Welcome back, friends. After spending some time looking at the hardware of the 80s, we’re going to look at a console that’s a bit more modern today. However, don’t think that this isn’t a rare gem just because it’s less than a decade old. This might be one of the most obscure consoles in my collection: The Tectoy Zeebo.

Have you heard of it? Most of the English-speaking world hasn’t

The Zeebo is a 3G enabled fully digital console that was released in 2009 to bring newer games to smaller markets, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. All games could be downloaded from the free Zeebo cellular network, and the system’s capabilities fall somewhere between the Dreamcast and the Playstation 2. It was also distributed by Tectoy, the company responsible for bringing the Sega Master System and Genesis to Brazil, and making them viable and profitable even to this very day.

The design is familiar, though. It’s missing something, though…

Aesthetically, the console has been clearly inspired by the sophisticated-yet-toy-like design of the Wii. However, where the Wii feels sturdy, the Zeebo feels lightweight and cheap. The holo-foil top doesn’t help this image. It reminds me when comic books and trading cards did this in an attempt to make certain things feel more valuable than they actually were.

Ah, there’s what’s missing.

And what Wii-inspired console would be complete without a wireless motion-sensitive controller? The Boomerang controller is utilized with the Sports gamepacks, which feature all the stuff you’d expect from Wii Sports. For those games, it’s an adequate knock-off, but the lack of a sensor bar or camera means that it relies on force of motion alone. This cripples the potential of this kind of controller, and also means that most of the Sports games will play themselves for you, only registering if you have moved the controller at all.

Ever want to know what Quake 2 would feel like with the Wii Classic Controller? The Zeebo can answer that.

For the more hardcore players, we have the traditional Zeebo controller. Interestingly enough, it’s a dead ringer for the Wii’s original Classic Controller. Seeing as how I loved the Classic Controller, I don’t have any real problem with this controller. Even games that are more accustomed to a modern button layout, such as Sonic Adventure and Resident Evil 4, play just fine.

Strangely enough, it actually surpasses the Wii’s storage capacity tenfold. Score one for Zeebo.

Overall, the Zeebo was a sound idea. The all-digital marketplace deterred piracy and earned it the support of larger third parties such as Activision and Sega. Sales were initially promising, with the Zeebo company intending to break into other markets. However, in 2010, Tectoy ceased distribution of the Zeebo and the Zeebo company itself shut down its service later that year.

Nowadays, the Zeebo is an extremely rare oddity outside of Brazil, and the fact that its services are down leaves any unused models completely useless to all but collectors. There supposedly exists a way to jailbreak it so you can load games on the console from SD card, but I’m not nearly well-versed enough to Portugese to attempt it.

I thank you all for joining me. See you next time.