Over the past few months, I’ve been collecting games and systems that are known to be for a younger demographic.

Systems like the Mattel Hyperscan, Casio Loopy, and the Sega Pico have been victims of my curiosity for the duration of the past year or so.

In most discourses I have with others regarding such systems, I often receive strange remarks. Many individuals that I discuss this with, can’t seem to grasp the concept of buying consoles of this nature. Why do I buy these systems?  Is this just some sort of joke, or am I paying hundreds of dollars just to convey a message of irony? Am I a little girl?

It all started with the Mattel Hyperscan. I had read about it a few times, and I thought it was a stupid concept. One day I saw a bundle with all the console’s games for $10. As stupid as I thought the console was, this was too cheap to pass up. So I gave in to my temptations, and have been curious about “youth consoles” ever since.

The system was targeted for pre-teens too old for card games, but still too young for an expensive console. The Hyperscan’s main gimmick was that it came with a scanner. Each game came with a dozen cards with RFID chips built-in. The player would scan the cards, and load up such things as characters, stages, special attacks, and various other things.

The system is a joke, but I think that’s why I was curious about it. Before the Hyperscan, I had been collecting some other systems here and there that weren’t exactly cream of the crop, but nothing as embarassing or as childish as the Hyperscan.

As a hobbyist, I found a certain appeal in collecting systems that were universally frowned upon, like Sega’s 32x, Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, or the 3DO. To this end, my searches led me to more obscure systems. This time, however, they were not aimed at pre-teens, but instead they were aimed at much younger children.

This is what led me to find out about Sega’s Pico system. Originally intended to be an add-on for the Genesis, this tablet console features games solely for children ages three to nine.

While the games were merely “interactive toys” and educational software, I thought the concept was extraordinary. Especially considering that it’s a system created in the mid-90s’ that is still support (in Japan) to this day. I bought a game called Tails & The Music Maker which is several different mini-games involving music. Percussion pinball, musical chairs, and breakout are just an example of a few things this game offered.

It has nothing to really offer me. If anything, I bought it for sheer amusement. You can’t sit down with this console and game for hours on it. It’s just too educational!

So I was getting systems for younger audiences. My peers didn’t seem to understand my predicament. These were things you’d never see at a convention, or discussed on a forum. I thought to myself, “these are games, too!”

Sega Pico wasn’t that bad, at least. I have a few rhythm games, and a number of titles with pages of mini-games to play on it. While it was blatantly a kids system, it had quite a few unique elements to it. You could use the “Magic Pen” on the tablet to manipulate things on the screen, and some games actually came with peripherals. I had one that came with a dancing pad similar to Dance Dance Revolution, but I’ve also seen computer keyboards, telephones, dollhouses, hospital rooms, and a Kamen Rider keyboard that just plug in to the Pico.

The final system in this trifecta of children’s consoles is the Casio Loopy. This system targeted younger girls, and came equipped with a sticker printer similar to those used in Japanese photo booths.

Most of the games released on this system were Otome games, which could be described as games where you dress up a character and decorate things. There were also a few games that resembled adventure games, with picking the right answer as the only gameplay mechanic.

I bought this system on more than just curiosity. This system would actually allow me to be creative, and I was enamored with the idea of creating my own anime characters.

“No self-respecting gamer would ever buy something like this,” is something you’d most likely hear if you were to ever bring up this topic in a normal conversation. You won’t usually hear about these in a normal conversation. These consoles aren’t part of the “in-crowd” in most retro-gaming communities. Yes, I know there’s a good reason for that. These are children’s systems, but they’re still part of gaming history.

In discussions of gaming, I often find this attitude, “This system didn’t sell well, it must suck!” On a broader spectrum, it seems like 3DO, Jaguar, and TurboGrafx also suffer from the same fate. At least those systems have a respectable amount of great games.

I suppose that along with my curiosity of gaming history, I find that I’m also able to appreciate that these consoles exist. They seem to remain a novelty even today. I am not a little girl, and I am not a child. I like to collect systems. Especially ones that nobody seems to talk about. Plus, these are always a blast to show to my friends, as few have ever even heard of them.

In closing, there was one other system targeted towards the younger demographic that I can’t talk about because I don’t own. That’s the Bandai Playdia. Most of the games on that system were choose-your-own-adventure titles using full motion video animation between player’s choices to illustrate a story.

Since I can’t talk about it, I’ll have this guy do it. I hope you’ll find his video as amusing as I have.