Why The Philips CD-i Console Failed ! - Gaming History Documentary

[@LadyDecade]

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[@greenkoopa]

You're Lady Decade 🐢

[@mikesilva3868]

​@@greenkoopa nice super Mario bros reference 😊

[@greenkoopa]

@@mikesilva3868 I aim to entertain 🐢

[@houseoftheted637]

A necessity for gracious living 😎

[@cryptolimbo5400]

I would love to see you review the action Maxx gaming system idk if you had them in the UK but I had one in the US

[@rexcatston8412]

Its classed as a games console now but im old enough to remember that every advert I saw for this in the first 1-2 years were geared towards old people and businesses. encyclopedias, interactive picture viewers, schedule applications, crosswords etc etc.. I didn't even know this was a console until near its end when they really started pushing it as one. So yeah now its a failed gaming console but at the time it was a failing powerpoint computer for boardroom meetings...that made some games for some reason.

[@ChristopherR1981]

I remember the long promos... I was confused because for the price, a used computer was a better value.

[@Chris-Courage]

This thing was marketed as an expensive CD player, edutainment, and golf game machine. No wonder it failed. At least that's all they advertised on the kiosks I saw in stores.

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

Would have been cool to have in the early '90s but that price point was just way too much. Sell it for $250 and maybe it would have moved some units.

[@greenkoopa]

Lady Decade over here disrespecting the CD-i, it looks like a vcr had media reassignment surgery but the Dr got bored halfway through

[@namco003]

Saw the title and clicked. Paused at the 1 second mark, because I'm excited to see this one. I have one literally 15 ft behind me in a storage area. Or, as I call it, the shower we don't use. I worked for Blockbuster Games, and we had 3 test stores. Early try before you buy games, was the concept. After the store failed in 95, we sold everything for up to 90% off. We had CD-i machines in storage, and I grabbed both unused ones from the back(FYI my boss helped me with "security footage"), and bought a lot of software and movies(pre DVD Early mpeg-1), and I also took most of the demo discs. Dragon's Lair, and Space Ace was the big draw. Also 7th guest, and my favorite Burn Cycle, which I wish I would have gotten a copy of. I gave the other CD-i to my best friend. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[@ravensmadhouse75]

I remember see this demoed at Best Buy in 1994 around the Holidays with BURN:CYCLE as part of Philips' attempt to re-market it as a gaming console. I initially wanted one but after looking at the model and seeing how much hassle it was going to be to set one up, I backed out and was disappointed because I wanted to play BURN:CYCLE... my prayers were answered when Philips ported it to the PC.

[@warchild9381]

The Apprentice, CDi Tetris, Zelda games, and a few others are pretty good or interesting at the very least. There are far worse and far more boring consoles than the CDi. I own a 450 RGB modded model and I love it.

[@HiNRGboy]

I agree, I wanted one back then but never got one...I did manage to play a friend's CD-i at one point and really liked it for what it was. I really wanted to play The Apprentice and those two Christmas platformer games. Those were actually pretty good. There's some others too I just forget what they were.

[@AcornElectron]

There are… but not many 😂

[@realSunnyBuoy]

I loved watching the CDi infomercial that would play late at night in the early 1990s. It had 2 brothers who were competing video game repairmen but one brother was a CDi rep and would push the CDi on every broken console customer.

[@CannonKnight]

I can't tell if Lady Decade is really short or the CD-i is comically huge. Probably both. Oh, and congrats on 100K. Don't know if you have room on the shelves behind you for the silver plaque.

[@amichalap]

The Mario and Zelda cutscenes look like they were made in MS Paint.

[@sbcinema]

I had one of these, always enjoyed it and i still have used it (until it was stolen when I was moving in 2016 ) I used it for movie games and mainly as a cd player

[@Machete87]

thats where i membered the CD-i Maddog McCree. my cousin way back in the day had that game.. i saw him play it in the mid 90's if memory serves me right. "Mad Dog's back!" there was a 2nd game childhood memory unlocked🔐

[@jeremiahm1413]

Still have my 450 model I bought off eBay in 2001 for $199 and now have nearly every FMV title they made. If you know how to burn the titles correctly and find images of each game, you can in theory have ANY title you want now on the CD-i. Still love this much maligned but unique system!

[@GrumpyBearRawr]

I remember watching an employee training video on one when I was a teen. That was the only time I'd ever seen one outside of a store.

[@realSunnyBuoy]

I loved the CDi infomercial with the video game repairman who would show up to houses with broken game consoles and sell them on the CDi.

[@jamesoneavatar8644]

I never realized there were multiple versions, like the 3DO. I once rented the system with a few games. I remember playing at least 1 Zelda game. The worst part was the controls were very laggy

[@jimbotron70]

The 3DO too had multiple versions and it failed too. Clearly a failed marketing strategy...

[@davidbarlee4722]

The first CD-I machine I ever saw was the PHILIPS CD-I 205 but I didn't see it in this video. It was a heavy ( but well made) beast that made all the ones that came out after it feel budget even if they were still pretty solid too. I owned a CD-I and it definitely doesn't deserve the 'worst games machine of all time' tag that it gets labeled with a lot of the time, I wish I had held onto the Mario and Zelda games that I bought although I didn't enjoy them at the time !

[@ericbolton9512]

It's hard to believe Nintendo broke up with Sony and went to the Philips CD-i. 😂

[@shayneerwin2809]

I've always loved the CDi, since the early 90s - And I am an avid gamer too who has had many consoles. One aspect of the CDi that unfortunately rarely gets mentioned, and one of it's main selling points from a gaming perspective, is both its Lightgun (Peacekeeper revolver) and Lightgun titles. It used 'air technology' (later to be used by Wii) and so the lightgun titles ran very smoothly - Mad Dog McCree, who shot johhny rock, de zaak van Sam, to name a few classic light gun games for the system. Not many consoles could offer such an experience. A fantastic point n click adventure from that era too - the secret agent, was another great CDi game and console exclusive. It's easily one of my favourite systems.

[@jamesburke2759]

the thing ive learnt time over time is for a game console company. Don't have an add on. Include it!

[@boomboxrocket3869]

I wish I still had mine 😢

[@greenkoopa]

What did you do with it?

[@zephyr8072]

The saddest thing of all is the CD-i still has the only Zelda games where you play as Zelda. No Hyrule Warriors doesn't count, sit down.

[@scypsylock9402]

Yes! Our favorite geeky Lady is doing the CD-i! I'm recovering from a hernia operation I just had a week ago and you are one of two weekly historians of choice to help go through the pain, Lady! Thank you again for another informative and fun video and I'll see you next time!

[@setttings1033]

who is the other? curious now

[@ferez1985]

congrats for passing 100k !

[@singletona082]

That Intro... Ifigured you'd end up going 'A nessecity f- Nope. Can't do it! I can't I won't You can't make me!'

[@dmoore0079]

A good friend of mine had one around the time Burn:cycle was released. We played the hell out of that game, and were both impressed with the storyline, the acting, as well as the soundtrack. Another favorite was "The Apprentice", which was a colorful little platform game.

[@sleepinglionarchives]

I appreciated the lack of jokes. Videos like this should still be relevant 10, 20 years down the line, as it's just the facts. And I loved that

[@ChristopherR1981]

I remember seeing the LONG promos for this thing. And the graphics looked no better than a suped up sega CD but with a massive price tag, just made no sense.

[@ravensmadhouse75]

Milady, I never had this horrid thing, but I had the Windows 3.1/95 port of BURN:CYCLE and it was quite an enjoyable title.

[@RustBunny]

For the entry price, the CD-i needed to be really good at what it did, or at least match its peers. Sure, it had some good games and other titles - the CD-i version of The 7th Guest was considered the best version, but that's not enough (thinking also of Tempest 3000 for the Nuon) - but also a bunch of not so good stuff. Being able to play VCD's later with an expansion card (like the PlayStation and Saturn also did) might have been more of a selling point here in North America if there had been more of a market for the format like in Japan, southeast Asia or Europe. Having multiple versions of the player on the market probably didn't help either. However, given that it was marketed as a home entertainment system, having different models to choose from (like with a VCR, LaserDisc player or stereo equipment) it did make some sense to show that it wasn't "just another game console", unlike the 3DO later that probably suffered more than the CD-i by having different versions available.

[@DruuzilTechGames]

Surprising they were able to license Nintendo IP's like Zelda/Link and Mario.

[@shannonmanley9217]

Another Great video. looking forward to the next one.

[@t-money95]

Thank you for this dope piece of gaming history ❤

[@biz0unc3]

A friend and I recorded some stuff on the CDi that we wanted to put on YT way back in the day. Our catchphrase was going to be, "CDi! It's almost games!"

[@TIGFAD]

You could still do it!

[@collectingonthecheap56353]

I remember first seeing the television and magazine ads for it, and was really interested in it for the educational programs, and being able to play CDs on it. Later, when I saw that they were putting Mad Dog McRee on it, I got really excited for it, but then I started seeing articles in magazines about how for gaming, it really isn't that great, and how Nintendo was working on this Ultra project due out in 95 (things happened and it eventually became N64 in 96), and I lost interest in the CDi.

[@jimbotron70]

Nintendo too messed up things spectacularly by choosing the cartridge format...

[@finkwood]

I wanted on of these systems SO MUCH when i was 13...only to finally play a demo unit at a merchandise store. It was shit.

[@SegaTron64]

The CD-i was amazing. It still is if you appreciate it for what it was instead of a dedicated gaming machine. Great video!

[@CaptainSouthbird]

Heh, shrugging and looking unsure while holding the CD-I console... appropriate. Kind of funny how such an overt failure probably is only interesting to the history of things kinda like how DeLoreans are only interesting because of Back to the Future. (Because you know without that notoriety, DeLorean cars would just be an insignificant failed car in the line of many others.) Also kind of a shame there was just a pervasive notion in the 90s that "CD-ROM" means "we gotta have video files" instead of finding clever and relatively luxurious ways to expand a game itself.

[@lmoore3rd]

I remember when Link:The face of Evil came out. I bought a copy before I even had a CD-i. It took me the better part of a whole year saving up to get a system and then the cut down Magnavox system came out which I could afford. When I got the CD-i system it came with an encyclopedia title and a coupon for Burn Cycle. In 1994 / 1995 I could not easily find the game pad controller which meant I had to play Link with that god awful one handed spoon shaped controller. Quickly I realized how god awful Link was and gave up because of the terrible collision detection and frustrating inconsistent design. Burn cycle was pretty good. Kinda like Blade Runner except you have a computer virus in your brain. Burn Cycle is worth a play through,.

[@jamesburke2759]

I LOVE the CD-i Phillips really needed to go balls to the wall on this one. If only they did the sony thing and made a loss on hardware and included the Digital Video Card to make up on media.Or if they included a Tv tuner and a Cd Burner for the price that would have been a game changer.

[@krathoon2338]

The emulators of this console are still kind of buggy, but they do play most of the major games. Also, the CDi emulator runs the multimedia stuff pretty well. I just wish the Nylon City game would work.

[@cyrus2728]

dont underestimate the build quality of the cdi. i had to throw it down the stairs three times before i could claim it on my house insurance.

[@teddyaldridge7871]

I remember the VCDs that were on 2 discs for this. You could play the VCDs on a PlayStation 1 with a gamers card slotted in the back

[@crazyivan030983]

Cool video :) now please tell Nuon story :)

[@CokChopBeats]

I remember seeing this on display at Service Merchandise

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

The Philips CD-i looks like a low-budget hybrid of a home video system, game console and personal computer.

[@cabbitkisser2620]

i do remember seeing the cd-i at service merchandise years ago. i seen a guy walked in & pulled out a wad of cash & bought a cd-i with both Zelda games. we were talking about the cd-i . so, he told me I'm buying it for the Zelda games.

[@benlovemusicuk]

I really loved burn cycle! There was a 2 disc PC release as well, with disc 2 being an audio cd having the sound track on it.

[@robzilla730]

Embarrassed to say I wanted one of these back then. Must've been the Phil Hartman commercials. Lol

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

I want one now.

[@robzilla730]

@@JDoe-gf5oz hey. 90s nostalgia RULES!!

[@animemaster4861]

That version of Jeopardy is better than any of the regular console versions of the time

[@JDubKillinKicks]

I got a near mint system at the flea market from a guy who really didn't know what it was for $30 and it came with like 10 games including Hotel Mario. It took me a while to realize what I was looking at then I saw Mario and it clicked.

[@MrTropicalFusion]

Lady Decade, you are a gem 💎! I love your thoughtful videos and look forward to every single one! Thank you for the insights on these legacy systems.

[@SamyIrnateneGaming]

You have to know that Link : The Faces of Evil is a masterpiece

[@berourmourad9660]

I love watching your wonderful, wonderful, wonderful videos❤

[@katieblackmore2004]

Hahaha, i remember getting mine, back then..... i had so many consoles that were so crap, they were great. I had the CDi, the smaller model though, and i had 7th Guest, Burn Cycle and the movie Alive on disc.... I remember laying in bed watching the movie and thinking ''this is the future'' as a kid. I had that, the Amiga CD32 with Cannon Fodder and Alien Breed 3D, also the 3DO, which was my brothers with Rebel Assault and Road Rash. All 3 crap, yet all 3 great and all 3 failed massively. The 90s were a weird time for gaming, when people that were more known for making music centres, video recorders and.......... Blenders, suddenly said, ''Lets make a monster interactive gaming device, with no real games, just grainy movies you choose how they end, and any actual good games, we will butcher and they will be better on other consoles''. Ahhh, the memories.

[@jasone3962]

Dragon's Lair and Space Ace always wanted to play them when I was a kid

[@osenator]

My old best friend bought it and to be honest, it sucked compare to every other consoles he owned at the time. Only after a few weeks, he unplugged it and it collected dust since.... he did bought most games for it too.... and they also sucked too...

[@DefConprime28]

A big piece of lost media that is sought after is the Phillips CDI Applebee's training video. And the only time I know of it. Is in the Bohemia and lake Grove New York Applebee's

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@LadyDecade >>> When you said _"Space Ace"_ -- and as I am unfamiliar with that game -- I thought you had said _"SpaceX."_ Really...😊

[@mikesilva3868]

Great review 😊

[@IanMartinScreenwriter]

I was 12/13 when this thing came out. I remember seeing it in Comet and played a pinball game with that crappy controller and thinking “why would I want this when I already have a Gameboy and a megadrive and the snes is also on the market?” Fair play to anyone that likes this thing, but it’s not for me.

[@registereduser]

I’d forgotten about the Thunder in Paradise game….wuf.

[@Lamentable5]

Lady Decade, Hence (Décadence).

[@InJeffable]

The Xbox One briefly fell into the lack of focus trap as well, with Microsoft initially marketing it as a multimedia machine and overpricing it at $500 because they wanted to include an updated Kinect that consumers hadn't asked for. It cost Microsoft an Xbox victory in the last console generation, and they STILL haven't fully recovered even in this generation from their self-inflicted wound. If you market your console as a jack of all trades, consumers will probably view it as a master of none.

[@johanprx7985]

To this day I will never understand how this concept got even approved. WTH were they thinking?

[@jonmcalexander6475]

All plumbers wear ties was a hit lol

[@The_Texorcist]

Funny how they didn’t want to market it as a game console. I mean look at Sony a few years later with the PSX. While perhaps not a complete success it was a game changer and in the next generation Sony was able to release the PS2 which would go on to completely conquer the market. That could have been the cd-i if they had just chosen to have a coherent marketing strategy that focused on it being a game console.

[@jonniefast]

the cdi isnt for everyone but imo, its worth the price of admission for tetris alone 🥰

[@AlphaOmegaJMAC]

Myst was so desperately boring I nearly topped myself.

[@DonovenGrey]

Don't blame Myst for your lack of gaming skills. There is always nintendo paint to keep your attention, kid.

[@krisa7910]

Holy crap I had one of these as a kid....there was this game Dark Castle that was so damn impossible to beat with the crappy controls.

[@JamesLewis2]

I'm surprised that the best game on the system (in terms of gameplay, not how well it fit the system) wasn't mentioned: The Apprentice.

[@edgardeitz5746]

8:32 - Why don't we see more features starring this family of hippos?

[@juggalo4life247]

I remember buying the cdi.i even wrote a few article's for a magazine.i tried to be open minded,but this media player sucked.you'll be lucky to find 4,or 5 games worth playing.your better off getting a 3do,or even the jaguar!

[@pauleckert4321]

I remember as a kid watching the late nite CDI informorcials and wanting a one so bad. i didnt have a PC at the time or any CD player so I really wanted one. Never got one. But now glad I didnt and just got a PC with cdrom instead.

[@ufobestuurder]

I'm so happy the legacy of the CD-i will live on in the form of Arzette.

[@shitpostnetwork404]

14:15 damn right XD

[@itsrobloxhere]

without the cdi, modern internet humor would not exist

[@BENVAFabri]

You overuse that catchfrase but somehow with the CDi it's still funny.😅

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

FWIW: I still occasionally listen to audio CD's.

[@traviswall1982]

Got one recently and several games with it. No plans to ever play it. EVEN Wand of Gamelon. Haha.

[@Streetfighter1977]

That's a weapon of mass destruction you holding there lol

[@grant78uk]

I remember when this came out wanting one but didn’t get one as parents couldn’t afford one. Looking at the size of it now it’s huge similar to the ps5 size

[@capoman1]

Damn it was bulky enough. Should have been the most powerful.

[@davidev4844]

I remember when the console came out in Atlanta US the games were super awesome for the time!! The price was too much I remember wad an unreasonable price where I lived in Maine we could only play demo units at Sam's Club

[@maroon9273]

Philips dropped the ball by marketing it as a gaming console. Even can be used as a internet and telenetwork device.

[@mrbedford]

still got my original on with the star trek phaser type remote, also got the green covered zelda game

[@jimbotron70]

Why it failed? Late to the party, crappy hardware, poor games lineup, Philips incompetence in treating the CD-i as a home appliance instead of a videogame system...

[@SalvadorUnited]

Also Too expensive

[@sarahzaporta125]

Jesus, that looks heavy!!!

[@Chris-mw1kg]

Love you're gaming history videos. Respect from Edinburgh

[@jorgezarco9269]

Lady Decade is your dream girl if you enjoy video game stuff.

[@lauratiso]

Ah, yes! NovaLogic... From Super Mario to the USA Army and USAF supplier of software simulators and classic war games for PC. I miss F-22 Lightning II and Raptor. And Delta Force.

[@BrandonRoyce-bj1ix]

I'm surprised the CDI didn't destroying nintendo

[@Ezyasnos]

It is the absolute ultimate vapourwave machine 😎

[@darinherrick9224]

Where is my HD remaster of Burn : Cycle ????

[@jimpatterson1111]

I don’t know M’Lady. You need some kind of catchphrase, lol😝

[@williamoverton7775]

The connection between the amiga cd32 and cd-i isn't well known which is the king of game consoles evolving in the guts of VCRs? How do these stack up against LD-rom also by Panasonic I think. The sega/NEC modules made that system cost 6000 dollars

[@williamoverton7775]

Correction it was pioneer laseractive

[@MetaVIRTUAL]

I love the cdi great graphics. Terrible game design. I remember Dixon in Southend having it on display, golf and tennis were amazing

[@semarugaijin9451]

what the F*** is up with googles algorithm! This was just a few weeks ago and i never got a notification? WTF?

[@Marrer_osrs]

when i seen this in my youth i just thought it was a dvd player XD

[@brandongovreau9218]

I have been seeing video about Freemasons I live in a town founded by Freemasons it is called Farmington Missouri

[@cloudstrife1983]

Magnavox is part of Philips

[@Riz2336]

I think it's quite obvious how it failed because every "game" on the system was just cheap shovelware garbage