Action Max
A VHS-based console requiring a VCR and light gun.
The Action Max, a home video game console released in 1987 by Worlds of Wonder, relied on VHS tapes to deliver its games. It saw only a limited release beyond the United States. To use the system, players needed their own VCR, since the console itself could not play the tapes. Gameplay involved shooting at the screen with light guns, and scoring was strictly based on accuracy. Because the system only tracked points, players could not truly win or lose a game. This limitation, combined with the fact that every title was a light gun game that played identically each time, severely hurt the console's appeal after launch and led to a rapid market decline. Five VHS cassettes were released: *Sonic Fury* (bundled with the system), *Blue Thunder* (based on the 1983 film), *Hydrosub: 2021*, *.38 Ambush Alley*, and *The Rescue of Pops Ghostly*. The console’s technical specifications included an HD401010 CPU, an internal speaker, a TV-mounted "Score Signal," and a two-character, seven-segment LED score display.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Worlds of Wonder
- Generation
- Third generation
- Release Date
- 1987
- Media
- VHS tape
- Cpu
- HD401010
- Display
- 2 character, 7 segment LED score display
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Action Max system requires the player to also have a VCR, as the console has no way to play the requisite VHS tapes itself. Using light guns, players shoot at the screen. The gaming is strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy, and as a result, players can't truly win or lose a game. The system's post-launch appeal was limited by this and by the fact that the only real genre on the system were light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, leading to its quick market decline.
Five VHS cassettes were released for the system: .38 Ambush Alley, a police target range; Blue Thunder, based on the eponymous 1983 motion picture; Hydrosub: 2021, a futuristic underwater voyage; The Rescue of Pops Ghostly, a comic haunted-house adventure; and Sonic Fury, aerial combat, bundled with the system. The console includes an internal speaker, a TV mounted 'Score Signal', and a 2 character, 7 segment LED score display.
Reader's Guide
The Action Max occupies a niche in video game history as a VHS-based console that relied entirely on a separate VCR for playback. Its gameplay, limited to light gun shooting with no win or loss condition, restricted its appeal and contributed to a quick market decline. The system's reliance on linear VHS tapes meant each game played identically every time, offering no variation. Despite its limited commercial success, the Action Max is notable as an example of the brief intersection of home video and gaming in the late 1980s. It is often compared to other VHS-based consoles such as the Control-Vision and the View-Master Interactive Vision. The system's five-game library and its bundled title Sonic Fury represent the entirety of its software output. Its technical specifications, including the HD401010 CPU and LED score display, reflect the era's experimental approach to interactive entertainment.
Did You Know?
- The Action Max requires a separate VCR because the console itself cannot play VHS tapes.
- Players cannot truly win or lose any Action Max game; scoring is purely point-based.
- Only five VHS cassettes were released for the system, including the bundled Sonic Fury.
- The Action Max was manufactured in 1987 by Worlds of Wonder.
More in Video Game Consoles by Generation, Part 6 1-24
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