user after many years of tons of relentless problems with PCs and other things. I'm glad I made the switch, but I'm trying not to be too disappointed at some of the problems that I've discovered they have.

[@noenken]

Thanks for the hint at marathon, snazzy beardless boy. :P On Manjaro (and any other arch based distro) it is actually available from the AUR. Installing it now. :D

[@AJGomez61]

I have to disagree with your comment that "Nintendo and Sony completely killed this console," I actually believe Apple killed it themselves with their delusional pricing scheme for this unit; I am sure they knew the cost of the competing units that were only two weeks away from their release date.

[@chinito77]

I like Apple and I like Bandai but this console was too expense for this college kid. Also, there was lots of talk about a game called Halo coming out for the Mac. I went and updated my processor and ram on my G3 so it could run Halo...and I waited...

[@SaintGuardian]

Wow you actually found one of those? I've only heard about them in mythological tales, to think Apple was on track to be the gaming platform for PC as well. Then Steve jobs was fired

[@castironbandito]

Yep, Apple made a game console and it wasn't even that good. And yes, this statement is coming from an Apple enthusiast. If you want to play games on an Apple product, just get yourselves a Macintosh computer and it will save you the trouble of getting one of these consoles.

[@Ry-vh3js]

The Apple product is still overpriced even though it came out more than 20 years ago. 300 dollars can get u an xbox one or ps4. (This is a joke so don't get triggered).

[@OldieBugger]

That Marathon brings back nostalgic memories of Wolfenstein 3D... Those were the days! Apple did such a poor attempt to reverse engineer that one.

[@NovaspiritTech]

i love your videos / reviews!! your reviews keeps the videos so interesting. keep up to the good work

[@snazzy]

+Novaspirit Tech Thanks a million!

[@peterfi.]

Power Rangers Zeo wasn't a Pipin exclusive, I remember playing it on my Windows 98 PC (with better framerates as well).

[@Schoemm]

I said it before, I say it again: AMAZING CONTENT INCREDIBLY WELL PRESENTED! Support this channel! This is awesome! Outstanding job, Quinn! 👍

[@snazzy]

+JimmyJackin'Joe Thank you!

[@lumpython5351]

I assume this one doesn’t have region lock really wasn’t being advanced, probably is just apple couldn’t bother to invest to do.

[@codebeat4192]

If games where designed like all Apple peripherals protocols, it will be very lame and limited. Apple sucks at freedom. Glad didn't make it.

[@nometechnologysanddesigns5385]

Kinda what apple is doing today we know that in future more in more devices wont have headphone jacks and full USB but apple is going to far into the future

[@smoore977]

Apple handled the hardware and software but let someone else market and distribute it. What?! Marketing is the only thing Apple has ever done right XD

[@JackLe1127]

Math hard is

[@maroon9273]

Apple missed opportunity of being MAC OS 7 and later 8 (KMP 2000 model) living room PC.

[@theharbingerofconflation]

Ah the Pippin, when Tech reviewers run out of clickbait topics they turn to the realm of the retro tech reviewers... and make videos that nobody needed.

[@stylomojo]

Man I wish you send message to Apple to rework iPlay like this and can play Bluray as well as 1080p Mobile games.

[@Aarthek]

I remember buying an Atari Jaguar 64 when all my friends were buying Sony PlayStation... ha!...

[@flaminggorilla909]

correction a region locked consol from NINTENDO is not all that uncommon these days but the switch is not so....

[@finalbossoftheinternet6360]

So... Bandai made a console that Apple designed. OK, so that's a subtle difference... #nitpicking

[@PaoMars]

Just saw your video with randomfrankp love ur setup do u have a video on ur custom external graphics box????

[@pnvgordinho]

It came out at the same time as the psone and n64. Jesus. It scares me to know that that power difference still exists today between Macs and Pcs.

[@dontpresssubscribe1938]

Wow. A fucking sheeple console. So amazing, Apple 10/10 such good design, Japanese-oohhh.

[@MahmoodMuhenned]

Do u know why is so bad Cause gamers use their mind and they know apple sucks Not like the creative design how buy macs

[@sO_RoNerY]

Hahah "Twenty one. Math hard is.", which, doesn't make sense haha. But duh. You meant "Math is hard."

[@StansTechVideos]

And there we have it - gaming on macOS always has and forever will suck

[@gir6392]

SM64 came out for N64 and the playstation 0_0 lol jkjk i know it wasn't... ;) :)

[@ADAMAT1C]

graphics probably aren't helped by the fact he's using a modern hd monitor instead of a CRT

[@cosmin.mic7]

low resolution was bad? So you didn`t play 320x240 games like doom back in the day?

[@samtibbitts]

Another cool thing about marathon is that it supports online multiplayer which as of a couple years ago had people playing.

[@SkyswordWart]

Did you say "Super Mario 64 on Nintendo 64 and the Playstation"??????!!!!!

[@smoore977]

Apple pipin was the 2 decade old Xbox one, IT DOES FUCKING EVERYTHING!

[@killertruth186]

Ok, they had potential. I have to give them that. But they had exicuted it wrong. Which it costed them the console pie.

[@AldyWaani]

Pippin is from Shire, not Japan, along with his friend Merry :))

[@TheMetalmachine467]

If Apple had a game console out now they would charge you 2 to 3 times more than sony or Microsoft.

[@TyNotts]

I've never really enjoyed your content, but I'm glad your channel is becoming successful. Good job.

[@snazzy]

+Ty Notts Well, thanks. :)

[@OldieBugger]

Apple has apparently done it for a long time: Apple prices are at least double the prices of its competitors.

[@decimat777]

An apple product with a ludicrous starting price, never heard of that before...