1994 Retro Tech Shootout - Philips CD-i vs Panasonic 3DO | Tech Nibble

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Two 1994 Light guns are compared today with two very different approaches, but one game in common. Mad Dog McCree. Let's do some rootin' and tootin' cowboys!
#lightgun #retrogaming #laserdisc
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[@user-oo5pl6io9j]

When i was 12 i broke my 3DO light gun. My dad said he would look in the phone book to find someone to fix it. I'm thinking "no freaking way" but it turned out American Laser Games was just a few blocks away from his office in Albuquerque. We went, they were like " You actually have a 3DO"?. They gave me a little tour and at the end they gave me an unreleased prototype light gun that allowed another second light gun to dasychain off it. The only way to use 2 light guns on the 3DO

[@ScottDuensing]

Hey! Thanks for mentioning Singe! (I'm the developer.)

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks for making Singe!

[@backacheache]

​@@RMCRetroInterview him!

[@Dr.D00p]

People who like Laserdisc games actually walk amongst us. Only if you wear a pair of 'They Live' sunglasses, are they revealed.

[@Eyepatchfilms]

and I'm all outta bubblegum

[@PotatoeSnow]

I fancy myself a fan, but over never actually used any. I just know if had the rich family to get one as kid, I'd have loved it

[@gaylordfocker7990]

Or just look on KZbin.

[@althejazzman]

You're absolutely right in opening these things to use them as intended. We can't preserve everything forever in an unused state. It's like classic cars too - built to be driven, but my all means look after them.

[@RetroSpexx-yt]

Thank you for mention... I'm so happy to see it all looking so shiny and new, and aside from the poor technical capabilities of the gun itself, it still looks pretty swanky! 🤩 Ironically, my parents always told me and my brother that we could open a museum with all of our gaming tech collected over the years, and although that never happened, the gun was his originally, before he sadly passed away in 2008, and I'm certain that he'd be glad that it's with you now and can be enjoyed by those who visit the cave.

[@rarapas]

[@win33adam]

I had the exact same CD-i player and also Mad Dog McCree. Great memories.

[@4879daniel]

When it came out? Must have been rich!

[@win33adam]

@@4879daniel Xmas 1995 If I recall correctly We were not rich, nor poor.

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

**Grabs a Wii Zapper** You feeling lucky punk?

[@computer_toucher]

NES zapper for me :)

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

Mad Dog McCree 2 was a great game. Even on a 14 inch PC screen and without a light gun. Fond memories!

[@marccaselle8108]

One of my first computer games in 1994 was Mad Dog 2 the lost gold for DOS. It was very fun and my Packard bell computer ran it very well at the time. 🙂

[@vibingwithvinyl]

I used to play Mad Dog McCree in an arcade on a cruise ferry. Loved it.

[@kosmosyche]

American Laser Games games were my guilty pleasure when I bought my first PC. I think I've played through all or most of them. My friend had a bunch of them (on CD-ROMs) and he basically gave them all to me and said I could keep them, because he knew I loved them (and he didn't). Mad Dog McCree and Mad Dog McCree II were always my favorites though. Played them back to back many times. Just something about shooting baddies in a wild west setting with bad acting that always made me very happy.

[@VaterOrlaag]

Therapist: Captain Neil Picard isn't real, he can't hurt you. Captain Neil Picard: 5:46

[@johnabbitt690]

Thank you, Neil. Today I learnt that an arcade game used an Amiga 500! Had no idea! I was a sucker for any game that used FMV in the 90s and I think a turning point, in terms of quality, was Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2. I was amazed at the level of quality and one person even asked if I had an MPEG2 decoder card in my PC!

[@SaffronWorldCR]

Something to consider about video playback on 3DO or Saturn is that in those early days devs didn't have the best information or time to convert the videos. There are people in the community nowadays converting videos to those platforms with much better framerate and quality.

[@herbiehusker1889]

We had the PC CD-ROM versionn clicking with the mouse wasn't as satisfying as using a lightgun, but it was still fun.

[@nickwallette6201]

I'm not sure if the "Sexy Unboxing Music" gives me more insight into Mr. RMC, or Mrs. RMC, but it's some fascinating lore nonetheless. You do you, you funky duo.

[@Naedlus]

This game is why I'm glad I held on to my CD-i. The fact that the "air mouse" gun is the only light gun compatible with modern displays makes it worth talking about. Was only able to beat it on easy, using the gun in mouse mode. Tried beating the game with the thumbstick controller, and couldn't pull it off, but with the cursor on the screen and the gun, I could easily drag the cursor to where it is needed. Really want to try out some of the other CD-i rail shooter games like that. One of these days I'll grab a copy of "Escape from Cyber City" to try it on, but, not very likely.

[@BadWiltshireDrivers]

I remember playing Mad Dog in the Arcade - I loved it.

[@JazzyBlues79]

Neil! Loved the humor peppered through this video. I have fond memories of laser discs and always want to play Mad Dog Mcree. Great content as always. Cheers!

[@alanedwards8834]

Brings back my Mad Dog McCree memories!

[@Astfgl]

I wonder if Philips went with that infrared gun technology to prepare for the advent of 100 Hz televisions, which would've been incompatible with a traditional lightgun. Remember this is Philips, a company always looking ahead and thinking of themselves as destined to be at the forefront of consumer technology, and often needlessly hamstringing themselves as a result.

[@tithund]

The original arcade machines were rear projection, so no direct line between gun and crt, I think they just copied that. I remember getting a thrift shop CD-i player 15-20 years ago and hooking it up to a projector, it worked pretty well.

[@backacheache]

That's certainly true about Phillips, even in recent times with their home lighting system "hue", good, but oh so expensive!

[@backacheache]

That's certainly true about Phillips, even in recent times with their home lighting system "hue", good, but oh so expensive!

[@NecoLumi]

"You missed that one, try another!"

[@desiv1170]

Corpse Killer is my fav 3DO gun game personally... Hysterical and fun.

[@SiAnon]

I do not wish to admit how many pound coins i put into a Mad Dog McCree game in Great Yarmouth over one single week in the early 90s. I cry thinking about it lol

[@System_Sega]

5:00 Wow, Rise of the Robots is £31 but Micro Machines is only a £10. I know what am spending my money on.

[@robertwest4269]

You say that but RotR LOOKED so good! Gotta be worth it, right???

[@skershaw0602]

Oooh... I've got the CD-i version of this in a box. I bought it ages ago thinking "I'll set this up if I ever get a CRT TV to play it on" and you've just told me I don't need one. Must dig out the CDi player and have a game now! (Bad though it may be.)

[@davexmit]

My favourite VHS game was Pile of Bullets.

[@more.power.]

Thank you great tutorial. Cheers

[@simplesimonhadapie]

The sheer amount of detail that goes into everything that appears on here is much appreciated. I only ever saw this on gamesmaster and it looked fun and i love a good light gun game enough to own ps1/ps2 light guns from namco and a crt but then again i also own the menacer...... Duck hunt is always a hit at gatherings as just like the wii it's brilliant for people who want games to do what they do for ease

[@DigitalDiabloUK]

I seem to remember the arcade games being all faded and with screen burn in. They must have been there quite a long time before I encountered them. 😂

[@Rocky1138]

This is the first one with comedy. I like it!

[@TheInfiniteMiseryJumper]

I very much appreciate Sierra games as a unit of measurement 👍

[@LuminalSpoon]

Haha I remember the old Retsupurae episode of Crime Patrol, good times. 😂

[@gazorbo.]

I remember playing Wild Gunman during a couple summer holidays.

[@heathwellsNZ]

I have very fond memories of Mad Dog McCree and Time Crisis as pedestal gun games at the arcade I used to haunt in the early 90's... they seemed revolutionary at the time! One of the arcade places also had one of those motion ride simulators (Edit: Thompson V-14 Venturer I think) - I particular remember Astro Coaster and Smash Factory. I can remember that if you wanted a ride that wasn't currently loaded... the operator would change the laser disc. My memory is that this too was controlled by an Amiga?

[@yamigekusu]

Your deadpan 'yeehaw' was hilarious

[@shireoryx6153]

Nice presentation

[@bombjack2413]

I have little nostalgia for Mad Dog Mcree. It was in one of my local arcades but thought it was a bit crap at the time. The us of a WHSmith C15 hit me with huge amounts of nostalgia though. 😊

[@JadeLockpicker]

Gods I remember the MS-DOS version of this game. It came with the CD-ROM drive and video upgrade pack we had.

[@electricadventures]

I have always liked light gun games in general probably with the Sega Master System lineup being the most enjoyable to play (and a pretty decent light gun too). There is a revolver gun for MSX and I think it works with some of the MSX laserdisc titles. Has alluded me so far though. Great video!

[@plast3r]

MadDog mccree is still my fav ever light gun game, i remember playing it on a cdi growing up we borrowed from a friend for the weekend, that and 7th guest are the 2 games from my childhood that make me love retro games

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

Mine is Metal Combat for the SNES Super Scope. Finding a CRT tv for it was the reason I built my retro gaming space in a corner of our basement

[@plast3r]

@@JohnSmith-xq1pz i never got the chance to use the superscope myself the sheer size of it lol, i did enjoy point blank and time crisis on the ps1 and ofcourse house of dead on the dreamcast.

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

@@plast3r Nice wish I had those for my ps1 or a DreamCast... though I did just recently find the wii ports of the house of the dead games while thrifting. I've been playing te heck out of them with the wii zapper and another thrift find, a black wii remote and nuncuck from a Japanese black wii. I LOVE the clickly switch used for the B button

[@Vonklieve]

I played this game in the arcade, Mad Dog, was indeed mad...Plus it really, really hard. Expensive and hard!

[@axi0matic]

Quite a bit of barrel distortion on that PVM - might be worth twiddling the relevant control (internal I believe).

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks, the colour is slightly on the purple side too it’s certainly due a service.

[@synaesthesia2010]

Liking the choon at the end

[@davidlefley7782]

I loved Mad Dog on my Mega CD, I used the light gun I had got with Lethal Enforcers which I also loved. A history of light gun gaming in the home would be an awesome video. Die Hard Trilogy on PS1 yes please.

[@RoryStarks]

I enjoyed Mad Dog McCree on the Nintendo 3DS. It felt like one of the better and more playable adaptations to date.

[@GouldFishOnGames]

If I remember correctly, I think you need some support in the graphics chip to allow the lightguns that follow the raster beam. So its possible that the CDI didn't have that interrupt, so they had to go down the route of the light-mouse. It would also mean it would work with rear projection screens which they might have thought more people would have if they are also using this to watch movies.

[@shdowdashie01]

Used to love that game in holiday in skeggy as a kid

[@robintst]

I had Mad Dog McCree on the Sega CD, it doesn't get more grainy and washed out than that.

[@LSTRetroGamingVideos]

While the CDi has the best video quality when it comes to '90s home versions of classic American Laser Games titles, it is the absolute worst choice to play these games thanks to its horribly inaccurate gun. This is especially true for the first Mad Dog game since it didn't offer an on-screen crosshair option yet (something you unfortunately and definitely need for playing lightgun games on the CDi). Imho, the ALG gamegun far superior to the CDi gun in every aspect. I even find more enjoyment playing ALG titles on the Sega CD with its horrendous video quality - at least the gun is working fine on that system.

[@gnginquisitor]

The Retromancave became the retromanrave

[@pauleckert4321]

Wish they would do a compilation of these games for the Switch. Love those old Mad Dog games.

[@RobSchofield]

@ 9:09 - GROAN (Ba-dum TISHHHH)

[@dvdmike007]

Surprised you didn't mention Beverly Hills Cop 2, the first time I had seen the video based shooting ranges

[@bazza5699]

Watching Chuckie Egg on the BBC in the background made me wonder do you load each machine up with a game that defined that machine? When I think of the BBC I think of Chuckie Egg or Elite, similarly when I think of the ZX Spectrum - Jet Set Willy or Manic Miner.. - Amiga - Shadow of the Beast.. etc etc.

[@slithery9291]

We had a Laserdisc player in my schools library. All we had was the encyclopedia, can't remember the name.

[@someonespecial1525]

Anyone who wants a Philips CD-i 450/550 or 220 with a DV Cartridge to watch back-to-back movies, you must know, the DV decoder overheats. Just a friendly note to collectors. It did that for me brand new. I tried multiple DV cartridges and it was the same. You'll notice there's no fans and zero ventilation, so I can see why.

[@raggersragnarsson6255]

I was given a CD-I by a good mate and I have yet to get it working. I've managed to get the CD reader spinning, but not reading the disks. I suspect the dreaded failed clock battery chip which can fail and needs replaced as its doesn't display the startup screen at all. I need to diagnose it further some day. Great to see a working version here as my friend gave me quite a few CD games as well. Great nibble, thank you. Any tips on replacing the clock chip?

[@Gypsycat19]

I still have a working 3DO and American laser games with it. now i use singe 2 with an act lab light gun on pc

[@twoquickcapri]

The mouse is usually the best controller for the CD-i. I think it's worth a retry with the mouse.

[@elphive42]

100% agree. The CD-i Mouse is the best controller for the vast majority of software - most things play better with it than the joypad-type controllers.

[@subliminalvibes]

Laserdiscs looked great but their slow random access times and lack of video buffer made CD-based FMV a much more fluid experience. I had a Sega Mega CD but still looked at my friend's Dad's CD-i with envy. I later got a CD-32 but that was a true disappointment. LoL

[@BillyNoMates1974]

I played Mad Dog McCree to death on my Philips CD-I. The console got a bad rap but I loved it for the films as well

[@SullySadface]

5:44 Hey, it's Eric's dad from Robocop

[@andymartin3039]

Great video, just a note on your explanation at around 18:55 you got the 2 system the wrong way round, I believe you should have said pictures from CGI and gun from 3DO and not what's currently present.

[@At0micGarden]

What kind of beautiful piece of furniture are those Multisystems housed in?

[@dgvintage]

I bought the CD-I version myself last year, fully boxed and I too found the gun rather terrible. No amount of calibration would help, the game was just frustrating to play. However, as an "air mouse", the gun does work very well. Most light gun games on the CD-I tend to offer the crosshair as default for this reason, including the sequel Mad Dog II. On Mad Dog McCree itself, in the options screen at the start if you choose "Other" as controller, you get to use the gun to control the crosshair and it makes the game a bit more playable.

[@eidgenossenarkebuse]

Next time, let's play Shadows of the Empire

[@Kumimono]

Gotta say, Mad Dog looks far more menacing in the cover artwork, than in the screenshot of the 3DO game.... Happened upon something called Act-Labs SGA PC Light Gun in a thrift store a while back. I wonder if it might support Mad Dog...

[@g4z-kb7ct]

I have an Act Labs lightgun here. It was made mainly for MAME for use with a old type CRT PC monitor. It's not going to work with Maddog since that doesn't work in MAME but with MAME you can play probably over 100 arcade shooters like Point Blank, Lethal Enforcers, Time Crisis etc.

[@imnickleonard]

Do you have everything in your magical kingdom of retro to plug together an Amiga laser disk, video toaster and a box of magic?

[@RMCRetro]

I don't! Maybe one day

[@paule6101]

i always preferred lethal enforcers 2 - gun fighters. Much more responsive and fun! I have the arcade pcb which i use in my police trainer cab along with other classics like point blank etc...

[@fragglet]

Looks like they really could have invested in a Steadicam for those recorded scenes. A lot of wobble whenever the camera is moving around

[@Kawa-oneechan]

5:44 I have fond memories of watching Star Trek VI on a CD-i. I quite vividly remember pausing at the closeup on Mr. Dax's bare feet and being rather impressed at how frozen the frame was compared to VHS. My memories of Mad Dog McCree are... not as fond.

[@AfterBurnerTeirusu]

They probably made it an infra-red gun because CD-i hardware was sold in many different forms. There's even a B/O TV with a built in CD-i. The portable CD-i might be the only one with an LCD screen, but it's always a good idea to future-proof things. :D Philips announced their first plasma tv in 1997. (three years after the release of the cd-i gun)

[@RMCRetro]

That’s possible yes. I have the B&O with CD-i in but mine is CRT, I’ve not seen an LCD one. That’s on the list of things to repair

[@AfterBurnerTeirusu]

@@RMCRetro The LCD device is a small handheld console by Philips. B/O only made CD-i tvs with CRTs. The very last revision actually hid the controller ports, so you have to modify the case to use them. I guess B/O didn’t want to associate themselves with obsolete hardware.

[@AfterBurnerTeirusu]

And yes I know it sounds stupid to use a light gun with a small laptop shaped device, but at least it works :)

[@RMCRetro]

Oh yes I think I’ve seen one of those at an Amiga group meet playing Tropic Thunder. No wonder I erased it from my mind. Good catch

[@LSTRetroGamingVideos]

The solution is to download the Singe 2 Arcade emulator plus 4K upscales of ALG titles and play it with the Sinden gun :)

[@Stephen-OldBadGamer]

All I wanna do now is play Jungle Strike. :)

[@Gabriel-vl2ft]

Surely this game could be remade with better video & tech? I shall wait for that day. But until then, RMC has scratched my Mad Dog McCree itch.

[@liquidninja6654]

Great video! Appreciate that your content is the extreme opposite compared to trash like Tophat Gaming Man

[@johnknight9150]

Does it work on any screen? Maybe they used a sensor because they wanted to separate it from any reliance on CRTs, which would make sense if they ever had huge screen setups in mind -- maybe something like a big tech booth.

[@OzgurSalur]

I always dreamed of having this console at home. Or have a similar experience (with a huge non-lcd screen of course). I wonder how the wii version is!

[@g4z-kb7ct]

The Wii version is good

[@kalofkrypton]

As a product, Gun4IR still Trumps Sinden I think. Though Sinden making it in to commercial products is the real key. I'm all for the out-of-the-box experience and still hopeful that Namco/Sega will get involved with Sinden for a legit commercial product. As it is, I'm very happy with an Aimtrak IR set up that is plug & play with PS2. Doesn't work for all games, but I don't need much more than TC2 and Gunfighter 2. 😂

[@Laserdreamz]

totally agree on the Cd-i gun, it feels just like the Wii lightgun games, and the sensor looses its tracking all the time, had to get rid of it sadly as it looks superb.

[@lasskinn474]

wait, the cdi gun works as a cdi pointer device? so could you play the other fmv games with it that have shooting in them?

[@NerdENerd]

Might give it a go on MAME with my Sinden Lightgun and see how it goes.

[@g4z-kb7ct]

None of the Maddog games are supported/working in MAME. You would have to use Singe or some other laserdisc emulator. The Wii version is pretty nice and there's Wii emulation....

[@esuwr]

Had the Gamegun for MSDos a few years ago but it's accuracy was poor and it was quite hard to calibrate. Usually had to turn brightness and contrast to max on my old CRT monitor

[@g4z-kb7ct]

15:20 I still have the PC version of that lightgun and all the original CD games... Space Pirates was a bit 'meh' but the others are great. The Wii version of Maddog1&2 is probably the most obtainable version nowadays.... which of course I also have ;-)

[@pkaulf]

I wonder if anyone's ever made a replica of the arcade using an Amiga and a capture of the Laserdisc. I know that WinUAE has support for American Laser Games. Possible project for the Arcade Archive?

[@g4z-kb7ct]

I've made several PCB repros and released them on my site so it would be possible by having the hardware that plugs into the Amiga expansion port in my hand (or any other thing really) but it's not readily available. It would still need a LD player as there's no way the Amiga could process and display a video image. Anyway, not much point really as there are plenty of other ways to play the Maddog games. The Wii version is pretty good and you can pick up a Wii cheaply....

[@K1NGARTH3R]

Thought it was worth mentioning Singe isn’t an emulator it’s a simulator therefore not arcade accurate. WinUAE emulates it. The later 3DO releases had much better video quality and tighter gameplay. Nothing beats the real arcade cabs with the 45’ screens though.

[@federicocatelli8785]

Thought it was later remade for dvd like Dragon's Lair/Space Ace ....guess I was wrong

[@Hamid8472]

What a shame that the 3DO didn't support the MPEG card in the game. It's especially strange since a large bulk of the 3DO game library contains FMV. Road Rash, Need for Speed, Night Trap, Crime Patrol, The Daedalus Encounter and many more. What a weird decision by 3DO.

[@jimbles5071]

We all know there's nothing in the cup! Phoney!

[@timballam3675]

Our student union had that, got so good I could complete it with 1 credit......

[@Paul-yh8km]

When is a game interactive fiction and when is it a game? Anyway, I think I'm one of the few people that bought Philips Burn Cycle for the PC and Mac back in 1994. It was developed for CDi and contains live action video of actors overlayed on Computer graphics. I don't have a m/c to run it on now!

[@threepwoodsthrifts]

Didn’t this come out on the ps1 too?

[@the_holy_forestfairy]

Best ARCADE-Laser-Gun-Game is, in my Opinion, NAMCOS POINT BLANK from 1994!

[@g4z-kb7ct]

Point Blank is not a laser game. For standard light gun games there are dozens.... Point Blank 2 is better than 1 and there's also Lethal Enforcers, Time Crisis 1-5, the Big Buck series, Carnevil, Ghost Squad, Area 51 / Maximum Force, Operation Wolf / Thunderbolt, Silent Scope 1&2, Terminator II, House of the Dead 1&2, World Combat/Warzaid etc etc etc . Most of them are playable on a PC with emulation.

[@DarrenLandrum]

Unboxing music by Geert von Schlanger?

[@GalaxyMythos]

CDI has a better framerate you can tell also for the Mad Dog video.

[@archive3do769]

You missed one small detail about why ALG switched to 3do: cheaper and easier to repair. I have several 3do arcade systems that have tons of hours on them, only ever had a cdrom drive motor replaced in them.

[@GenesHand]

Batocera has Guncon Drivers for PC integrated. You could run Daphne on Batocera alongside a couple of guncons (Guncon clones work aswell in the case of wanting a western looking gun) and you open the door to emulating the whole library of lightgun games supported by mame and other emulators.

[@g4z-kb7ct]

Oh that's interesting. Does it support the original guncon only or guncon2 or 3? 3 uses ir sensors so more suitable for modern LCD screens. Guncon1&2 only works on a CRT.

[@GenesHand]

@@g4z-kb7ct I believe that Guncon 3 was on the works and close to be working. Guncon 1is not supported because it doesn't has a usb port.

[@g4z-kb7ct]

@@GenesHand So the Batocera guncon support is only guncon2 and that requires a CRT, right?

[@GenesHand]

@@g4z-kb7ct Guncon2, Guncon3 (Now it's working!) Gun4IR, Sinden, Wii Mote and AImtrack. The Guncon2 requires a CRT yes.

[@dtbjason]

I dont know the details but I thought the arcades used 3do hardware but read from a big laser disk like the dragons lair games and not cds? Is that the cause of the video quality difference? Also, I still have my 3DO and lightguns, those things are sooo expensive, and prone to breaking wires in the lead, for there are 6? tiny gauge phone cord wires in it, but an easy cheap fix. Play the Wii versions just to see the videos at their best.

[@davidrenton]

the Wild West , arrh arrh Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, if you think about it, a haven for smugglers , Privateers and Pirates, it was in many ways more Wild than or the people it produced than the Wild West

[@tiagopereirasantossilva556]

0:14 please play super don quixote for laseractive