page_title: R-Zone
section_title: Hardware
hierarchical_section_title: R-Zone / Hardware
caption_attribution_description: The Tiger R-Zone XPG, a portable game console released in 1995. The system was not much different than Tiger's line of dedicated handheld LCD games, and uses swappable LCD screen cartridges. The XPG is the closest model to a standard handheld game console.
context_page_description: The R-Zone is a portable game console developed and manufactured by Tiger Electronics. The R-Zone was shown at the American International Toy Fair in February 1995, and was released later that year. The R-Zone was largely unsuccessful and would only be manufactured for a short period, before being discontinued in 1997. Although the R-Zone was not designed to compete directly with any other handhelds, it marked Tiger Electronics' first multi-game entry into the portable electronic game market.
  The original R-Zone unit consists of a headset and a separate controller containing batteries. Each game cartridge has its own transparent LCD display screen which is projected onto a mirrored surface held in front of the player's eye. It is thought that this original design, including the red color scheme, was designed to capitalize on popular buzz for the Nintendo Virtual Boy at the time.
  Three additional versions of the R-Zone were subsequently released: the R-Zone Super Screen, the X.P.G. Xtreme Pocket Game, and the R-Zone "DataZone".
context_section_description: The R-Zone has ten face buttons. The buttons on the right are labeled "A", "B", "C", and "D". The functions of these face buttons vary from game to game but typically the buttons correspond to a four-direction attack scheme (where the "C" button attacks to the left, the "D" button attacks up, the "B" button attacks right, and the "A" button attacks down or does nothing at all. The buttons on the bottom are labeled "ON", "START", "SELECT", "SOUND", "PAUSE", and "OFF". The functions of these face buttons are universal and do not vary from game-to-game. The "ON" button simply turns on the console but is largely un-used as inserting a game cartridge automatically turns the unit on. The "START" button is required to begin all games. The "SOUND" button toggles the audio on and off. The "PAUSE" button allows for any game to be paused. The "OFF" button turns the console off.
  The R-Zone also features a directional pad, allowing four directions of movement in its games.
  The R-Zone game cartridges are transparent in the center. This allows light to pass through and reflect off a specialized mirror to the gamer's eyes. The LCD in each cartridge operates identically to Tiger's earlier handheld LCD game units. All of the graphics were pre-drawn and permanently set into the LCD itself. Different portions of the display are darkened/activated at different times to provide animation.
  The mirror has minor tilt adjustment and can be pushed up against the unit for protection and storage. The games only display a dark red color.
  The bottom side of the console shows two ports (one on the left side, the other on the right). Each port is accessible with a screwdriver and holds the batteries.
  A single speaker allows for mono audio output.
caption: The R-Zone X.P.G. (Xtreme Pocket Game) model
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D7000", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2014:11:13 17:55:53", "Image Artist": "Evan Amos         Vanamo Media", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "288", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1054", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5715", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "18", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:11:13 00:43:28", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:11:13 00:43:28", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "995723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "166797/20000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "17/5", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "71/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF SubSecTime": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "20", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3480", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3120", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "90", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "3379802", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[60, 60, 14/5, 14/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "60.0 mm f/2.8"}