The Wide Angle: 10 Defunct TV Technologies

By Alyssa Danigelis

Action Max

Just rewind and play the exact same game again.

10. 1987: One-Way VHS Video Games
Long before the Nintendo Wii, there was Action Max, a VHS video game from the toy company Worlds of Wonder that required a VHS player because the console didn't come with any other way to play it. It did, however, come with a plastic light gun. The game Sonic Fury had a fighter pilot theme. In order to "target" the enemy planes, players had to attach a red sensor to the television screen that would light up when their target was in sight. When the targeted jets "shot" back, nothing happened to the player. The game itself didn't change, either.

By the early 1990s, kids had a wide selection of video game consoles to choose from, relegating VHS games to the garage. Those who played Action Max have fond memories of it, even though the Flashmatic remote control sounds like it was more entertaining. According to author Bill Loguidice, when Worlds of Wonder collapsed, some of its former employees went to work for Nintendo.

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