The Official Pioneer LaserActive Player thread-

[DragonmasterDan]

These 3D glasses are much cheaper than the Laseractive goggles...unfortunately I wasn't the one who used the Buy It Now option   I'm on the lookout for another pair

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290698936007?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Apparently Master System 3D glasses work too!

[BlueBMW]

the expensive part isnt necessarily the glasses but the adapter to use them.on the laseractive.

I just turn on my master system and use the glasses that way.  They sync with the laseractive just fine.

[TheClash603]

The Famicom 3D glasses are in the same price range as the Master System glasses, and they are the best of the bunch.  Any time I play my Master System or my Laseractive, I ONLY wear the Famicom 3D glasses.

The Master System glasses are too flimsy and the Laseractive glasses are too bulky.  The Famicom glasses are the perfect medium.

[hoobs88]

the expensive part isnt necessarily the glasses but the adapter to use them.on the laseractive.

I just turn on my master system and use the glasses that way.  They sync with the laseractive just fine.

Good to know.

[hoobs88]

The Famicom 3D glasses are in the same price range as the Master System glasses, and they are the best of the bunch.  Any time I play my Master System or my Laseractive, I ONLY wear the Famicom 3D glasses.

The Master System glasses are too flimsy and the Laseractive glasses are too bulky.  The Famicom glasses are the perfect medium.

I might have to look into those.

[SamIAm]

Hey hey, looks like Nemesis just successfully dumped the data of a MegaLD game. Check out pages five and six of this thread:
http://gendev.spritesmind.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Someone else had previously hacked the Daphne laserdisc emulator with an add-on called Singe and created a playable version of Time Gal with the video captured from the LA version.

http://www.singeengine.com/cms/node/10

Cool stuff.

Nemesis is actually dumping these using a flashcart and a special technique involving sending data through a controller port, amazingly enough. Fortunately, now that the technique works, it can be applied to the LD-ROM2 games as well. It's simply a matter of people lending their discs.

The real question is going to be how to best rip and store the video footage. It would be nice to get archival-quality rips, but doing that naturally takes equipment and know-how. Maybe I'll see if the people on d-l-p.com would be interested in hooking up with Nemesis for this.

[BlueBMW]

Very glad to see some work towards emulation of this stuff....

To be honest, I fear for the longevity of the original hardware.  PAC failure rate is super high and I have several dead ones that I've been unable to revive even after full recaps and trace repairs.

[Keith Courage]

I remember when I bought my Laser active years ago. It was brand new and within a year the Laser disc tray had gotten jammed and would no longer open. So I have to agree on the fear of long lasting equipment with this unit. I took it in for repair cause I was only 16 at the time. If I knew what I know now I might have figured it out or fixed the issue myself.

[esteban]

Hey hey, looks like Nemesis just successfully dumped the data of a MegaLD game. Check out pages five and six of this thread:
http://gendev.spritesmind.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=563&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Someone else had previously hacked the Daphne laserdisc emulator with an add-on called Singe and created a playable version of Time Gal with the video captured from the LA version.

http://www.singeengine.com/cms/node/10

Cool stuff.

Nemesis is actually dumping these using a flashcart and a special technique involving sending data through a controller port, amazingly enough. Fortunately, now that the technique works, it can be applied to the LD-ROM2 games as well. It's simply a matter of people lending their discs.

The real question is going to be how to best rip and store the video footage. It would be nice to get archival-quality rips, but doing that naturally takes equipment and know-how. Maybe I'll see if the people on d-l-p.com would be interested in hooking up with Nemesis for this.

Damn! I am delighted to hear that we (common folk) might be able to play LD games. Ever since I saw Vajra in a magazine, I've wanted to play PCE LD. 

[SamIAm]

Damn! I am delighted to hear that we (common folk) might be able to play LD games. Ever since I saw Vajra in a magazine, I've wanted to play PCE LD. 

I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like it's really happening. I'm pretty damned excited myself.

One more thing that has to get done, though, is dumping the NEC PAC bios. That one is going to be tough.

[esteban]

Damn! I am delighted to hear that we (common folk) might be able to play LD games. Ever since I saw Vajra in a magazine, I've wanted to play PCE LD. 

I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like it's really happening. I'm pretty damned excited myself.

One more thing that has to get done, though, is dumping the NEC PAC bios. That one is going to be tough.

Yup. There are certainly some obstacles in the way .

[SuperDeadite]

I have found a copy of the mythical PCE LD-ROM2 version of GOKU.

This is the rarest LA game that was actually released (not counting protos), never heard of anyone even seeing one of these before.  In fact many LA collectors don't even believe it exists.  If you look on webpages, the product code number has always been listed as

"PEANJ???"

cause nobody has ever been able to confirm it.  But the game is real and mine. It's total crap, but a neat find for the hardcore LA collector/fans. 


_PICT1208.jpg

[BlueBMW]

So what is the elusive PEANJ number?

[VestCunt]

Wow. Thanks for posting.

[SuperDeadite]

So what is the elusive PEANJ number?

PEANJ1032   Quite a bit higher then the normal MegaLD version (PEASJ1010).
Also I suppose this is technically the rarest released PC-Engine game too, if you count LDs as PCE games, some people don't, I do though.

[xcrement5x]

Wow, pretty awesome find SuperDeadite, complete with obi too it looks like!

Are there any improvements over the Mega LD or are they pretty much the exact same thing?

[SignOfZeta]

Its nice to know that Laseractive is an mysterious and cryptic in Japan as it is here. Where did they sell this stuff? No store I ever saw, yet it was bigtime enough to crank out some LD games, US localized LD games even, for a $1000 console nobody bought.

I can't help but wonder, who made this stuff, where did they buy it? The shit exists, so it must have been bought by somone, rather rich people, I assume.

How can a LDROM2 game be so rare and so poorly documented that nobody even has a picture of it or believes it exists? You can't just made a dozen LDs, they'd end up costing $1500 each. Maybe they actually did make 1000 copies and most got recycled or lost or left in the sun before they made it to stores.

Its very intriguing.

[DragonmasterDan]

Its nice to know that Laseractive is an mysterious and cryptic in Japan as it is here. Where did they sell this stuff? No store I ever saw, yet it was bigtime enough to crank out some LD games, US localized LD games even, for a $1000 console nobody bought.

I can't help but wonder, who made this stuff, where did they buy it? The shit exists, so it must have been bought by somone, rather rich people, I assume.

I remember seeing the LaserDisc player itself and the Sega and Karoke pack for sale at Montgomery Ward/Electric Avenue for a very brief time in 1993 or 1994. I suspect most of the games and hardware were moved through Laserdisc specialty stores that existed at the time.

[SuperDeadite]

Its nice to know that Laseractive is an mysterious and cryptic in Japan as it is here. Where did they sell this stuff? No store I ever saw, yet it was bigtime enough to crank out some LD games, US localized LD games even, for a $1000 console nobody bought.

I can't help but wonder, who made this stuff, where did they buy it? The shit exists, so it must have been bought by somone, rather rich people, I assume.

How can a LDROM2 game be so rare and so poorly documented that nobody even has a picture of it or believes it exists? You can't just made a dozen LDs, they'd end up costing $1500 each. Maybe they actually did make 1000 copies and most got recycled or lost or left in the sun before they made it to stores.

Its very intriguing.

Digital Press lists this as an R10 - Prototype/One of a Kind.  I don't quite believe there rating system, especially with Japanese only releases, but yeah this thing was seen by many as sheer rumor.  But as you can see it has proper sleeve, spine, proper manual with pce pad control pictures.  I was too busy to today to actually play it yet, but I suspect there may be a few differences in game too.

With all this, it is definitely a released game, not a prototype.  From the tiny amount of info on Japanese pages I've found, my personal theory is this was only available by special request.  Like you had to call Pioneer and say "I want GOKU, but I only have the NEC module", then and only then could you purchase it.  Meaning most people probably just kept to the MegaLD version sold in stores (seriously how many people wanted to buy this horrible piece of shit edutainment crap anyway?).  1000s were probably made, probably either destroyed or left in some dusty crate in a Pioneer warehouse waiting to be found to this very day.

[Mathius]

Its nice to know that Laseractive is an mysterious and cryptic in Japan as it is here. Where did they sell this stuff? No store I ever saw, yet it was bigtime enough to crank out some LD games, US localized LD games even, for a $1000 console nobody bought.

I can't help but wonder, who made this stuff, where did they buy it? The shit exists, so it must have been bought by somone, rather rich people, I assume.

How can a LDROM2 game be so rare and so poorly documented that nobody even has a picture of it or believes it exists? You can't just made a dozen LDs, they'd end up costing $1500 each. Maybe they actually did make 1000 copies and most got recycled or lost or left in the sun before they made it to stores.

Its very intriguing.

I also remember seeing Laseractives for sale at a local electronics chain called HH Gregg here in Indiana around '93.

[SamIAm]

The early 90's was the tail end of a bizarre super-economic decadence in Japan. When people here tell me how they used to spray money around back in the late 80's, it's easy to believe that the Laseractive and its games happened like they did. You know all that money successful American businesspeople have spent on cocaine during high times? Imagine that being portioned toward electronic gadgets instead.

I know a woman who used to work as a hostess in the local red-light district back then, and she claims her boss used to count his money not by the number of yen itself, but by how many centimeters high his stack of 10,000 yen bills was. Like he couldn't even be bothered to count it properly. She said he'd periodically peel off a centimeter and go party with it. In his case, however, I suspect video games were not involved.

It'd be pretty funny if they were, though.

[xcrement5x]

Hope you don't mind, but I also just updated the Wikipedia page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_LaserActive#Software, with the Goku information you provided SuperDeadite. 

I personally think some of the mysteriousness of the LaserActive makes it more entertaining, especially when I tell people about it.  Heck, I've become addicted to it after just a couple years, though the fragility of the system is a constant worry.

[GameFreak]

I always wanted a LaserActive. It's probably out of my price range though. I saw one listed on Ebay and the seller described all the LaserActive being prone to smell like rotten fish when turned on (???) Have you ever heard of that (or smelled that)? Whats that about?

[SuperDeadite]

I always wanted a LaserActive. It's probably out of my price range though. I saw one listed on Ebay and the seller described all the LaserActive being prone to smell like rotten fish when turned on (???) Have you ever heard of that (or smelled that)? Whats that about?

The capacitors in the PAC were probably leaking very badly.  They can commit suicide very easily if not recapped in time.

[SuperDeadite]

Hope you don't mind, but I also just updated the Wikipedia page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_LaserActive#Software, with the Goku information you provided SuperDeadite. 

I personally think some of the mysteriousness of the LaserActive makes it more entertaining, especially when I tell people about it.  Heck, I've become addicted to it after just a couple years, though the fragility of the system is a constant worry.

Don't mind at all, but if you are gonna do that, add the JP MegaLD Goku as well.  They only list the USA version lol.

[TheClash603]

Nice find SuperD.  I didn't realize that this version was so rare, I had heard it talked about before and didn't know it was so elusive.  Where did you find that Goku of yours?  Did you snatch it up from someone that didn't know what it was, or was it $$$$$?

In my Laseractive news, I managed to finally get my Virtual Cameraman 1.  I am now down to just four remaining games, then I have each unique title:

1.)  Demon's Judgment
2.)  Back to the Edo
3.)  Dr. Paolo
4.)  Time Gal

P.S. - ME WANTS THESE GAMES!  Where's the help?  27/31

[SuperDeadite]

I got it from a Japanese LD shop which had no idea what it was, only 8,000yen.   And yes it's certainly rarer then Shitty Land Down Under 1D.

Ironically while you were gone, you missed two copies of Dr. Paolo that came up on a Japanese site I use often. XD

Myself I need:
Fuck You Australia (last unique title I don't have)
Melon Brains LD-ROM2
Blues LD-ROM2
Pretty Illusion 1 and 2 MegaLD
That's it for the full Japanese released set  (I already have Zapping and 3D Museum on both formats now lol).

[TheClash603]

The good news is that I wouldve missed both copies of Dr. Paolo anyway, since they were on a Japanese site, so I cant really kici myself.

[shubibiman]

I have found a copy of the mythical PCE LD-ROM2 version of GOKU.

This is the rarest LA game that was actually released (not counting protos), never heard of anyone even seeing one of these before.  In fact many LA collectors don't even believe it exists.  If you look on webpages, the product code number has always been listed as

"PEANJ???"

cause nobody has ever been able to confirm it.  But the game is real and mine. It's total crap, but a neat find for the hardcore LA collector/fans. 

Wow! Nice find!

[McKie1]

Quick question fellow LA owners. Does anyone know how to access the built-in Power Golf on the N10?

[TheClash603]

Quick question fellow LA owners. Does anyone know how to access the built-in Power Golf on the N10?

That exists?  Wowza.

::runs to check::

[McKie1]

I've had this lying around for a while but haven't had the time to test the feature.

[SuperDeadite]

Sure it wasn't just the normal Turbo game thrown into the N10 box?

[DragonmasterDan]

Sure it wasn't just the normal Turbo game thrown into the N10 box?

That's what I would suspect from the note inside.

[TheClash603]

Sure it wasn't just the normal Turbo game thrown into the N10 box?

That's what I would suspect from the note inside.

Yeah, I have that same note, and I assume the same thing that the game was just included.  Unless it is so secretive that it is obnoxious, there is no game on the N10.

[McKie1]

Very probably. Only reason I thought otherwise was the other note regarding the key combination to access the fourth game from the CD set. Thanks for letting me know it was just a hu-card that was thrown in.

[TheClash603]

Anyone ever play the super rare version of Demon's Judgement with the special disc crackage ?  Just got this in the mail today.

/img6684k.jpg

...dammit.

[Firebomber7]

I absolutely love Dankss youtube vids. He is so honest and genuine. But that sucks he thought Momotaro game series were all platform. Actually they are RPG. Even the one Momotaro game that is actually a platform game still requires a lot of jpn knowledge.   Who am I to say anything? He is the one with a LaserActive. Lucky bastard.

Do the caps last in this system? how bout the laser?

I sold that guy his first PCE CD unit (Super CD-ROM2) a few years ago. He's only been into PCE for like 3-4 years maybe.

Out of curiosity, is anyone into karaoke? Is it easy to just download discs off the 'net? Then again, it would be sweet to have the set up that you see in Japanese or Korean karaokes/noraebangs.

[BlueBMW]

Clash, ems shipping usually includes insurance...

[SuperDeadite]

The disk was mint when I sent it.  Bubble wrapped, newspaper, fuck man.  Never seen this happen via EMS.  Fucking USA.  I should be able to get the money back though...

[SuperPlay]

Game Sack LaserActive special

LaserActive UK site

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/pioneer/pioneer_cld-a100/pioneer_cld-a100.htm


LaserActive museum

http://www.cyberroach.com/new_laseractive_pics/default.htm

[xcrement5x]

Goddamn Clash that sucks, it looks like some postal employee decided to screw around that day. 

At least it wasn't an uber rare game like Time Gal or something though.

[SignOfZeta]

Shipping LDs is a problem. When I get stuff from volume sellers they usually have a trick that involves using a relatively 12x12 box that is about 2" thick. The LDs are bubble-wrapped and then taped in such a way that they are suspended in the middle of the thickness of the box. It works pretty good for Recobancou, who have sent me dozens of LDs.

I recently had a guy from Switzerland mail me some rare anime LDs. They were just packed skin tight in cardboard with some of that thin foam/plastic stuff on the outside. I was worried when I saw the package, but amazingly nothing was broken.

[xcrement5x]

There is special packaging for records which is what I'm pretty sure you're talking about.  After I got a new copy of Vajra which was bent I've basically requested every seller since use that thicker boxed packaging when ever I buy stuff like that online.

[SignOfZeta]

Recobanchou has boxes made especially for them, but they are basically pizza boxes, pretty much.

People who still collect LD can be a really picky bunch of mofos. The slightest nick on the sleeve will have them sticking you with negative feedback. It's especially problematic with US LDs side they usually have shitty thin sleeves. The fix for this is to bubble wrap the LD itself and the suspend it with tape in the middle of a box that is too big for it.

[TheClash603]

My game was packed pretty well, it just appeared someone sat on the box or tried to bend it in half for no reason.  Even the best packaging won't stand up to malicious mailmen!

[DragonmasterDan]

I got Space Berzerker in a box large enough to fit the laseractive system. All it had was the game in it, LDs are definitely tricky to ship well.

[McKie1]

Recently picked up the floppies that came with the PC1 PAC. Now just to find the actual thing! Lovely ms-dos and pc-dos software. Came with a couple of batch files and a sample folder. Will fire up the old AT to give them a burl. Need to sort out a mac os VM to check out the mac software.

[TheClash603]

Recently picked up the floppies that came with the PC1 PAC. Now just to find the actual thing! Lovely ms-dos and pc-dos software. Came with a couple of batch files and a sample folder. Will fire up the old AT to give them a burl. Need to sort out a mac os VM to check out the mac software.

Now that is something I have never seen for sale.  Good luck finding the actual pac. 

Can you post a picture of the LA floppies just so I can give them a look?

[McKie1]

I can e-mail a copy of the photo as don't have upload picture account if you are interested?