website/content/museum/worlds-of-wonder-action-max.md

---
title: Worlds of Wonder Action Max
categories:
- Consoles
params:
  name: Action Max
  image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_1s.jpg
  logo: /media/museum/logos/worlds-of-wonder_actionmax_logo.gif
  company: /companies/worlds-of-wonder
  company_name: Worlds of Wonder
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - software
  - emulators
  - links
  - docs
  - videos
  photos:
  - title: ACTION MAX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_3.jpg
  - title: BOX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_box_1.jpg
  - title: BACK OF THE BOX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_box_2.jpg
  - title: BOX OPENED
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_inbox_1.jpg
  - title: INSIDE OF THE BOX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/worldofwonder_actionmax_inbox_2.jpg
  - title: MOTHER BOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to Incog for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/action-max_mobo_1.jpg
  adverts:
  - title: INSERT - RECTO
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/wow_action_max_insert1.jpg
  - title: INSERT - VERSO
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/wow_action_max_insert2.jpg
  emulators:
  - title: SINGE
    url: http://www.jaegertech.net/software/singe
    platform: Windows
    text: Action Max emulator based on the Daphne emulator and SINGE add-on
  links:
  - title: vidgame.net
    url: http://www.vidgame.net/Action_Max/actionmax.htm
    text: Detailed page dedicated to the Action Max with nice pictures
  docs:
  - title: ACTION MAX - USER MANUAL
    url: null
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/wow_action-max_cover_s.jpg
    text: |-
      **ACTION MAX - USER MANUAL**\
      written by Worlds of Wonder

       compiled/archived by Incog / old-computers.com\
       type of document : PDF\
       size : 650 KB\
       source : old-computers.com

      **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
  videos:
  - title: Action Max Intro & Calibration (more video in software section)
    url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ZcvwkUHvw
    text: 'Length: 58 s'
  comments:
  - author: k3nn
    date: Monday 16th December 2013
    text: well, i remember this when i went with my mom shopping for a videogame console waaaay back when...the sales rep demoed it to us and i remember using the gun but then the video didn''t change to an exploding jet fighter despite me having already "supposedly" blasted it with my gun (excuse me for the very crude idea i had during my formative years) and immediately it was a let down as i had seen the msx in a different store before this. the msx was tons way better because you could control it (even though the graphics was just 8-bits), unlike this one(which has real life video, but not interactive).ultimately we got the Famicom/NES
  - author: Allison
    date: Friday 1st November 2013
    text: My brother and I got this for Christmas in 1987, when we were five years old. The concept sounded pretty cool when you''re too young to understand video games (especially for those of us born in the 1980s). But yes, I remember it not working well, and the expectation that actually shooting something would generate a reaction from the video. It must have been on its way out by the time we got it, because we only received one additional game (aside from the pack-in game), The Rescue of Pops Ghostly. Judging by the video I saw on You Tube...It''s almost no wonder that WoW went out of business, they must really have believed kids are dumb.
  - author: Ed
    date: Wednesday 24th August 2011
    text: |-
      $i$Due to the linear nature of the games, targets appeared in the same places every single time, making memorization of "enemy" locations a real issue.$/i$

      Doesn''t this apply to pretty much every light gun game?
  - author: Dave W. (MI)
    date: Saturday 4th December 2010
    text: I recieved this piece of junk for my 6th birthday in 1987. I remember the Pops Ghostly game.
  - author: DPrinny (UK )
    date: Saturday 6th March 2010
    text: |-
      I have two of these things and they can be easily recreated by getting out any kind of gun and pointing it at the screen shooting anything that moves.\
      Yeah its that bad. Its so bad its very very bad
  - author: John Wayne (Alabama)
    date: Wednesday 3rd May 2006
    text: I had one of these too when they came out. I bought a game called something like "Pops Ghostly" where you shot a ghost in an a mansion. It really sucked. BTW, I also had a lazertag kit too lol.
  - author: Dan Wolak (Wyandotte, MI)
    date: Tuesday 4th May 2004
    text: I had one of these briefly, and after about a week or so, I realized it was a big mistake and returned it. The sonic fury game got old pretty quick, and the system only had like 5 games for it.
  - author: Bill Loguidice (Central New Jersey, USA)
    date: Wednesday 14th April 2004
    text: I remember getting this system as an early teen when it was on sale at Toys 'R' Us and I had a gift certificate (it was something like $80 - $100). Boy was I dissapointed! It's a simple and repetitive target game and it HAS NOT held up well to the ravages of time. The gun broke with little use and the suction cup for the TV sensor became hopelessly warped! Not a fun system and not a good collectible except for the most die-hard...
  software:
  - /software/38-ambush-alley
  - /software/blue-thunder
  - /software/fright-night
  - /software/hydrosub-2021
  - /software/sonic-fury
  - /software/the-rescue-of-pops-ghostly
  oc_id: 1008
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20221204051839/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1008
    date: '2022-12-04'
---

Action Max from Worlds of Wonder (WoW), released in the US in 1987, was a unique, if simple and ultimately unimpressive game system that used special pre-recorded VHS video tapes for software. The original package came bundled with the base unit, light gun, television sensor, headphones, connection cables, documentation and one game, "Sonic Fury". Batteries or a power supply were not included. After connecting the components to the base unit and the base unit to any standard VCR, the player inserted the videotape game into the VCR and pressed 'play'. After minimal video instruction, the target sensor was placed on the appropriate spot on the television's screen via the included suction cup. A short target practice scenario was displayed, then the game began, with the target sensor glowing red every time a hit was registered, keeping count on the base unit.

Interaction was strictly one way. There was no reaction from the video when a target, be it a plane, ghost or some other enemy, was hit, so gameplay was a purely linear experience, with the footage rolling unimpeded as long as 'stop' was not pressed on the VCR's controls or the end of the tape was reached. As for the quality of the videos themselves, the special effects were laughable and what little there was in regards to acting was amateurish at best. Since the base unit could receive signals but not output them, a small speaker was built-in to generate simple sound effects. This sound could be disabled or bypassed with the headphones.

Three game modes could be selected: 'Standard', 'Reflex' and 'Limited Ammunition'. On the console itself there were dials to adjust interal sound volume and player distance from the display. There were also switches to choose game type ('Normal', 'Special'), players ('First', 'Second') and to turn the system on or Off.

So what were the system's failings? Due to the linear nature of the games, targets appeared in the same places every single time, making memorization of "enemy" locations a real issue. While the system had three game variations and play for alternating gamers, it was nothing more than a fancy target game, no matter which videotape was utilized. Interestingly, at the end of each videotape "game", there were video previews of other releases, which also had targets and could be shot at and scored, acting like a (unintentional?) demo!

WoW was most famous for its "Teddy Ruxpin" line of animated dolls and "Laser Tag" action game. WoW was also the original distributor of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the US. Eventually, Nintendo's market presence became so great that the company decided to handle distribution and store relations without WoW's assistance. The Action Max then was WoW's ill-fated attempt to re-enter the videogame market with a device that was more toy than videogame. Interestingly, after the company's collapse due to a glut of unbought toys, some of its former employees went to work for Nintendo.

NOTE: If you want to buy one of these units from auction sites, the format for the VHS tapes is NTSC, which does not work in many International territories.

---

Thanks to Bill Loguidice for text correction and most of the info.

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>We need more info about this console ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>