1996 · Apple · US · console
Apple Bandai Pippin
Apple and Bandai turn the Mac into a $599 games console nobody wanted.
Mixed Easy to run ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Image: Evan-Amos · Public domain
A 1996 collaboration between Apple and Bandai to turn the Mac into a CD games console, sold at $599 into a market Sony and Nintendo already owned. It found perhaps forty thousand buyers and is now a byword for corporate misjudgement.
Its handful of titles were mostly educational discs and thin ports; the Bungie shooter bundle was about the sole reason to switch it on.
What it cost
about a quarter of a month’s pay in 1996 · about $1,198 today
| US @World launch price ($599 with wireless controller and modem) |
$599 (1996)
PowerPC 603e multimedia console co-developed by Apple and manufactured by Bandai. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈42,000 estimate Approximately 42,000 units sold worldwide. |
Why it mattered
The Pippin is a cautionary tale in brand hubris — proof that even Apple could not will a games console into existence against Sony and Nintendo without software, a sensible price, or a reason to exist.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | SheepShaver, MAME |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Easy to run (2 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | A standard modern controller covers the ordinary controls, though unusual accessories may need custom mapping. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
Firmware
This system needs no firmware file. Install an emulator, open a game, and it runs.
How many files you need: none to go and find. No separate firmware file is needed for an ordinary setup.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Libretro documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
Preservation catalogues describe verified dumps; they do not grant permission to download commercial software. A curated, correctly matched set is easier to use than an undifferentiated archive.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Super Marathon 1996 first-person shooter
Bungie's Mac shooters, bundled — about the only reason to own the thing.
- Gundam Tactics: Mobility Fleet 0079 1996 strategy
- Racing Days 1996 racing
The verdict
Of interest only to collectors of famous flops; there is essentially nothing to play.
With a few dozen thin titles, this is a footnote to emulate once and set aside.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about the cd-rom false dawn and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.