R-Zone
Tiger R-Zone Headgear model.
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| Manufacturer | Tiger Electronics |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation |
| Retail availability | 1995 |
| Discontinued | 1997 |
| Media | R-Zone cartridges |
| Predecessor | Quiz Wiz |
| Successor | Game.Com |
The R-Zone is a portable game console (originally head-worn, later handheld) developed and manufactured by Tiger Electronics. The R-Zone was shown at the American International Toy Fair in February 1995, and was released later that year. The R-Zone was a largely unsuccessful handheld console and would only be manufactured for a short period, before being discontinued in 1997.. Although the R-Zone was not designed to compete directly with any other handhelds, it marked Tiger Electronics' first multi-game entry into the portable electronic game market.
The original R-Zone unit consisted of a headset and a separate controller containing batteries. Each game cartridge contained its own transparent LCD display screen which was projected onto a mirrored surface held in front of the player's eye. It is thought that this original design, including the red color scheme, was designed to capitalize on popular buzz for the Nintendo Virtual Boy at the time.
The R-Zone's controls are located on the lower top front face of its body and are positioned on the left, right, and bottom sides.
The R-Zone contains the following input/output connectors:
The R-Zone did not see much success in sales. With other successful and popular handhelds (such as the Game Boy and Game Gear), the R-Zone was often overlooked. Games did not allow users to save their data, link to other players, adjust audio levels, play a true variety of games, or connect accessories/peripherals (whereas other handheld consoles in the market did).
A few variations of the R-Zone were produced:
David Jones of the Chicago Tribune called the R-Zone "a waste of time and money" and wrote that its screen "is hard to see and the controls are very awkward. That's not all -- if you keep the head band on for, say, five minutes, you'll have two deep lines on your fore-head and a headache." Jones noted the failure of the R-Zone's extra head-band padding – which was designed to prevent pain – and concluded, "The R-Zone should be dumped into the trash can where it belongs."
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