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Philips CD-i 220
Catalogue information
LastDodo number
1124881
Area
Video games
Title
Philips CD-i 220
Platform
Publisher
Developer
Genre
Year
1991
General name of game / game collection
Number
Number of players off-line
Number of players on-line
Language
Barcode / EAN / UPC
Product code
Dimensions
Details
The Philips CD-i (or CDi) was released in 1991. It started as joint-venture with Sony and Matsushita to develop a common video game platform. Sony (started working on the Playstation) and Matsushita abandoned the project and Philips released the CD-I on its own.
Several series were produced :
- The 200 series : this is a home-multimedia console. These are the most common and well known models. The principal applications were audio CD (with or without pictures), Edutainment and Video. Video required an additional Digital Video Cartridge. This cartridge was built-in on the more expensive models, but it was also possible to purchase it separately for the cheaper models.
Philips originally did not market the CD-I as a video game console, but that would change later on.
There were various models in this series : The first one was the 205. The most popular models were the 210 and 220.
- The 300 series : these were handheld systems
- The 400 series : video game consoles
- The 600 series : professional units
The CD-i was produced for quite a long time, but it never became a commercial success. Because of its unclear market position it was in competition with both the pc (for professional applications) and pure video game consoles (for gaming). PC technology was in rapid evolution (eg. sophisticated graphic cards and faster processors) and the CD-i soon lagged behind technically. On the other hand the CD-I was more expensive compared to the video game consoles (Sega, Nintendo, Playstation).
Production was discontinued in 1998.
CD-i games are region free.