Discontinued 2009 | Type Video game console Retail availability October 2005 Units sold 70,000 (as of 2008) | |
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The Game Wave Family Entertainment System is a hybrid DVD player and video game console. It was first released in Canada in October 2005. It is part of the seventh generation of gaming. It was released in the United States at an MSRP of $99. The Game Wave saved manufacturing costs by adding an Altera MAX II Complex Programmable Logic Device to an inexpensive DVD player. It was packaged with the pack-in game 4 Degrees: The Arc of Trivia, Vol. 1 (later changed to Veggie Tales: Veg-Out! Family Tournament).
Contents
Hardware
The Game Wave was packaged with both RCA and S-Video cables, along with 4 IR-based wireless controllers (modeled after typical DVD remote controllers) and a case that holds up to 6 controllers. The case and console are designed to sit side-by-side on a shelf to form a complete wave shape.
Controllers
The Game Wave controller has 4-directional navigational buttons used for menu navigation and DVD playback control. The controller has 4 alphabetical buttons along the top labeled "A", "B", "C", and "D" designed primarily for selecting responses in trivia games. A numeric keypad lines the bottom of the controller with Menu and Setup buttons.
The Game Wave controllers come in 6 colors: blue, yellow, green, red, purple, and orange. Blue, yellow, green, and red come packaged with the console, whereas the purple and orange controllers could be purchased separately for an MSRP of $29. Each controller color has a different IR beat frequency, allowing the console to differentiate the different controllers for multiplayer gameplay for up to 6 players (if the game in question supports it).
Software Library
Due to the shape of the controller and marketing concerns for a "Family Entertainment System," no heavily action-based game genres are present within the Game Wave's 13 game library. Rather, the software library consists mainly of trivia and puzzle games. In addition, many Game Wave games are heavily inspired by other video games and TV shows.