Apple, the biggest player in the world of technology, wanted to enter the world of gaming more than 20 years ago. Working on a platform to rival the PlayStation, the company made a bold but unsuccessful attempt. Here is the Apple Pippin platform that Apple developed in 1994 and was soon canceled.
Apple Pippin: What happened to the console 20 years ago?
Apple wanted to make a big splash in the gaming industry with a “multimedia” tool called Pippin. Integrated into macOS, it was expected to be “an integral part of the audiovisual, stereo and television environment”.
The first Pippin console was released in 1996 by Japan-based Bandai. Called the Bandai Pippin World, it was priced at $600 in the US, much more than rivals such as the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64.
However, the Pippin offered some important features such as a built-in modem and touchpad. Despite its advanced features, Pippin’s decline was inevitable as sales failed.
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The following year, however, Apple signed another partnership with Norway’s Katz Media, which launched the Katz Media Player 2000 console. Katz did not want to develop a console for all users. The Norwegian company designed Pippin for businesses looking for a device that could connect to the internet.
From this point on, the future of the platform became increasingly uncertain. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO in 1997, he acknowledged weakening sales. He then canceled the Pippin platform.
Bandai stopped production of the Pippin console but continued to support the devices until 2002. Katz Media ceased operations in 1998, proving Apple’s failure in the game console industry.
Today, the once-promising Pippin platform is no more than a footnote in Apple’s history. The company hasn’t had any initiative for more than 20 years.
