History Platform / Pippin

Its hardware specifications, while theoretically better than that of contemporary consoles of the era, were too weak to run the normal Mac software of the day. Although it was never Apple's intent - like the Platform/{{Amiga}} CDTV and [=CD32=], the intent was to boot a special cut down version of Platform/MacOS, which then loaded up an optimized version of the game on the CD-ROM. However, in practice, the developers of the games often used the same executable as the one released for Mac desktops instead, which meant they didn't run well. What certainly didn't help is that the console lacked a discrete graphics and sound processor, meaning the [=CPU=] had to do ''all'' of the heavy lifting, in addition to calculating game logic. It had decent amount of RAM when compared to other consoles of the era, but due to the use of Mac OS as its operating system, the system was ''very'' short of [[UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory RAM]] after the OS booted (RAM can be upgraded, but the upgrades were proprietary and came at a premium). Additionally, it lacked any storage whatsoever, except for a tiny 128K [[MediaNotes/FlashMemory Flash]] chip mainly used for system settings. Apple released a floppy drive (as well as a Magnetic-Optical drive, and later a SCSI interface accessory for hard drives and Zip disks) for it, but in typical Apple fashion they charged a hefty extra for the accessories, which put off many gamers, who scoffed at the idea of buying a pricey extra piece of hardware just to save their games.

Its hardware specifications, while theoretically better than that of contemporary consoles of the era, were too weak to run the normal Mac software of the day. Although it was never Apple's intent - like the Platform/{{Amiga}} CDTV and [=CD32=], the intent was to boot a special cut down version of Platform/MacOS, which then loaded up an optimized version of the game on the CD-ROM. However, in practice, the developers of the games often used the same executable as the one released for Mac desktops instead, which meant they didn't run well. What certainly didn't help is that the console lacked a discrete graphics and sound processor, meaning the [=CPU=] had to do ''all'' of the heavy lifting, in addition to calculating game logic. It had decent amount of RAM when compared to other consoles of the era, but due to the use of Mac OS as its operating system, the system was ''very'' short of [[UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory RAM]] after the OS booted (RAM can be upgraded, but the upgrades were proprietary and came at a premium). Additionally, it lacked any storage whatsoever, except for a tiny 128K [[UsefulNotes/FlashMemory Flash]] chip mainly used for system settings. Apple released a floppy drive (as well as a Magnetic-Optical drive, and later a SCSI interface accessory for hard drives and Zip disks) for it, but in typical Apple fashion they charged a hefty extra for the accessories, which put off many gamers, who scoffed at the idea of buying a pricey extra piece of hardware just to save their games.

* [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]: Custom "Taos".

* 6 MB, 1 MB taken by the GPU as [[UsefulNotes/VideoRAM VRAM]]. (Bandai Pippins)

* Hardware-driven 2D and 3D video, and hardware-accelerated video decoding, using [=QuickTime 3D=], [=QuickDraw=], and [=QuickTime=] [[UsefulNotes/ApplicationProgrammingInterface APIs]]

The '''Pippin''' was a {{platform|s}} created by Creator/{{Apple}} in the mid-1990s to create low-cost computers for playing multimedia [=CDs=] and browsing the Internet. The systems produced with it were ''severely'' stripped-down [[Platform/AppleMacintosh Macintoshs]] with TV-compatible video output which Apple intended to be manufactured by third parties, and Creator/{{Bandai|NamcoEntertainment}} took the deal as a way to (re-)enter the game console market.

The '''Pippin''' was a {{platform|s}} created by Creator/{{Apple}} in the mid-1990s to create low-cost computers for playing multimedia [=CDs=] and browsing the Internet. The systems produced with it were ''severely'' stripped-down [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh Macintoshs]] with TV-compatible video output which Apple intended to be manufactured by third parties, and Creator/{{Bandai|NamcoEntertainment}} took the deal as a way to (re-)enter the game console market.

Its hardware specifications, while theoretically better than that of contemporary consoles of the era, were too weak to run the normal Mac software of the day. Although it was never Apple's intent - like the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} CDTV and [=CD32=], the intent was to boot a special cut down version of UsefulNotes/MacOS, which then loaded up an optimized version of the game on the CD-ROM. However, in practice, the developers of the games often used the same executable as the one released for Mac desktops instead, which meant they didn't run well. What certainly didn't help is that the console lacked a discrete graphics and sound processor, meaning the [=CPU=] had to do ''all'' of the heavy lifting, in addition to calculating game logic. It had decent amount of RAM when compared to other consoles of the era, but due to the use of Mac OS as its operating system, the system was ''very'' short of [[UsefulNotes/RandomAccessMemory RAM]] after the OS booted (RAM can be upgraded, but the upgrades were proprietary and came at a premium). Additionally, it lacked any storage whatsoever, except for a tiny 128K [[UsefulNotes/FlashMemory Flash]] chip mainly used for system settings. Apple released a floppy drive (as well as a Magnetic-Optical drive, and later a SCSI interface accessory for hard drives and Zip disks) for it, but in typical Apple fashion they charged a hefty extra for the accessories, which put off many gamers, who scoffed at the idea of buying a pricey extra piece of hardware just to save their games.

Unsurprisingly, due to the high cost of ownership, it bombed, with just 42,000 units sold. Being seen and marketed mainly as a console and not a computer put it into a bad spot. The $599 pricetag, more suitable for an entry-level PC, was just too expensive for the console market. Remember the outrage that the same price for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 caused in 2006? Ten years before, it was even worse: 1996's $600 corresponded to 2006's $800, if corrected for inflation. Furthermore, after a RAM upgrade and a floppy drive, both needed to bring the Pippin up to a usable level, the final cost of ownership could easily reach over a thousand dollars. These factors, along with UsefulNotes/SteveJobs returning to Apple in 1997 and ending the Macintosh clone program, led to the Pippin being discontinued that year, and [[OneBookAuthor Apple would never release another dedicated video game system again.]]