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ZX Spectrum+
Planning of the ZX Spectrum+ started in June 1984, and was released on October 15. This 48 KB Spectrum (development code-name TB) introduced a new QL-style case with an injection-moulded keyboard and a reset button that was basically a switch that shorted across the CPU reset capacitor. Electronically, it was identical to the previous 48 KB model. It was possible to change the system boards between the original case and the Spectrum+ case. It retailed for £179.95 (equivalent to £615 in 2021). A DIY conversion-kit for older machines was available. Early on, the machine outsold the rubber-key model 2:1; however, some retailers reported a failure rate of up to 30%, compared with a more usual 5–6% for the older model.In early 1985, the original Spectrum was officially discontinued and the ZX Spectrum+ was reduced in price to £129.95 (equivalent to £419 in 2021). -
Atari Lynx
The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal display. Powered by a 16 MHz 65C02 8-bit CPU and a custom 16-bit blitter, the Lynx was more advanced than Nintendo's monochrome Game Boy, released two months earlier. It also competed with Sega's Game Gear and NEC's TurboExpress, released the following year.
The system was developed at Epyx by two former designers of the Amiga personal computers. The project was called the Handy Game or simply Handy. In 1991, Atari replaced the Lynx with a smaller model internally referred to as the Lynx II. Atari published a total of 73 games before the Lynx was discontinued in 1995 in preparation for the launch of the Jaguar. -
Atari Lynx II
In July 1991, Atari introduced a new version of the Lynx, internally called the "Lynx II", with a new marketing campaign, new packaging, slightly improved hardware, better battery life, and a sleeker look. It has rubber hand grips and a clearer backlit color screen with a power save option (which turns off the backlighting). The monaural headphone jack of the original Lynx was replaced with one wired for stereo. The Lynx II was available without any accessories, dropping the price to $99 (equivalent to $210 in 2021). -
Tiger Game.com
The Game.com is a fifth-generation handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics on September 12, 1997. A smaller version, the Game.com Pocket Pro, was released in mid-1999. The first version of the Game.com can be connected to a 14.4 kbit/s modem for Internet connectivity, hence its name referencing the top level domain .com.
It was the first video game console to include a touchscreen and the first handheld console to include Internet connectivity. The Game.com sold fewer than 300,000 units and was discontinued in 2000 because of poor sales. -
OnLive
OnLive was a provider of cloud virtualization technologies based in Mountain View, California. OnLive's flagship product was its cloud gaming service, which allowed subscribers to rent or demo computer games without installing them on their device. Games were delivered to OnLive's client software as streaming video rendered by the service's servers, rather than rendered locally by the device.
This setup allowed the games to run on computers and devices that would normally be unable to run them due to insufficient hardware. OnLive also enabled other features such as the ability for players to record gameplay and to spectate. -
Ouya
The Ouya (/?u?j?/ OO-y?), stylized as OUYA, is an Android-based microconsole developed by Ouya Inc. Julie Uhrman founded the project in 2012, bringing in designer Yves Béhar to collaborate on its design and Muffi Ghadiali as VP of Product Management to put together the engineering team. Development was funded via Kickstarter, raising US$8.5 million, becoming one of the website's highest earning projects in its history.
Units started to ship to Kickstarter backers in March 2013 and were released to the general public in June 2013. It featured a store for applications and games designed specifically for the Ouya platform, the majority of which were casual games. Out of the box, Ouya supports media apps such as Twitch and the Kodi media center. It runs a modified version of Android Jelly Bean, with rooting being officially encouraged. The console's hardware design allows it to be easily opened up, requiring only a standard screwdriver for easy modding and possible hardware add-ons. -
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Oculus Rift Development Kit 1
Two months after being formed as a company, Palmer's Oculus VR launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on August 1, 2012 for their virtual reality headset, named the Rift. The main purpose of the Kickstarter was to get an Oculus Rift prototype—now referred to as DK1 (Development Kit 1)—into the hands of developers to begin integration of the device into their games. The DK1 was given as a reward to backers who pledged $300 or more on Kickstarter, and was later sold publicly for $300 on their website. These kits sold at a rate of 4–5 per minute for the first day, before slowing down throughout the week.
The Rift DK1 was released on March 29, 2013, and uses a 7-inch (18 cm) screen with a significantly lower pixel switching time than the original prototype, reducing latency and motion blur when turning one's head quickly. The pixel fill is also better, reducing the screen door effect and making individual pixels less noticeable. The LCD is brighter and the color depth is 24 bits per pixel. -
Oculus Rift Development Kit 2
Oculus began shipping Development Kit 2 (DK2) in July 2014. This is a small refinement of the "Crystal Cove" prototype, featuring several key improvements over the first development kit, such as having a higher-resolution (960×1080 per eye) low-persistence OLED display, higher refresh rate of 75 Hz, positional tracking, a detachable cable, and the omission of the need for the external control box.
A teardown of DK2 revealed that it incorporates a modified Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone display, including the front panel from the device itself.
In February 2015, Oculus announced that over 100,000 DK2 units had been shipped up until that point. -
Sega Dreamcast Katana SET 4
An early SET 4 Dreamcast developer SET 4 tower.