Philips CD-i

The Philips CD-i (Compact Disc Interactive) was an interactive multimedia CD player developed by Royal Philips Electronics NV and released in 1991. The unit was based on the multimedia Compact Disc standard (known as Green Book) co-developed by Philips, Sony and Nintendo in 1986, and was the capable of playing interactive Audio CDs, CD-i discs, Karaoke CDs, CD+G (CD+Graphics). It could also play Video CDs (VCDs), although this required an optional Digital Video Card to provide MPEG-1 decoding.

Models

A number of models were released, including:

CD-i Player 200 Series

Models in the 200 series (205, 210 and 220) were designed for general consumption and sold in major home electronics outlets around the world. In the US, the most basic model of the series, the 205, was named the CD-i 910.

CD-i Player 300 Series

Models in the 300 series (310, 350, 360 and 370) were not available to home consumers and consisted of portable players designed for the professional market. As the devices could be easily transported, they were often used by sales representatives for multimedia sales presentations.

CD-i Player 400 Series

Models in the 400 series (450, 470 and 490) were slimmed-down units aimed mainly at game console and educational markets.

CD-i Player 600 Series

Models in the 600 series (601, 602, 604, 605, 615, 660 and 670) were designed for software development and professional applications. The units included support for floppy disk drives and could be connected to other computer peripherals such as keyboards and even emulators for software testing and debugging features.

Other Models

There were also a number of other models, such as the 21TCDi30, which was a television with a built-in CD-i device, the FW380i, which was an integrated mini-stereo and the the CD-i 180/181/182 modular system, which was the first CD-i system produced.

Software

Early CD-i releases focussed mainly on self-improvement, educational and music titles, with very little in the way of gaming. The few games that were released were adaptations of board games such as Connect Four. However, Phillips had worked with Nintendo to co-develop a CD-ROM enhancement for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and after the deal fell through, they were still permitted to use Nintendo characters, such as the Super Mario Bros. These titles included the puzzle game Hotel Mario. In addition, three Legend of Zelda games were released: Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure. Other popular games included Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, Labyrinth of Crete, Rise of the Robots, Link: The Faces of Evil, Laser Lords, Alien Gate, Atlantis: The Last Resort, Inca and Tetris.

However, the release of cheaper and more powerful CD consoles, such as the Sony PlayStation rendered Philips tentative foothold in the market irrelevant, and consumer interest in CD-i titles remained low. By the end of 1994, sales of CD-i systems had begun to slow, and in 1998 the product line was dropped, after selling just over half a million units.