Nikko DigiBlast

DigiBlast is a handheld console manufactured by Nikko Entertainment B.V. and developed by Grey Innovation. It was released in the summer of 2005. The console was technically inferior to its competitors, Nintendo DS and PSP but cheaper in price and aimed at children between 4-9 years old. Despite the reasonable price and some strong game titles in its game library, like Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, Spider-Man: Mysterio’s Menace, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and X2: Wolverine’s Revenge, the console was a commercial failure, selling only 100,000 units. The quality of the screen and the audio was criticized also with the screen to be prone to ghosting.

DigiBlast wasn't only a gaming console. Special cartridges were distributed in the price of $9.95 (gaming cartridge priced at $14.95) that hold 3 episodes of cartoons each in RealPlayer format. Some of the episodes are from famous cartoons of that time like Sonic X, SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Some interesting peripherals also distributed like the "MP3 Player", with a price of $29.95, that gives the ability to transfer and listen up to 256MB of music in MP3 format. Another add-on gives the ability to connect the console with the TV, however some games had poor quality in the TV screen. A third peripheral that never came in the market and stayed only in the plans of the company was a 1.3 megapixel camera that would allow to take photos.

Eventually, digiBlast couldn't compete with Nintendo DS and PSP. Only a little more than 100,000 units were sold.