The Strange World of Console-Computer Hybrids

East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. Likewise, one would think the realms of home video game console and IBM PC-compatible hardware would never cross paths except in the minds of the most playfully twisted hardware engineers.

But they did cross paths several times in the 1990s thanks to the salesrooms of struggling game console firms desperate to get a return on the huge sums they spent developing custom silicon—by licensing the technology to third-party accessory manufacturers. This is just a pet theory, mind you, but you'll see what I mean in the slides ahead.

At least six times in the 1990s, one could buy a product that would let you play certain home video game console games on an IBM-compatible PC without the need for software emulation. This was made possible by stuffing all the necessary console hardware onto a plug-in ISA or PCI card that then nestled into its host machine and, like a parasite, used the PC's I/O devices and power supply to its own nefarious gaming ends.

In some cases, these strange hybrid PC beasts were purpose-built for the task (such as two Sega Genesis machines you'll see ahead), but most shipped on cards that could be used in just about any IBM compatible PC. If you're at all curious about the strange world I am describing, I urge you to read through the gallery ahead.

1. 3DO Blaster (1994)

In the 1990s, Creative Labs was well-known for its "Blaster" products—Sound Blaster, Modem Blaster, Game Blaster, etc. One of the weirdest Blasters—3DO Blaster—turned your IBM PC-compatible machine into a full-fledged 3DO game console, complete with CD-ROM drive, plug-in ISA card, and 3DO controller supports. It retailed for $399.95 and included a few games. I might have bought a PlayStation Blaster (which never existed) back then, but a $400 3DO card was hard sell.

(Photo: Creative Labs, Racketboy)

2. Sega TeraDrive (1991)

In 1991, Sega released the TeraDrive, a 286-based, IBM-manufactured PC with built-in Sega Genesis (called "Mega Drive" in Japan) functionality. And like any other IBM PC, it could also run MS-DOS programs. Users could both play regular Genesis games on the PC and, as a special bonus, use an included SDK to develop their own games. It was a neat idea, but it never made it over to the US.

(Photo: Sega)

3. CD-i/PC 2.0 (1993)

There's no better way to celebrate a mediocre, poorly supported video game/multimedia platform (CD-i) than by creating an IBM PC-compatible plug-in ISA card that allows PC users to run its CD-based games on their machine. Needless to say, this card was wildly unpopular. Might as well try everything, I guess.

(Photo: Philips)

4. NEC PC-FXGA DOS/V (ca. 1994)

I'm sensing a trend here (with the exception of the Sega Genesis): Take an underperforming gaming platform, stick its specialized graphics and sound chips on a PC card, and sell it as a plug-in for home computers. The same goes for the quirky Japan-only NEC PC-FX game platform, which never took off and never made it to the US. Still, you could buy the PC-FX GA, which sold as both a card for the NEC PC-9800 computer and for Japanese IBM PC compatibles. It would let you play all your favorite PC-FX games on your computer, although only 62 games were released for the system.

(Photo: NEC)

5. Amstrad Mega PC (1993)

For some reason, the Sega TeraDrive wasn't enough Genesis/PC crossover for famous British PC maker Amstrad, which released its own crossover machine, the Mega PC, in 1993 (Note: the Genesis was sold as the Mega Drive in the UK). The Mega PC contained Genesis console hardware on a plug-in ISA PC card, and unlike the TeraDrive, it didn't include a nifty hobbyist SDK for Genesis games. But by golly, you could use it to play any Genesis game you wanted. And you could also use it as a PC. What more could you ask?

(Photos: Amstrad)

6. Diamond Edge 3D (1995)

Have you ever heard of Nvidia? The mammoth GPU giant got its start with the NV1, a 3D graphics accelerator chip that utilized hardware similar to the Sega Saturn console—including its quirky quadratic rendering that used squares (instead of the more common triangles) as its base polygons for 3D rendering. The NV1 first shipped as the Diamond Edge 3D, a set that included a PC graphics card, a breakout card that supported Sega Saturn controllers (including one packed-in), and a few games on CD.

Unlike the other entries on this list, the Diamond Edge 3D could not play straight-up Saturn games, but instead Sega released six ports of its most famous Saturn games for play on the PC with this graphics card. But it still represented a strange hybridization of console and PC technology.

(Photos: Sega, VGAMuseum)

7. What Could Have Been

Remember that trend I mentioned earlier? About mediocre-performing consoles getting turned into PC accessory cards? Well, that trend holds when you consider two other consoles that were prime candidates to become PC plug-ins: The Atari Jaguar and the Sega Dreamcast.

In 1994, Atari announced that it had licensed its Jaguar technology to California-based Sigma Designs, a firm that intended to produce a PC add-on card that would allow owners to play Atari Jaguar games. Not much was heard of these plans after that initial announcement. No doubt it would not have helped Atari's declining fortunes.

And in 2000, Sega teased a future PCI card plug-in for PCs during a Japanese press briefing that would allow PCs to play Dreamcast games. Apparently, the card never got past the prototype stage, and that's OK. We can play Dreamcast games on the actual Dreamcast just fine.

(Photos: Evan Amos)