Taito X-55! The Video Game Console You Didn't Know Existed! The Taito Wowow Story!
307Well I didn't call the channel Video Game Esoterica for nothing that's for sure! Today we are taking a look at the Taito X-55 Data Net Station...a Japanese karaoke machine released exclusively in Japan by Taito! But here is the thing...it's actual a retrogaming console too! Only issue is...all the games for it have been lost! But it's in essence an evolution of the Taito Wowow console that was cancelled and functionally nearly identical to a Taito F3 arcade board!
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The Taito X-55 Data Net Station is a strange beast. It's a dial up karaoke machine where you would "download" MIDI tracks from a central Taito controlled server. You used pre-paid cards for credit...and sang your heart out! But here is the thing...you could ALSO dial into that same server and download video games to play! Cleopatra Fortune, Puzzle Bobble, Puzzle Bobble EX and SUPPOSEDLY custom versions of Bubble Bobble and some other LONG LOST TAITO GAMES!
So yeah...the X-55 Data Net Station is an actual video game console released by Taito and I bet you never knew! Retro gaming is tricky like that!
Interestingly it’s basically a Taito F3 arcade board in a box as it shares a lot of the same hardware that the F3 used as well. So it’s very Neo Geo in its design…which is to say arcade hardware brought home.
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