The Pioneer LaserActive was an expensive 1994 LaserDisc player with swappable modules to support Sega Genesis and NEC TurboGrafx-16 games and controllers. Mega-LD titles combined cartridge-style game data with up to 60 minutes of full-screen analog video per disc side, producing edutainment, branching dungeon crawlers, animated quick-time event games, and rail shooters with animated video backgrounds. High hardware and software prices plus limited must-have titles kept sales low, resulting in an estimated 10,000 units sold and a small cult following. Ares v146 introduces emulator support for Mega-LD, making these previously hard-to-play titles accessible to many users.
"Even retro console superfans would be forgiven for not knowing about the LaserActive, a pricey LaserDisc player released in 1994 alongside swappable hardware modules that could add support for Sega Genesis and NEC TurboGrafx-16 games and controllers. Using those add-ons, you could also play a handful of games specifically designed for the LaserActive format, which combined game data and graphics with up to 60 minutes of full-screen, standard-definition analog video per side."
"Mega-LD games (as the Genesis-compatible LaserActive titles were called) were, for the most part, super-sized versions of the types of games you'd find on early CD-ROM console of the era. That means a lot of edutainment titles, branching dungeon crawlers, Dragon's Lair-style animated quick-time event challenges, and rail shooters that overlayed standard Genesis or TG-16 graphics on top of elaborate animated video backgrounds (sometimes complete with filmed actors)."
Read at Ars Technica
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