← All Failed Consoles

Tiger Game.com

Tiger Electronics · 1997–1999 · ~300,000

A handheld promoted as a gaming PDA with internet connectivity and a touchscreen — none of which worked well — competing against the Game Boy Color with a poor game library and worse screen.

Tiger Electronics marketed the Game.com as a cutting-edge handheld with a touchscreen, two card slots, internet capabilities via an add-on modem, and PDA features. In practice the touchscreen was poorly calibrated, the internet modem was expensive and almost unused, and the LCD screen was so blurry and low-contrast that games were difficult to see. The game library peaked at around 20 titles. Tiger had dominated the LCD handheld market in the late 1980s and early 1990s with single-game units; the Game.com was their failed attempt at competing with Nintendo proper.

Worth Playing:
  • Resident Evil 2
  • Duke Nukem 3D
Key Facts:
  • The Game.com was the first consumer handheld to offer internet connectivity, however limited
  • The touchscreen required a stylus and was poorly calibrated in most units
  • Resident Evil 2 and Duke Nukem 3D received simplified conversions — notable for the licence but poor as games
  • Tiger had dominated disposable LCD gaming with single-game handhelds before attempting a cartridge system
  • A smaller Pocket Pro version launched in 1999, shortly before the platform was discontinued
Verdict: A failed convergence device that proved internet connectivity alone can't save bad hardware.