Casio Loopy
Despite the efforts of ‘serious’ gamers and the industry’s toxic gatekeepers, video games can appeal to anyone, no matter who they are, right back to the earliest consoles. Casio never got that memo, though, and in 1995 released a 32-bit console called the Loopy, with a logo featuring a pair of hearts, that was marketed specifically to female gamers. Just 10 games were ever released for the system, but its real appeal was a built-in color printer that could be used to make stickers from game screenshots, or an optional video capture device that worked with VCRs and DVD players. Screenshots could be enhanced with graphics and messages, and in addition to the tethered gamepad, an optional mouse was available that made designing stickers much easier. The Loopy survived for just three years, and built-in printers never became a game console feature that really caught on.
