- Name
- Photo CD
- Aliases
Photo CD
A CD-ROM format originally designed for digitizing high-quality photos onto CD for use on various devices in the 1990s. The special "Portfolio" spec added interactivity, which allowed some developers in the mid-'90s to create simplistic games with it.
Concept Images Related Pages
Overview
Photo CD is a CD-ROM specification designed by Kodak in the early 1990's, allowing people to send their film to special processing labs and receive CDs containing high-quality photo scans in return. While these CDs can be used at kiosks to print photos, they can also be viewed on PCs and can be played on a variety of CD-compatible devices (including game consoles such as the CD-i). Some time after the release of Photo CD, Kodak created the "Portfolio" specification for Photo CDs (sometimes known as "Portfolio CD" or "Portfolio Photo CD"), allowing Photo CDs to contain interactive menus and Red Book CD audio. Along with commercially-sold digital photobooks, the added interactivity allowed some developers in the '90s (primarily Idea Factory (Company)) to create and sell simplistic menu-driven games (similar to HyperCard games).
Platforms Supported
One intended selling point for these games is its support for various platforms, some of which support the Portfolio Photo CD format natively.
- Multiple computers, including the Windows PC, Macintosh, NEC PC-98, and FM Towns (Platform). For some types of computers, the program to play these CDs are included in the disc, with other types of computers requiring a separate application.
- Dedicated Kodak Photo CD players.
- CD-i players
- 3DO players
- Sega Saturn (with first-party consoles requiring an expansion card)
- NEC PC-FX
- Some other multimedia players, including some earlier DVD players.
Known Games
Idea Factory
- PX-001 - Steelwood: Private Eye
- PX-002 - Kyoko's Mohjong / 炎の女麻雀師京子 負けない!! 実戦問題集 (Honō no On'na Mahjong-shi Kyoko: Makenai!! Jissen Mondaishū)
- PX-003 - Dark Chaser (Game)
- PX-004 - Mars Blade (Game)
- PX-005 - ???
- PX-006 - Steelwood: Private Eye II
- PX-007 - Inu Oh / 犬王 地球を救う (Inu'ō: Chikyū o Sukuu)
- PX-008 - 勇者の野望 (Yuusha no Yabou)