The LaserActive was an incredibly expensive console, which, while being a great modern-day collectible, was late to the party when released in 1993 by Pioneer. It was a laserdisc-based gaming platform that had the ability to overlay 16-bit graphics over high-quality video just as the laserdisc format was breathing its last gasp.
Pioneer’s sole video game console entry is perhaps the only true convergence of multiple forms of media in gaming history. While the Philips CD-i and Trip Hawkin’s 3DO tried to offer a true “multimedia” machine, only the LaserActive actually allowed multiple formats to operate on its hardware, even if it did so in a very bungling manner….
The LaserActive could play movies, music, edutainment software, serve as a karaoke player and play a variety of gaming formats. When “fully expanded,” the LaserActive could play all the following forms of media:
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Michael Thomasson is one of the most widely respected videogame historians in the field today. He currently teaches college level videogame history, design, and graphics courses. For television, Michael conducted research for MTV's videogame related program Video MODS. In print, he authored Downright Bizarre Games, and has contributed to nearly a dozen gaming texts. Michael’s historical columns have been distributed in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has written business plans for several vendors and managed a dozen game-related retail stores spanning three decades. Michael consults for multiple video game and computer museums and has worked on nearly a hundred game titles on Atari, Coleco, Sega and other console platforms. In 2014, The Guinness Book of World Records declared that Thomasson had “The Largest Videogame Collection” in the world. His businesses sponsor gaming tradeshows and expos across the US and Canada. Visit www.GoodDealGames.com.
