Tectoy Zeebo
- For emulators, see Zeebo.
Zeebo, the so-called "Brazilian console" (designed by TecToy in a partnership with Qualcomm), can be summarized by the phrase: "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Sure, it's quite logical: take a cell phone chipset, get rid of the "phone" bits, and the result is a device that can play mobile games, bought and downloaded off the 3G network. Instant low-cost console with a huge library for the emerging markets!
But pretty much everything that could wrong did. The Brew platform proved severely inadequate for a console, requiring major changes to the operating system; in consequence, porting games became far more difficult than predicted. And as the market was shifting toward smartphones, most developers were not too keen to invest in an obscure variation of a rather outdated platform anyway. The chipset turned out less powerful than TecToy expected, so they still wanted to take their time to soup up the hardware and build a decent library, but Qualcomm got fed up, pushed for an early release, and refused to subsidize the components.
So ultimately the result was a machine with less power than a PlayStation 1, for the price of a PlayStation 2, at a time when the PlayStation 3 was available. Not surprisingly, it was a total flop, even in its home country. After a pointless attempt to reposition it as an educational machine, it was finally discontinued, and it is no longer possible to download games for it; however, the Open Zeebo project has managed to unlock the console (soldering skills required).
Emulation
[edit | edit source]Amazingly enough, there is an emulator for the Zeebo called Infuse, and you can find the whole rom set in a myrient of places, if you know what I mean. So if you are curious about this piece of videogame history -- or just want to see how bad Resident Evil 4 runs on this thing, like 99% of people who reaches this page do --, you can try this method. The list below has what is actually good on the console, so you may check those too.
The list
[edit | edit source]| Cover | Title | Genre | Description | Screenshot |
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Action Hero 3D Wild Dog | Platformer/Beat n' Up | A port of a korean flip phone game. Ignore the generic name, this game takes some cues from Viewtifue Joe, having you play for over 200 stages (!) in this 2.5D-style platformer. Gameplay is tight, and the language isn't a barrier. | 
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Tekken 2 | 3D Fighting | It's a pretty decent Tekken 2 port, with all the stages and secret characters. As all other Zeebo games, it lacks any videos, so don't expect any animated endings. There's some upscaling in the textures, making it look better than the PS1 port, if you can believe in that. | 
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Rally Master Pro | Racing | Rally Master Pro is a 3D rally racing game (i.e: time trial races on dirt terrain) featuring multiple tracks across varied terrains and weather conditions. The visuals are good and if you're into rally games like V-Rally 2 on the PS1, this might be your thing. | 
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Double Dragon | Beat 'em Up | A surprisingly competent remake of the classic arcade brawler, some even say this is its best version in any system. Probably the best critically received Zeebo game. | 
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Resident Evil 4 | Action / Horror | Port of the popular action horror game. Or at least its mobile version. | 
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Zenonia | Action-RPG | Zenonia is like a Genesis or Super Nintendo ARPG which introduces fresh concepts to the genre like the day-night system and the great skill tree for customizing the hero. Highly recommended for both retro gamers and adventure fans. This game has since been ported to every smartphone device known to man, and also has at least three sequels on said smart devices. | 
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Videos
[edit | edit source]| Seventh Generation | ||
| Consoles | Mattel HyperScan - ZAPiT Game Wave - Sony PlayStation 3 - Nintendo Wii - Microsoft Xbox 360 - Tec Toy Zeebo | |
| Handhelds | GPH Caanoo - Tiger Telematics Gizmondo - GPH GP2X - Nintendo DS - Sony PlayStation Portable - Conny Pocket Dream Console | |