Apple Bandai Pippin

Pippin

The Japanese Bandai Pippin (Atmark Player) and wireless controller
Developer	Apple
Manufacturer	Bandai Katz Media Productions
Type	Multimedia player, video game console
Generation	Fifth generation era
Release date	JP March 28, 1995 NA September 1, 1995
Retail availability	1995–1997
Introductory price	US$599
Discontinued	1997
Units sold	42,000
Media	CD-ROM
CPU	PowerPC 603 RISC (66 MHz)
Storage capacity	5 MB combined system and video memory,128kb Flash RAM
Graphics	"tacos" (VGA/16-bit)
Controller input	"AppleJack": control pad with embedded trackball
Connectivity	14.4, 28.8, 33.6 kbit/s modems
Online services	PSINet/@World
Predecessor	Playdia

The Pippin, known in Japan as Pippin Atmark (ピピンアットマーク, Pipin Attomāku), and marketed as Pipp!n, is a multimedia platform designed by Apple Computer and produced by Bandai in 1995. It was based on a 66 MHz PowerPC 603 processor, a 14.4 kbit/s modem and ran a stripped version of the System 7.5.2 operating system.

The goal was to create an inexpensive computer aimed mostly at playing CD-based multimedia titles, especially games, but also functioning as a network computer. It featured a 4x CD-ROM drive and a video output that could connect to a standard television display.

The platform was named for the Newtown Pippin, an apple cultivar, a smaller and more tart relative of the McIntosh apple (which is the namesake of the Macintosh).

History

The US Apple Bandai Pippin

Apple never intended to release Pippin on its own. Instead, it intended to license the technology to third parties; Bandai was looking at entering the console video game market, and chose the Pippin as its platform. Much later Katz Media also entered production, planning to use the platform as a low cost PC with web ability.

By the time the Apple Bandai Pippin was released (1995 in Japan and in the United States), the market was dominated by the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and the (mostly Windows-based) PC. In addition, there was little ready-to-use software for Pippin, the only major publisher being Bandai itself. It cost US$599 on launch, and while touted as a cheap computer, the system, in reality, was a video game console. As such, its price was considered too expensive in comparison to its contemporaries.

Bandai manufactured fewer than 100,000 Pippins (reported sales were 42,000) before discontinuing the system; production was so limited that there were more keyboard and modem accessories produced than actual systems.

Katz Media Productions produced 5,000 units in Ireland for Europe, labeled it the KMP 2000; it is the rarest of the Pippin models. The images here are of the KMP developer unit, which include the 50-pin SCSI connector for external devices used for developing new software.

In May 2006, the Pippin placed 22nd in PC World Magazine's list of the "25 Worst Tech Products of all Time",.

Technical specifications

Hardware

The Pippin AtMark PCB.

• 66 MHz PowerPC 603 RISC microprocessor
  • Superscalar, three instructions per clock cycle
  • 8 KB data and 8 KB instruction caches
  • IEEE standard single and double precision Floating Point Unit (FPU)
• 5 MB combined system and video memory, advanced architecture
  • Easy memory expansion cards in 2, 4, 8, and 16 MB increments.
• 128 K Flash memory accessible storage space.
• 4 x CD-ROM drive
• Two high-speed serial ports, one of which is GeoPort ready, the other is LocalTalk
• PCI-compatible expansion slot
• Two “AppleJack” ruggedized ADB inputs
  • Supports up to four simultaneous players over Apple Desktop Bus (ADB)
  • Supports standard ADB keyboards and mice with mechanical adapters

Video

• 8-bit and 16-bit video support
• Dual frame buffers for superior frame-to-frame animation
• Support for NTSC and PAL composite, S-Video and VGA (640x480) monitors
• Horizontal and vertical video convolution

Audio

• Stereo 16-bit 44 kHz sampled output
• Stereo 16-bit 44 kHz sampled input
• Headphone output jack with individual volume control
• Audio CD player compatibility

Rear view of the Bandai Pippin

System software

• 3 MB ROM version 7.7.D (version number on ROM boards is development 1.1, 1.2; production 1.3).
• Runtime environment derived from System 7, System 7.5.2 (if used, Enabler 1.1).
• PowerPC native version of QuickDraw.
• Reduced system memory footprint (most computer extensions features removed).
• Disk-resident System Software stamped on CD-ROM with title.
• System boots off of CD-ROM by default (but can boot off any SCSI device).
• Pippin System Software upgrades released through CD-ROM stamping operations.
• 68k emulator.
• Macintosh Toolbox intact.

Software

In every way, the Pippin is a Macintosh. Most of the Pippin software will run on Classic Mac OS (few will work with Mac OS 9). A third party created a Pippin bootable CD with Netscape that had the Macintosh GUI (Enabler 1.1), but was stripped of many of the extensions and control panels found on regular Macs. At least one Japanese title (Ultraman) existed that could run on Pippin, Mac, and Windows.

Pippin CDs were created on a Macintosh or a Pippin with a SCSI connected external CD drive (for functionality testing). Once the final version of the software was ready, a checksum of the CD was sent to Apple and signed with Apple's private key. The signed checksum was applied to the gold master CD that was to be pressed and released to the public. The Pippin, during its boot process, would generate a checksum of the CD and compare it to the one signed with Apple's private key. Only if the checksums compared successfully would the boot process continue.

Software titles: Japan

Very few titles were produced for the Japanese version on release in early 1995. While some promised titles may not have been released, the number that was released is less than 80 titles.

Software titles: USA

When Bandai released the U.S. version, it had only 18 titles sold separately, and six CDs came with the Pippin itself. Upgrades to the Pippin Browser were released as a new CD over time, and so was an update to TV Works (a text and drawing program).

• CineNoir
• Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
• Cool Crafts
• Exotic Sushi
• Gus Goes to Cyberopolis
• Gus Goes to the Kooky Carnival in search for Rant
• Home Improvement 1-2-3
• Katz Pippin Demo CD 2.0
• Movieoke
• Mr. Potato Head Saves Veggie Valley
• Navigator
• Pegasus Prime
• Power Rangers Zeo Vs. The Machine Empire
• Playskool Puzzles
• Racing Days
• Super Marathon
• Terror T.R.A.X.
• TV Works

Software titles: other

As mentioned before, a third party made a custom Pippin bootable CD with the Macintosh GUI on it. There were also a few demo CDs made by Bandai and Katz Media. Others may exist that have not circulated.

Accessories

An AppleJack controller

• AppleJack controller
• AppleJack Wireless (IR) controller
• Pippin keyboard with drawing tablet
• Pippin Modems (14.4, 28.8, 33.6 kbit/s)
• Pippin memory (2, 4, 8, 16 MB)
• Pippin Floppy Dock
• Pippin MO 256 MB optical disk
• Pippin ADB adapter (for connecting Macintosh devices to Pippin)
• Pippin to Macintosh (ADB) adapter (for connecting Pippin devices to Macintosh)

Printers

Pippin can use the Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 and 2500 series through its serial port.

External links

• Pictures of Pippin Hardware and Games
• Apple's original Pippin site
• Katz Media mission statement on the Pippin
• Bandai Pippin Museum & Archive, including PDF Technical Notes
• Overview
• Pippin screenshots
• The Computer Chronicles' coverage of CES 1996, including Apple's demonstration of the Pippin
• Gil Amelio's gold-finish Pippin at the Computer History Museum