The Apple Pippin: The Xbox Before The Xbox

The Microsoft Xbox is generally credited with being the first PC based video game console. The Xbox ended up being more of a success than anyone in the gaming industry could have imagined when it was released.

Up until 2001, the Sega Dreamcast was discontinued, and the Sony PS2 was dominating the video game market. Since Sega in the 1990s, there has been no new real contender to the industry titans.

But Microsoft Xbox managed to break all kinds of new barriers, including perfecting the world of online gaming, which Sega had brought to the mainstream a year before with the SegaNet gaming ISP.

While the Xbox was marketed in all the right ways, and the exit of Sega from the console business left a void in the industry, the Pippin was not lucky. The fact that Apple was days from bankruptcy doomed the console from the start.

Nevertheless, the Apple Pippin is a classic console that deserves a look, but should be recognized as one of the innovators in the video game industry. I will look at the true first PC-based video game console.

An Open Standard

Unlike traditional video game consoles, which are designed and manufactured by a single company. Apple intended to license the Pippin to various electronics companies, who could then design…