Tiger Electronics had previously introduced its R-Zone game console in 1995 – as a competitor to Nintendo's Virtual Boy – but the system was a failure.

Prior to the R-Zone, Tiger had also manufactured handheld games consisting of LCD screens with imprinted graphics.

"[10] The Game.com, the only new game console of the year, was on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 1997, with sales expected to begin in July.

[11] Dennis Lynch of the Chicago Tribune considered the Game.com to be the "most interesting hand-held device" on display at E3, describing it as a "sort of Game Boy for adults".

[6] One of the major peripherals that Tiger produced for the system was the compete.com serial cable,[5] allowing players to connect their consoles to play multiplayer games.

[8] Despite several games based on popular franchises, the Game.com console line failed to sell in large numbers,[8][33] and was discontinued in 2000 because of poor sales.

[17] In addition to a Game.com-branded 14.4 kbit/s modem, Tiger also offered an Internet service provider through Delphi that was made to work specifically with the Game.com.

[5][39] Tiger subsequently released the Web Link cartridge, allowing players to connect their system to a desktop computer.

[43] Tiger secured licenses for several popular game series, including Duke Nukem, Resident Evil, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

[43] At the time of the Pocket Pro's 1999 release, the Game.com library consisted primarily of games intended for an older audience.

[46] At the time of the Game.com's launch in 1997, Chris Johnston of VideoGameSpot believed that the console would have difficulty competing against the Game Boy.

They were impressed by the PDA features and touchscreen, but commented that the games library had thus far failed to deliver on the Game.com's great potential.

It was also stated that in comparison to the Game Boy, the Game.com's 8-bit processor provided "marginal improvements" in the quality of speed and graphics.

"[6] GamePro criticized the Pocket Pro's lack of screen color and its difficult controls, but considered its two best qualities to be its cheap price and a game library of titles exclusive to the console.

[21] The Philadelphia Inquirer also criticized the Pocket Pro's lack of a color screen, as well as "frustrating" gameplay caused by the "unresponsive" controls, including the stylus.

"[44] Brett Alan Weiss of the website AllGame wrote, "The Game.com, the little system that (almost) could, constantly amazes me with the strength and scope of its sound effects.

"[49] In 2004, Kent included the modem and "some PDA functionality" as the console's strengths, while listing its "Slow processor" and "lackluster library of games" as weaknesses.

[8] In 2013, Jeff Dunn of GamesRadar criticized the Game.com for its "blurry" and "imprecise" touchscreen, as well as its "limited and unwieldy" Internet and email interfaces.

[19] In 2018, Nadia Oxford of USgamer noted the Game.com's "paper-thin" library of games and stated that the console "died in record time because it was poorly-made, to say the least.