<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
portable	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
(	O
originally	O
head-worn	O
,	O
later	O
handheld	B-Application
)	O
developed	O
and	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Tiger	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
was	O
shown	O
at	O
the	O
American	O
International	O
Toy	O
Fair	O
in	O
February	O
1995	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
later	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
was	O
panned	O
by	O
critics	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
commercial	O
disaster	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
lifespan	O
lasting	O
only	O
two	O
years	O
before	O
being	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
was	O
not	O
designed	O
to	O
compete	O
directly	O
with	O
any	O
other	O
handhelds	B-Application
,	O
it	O
marked	O
Tiger	O
Electronics	O
 '	O
first	O
multi-game	O
entry	O
into	O
the	O
portable	O
electronic	O
game	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
unit	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
headset	O
and	O
a	O
separate	O
controller	O
containing	O
batteries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
has	O
its	O
own	O
transparent	O
LCD	O
display	O
screen	O
which	O
is	O
projected	O
onto	O
a	O
mirrored	O
surface	O
held	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
eye	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
thought	O
that	O
this	O
original	O
design	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
red	O
color	O
scheme	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
capitalize	O
on	O
popular	O
buzz	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
Virtual	I-Device
Boy	I-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
additional	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
were	O
subsequently	O
released	O
:	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
SuperScreen	O
,	O
the	O
XPG	O
(	O
Xtreme	O
Pocket	O
Game	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
DataZone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
been	O
constantly	O
regarded	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
worst	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
ever	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
games	O
mostly	O
vary	O
only	O
in	O
title	O
and	O
subject	O
;	O
gameplay	O
within	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
gaming	O
library	O
is	O
almost	O
identical	O
from	O
title	O
to	O
title	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
console	O
include	O
Batman	B-Application
Forever	I-Application
,	O
Virtua	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
,	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
VR	O
Troopers	O
,	O
Indy	B-Application
500	I-Application
,	O
Star	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
,	O
Men	O
in	O
Black	O
,	O
and	O
The	B-Application
Lost	I-Application
World	I-Application
:	I-Application
Jurassic	I-Application
Park	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
has	O
ten	O
face	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
ON	O
"	O
button	O
simply	O
turns	O
on	O
the	O
console	O
but	O
is	O
largely	O
un-used	O
as	O
inserting	O
a	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
automatically	O
turns	O
the	O
unit	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
also	O
features	O
a	O
directional	B-Device
pad	I-Device
,	O
allowing	O
four	O
directions	O
of	O
movement	O
in	O
its	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
has	O
no	O
microprocessor	O
or	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
components	O
are	O
contained	O
in	O
a	O
microcontroller	B-Architecture
inside	O
the	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
itself	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
front	O
polarizer	O
for	O
the	O
LCD	O
,	O
a	O
Speaker	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
shift	B-General_Concept
register	I-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
are	O
transparent	O
in	O
the	O
center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LCD	O
in	O
each	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
operates	O
identically	O
to	O
Tiger	O
's	O
earlier	O
handheld	B-Application
LCD	O
game	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
few	O
variations	O
of	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
were	O
produced	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
Headgear	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
1995	O
and	O
is	O
largely	O
different	O
from	O
later	O
units	O
in	O
that	O
the	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
is	O
inserted	O
into	O
a	O
device	O
that	O
is	O
strapped	O
onto	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
head	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
controller	O
requires	O
4	O
AAA	B-Algorithm
batteries	I-Algorithm
and	O
sports	O
a	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
storage	O
slot	O
(	O
for	O
keeping	O
an	O
additional	O
game	O
protected	O
and	O
available	O
)	O
,	O
volume	O
adjustment	O
dial	O
,	O
and	O
brightness	O
adjustment	O
dial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
SuperScreen	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
1996	O
and	O
initially	O
cost	O
$29.99	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allowed	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
games	O
to	O
have	O
color	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
games	O
allow	O
for	O
a	O
special	O
lens	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
this	O
particular	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
and	O
simply	O
provide	O
the	O
user	O
with	O
a	O
non-animated	O
color	O
background	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
screen	O
is	O
considerably	O
larger	O
than	O
the	O
other	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
models	O
;	O
because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
look	O
at	O
a	O
mirror	O
at	O
a	O
precise	O
angle	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
gameplay	O
,	O
other	O
people	O
can	O
also	O
see	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
model	O
the	O
D-pad	B-Device
was	O
swapped	O
out	O
for	O
four	O
directional	O
buttons	O
(	O
up	O
,	O
down	O
,	O
left	O
,	O
and	O
right	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
DataZone	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
another	O
handheld	B-Application
version	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
,	O
but	O
includes	O
a	O
data	B-Application
organizer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
one	O
watch	O
battery	O
to	O
store	O
data	O
and	O
2	O
AAA	B-Algorithm
batteries	I-Algorithm
to	O
run	O
the	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
XPG	O
(	O
short	O
for	O
Xtreme	O
Pocket	O
Game	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
completely	O
handheld	B-Application
version	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
also	O
uses	O
AAA	B-Algorithm
batteries	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
David	O
Jones	O
of	O
the	O
Chicago	O
Tribune	O
called	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
"	O
a	O
waste	O
of	O
time	O
and	O
money	O
"	O
and	O
wrote	O
that	O
its	O
screen	O
"	O
is	O
hard	O
to	O
see	O
and	O
the	O
controls	O
are	O
very	O
awkward	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jones	O
noted	O
the	O
failure	O
of	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
'	O
s	O
extra	O
headband	O
padding	O
–	O
which	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
prevent	O
pain	O
–	O
and	O
concluded	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
should	O
be	O
dumped	O
into	O
the	O
trash	O
can	O
where	O
it	O
belongs.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
remarked	O
that	O
while	O
the	O
display	O
takes	O
time	O
to	O
get	O
used	O
to	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
"	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
league	O
as	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
's	O
immersive	O
experience	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
is	O
much	O
less	O
expensive	O
and	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
,	O
is	O
functionally	O
portable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
Mikel	O
Reparaz	O
of	O
GamesRadar+	O
included	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
on	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
10	O
worst	O
game	O
consoles	O
released	O
up	O
to	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reparaz	O
considered	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
to	O
be	O
a	O
poor	O
version	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
Virtual	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
and	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
essentially	O
"	O
just	O
a	O
gimmicky	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
awful	O
,	O
clicky-beepy	O
LCD	O
games	O
that	O
Tiger	O
had	O
been	O
dumping	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
since	O
the	O
'	O
80s.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
episode	O
"	O
Tiger	O
Electronic	O
Games	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
Nerd	O
described	O
the	O
console	O
as	O
"	O
basically	O
a	O
shitty	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
"	O
and	O
questioned	O
what	O
planet	O
the	O
console	O
came	O
from	O
during	O
his	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
Motherboard	O
called	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
"	O
perhaps	O
the	O
most	O
infamous	O
product	O
ever	O
associated	O
with	O
Tiger	O
"	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
games	O
were	O
"	O
glorified	O
versions	O
"	O
of	O
Tiger	O
's	O
LCD	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Motherboard	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
was	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
in	O
some	O
ways	O
,	O
but	O
considered	O
the	O
R-Zone	B-Operating_System
to	O
be	O
"	O
much	O
,	O
much	O
worse	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
