The Pioneer LaserActive - Review - Game Sack

[@donjohnson3888]

I always forget how expensive stuff like this used to be. My parents moved recently and there was an old VCR type thing in the rafters of the garage in its original packaging that they had bought in or around 1980 and the tag had it priced at _$1,100.00_. In *1980*. That's about $3,500 in 2017 dollars. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.

[@magnumforcemopar402]

Don Johnson they had to lower the price to keep people hooked and brainwashed. Tell-lie-vision. Use only in moderation....

[@carbonbased6315]

Worth every penny... ;)

[@joedirtbag6662]

u needed a vhs to watch your p0rn0 tapes back then

[@MrChuckGrape]

For being 11 years old, this video looks pretty good. That said, the lighting has significantly improved.

[@GameSack]

Haha thanks. I had fun making this one and I did kind of go hardcore on the contrast. This is one of those episodes I'd like to remake because I want to talk about the games more in depth. Alas the LaserActive was borrowed so it might not be an easy task.

[@scaniatex]

"UUGH!!! JUST THE THOUGHT OF ANOTHER PLANET HAVING A PYRAMID PISSES ME OFF!!" Hahaha!!

[@Walczyk]

lol one of my favorite lines

[@mikedx42]

IMO, Dave being upset at non-terran pyramids is the best gag in the whole Game Sack canon. PS I fucking love you guys

[@jcaseyjones2829]

Nine years later, YES! HAHAHA! Pyramids are for humans only!

[@anthonybessel1086]

And this is why Game Sack is great. I had no idea this console even existed. Great job as always guys!

[@klax001]

It's 2021 and I watch a lot of retro video game stuff and I am just now learning that this exists. The modules that you can plug in to play cartridges blew my mind. What a weird system.

[@tyleryates8508]

Watching in 2022

[@HerecomestheCalavera]

@@tyleryates8508 2023!

[@Justforvisit]

@@HerecomestheCalavera 2024!

[@jaredbutler112]

​@@Justforvisit2025!

[@TheCheat420]

I'm watching this episode in 2018 and seeing Dave sit on the left and Joe on the right is FREAKING me out man!

[@jw6588]

Yeah, it's unsettling lol.

[@Salty_der_Regenmacher]

I really like that your videos are lengthy and you actually play the games for longer than 5 minutes before you move on to the next one. Real effort goes into these

[@Heroinedown]

A massive disc needs a massive sound effect. You provided big time on this vid and I love this kind of small detail that makes everything coherent. Good work.

[@rodrigomolinsky]

10:43 "My name is... (uh?) Roberto... (How TF I spell this?) ... Ba-seti."

[@MegaAnimazing]

Rodrigo Horta what are you Jeff Goblum?

[@marquiennpalmer9175]

what lol!

[@marquiennpalmer9175]

"UUGH!!! JUST THE THOUGHT OF ANOTHER PLANET HAVING A PYRAMID PISSES ME OFF!!" "UUGH!!! J "UUGH!!! JUST THE THOUGHT OF ANOTHER PLANET HAVING A PYRAMID PISSES ME OFF!!" "UUGH!!! J

[@IronClawGaming]

What? There's no Flowers of Robert Maplethorp!?!? D: Laser Active owners sure missed out.

[@jkholtgreve]

Always makes me laugh to realize that they took the time to make a Mapplethorpe game and NO PORN...that’s like making an edutainment game about Robert Moses with no buildings.

[@Walczyk]

that was cd-i

[@TheMentalRelapse]

LMAO @ Dave getting pissed about the pyramids!

[@FinalBaton]

+TheMentalRelapse It's a great bit

[@AgentDanielCross]

TheMentalRelapse Damn aliens, stealin' our pyramids!

[@LermaBean]

daniel cross Stealin' and makin' pyramids, now I'm mad!

[@jkholtgreve]

Hw should meet Richard C Hoagland

[@GameSack]

Go to the Game Sack Episode Guide linked in the description, find the "RPGs - Part 1" episode. Pretty much the entire second half is Phantasy Star 1-4.

[@keynotes8114]

"I'm so oh no, who is gonna help me find....the alpha ozone for me?" LMBO

[@Takato2527]

I remember this "console" back in my grandpa-in-law's house sent from my uncle, but the module it had was karaoke one instead of all of those game modules. watching you guys video make me wanna go back in time and ask my grandpa-in-law to give me when he was no longer interested.

[@GameSack]

@M4R14NO94 Yes I remember him he was our best student.

[@GameSack]

@Heroelime Actually the system and games were on loan.

[@tetrisdave]

@valgalder I agree. The only place I remember seeing it was an add in EGM. Basically it was giving away a bunch of gaming stuff and a hi fi audio system if you entered their contest. This was part of it.

[@StarInbound]

I love the outro music you guys used for this video. I recognized it immediately from Final Fantasy III.

[@DiGiTyDarKMaN]

I've watched all these episodes so many times. They never get old. My LaserActive is still my favorite system to show off as most people have no clue what it is. Everyone is always very intrigued.

[@Vriess123]

I'm impressed at how good the video looks at 240p

[@exchangediary968]

Those girls are below average? ( looks at Joe ) uhu

[@VivaTorf]

What a unique video! This episode is for sure one of my favourites. Nice job guys!

[@sdewey4152]

G'damn Martians building our pyramids, next they'll be takin' er jerbs.

[@emmastarr5242]

This is probably what Trump has actually been worrying about this whole time he's been in office. He was just using Mexicans as an example to the aliens on how he plans to treat aliens who build pyramids. Coincidentally, this also explains his Space Force initiative.

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

I like that the subtitles said "Rejecting you in Japanese". As if I haven't heard those words before.

[@GameSack]

I didn't try it but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[@GameSack]

You did indeed! That was the only one I was able to purchase, though I rented Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye on LD and recorded them to S-VHS.

[@FIXTREME]

Hey, what's that song that plays during the part about the history of the laserdisc format?

[@StopDropandLOL]

This is one of my favourite episodes of Gamesack. Has awesome replay ability.

[@loganjorgensen]

13:22 Wow that is the most hilariously bad acting I've seen in a while. :D Thank you.

[@stepheng8061]

LOVE the obscure console videos you guys rule nobody covers this at all anywhere on KZbin you are awesome and unique

[@GameSack]

@clays121 It's definitely solid-state.

[@n2locarz1]

Laughed the entire video! You guys are awesome! Only took 11 years for me to find this video

[@atticusfalcon7144]

This video has 143,226 views, the LaserActive sold over 10,000 unitsWow

[@camulodunon]

It actually sold like 400,000 or something.

[@DanielBMS]

Many of us wanted one. Few could afford one.

[@RoomerJ]

Like 1.2 million units..

[@RoomerJ]

Someone just looked at wiki mistake lol

[@Tahnvalas]

I don't normally comment on videos, but you guys are funny, interesting and simply awesome. You always publish vids about rarer products not overly discussed elsewhere. Very nice! Keep up the great work!

[@aziz_light]

Now this is what game sack is all about! Thanks for another informative and funny show!

[@urbanmidnight1]

I really enjoy these hardware videos, some of the best I've seen. Please talk more about the specs of the machines.

[@nicholasbullock1709]

"Triad Stone" is also called "Strahl" on the Saturn and 3DO

[@GameSack]

@Zeldaschampion It sure did!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Excellent video! I know nothing about this console and this was a cool surprise!

[@dezm101]

you guys always have stuff I have never heard of! Now I want one of these sooo bad!

[@FinalBaton]

An RGB modded CLD-A100 would be pretty neat. Then get the Sega Pac and the NEC Pac and you've got THE TRUE KING OF EARLY 90'S ENTERTAINMENT! A SINGLE-DEVICE TO ENTERTAIN YOU AND YOUR GUEST WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY VISUALS AND SOUND. GAMES! MOVIES! ALL IN ONE MASTERFUL PACKAGE! ONE MACHINE TO RULE THEM ALL!!!!!

[@TheNewFakk28]

Actually, there are s-video modded and RGB modded LaserActive's, and they DO play the Sega 32X as well once RGB modified, and they also look and sound far better than the consoles that they play on the LA. The RGB modded LA's Sega CD/Genesis and Turbo Grafx /Duo games look simply amazing, as do they sound amazing. Just remember to recap the pac's before using them, and make sure to install new super cap for the saving in the TG16 PAC, and a new battery for game saving in the Sega PAC since they are all dying just like the real consoles are. ;)

[@71dembonesTV]

TheNewFakk28 How does an RGB mod make the 32x compatible? It needs more than the cartridge slot to work. Even if it did, it looks like it blocked the controller ports anyways

[@stevethefishdotnet]

Oh man, I was hoping to see Time Gal. Apparently 20 other people did too, except I'm gonna give a thumbs up.

[@AnArchyRulzz]

That black guy who looks like Morgan Freeman sounds like Ben Carson.

[@GameSack]

JB Harold barely had any video. It could hold as much data as a standard CD with an hour's worth of LD video.

[@luiscanamarvega]

ah.. time to relax and have dinner while i let my gamesack playlist run :)

[@rat9625]

10:27 "What are we, some kind of suicide club?"

[@Ubersnuber]

I like the way you presented this stale platform. I found some bits of new information as well. Job well done!

[@gzoolong]

my 1st time to see gaming runs on LD disc system~ so great!

[@typetwelve]

This was one of those systems that I saw in the early 1990's that I always wanted to try. i finally got my hands on one with the Genesis pack in the early 2000's and it didn't take long to figure out how horrible the thing really was. I cannot imagine how furious someone would be had they bought one for full price. I landed up selling the thing as there was really no reason to keep the thing.

[@Vectrex4Life]

5:00 "It turns out there's a pyramid on Mars and we have to blow it up. We don't like other planets having pyramids." "Ooh! Just the thought of another planet having a pyramid pisses me off!" "That's right, we can't have that."

[@tetrisdave]

@cityside75 Cool! Thanks for watching. It's hard to get excited about monday morning when you have a week of work ahead of you.

[@X2FileWrightonite]

While I have a Laserdisc player and about 500 movies, I've never seen any of the games that were designed for this system, until now. Thanks for the video guys. That was nicely done. Now I'm glad that I never invested any of my hard earned cash into that. I didn't realize they were that bad.

[@bland9876]

"slightly below avrege looking japanese girls" so there 9.5/10 on the hot scale then

[@tetrisdave]

@Tahnvalas Thanks for that compliment! We have a great time making these videos. Well I do and then I go home and leave all the editing work to Joe. He probably doesn't enjoy it as much as I do. Or maybe he does, who know.

[@xx_dizzy_xx8031]

I remember my school had one when i was in 1st grade they used for teaching math with educational movies and games lol

[@Blackadder75]

All these nineties multimedia systems have one flaw... nobody ever designed a game genre for it that had any replay value, or was fun at all. So they all died quickly and gamers went back to PC games that were fun ( RTS, 1st person shooters etc) and Nintendo and Sega consoles (Sony and Microsoft )

[@Gecko1993HogheadIncOfficial]

This is really amazing! I wonder if one can play the original arcade laserdiscs on the laseractive...

[@UltimatePerfection]

8 years too late, but I think you have a faulty eject button. I know someone who was lucky enough to obtain "old new" Laseractive (as in, never opened since production, probably was stored in a warehouse somewhere and only recently put on sale) and the eject button for the modules is easy to press and ejects much further (about 1/3 to a half of the module's depth).

[@Enchurito]

Probably just needs cleaning

[@UltimatePerfection]

@@Enchurito Maybe, but I heard that those eject buttons sometimes just snap inside, so replacing it might be the only option.

[@societyofsin]

Your acting and sense of humor is great! Keep up the good work!

[@GameSack]

Yeah I have the SNES version and it has a pretty good framerate and is extremely playable. It has the original arcade sound, though. :( Another thing it also has is an insane amount of video compression artifacts so it doesn't look so hot. So with the Sega CD version you have graininess, but the SNES version has a higher frame rate but looks like a bad MPEG video. Half of one, 6 dozen of the other?

[@Bunnellius]

What a kooky system, with all the modules... (but at least they do play cartridges as well).

[@tetrisdave]

@clays121 interesting story. Thanks for watching.

[@walidalomari2006]

Pioneer LaserActive is one of my favorite electronics that were manufactured by Pioneer.

[@jonathanlisowski5618]

That ending was LOL Hilarious. Thank you for that genuine gut hitting laughter! :)

[@WHATISUTUBE]

I *STILL* cannot believe Sarah killed herself

[@Jayce_Alexander]

In the early 90s this was one of the golden rules of gaming: if your system costs more than a SNES, but isn't a Neo Geo, it's trash.

[@almostliterally593]

Jayce what if it was a PC

[@almostliterally593]

Or a Turbo Duo

[@almostliterally593]

Or a Sharp X68000

[@tetrisdave]

@GatorM Awesome. I like Curb your Enthusiasm. I've only watched a season or two but would like to watch more.

[@GameSack]

the Legendary Axe!

[@世界-イシュタル]

I looked up videos about this device cuz through an estate sale, a relative in my family discovered this device and it was being sold for very cheap ($100). It had the pacs for karaoke, sega and nec (both USA and JP versions), controllers for the pacs, but none of the device’s games or movies (he looked but it was just the device itself), all the cords and power cord, and pacs in small cardboard boxes that fit em. He gave it to me because he knew how much of a gamer I was. So this video did teach me about what it can and can’t do. And being a bit of an import game player, I now have more avenues I can explore.

[@retrostansolo]

I watch other retro so called game reviewers on KZbin but nobody I have seen are as good as you guys. Great show as always.

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

"Unique game with crosshair and FMV backgrounds" - very funny! :). Good job!

[@albertnortononymous9020]

Now I know where the Kingdom Hearts II gummi ship stuff came from

[@GameSack]

@tetrisdave It's sometimes stressful as you know but it's worth it.

[@willywillyson]

Another good one guys. Audio is good too. That shelving unit is good for that. NICE!

[@LeGrandNelson]

Did I happen to glance a 'Gate to the Mind's Eye' Laserdisc? That made my night! Good review!

[@GameSack]

We want to. Neither of us have one any more. So we're gonna need to get one again before we can really talk about it.

[@MyHumanLife]

Wow, I had never heard of this system before at all! This was cool to learn about!

[@Jehezukiel]

THat ending skit... Pure Gold! xD *Joe realized he has a copy of Time Gal* D:

[@tyleryates8508]

Just discovered this channel in 2022

[@71dembonesTV]

3:00 - I wonder if a region mod is practical? I imagine those little packs are pretty densely packed and completely different than their standalone counterparts. Also a little more nerve-racking to take apart and cut traces/solder jumpers given the cost and rarity...

[@Peeps7468]

Thank you for this video. I cannot imagine how expensive it would have been back in the day to get this system to play Genesis, Master System, or TG16 games!! This is amazing lore.

[@obsoletegeek]

I collect a lot of weird and obscure systems but the Laseractive just looks terrible

[@LermaBean]

The Obsolete Geek $2500 at the time of release is NOT the best way to get your system off the shelves, especially since it's a mish mash of other consoles with less functionality (a SEGA pack without 32X functionality, fail)

[@maxwelsh6121]

To be fair, at least used they hold their value, you can experience it and then sell it on; I sure feel for those who paid for this new...

[@kakashi101able]

You got to have respect. These things came out in 1978. Way before DVDs. It was new technology.

[@Bigheadedwon]

Might look terrible now, but back then I would have killed for this. In 86 or some shits I bought an Action Max. Now that was crap crap crap, even back then.

[@petewillson205]

@@Bigheadedwon yeah but this was released in 92, lazerdisc had not caught on in anyway, they were cool tech that school libraries had, tg16 was dead, sega was still strong. It got good reviews but nobody sold it or had it.

[@ItsTheFizz]

Well you managed to find a console I've never heard of... Impressive...

[@matthewlane518]

Is your thumbnail Jim Cornette?

[@sean.durham999]

Yea I remember this ungodly priced behemoth machine. Never got to see the games excusive to it till now. Space Berserker and Hyperion actually look pretty cool. For their time of corse.

[@mukiex4413]

Composite-out only and the better composite video were probably both by design; Laserdiscs were natively recorded composite video.

[@tetrisdave]

@retrostansolo Thank You!

[@Watcher3223]

The reason why the laserdisc video on LaserActive games are at half the capable resolution is not only because of the fact that the overlaid game graphics are at 240p. On a CAV formatted disc, you may notice that the disc looks like a two-spoke wheel. One side has one field of video while the other side has another field of video. Two fields = one frame. Well, LaserActive uses the full resolution in an atypical manner that actually works for some games. One field is one kind of footage while the other field is another kind of footage and the system can select either field to show at a given time. For example, in Triad Stone, the gameplay may show you footage off of one field on the disc with a different set of video on the other field playing at the same time, and are synchronized with each other. So, for example, if you choose the wrong move, the game will switch to the other video field as well as switching the audio track, so as to play the death footage with the death soundtrack. When done in this manner, the switch is instant compared to having the player seek to another spot on the disc to play the same footage. The drawback is, you guessed it, lower resolution video since you're only playing one field for one frame as opposed to having two fields interlaced for one frame. If you want to see what the video footage looks like on an ordinary player, you'll have to play it on a Pioneer player that predates the LaserActive or on a machine that is not actually made by Pioneer (some brands of LD players may have had their machines made by Pioneer for them). Otherwise, a newer Pioneer player will read the LD-ROM flag encoded on the disc and refuse to play it, displaying LD-ROM on the on-screen display (the LaserActive player without the PAC module will say "Need Control Pack" on the on-screen display). When playing the disc, you will encounter the Pioneer and Sega or NEC logos, but then be treated to a frame encoded with a frame stop code indicating that the disc is meant to be played only on the LaserActive with the correct PAC module. Keep pressing play until you are past these series of frames and the player will play through the disc. Caution is advised, however, if you are epileptic; on games where there are two different kinds of video on the fields, both fields playing on the screen at the same time will be kind of dazzling to the eyes, to say the least.

[@UtushoReiuji]

Man in Tie rules.

[@caligulajodorowsky]

How can you say the LaserDisc failed when DVD appeared, it was replaced but hardly failed since the Laser had the market for years before...

[@GameSack]

LaserDiscs were always niche at best. When DVDs came, LaserDiscs went away really fast. I know because I collected LaserDiscs at the time and everyone jumped on that DVD bandwagon super fast.

[@caligulajodorowsky]

Thanks for answering so fast. I just don't consider niche products a "failure", specially since the LaserDisc as a format was there before the 80's and the DVD appeared in '95. Where the LD failed was replacing the VHS as a format in its time, whereas the DVD was the true LD successor, you don't make a product fail 15 years after the launch.

[@FallicIdol]

LaserDisc was kind of the NEOGEO of movie formats. It had a nice, loyal following, but never mainstream.

[@kefkahkefkah]

Well it wasent put to market as a "niche product". You could argue the same for anything that failed really. When a competitior to LD came, dvd, it disapeared fast.

[@CyborgNinja7]

I don't remember anybody having a Laserdisc player at home until the early 90s or late 80s. The technology existed before then, but it was rarely used. Don Bluth made great use of it, though.

[@valgalder]

awesome episode guys.. I remember being intrigued by this system back in the day, but no magazines really covered it and only knew of it from small ads and stuff in the back of videogame mags.. Always thought it was really interesting they were able to utilize Genesis and TG16 technology for this.

[@fonkyman]

so quick time events did exist in the stone ages... good to know i guess...

[@AustinofEarth]

I collect Laser Discs simply for the awesome cover art. Someday I hope to actually view one. I imagine I will be blown away by the quality.

[@AustinofEarth]

I do have movie posters as well, most of the time the Laser Disc art is vastly different from any poster, and they aren't little pieces of cardboard they are rather large. They turn out to be better conversation pieces compared to posters.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Stoned Video Game Nerd You can't watch a poster,open it up, interact with it...idiot.

[@carpal08]

AustinofEarth so i can imagine your mom coming into the basement has quite the conversation for your laser discs? amazing.

[@AustinofEarth]

Yeah mom loves those discs brah.

[@rideroundandstuff]

I think you would be more like "Okay, well, that’s pretty much like watching a DVD. Alright."

[@philp7353]

I think this is my favorite gamesack video

[@carlopton]

I remember seeing that thing in the store in the Audio/Video dept. back in the day. I found it interesting, then I found out about the price. My interest evaporated faster than a pan of water over a nuclear explosion. I also saw the Phillips CD-I in the store when it came out, and I was not impressed. Although the price did impress me. I never bought either one. I would have had to sell my wife.

[@Axedroid]

You guys rock, I would love to see the set and a live recording of the show....amazing!

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

How are games controlled? Does it simply have MegaDrive and PC Engine controller ports or does it use some sort of proprietary controller input?

[@Browningate]

11:12 - "I don't want to talk to that kind". ROFL!

[@Ragtime4]

Some good laughs here guys, loved the skit at the end

[@GamezOfWar]

Was that Strahl on 3DO??

[@CommodoreFan64]

Really cool episode, and I use to repair regular Laser Disc system back during my High school days for my local school system, as part of my Computer Network Tech classes. the early ones used an argon gas laser which produced a better picture, but burned out faster, and wondering if this system uses the gas laser, or a sold state based laser?