Welcome to the Hardware Devices wing of the 2024 Shacknews Hall of Fame class. This category celebrates platforms, computers, and other devices that have influenced the course of video games.

When you're finished, use the Table of Contents links below to visit other areas of the Shacknews Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Game Boy Camera + Printer

Nintendo has a history of releasing quirky peripherals and among its wildest ideas was creating a camera and printer attachment for its second generation of Game Boys. The Game Boy Camera would operate as standalone software. The camera cartridge would slide into the game slot and allow users to take pictures, as well as play pre-installed games. Images could then be sent to the Game Boy Printer, which would imprint them on thermal paper.

Released in 1998, Nintendo's Game Boy Camera had limited appeal at the time, but it was a concept that predated smartphones by nearly a decade. In fact, the 180-degree swivel on the camera lens would allow users to take pictures of themselves many years before "selfie" became part of the pop culture lexicon.

Dreamcast + VMU

Without a slam dunk since the Genesis and facing stiff competition from Nintendo and Sony, Sega went into the late 1990s in need of a hit. Released in Japan in November 1998 and 9/9/99 in the US, Dreamcast exploded onto the scene with 128-bit graphics, a 200-megahertz processor, and 16 megabytes of RAM—an absolute beast for its era.

Dreamcast established itself right out of the gate with its port of SoulCalibur, Namco’s now-classic fighting game that met and exceeded the quality bar set by the arcade version. Dreamcast was host to plenty of arcade ports and unique games alike.

Dreamcast’s peripherals felt like natural extensions of the system rather than separate and sterile peripherals. There was the controller, with two slots for VMU memory cards. Then there was the memory card itself, a handheld system that displayed game information on its tiny screen as you played and could even be played separately from the console.

One of Sega’s more forward-thinking move was the inclusion of a dial-up modem with the Dreamcast, allowing players to meet up with friends and strangers in an age before going online was the norm in the console space. Even though the experience of playing a game like Quake 3 with a controller and over 56k modems was less ideal than playing on PC, the Dreamcast port, as well as unique titles such as Phantasy Star Online, made Dreamcast one of the first consoles to bring online gaming to the living room.

Although the instant success of the PlayStation 2 moved Sega to pull the plug on Dreamcast in March 2001, its vast library of games have withstood the test of time. Join Shacknews as we celebrate the silver anniversary of the Dreamcast’s launch in the US with its induction in the Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Nintendo 64 DD

The Nintendo 64DD, or 64DD for short—and either Disk Drive or Dynamic Drive if you want to unpack the acronym—was a short-lived peripheral for Nintendo’s 64-bit console that was intended to expand the system’s storage capacity. It had other features, too. The real-time clock allowed for persistent game worlds, and it could connect to the Internet for services ranging from online gaming to sharing media. Those features made it the fulfilment of late Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi’s dream of connecting Nintendo hardware around the world—or at least it would have.

Unfortunately, like a few pieces of Nintendo hardware, the 64DD was a commercial failure. It sold around 15,000 units and was never released outside of Japan. Even so, the software available for the device made it appealing to those who got their hands on one. Mario Artist, a spiritual successor to the SNES platform’s Mario Paint, let players paint, draw, animate, and more; it even had online functionality. Other games appeared in other formats. Ura Zelda, a version of Ocarina of Time with remixed (and much more challenging) dungeons, found its way to the GameCube in 2003.

Although the 64DD didn’t reach nearly as many people as Yamauchi-san wanted, it deserves a spot in the Shacknews Hall of Fame for its status as one of many ambitious pieces of hardware Nintendo attempted to use to change the way we play and interact with software.

Epoch Cassette Vision

Before the Nintendo Entertainment System changed the gaming landscape around the world, there was another competitor in Japan vying for the attention of video game enthusiasts: The Epoch Cassette Vision. Created by the Epoch Co. and released in Japan in July 1981, the Cassette Vision was a home video game console, and the best-selling console in Japan up until the Famicom hit the market. Much like Nintendo Epoch was originally making other products before it got into gaming, including toys, board games, and playing cards. It was also similarly a family-run company. 

The Cassette Vision’s medium isn’t to be confused with the popular magnetic strip format we know mostly for music and audio. Instead, it was a device that used interchangeable ROM cartridges to play software. It had a variety of games, not the least of which was Galaxian (somewhat like Galaga, but actually based on fellow early space shooter Sol Cresta), as well as as well as several sports games, which were Epoch’s specialty. It wasn’t the first cartridge-based console in Japan, but it was one of the most successful, selling at a compelling price and with few proper home market competitors at the time.

The Nintendo Famicom would launch in 1983 eventually overtake Epoch’s console for its ports of popular arcade games like Donkey Kong. However, for a short few years Epoch had Japan’s gamers infatuated with the Cassette Vision and its contributions to home gaming, and for that, it joins our Hall of Fame.

Linksys Routers

Linksys released its first router on December 28, 1999. It was a four-port switch that allowed users to route a single internet connection to four different computers in their home using an ethernet cable. On May 7, 2001, Linksys released its first WiFi router, and would go on to be the dominant home networking solution for much of the 2000s.

Linksys developed partnerships with companies such as Verizon DSL in the U.S., ensuring this hardware made it into the homes of millions of people. Known for being relatively simple to configure, Linksys routers and their blue and black design are etched into the memories of those who enjoyed wireless internet during its early days.