Pioneer LaserActive CLD-A100

Stay tuned for more...

The screenshots are JPGs 320 by 240, the videos are in Windows Media Format, please download the latest Windows Media Player here. Some videos are also available in MPEG-1 format (about same file size, quality is not as good).

Numbers are of the format PEApcnnnn where p stands for the control pack:

• S for the SEGA pack
• N for the NEC pack

and where c stands for the country:

• U for US releases
• J for Japan release

nnnn is the number of the game, not sure why they had the jump from 1000 to 5000, notice how all 1000-releases are by Pioneer. 

US Software

Number	Title	Publisher	Year	Type	List Price	Description	Front	Back	Spine	Screen Shots	Attract Video
PEANU1001	Vajra 1-sided disc	Pioneer		LD-ROM2	$120
PEANU5001	Quiz Econosaurus 1-sided disc	Hudson Soft	1993	LD-ROM2	$120	Edutainment title, dealing with the topic of environmental destruction. Basically an interactive bored... eh board game, up to 4 players have to answer questions, gain points and move their Dinosaurs from start to finish. Disappointing title, makes no use of LaserActive features.				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8
PEANU5004	J.B.Harold Manhattan Requiem 2-sided disc	Riverhill Soft	1993	LD-ROM2	$120	Interactive Mystery/Detective game. The first of the two J.B. Harold titles. Good game but becomes very repetitive towards the end. Nice intro but no video footage besides that.				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	MPG1- video
PEASU1001	I Will - The Story Of London 2-sided disc	Pioneer	1993	Mega-LD	$120
PEASU1002	Hi-Roller Battle 1-sided disc	Pioneer	1993	Mega-LD	$120	Helicopter first person shooter, graphics are very nice and of military-simulator grade. Game gets pretty tough in the upper levels.				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	MPG1- video
PEASU1003	Space Berserker 1-sided disc	Pioneer	1993	Mega-LD	$120	Space Shooter, foreground graphics are generated by the control pack, background graphics come from the disc. Somewhat similar to Wing Commander. Background graphics are very nice and mix well with the foreground!
PEASU1010	Goku 2-sided disc 3-D goggle compatible	Pioneer	1995	Mega-LD	$170	Edutainment title featuring the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Very nice graphics, lots of interactivity. Compatible with the 3D Goggles.
PEASU1011	Melon Brains 2-sided disc 3-D goggle compatible	Pioneer	1994	Mega-LD	$170	Edutainment title featuring the world of the Dolphin. Very nice graphics, many segments of excellent Dolphin footage, lots of interactivity. Compatible with the 3D Goggles.
PEASU1012	3D Museum 2-sided disc 3-D goggle compatible	Pioneer	no date	Mega-LD	$???	This is kind of a 3D tech-demo from the folks at Multimedia Creators Network who also did Melon Brains and Goku. Very nice graphics, lots of interactivity. Compatible with the 3D Goggles, red/green glasses and parallax glasses.
PEASU1018	Ghost Rush! 1-sided disc	Pioneer	1994	Mega-LD	$120	Interactive first person shooter / maze game. Has some RPG elements but overall somewhat boring.				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	MPG1- video
PEASU1033	Road Prosecutor 1-sided disc	Pioneer	1994	Mega-LD	$120	Anime Driving game, kind of a Road Warrior meets Anime. Quite complex, not only do you have to steer towards directions on the screen but you also have (directional) turbo and (directional) brake. The first few levels are fairly easy but then it gets very challenging. Driving sequences are also mirrored (similar to Dragon's Lair).				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	WMV- video MPG1- video
PEASU5001	Pyramid Patrol 1-sided disc	Taito	1993	Mega-LD	$120	Space Shooter, foreground graphics are generated by the control pack, background graphics come from the disc. Difficulty level is very high.
PEASU5002	The Great Pyramid 1-sided disc	Pioneer	1993	Mega-LD	$120
PEASU5013	Rocket Coaster 1-sided disc	Taito	1993	Mega-LD	$120	3D Driving game, foreground graphics are generated by the control pack, background graphics come from the disc.
PEASU5014	Triad Stone 1-sided disc	SEGA	1994	Mega-LD	$120	Anime Adventure game - similar to Dragon's Lair. The first three levels are of medium difficulty but then the game gets extremely challenging. Game commands are directions, strength button and (directional) sword swinging. Together with Blue Chicago Blues the best game for the LaserActive system!				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6	MPG1- video MPG1- video
PEASU5019	Hyperion 1-sided disc	Taito	1994	Mega-LD	$120	Space Shooter, foreground graphics are generated by the control pack, background graphics come from the disc. Background graphics are even better than Space Berserker and mix well with the foreground!				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	MPG1- video
PEASU5022	Don Quixote 1-sided disc	Pic Premier	1994	Mega-LD	$170
PEASU5036	J.B.Harold Blue Chicago Blues 2-sided disc	Riverhill Soft	1995	Mega-LD	$170	Interactive Mystery/Detective game, the 2nd part of the J.B. Harold series. Lots of interactive video, a significant step up from the first part. This game has multiple endings. Together with Triad Stone the best game for the LaserActive system!				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	MPG1- video

US Hardware

Japan Software

Number	Title	Publisher Distributor	Year	Type	Description	Front	Back	Spine	Screen Shots	Attract Video
PEANJ5023 Y9,800 Y10,094	Zapping TV Sansui	Beta Film / Pioneer Pioneer 2-sided	1994	LD-ROM2	Zapping TV Satsui is an interactive movie titled 'Murderous Decisions' on a two-sided disk. The viewer has the option to watch the movie from the male or the female lead's point of view: Christine or Stefan. The movie is straight from the German Public TV experiment 'Mörderische Entscheidung - Umschalten erwünscht' from 1991. Back then the two channels ARD and ZDF broadcasted one version each and encouraged TV-viewers to switch channels and 'cut' their own version. The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel heralded this experiment as a the 'realization of the dream of audience emancipation' and as 'a creative push for TV' (50/1992 pg. 264) but in reality the ambitious project flopped. Audiences were confused and lost track of the story and the various characters. 2-channel TV-Drama , 2 x 90 (other sources say 2 x 97) min, Gemini Films coproduction with WDR-ZDF-ORF-TVE-Allianz Film and Praxino-Pictures Mediateca writes: "Oliver Hirschbiegel's TV thriller 'Mörderische Entscheidung' ('Murderous Decision') was an attempt to transform the destructive principle of zapping into a constructive method of interaction. Its two plot strands were transmitted concurrently on ARD and ZDF, the first and second German channels, in 1991." The front cover has this excerpt in German: "Zapping" ist die Bezeichnung für eine neue, in Europa enstandene Nutzungsform des Fernsehens. Dabei werden von einer Sendung zwei verschiedene Versionen produziert und dann zeitgleich über zwei Sender auf zwei getrennten Kanälen abgestrahlt. Die Zuschauer können nun nach Belieben zwischen diesen beiden Kanälen umschalten und sich auf diese Weise ihre eigene Version der Story zusammenstellen. Der Ausdruck "Zapping" ist von dem englischen Verb "to zap" abgeleitet, womit ursprünglich das Durchgehen der verschiedenen TV-Kanäle der Reihe nach mittels Fernbedienung gemeint ist. (brief) Translation: "Zapping" is the name of a new use of television developed in Europe. A broadcast is created in two versions and is simultaneously broadcasted via two networks on two separate channels. The viewers are then able to switch freely between these two channels and create their own version of the story. The term "Zapping' is derived from the English verb "to zap" which originally described channel surfing.				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8	sample video
PEANJ5025	Pretty Illusion 1	Planet/Wani Books	1994	LD-ROM2 also MEGA-LD	Features Minayo Watanabe, a popular Japanese singer and later adult model. Minayo was member #29 of the famous Onyanko (Kitten) Club, featured in the TV show Yuyake Nyan Nyan (Sunset Glow Meow Meow), part of the JPop idol scene. After a successful solo career she went into the adult market before she retired. Info from Ecyclopedia Idolica - the premier JPop Idol website.
PEANJ5028	Pretty Illusion 2	Planet/Wani Books	1994	LD-ROM2 also MEGA-LD	Features Yuko Sakaki, a popular Japanese model, born 1974. Also available on VCD (Video CD) but the quality is much worse!
PEASJ5001	Pyramid Patrol	?		MEGA-LD
PEASJ5015	Virtual Cameraman	Planet/?		MEGA-LD
	Virtual Cameraman 2	Planet/?		MEGA-LD
	Dora Dora Paradise	Planet/?		LD-ROM2
	Time Gal	?		MEGA-LD
	Angel Mate	Planet / ?		LD-ROM2
PEANJ5003 Y9,800 Y10,094	The Demon's Judgement	Planet Pioneer 1-sided	1993	LD-ROM2	Quiz game based on a popular(???) Japanese game show. Anybody got more details?				pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8
	Triad Stone			MEGA-LD
	Quiz Econosaurus			LD-ROM2
	The Great Pyramid			MEGA-LD
	Manhattan Requiem			LD-ROM2
	Vajra			LD-ROM2
PEANJ1016 Y9,800 Y10,094	Vajra 2	Pioneer / Datawest Pioneer 2-sided 3-D goggle compatible	1994	LD-ROM2					pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 pic7 pic8
	Hyperion			MEGA-LD
	Rocket Coaster			MEGA-LD
	Hi-Roller Battle			MEGA-LD
	I Will - The Story of London			MEGA-LD
	Melon Brains			LD-ROM2
	Dr. ???			MEGA-LD
	Back To The Edo			MEGA-LD
	3D Museum			MEGA-LD
PEANJ5023	Zapping TV Sansui	Planet/?		LD-ROM2
	Goku	?		MEGA-LD
	Legacy	?			was this released? Proto?
	Myst	?			was this released? Proto?
	NHK Conversational Chinese	?			was this released? Proto? educational software
	UFO and ET	?			was this released? Proto?
	3-D Virtual Australia	? 3-D goggle compatible			was this released?
	Steel Driver	?			was this released?
	Pretty Illusion 3	?			was this released? Proto?
	Goku	?		LD-ROM2	was this released?

The scans of the adult titles and other Japanese games were swiped from Ebay and Yahoo (some for the LaserActive club), some French dude (Adol), a guy from Indonesia and various Japanese had these for sale, TimeGal is from some website (I forgot),,,

Japan Hardware

At the heart of the LaserActive system is the Pioneer CLD-A100 LaserActive compatible laserdisc player (or the extremely rare and basically identical NEC PCE-LD1). The CLD-A100 is a very solid player, has two trays (one for CDs and one for laserdiscs) combined into one and has a LaserActive module slot in the lower left front. This slot takes one of three available packs:

• PAC-S10 is the most popular control pack and turns the CLD-A100 into a SEGA Genesis, SEGA-CD and MEGA-LD compatible platform. The 32X attachment doesn't fit but I'll try that at one point, I wouldn't be surprised if that works just fine.
• PAC-N10 is very hard to find and turns the CLD-A100 into a NEC TurboGrafx system, capable of playing HuCards, TurboDuo CDs, Japanese PC Engine CDs, CD+G discs (which add crude graphics in 16 colors or Karaoke subtitles) and LD-ROM2 laserdiscs.
• PAC-K1 handles Karaoke discs and has two mic-inputs, adjustable pitch control and many other features

The LaserActive system was so revolutionary Pioneer become a finalist of the 1993 Discover Awards for:

Development of LaserActive, a system that combines laser disc technology with interactive game capabilities.
Sight - Finalist - 1993

The system originally retailed for $699, the individual control packs for $399 (I think the Karaoke pack may have been $299) and the games for as high as $170!!! These are list prices but I do have games with original price stickers of $159.95 from Incredible Universe - pure insanity! Consequently the whole thing was a flop and while the CLD-A100 is a solid Laserdisc Player it never caught on as a replacement for the SEGA Genesis, MegaDrive and SEGA CD and the NEC Turbografx and TurboDuo.

The system is highly collectible and makes for an awesome centerpiece of your classic/obsolete videogame collection! These days the CLD-A100 systems typically go for around $200 on Ebay, more or less depending on condition, the remote control, original box etc., often the SEGA pack is included! The SEGA pack goes for $80 - $150, again depending on condition, box, manual and the SEGA LaserActive controller. I've only seen the NEC pack once on Ebay and it went for over $300 - yikes! Complete systems with both packs are typically less than the individual components.

The goggles GOL-1 require the goggle adapter ADP-1 and I've seen them from $400 all the way to $700 (new, mint in box). I've heard that you can use the regular SEGA LCD glasses if you have the ADP-1 adapter but I cannot confirm this.

Most discs used to be cheap during the LVD.COM days but these guys closed 01/31/2001 - bummer! Now discs go from a few Dollars all the way up to over $150 (I sold two Blue Chicago Blues discs at $170).

Pioneer's original press release regarding the LaserActive can be found here.

Scans of the English manual are here.

Wani books has a website, it's here.

Kudos go to Vince, he is the dude that let me borrow some of his Japanese discs so I could scan them in etc. - THANKS!!! Vince also created the LaserActive club at Yahoo - check it out!

Also check out this guy: http://www2.yk.speed.co.jp/takuzo/ld/??.html (in Japanese)