Video CD a few years later) on each side. The Laserdisc provided picture quality nearly double that of VHS tape and analog audio quality far superior to VHS. Philips later teamed up with Sony to develop a new type of disc, the compact disc or CD. Introduced in 1982 in Japan (1983 in the U.S. and Europe), the CD is about in diameter, and is single-sided. The format was initially designed to store digitized sound and proved to be a success in the music industry. A few years later, Philips decided to give CDs the ability to produce video, just like its
Philips CD-i probably better for those who could wait a few months. An early 1995 review of the system in "GamePro" stated that "inconsistent game quality puts the CD-i at a disadvantage against other high-powered game producers." A late 1995 review in "Next Generation" criticized both Philips's approach to marketing the CD-i and the hardware itself ("The unit excels at practically nothing except FMV, and then only with the addition of a $200 digital video cartridge"). The magazine noted that while Philips had not yet officially discontinued the CD-i, it was dead for all intents and purposes, citing as evidence the fact