The Pippin was a specification created by
Apple for a home multimedia device and which was based on the hardware and operating system first used in the
Macintosh. Apple itself never produced hardware for the platform and instead relied on licensees to manufacture and distribute the actual hardware, very similar to the model by which the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer was distributed.
The Pippin itself was a stripped down Mac computer which ran off a PowerPC 603. In line with Apple's short lived initiative to license the MacOS to clone hardware manufacturers, the Pippin also ran a modified version of MacOS 7.5.2. Touted as a multimedia system, a CDROM and modem for internet connectivity also formed part of the specification. Graphically it supported 640x480 resolution with up to 16-bit color, as well as full 16-bit stereo sound.
Despite the impressive specifications of the Pippin, the machine never found in its niche in either Japan or the United States (where it was sold by
Bandai) or in Europe and Canada (where a Pippin was sold by Katz Media). Some estimates place total US sales as low as 5,000 units actually reaching consumers, with other estimates topping out at only 40,000 total. Poor software titles, lackluster internet performance from the 14.4Kbs modems and dodgy video quality when it was connected to standard televisions all played a part in the platform's design. Apple killed off the project internally (along with other Mac clones) when
Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997. Bandai and Katz Media ended production of their hardware shortly afterwards, and by early 1998 the Pippin was considered a dead platform.
While Pippin software can be played on equivalent equipped Macintosh machines, the Pippin hardware can not run Mac software without extensive third party modifications.