The Game.com is a fifth-generation handheld console released by Tiger Electronics in 1997.
Spec Table
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Maker | Tiger Electronics |
| Type | Handheld |
| Generation | 5th generation |
| Release Date | US: 1997; UK: 1997 |
| Launch Price | $69.95 USD |
| Units Sold | Fewer than 300,000 |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU | Sharp SM8521 8-bit @ 10 MHz |
| Predecessor / Successor | None documented |
History
Tiger Electronics, a toy maker better known for simple LCD games, released the Game.com in the United States on September 12, 1997, pricing it at just $69.95 to undercut Nintendo’s dominant handheld. That price put it in direct range of the Game Boy Pocket, the machine it was actually built to challenge. Tiger pitched the Game.com as more than a toy: a pocket-sized multimedia device with a built-in touchscreen, a stylus, and PDA-style extras like a phone directory, calculator, and calendar. No handheld game console had shipped with a touchscreen before it, and none had offered any path to internet access, making the Game.com’s design genuinely ahead of its moment.
That path to the internet ran through an optional modem cartridge, a 14.4 kbit/s add-on sold separately that let owners dial into a subscription service for e-mail and stripped-down text web browsing. Few buyers took Tiger up on it. Tying up a household phone line to check sports scores or weather on a low-resolution handheld screen was a hard sell in 1997, and the modem’s real cost sat on top of an already modest console price. The monochrome 160×160 display looked murky next to the sharper, backlit-friendly screens buyers already associated with Nintendo, and action games in particular suffered from noticeable motion blur and sluggish frame rates that undercut the hardware’s ambitions.
Tiger tried to court an older, more mature audience than the Game Boy typically attracted, licensing ports of Duke Nukem 3D, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Resident Evil 2, and Sonic Jam alongside built-in titles like Solitaire and Lights Out. The strategy backfired: those licensed ports were rushed and technically compromised, and the console’s total library never grew past roughly twenty cartridges across its lifespan. Tiger attempted a course correction in 1999 with the Game.com Pocket Pro, a slimmer redesign that dropped the internal speaker, the second cartridge slot, and modem support entirely in favor of running on two AA batteries, but the smaller, cheaper unit could not reverse the console’s fortunes.
By 2000, with the vastly more successful Game Boy Color commanding the handheld market, Tiger quietly discontinued the Game.com after selling fewer than 300,000 units worldwide. It remains a notable oddity of the fifth console generation, and collectors and retrospectives now view it less as a failure than as a curiosity that guessed correctly about where handhelds were headed: touchscreens, connectivity, and multimedia ambitions would all resurface, most famously in Nintendo’s own DS nearly a decade later.
Library Highlights
Rather than leaning on original franchises, the Game.com’s library mixed built-in puzzle diversions with licensed ports of console and PC hits aimed at an audience Tiger hoped had outgrown simpler handhelds.
- Solitaire
- Lights Out
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- Resident Evil 2
- Sonic Jam
Variants
Tiger released one major hardware revision, the Game.com Pocket Pro, in mid-1999. The redesign removed the built-in speaker, one of the original’s two cartridge slots, and modem/internet support, while switching from the original’s battery configuration to two AA batteries in a smaller, lighter case. Across the original and Pocket Pro combined, Tiger released a total of 20 games for the platform. No other major hardware revisions or regional re-brands beyond the Pocket Pro are documented. See the Tiger Electronics manufacturer hub for other systems the company released.
Collector Value
Game.com units are relatively inexpensive by retro handheld standards, since low commercial demand at launch left plenty of surviving stock in secondhand markets today. Loose, tested consoles are the most common find, while complete-in-box units with the original manual and packaging carry a modest premium. The modem cartridge and its subscription-era software are the scarcest accessories and command the highest prices among collectors chasing a complete setup, since most surviving units were sold and used without them.
Buying Guide
Before buying a used Game.com, check that the touchscreen still registers stylus input accurately, since screen degradation is common on units this age and is not always obvious from photos alone. Confirm the cartridge slot(s) show no bent or corroded pins, and ask whether the seller has tested the unit with an actual game cartridge rather than just powering it on. If buying an original (non-Pocket Pro) model, factor in that the modem cartridge and its dial-up service are long defunct, so any internet-related claims in a listing are historical rather than functional.
FAQs
When did the Game.com come out?
The Game.com was released by Tiger Electronics in the United States in 1997, with a UK release the same year.
How many units did the Game.com sell?
The Game.com sold fewer than 300,000 units worldwide before Tiger discontinued it by 2000.
How much did the Game.com cost at launch?
The Game.com launched at $69.95 USD.
Was the Game.com the first handheld with a touchscreen?
Yes. The Game.com was the first game console of any kind to feature a built-in touchscreen, and also the first handheld console with internet connectivity through its optional modem cartridge.
What CPU does the Game.com use?
It uses a Sharp SM8521 8-bit processor running at 10 MHz.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.com
- https://www.techeblog.com/tiger-electronics-game-com-handheld-1997/
Facts on this page last verified 2026-07-15.