| Manufacturer: | Pioneer Corporation |
| Family: | LaserDisc |
| Type: | Converged device, home video game console |
| Generation: | Fourth |
| Lifespan: | 1993–1996 |
| Price: | ¥89,800 $970.00 |
| Discontinued: | 1996 |
| Unitssold: | est. 10,000[1] |
| Media: | LD-ROM, CD-ROM, ROM cartridge, Hucard |
The is a converged device and fourth-generation home video game console capable of playing LaserDiscs, Compact Discs, console games, and LD-G karaoke discs. It was released by Pioneer Corporation in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, separately sold add-on modules (called "PACs" by Pioneer) accept Mega Drive/Genesis and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 ROM cartridges and CD-ROMs.
Pioneer released the LaserActive model CLD-A100 in Japan on August 20, 1993, at a cost of ¥89,800, and in the United States on September 13, 1993, at a cost of $970. An NEC-branded version of the LaserActive player known as the LD-ROM² System, or model PCE-LD1, was released in December 1993, which was priced identically to the original system and also accepted Pioneer's PAC modules.[2] The LaserActive has no regional lockout, allowing software from any region to be played on any system.[3]
In the headings below, the Japanese model number occurs first, followed by the North American model number.
The LaserActive 3-D Goggles (model GOL-1) employ an active shutter 3D system compatible with at least six 3D-ready LD-ROM software titles: 3-D Museum (1994), Vajra 2 (1994), Virtual Cameraman 2 (1994), Dr. Paolo No Totteoki Video (1994), Goku (1995), and 3D Virtual Australia (1996), the last software title published for the LaserActive.
The goggles are also compatible with the Master System, and are interchangeable with the SegaScope 3-D Glasses. They can also be used to view 3-D images from autostereograms.[4]
A goggle adapter (model ADP-1), packaged and sold separately from the 3-D Goggles, enables the user to connect one or two pairs of goggles to the CLD-A100.
The standard LaserActive games were on LaserDisc encoded as an LD-ROM. An LD-ROM had a capacity of 540 MB (where digital audio would have normally been stored) with 60 minutes of analog audio and video.
| Title | Region(s) | Language(s) | Required Modules | Release Date | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Museum | Japan, U.S. | English | NEC or Sega, Goggles | 1994 | PEANJ1012, PEASJ1012 (Japan), PEANU1012, PEASU1012 (U.S.) | |
| 3D Virtual Australia | Japan | Japanese | Sega, Goggles | March 11, 1996 | PEASJ5042 | |
| Akuma no Shinban (Demon's Judgment) | Japan | Japanese | NEC | 1993 | PEANJ5003 | |
| Angel Mate | Japan | Japanese | NEC | 1993 | PEANJ5002 | |
| Back to the Edo | Japan | Japanese | Sega | 1994 | PEASJ5021 | |
| Billusion Collection: Minayo Watanabe | Japan | Japanese | NEC or Sega | 1994 | PEANJ5025, PEASJ5025 | |
| Billusion Collection, Vol. 2: Yuko Sakaki | Japan | Japanese | NEC or Sega, Goggles | 1994 | PEANJ5028, PEASJ5028 | |
| Don Quixote: A Dream in Seven Crystals | Japan, U.S. | Japanese (Japan), English (U.S.) | Sega | 1994 | PEASJ5022 (Japan), PEASU5022 (U.S.) | |
| Dora Dora Paradise | Japan | Japanese | NEC | 1994 | PEANJ5005 | |
| Dr. Paolo no Totteoki Video | Japan | Japanese | Sega, Goggles | 1994 | PEASJ5030 | |
| Ghost Rush! | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1994 (Japan), 1995 (U.S.) | PEASJ1018 (Japan), PEASU1018 (U.S.) | |
| Goku | Japan, U.S. | Japanese (Japan), English (U.S.) | NEC (Japan), Sega (Japan, U.S.), Goggles | 1995 | PEASJ1010, PEANJ1032 (Japan), PEASU1010 (U.S.) | |
| The Great Pyramid | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ5002 (Japan), PEASU5002 (U.S.) | |
| Hi-Roller Battle | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ1002 (Japan), PEASU1002 (U.S.) | |
| Hyperion | Japan, U.S. | English | Sega | 1994 | PEASJ5019 (Japan), PEASU5019 (U.S.) | |
| I Will: The Story of London | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ1001 (Japan), PEASU1001 (U.S.) | |
| J.B. Harold - Blue Chicago Blues | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | NEC (Japan), Sega (Japan, U.S.) | 1994 (NEC), 1995 (Sega) | PEANJ5017, PEASJ5036 (Japan), PEASU5036 (U.S.) | |
| J.B. Harold - Manhattan Requiem | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | NEC | 1993 | PEANJ5004 (Japan), PEANU5004 (U.S.) | |
| Melon Brains | Japan, U.S. | Japanese (Japan), English (U.S.) | NEC (Japan), Sega (Japan, U.S.), Goggles | 1994 | PEANJ1031, PEASJ1011 (Japan), PEASU1011 (U.S.) | |
| Myst[5] | U.S. | Sega | prototype | |||
| Pyramid Patrol | Japan, U.S. | English | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ5001 (Japan), PEASU5001 (U.S.) | |
| Quiz Econosaurus | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | NEC | 1993 | PEANJ5001 (Japan), PEANU5001 (U.S.) | |
| Road Blaster (Japan), Road Prosecutor (U.S.) | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1995 | PEASJ1033 (Japan), PEASU1033 (U.S.) | |
| Rocket Coaster | Japan, U.S. | English | Sega | 1993 | PEASU5013 (Japan), PEASU5013 (U.S.) | |
| Space Berserker | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ1003 (Japan), PEASU1003 (U.S.) | |
| Steel Driver | unreleased | |||||
| Time Gal | Japan | Japanese | Sega | 1995 | PEASJ5039 | |
| Triad Stone (aka Strahl) | Japan, U.S. | Bilingual | Sega | 1994 | PEASJ5014 (Japan), PEASU5014 (U.S.) | |
| Vajra | Japan, U.S. | English | NEC | 1993 | PEANJ1001 (Japan), PEANU1001 (U.S.) | |
| Vajra 2 | Japan | English | NEC, Goggles | 1994 | PEANJ1016 | |
| Virtual Cameraman | Japan | Japanese | Sega | 1993 | PEASJ5015 | |
| Virtual Cameraman 2: Phuket, Thailand / Pickup Compilation | Japan | Japanese | Sega, Goggles | 1994 | PEASJ5020 | |
| Zapping "Satsui" | Japan | Bilingual | NEC or Sega | 1994 | PEANJ5023, PEASJ5024 |
In the early 1990s, a number of consumer electronics manufacturers designed converged devices around CD-ROM technology. At the time, CD-ROM systems were expensive. The LaserActive was one of several multipurpose, multi-format, upmarket home entertainment systems with software stored on optical discs. These systems were premised on early conceptions of multimedia entertainment.
Some comparable systems are the Commodore CDTV, Philips CD-i, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and Tandy Video Information System.
Computer Gaming World in January 1994 stated that although LaserActive was "a better product in many ways" than 3DO, it lacked software and the NEC and Sega control packs were too expensive.[6]