CD-i

The CD-i (short for Compact Disc Interactive, also known as Green Book), is a multimedia format released in 1991, developed jointly by N.V. Philips of the Netherlands and Sony Corporation in Japan.

Related Topics:
Compact Disc - Green Book - 1991 - Philips - Sony

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However other manufacturers made CD-i players, for instance Bang-Olufsen made a TV with a built in CD-i player. Other manufacturers of CD-i players were GoldStar / LG Electronics, Digital Video Systems, Memorex, Grundig AG, Kyocera, NBS and Highscreen. The first Philips CD-i player, initially priced around USD $400, was capable of playing interactive CD-i discs (its native format), Audio CDs, CD+G (CD+Graphics), Karaoke CDs, and Video CDs (VCDs), though the last of these required an optional "Digital Video Card" to provide MPEG-1 decoding.

Related Topics:
GoldStar - LG Electronics - Memorex - Grundig AG - Kyocera - NBS - USD - Audio CD - CD+G - Video CD - MPEG-1

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Early software releases focused heavily on educational and self-improvement titles, with only a handful of video games, many of them adaptations of board games like "Connect Four". The most popular games for the system were 7th Guest and Burn:Cycle. Later attempts to develop a foothold in the games market were rendered irrelevant by the arrival of cheaper and more powerful games consoles, such as the Sony PlayStation.

Related Topics:
Video games - 7th Guest - Games console - Sony PlayStation

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In 1994, system sales started to slow and the product line was dropped in 1998. Philips never managed to create the public interest in the capabilities of the CD-i that it had hoped for. It is noted for having several video games that are normally found exclusively on Nintendo systems, though they were not developed by Nintendo. Hotel Mario featured Super Mario characters and three Legend of Zelda games were released: ', ' and Zelda's Adventure, a result of a compromise with Nintendo over failing to release a joint CD-ROM product.

Related Topics:
1994 - 1998 - Nintendo - Super Mario - Legend of Zelda - Zelda's Adventure

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With the home market exhausted, Philips tried to position the technology as a tool for kiosks and industrial multimedia, but there too it found little success.

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