Philips

Dutch company Philips ventured into the video game universe with two notable consoles. At the end of the 1970s, after acquiring Magnavox, Philips decided to enter the video game console market by manufacturing the Videopac, a clone of the Odyssey² launched in 1978 in the United States. This console, marketed under various brands (Radiola, Schneider, Siera), adopted a strategy aimed at establishing the Videopac range as a European standard.

The Videopac stood out for its integrated keyboard and circular dial controllers, but suffered from technical limitations compared to the Atari 2600. Due to the choice of using a microcontroller rather than an authentic microprocessor, the Videopac was rather behind its competitors. Despite this, the console achieved moderate success in Europe with its numbered cartridges and games often multiple per support.

In the 1990s, Philips attempted a second foray with the CD-i (Compact Disc Interactive). Philips initially marketed CD-i as a family entertainment product and avoided emphasizing video games to prevent competition with game consoles. Early releases focused on educational, music, and self-improvement titles. However, the system, designed primarily as a multimedia player, was underpowered compared to other gaming platforms, leading to the commercial failure of this ambitious multimedia platform.