failed consoles

[toptenmaterial]

Hi everyone, I'd like to start a forum to discuss failed systems from the Dreamcast to the Jag, Arcadia and any others we can think of!! What were these consoles, and why did they fail? Is there one that you were rooting for, or that you still play today?

[The_Laird]

I loved failed systems, there is a certain magic underdog spirit about them and I own more than a few.

 

If I started on the Jaguar I would be here forever

[toptenmaterial]

I loved failed systems, there is a certain magic underdog spirit about them and I own more than a few.

 

If I started on the Jaguar I would be here forever

hey laird, I bet you must have seen a lot of variety with the home computer market in the UK... was it a revolving door?

[mbd30]

Anyone have an FM Towns Marty?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_Towns_Marty

[The_Laird]

I loved failed systems, there is a certain magic underdog spirit about them and I own more than a few.

 

If I started on the Jaguar I would be here forever

hey laird, I bet you must have seen a lot of variety with the home computer market in the UK... was it a revolving door?

 

Thats so funny because I just made a post about that in another thread here

 

Go look at the Super Mario/Crash thread.

[Arkhan]

Anyone have an FM Towns Marty?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_Towns_Marty

 

Yus, I do.

 

Its not a failure!

[Koopa64]

The 32X is an excellent failed system.

[BassGuitari]

Define "failed."

[godslabrat]

Define "failed."

 

Good point. You could easily argue that the SegaCD and Dreamcast weren't failures, just discontinued before their time-- it's debatable. There's a popular misconception that the N64 was a failure, and that's just flat-out wrong. You can't define "successful" as being the market leader, because there have been several generations in which the #2 or even #3 console pulled a nice profit. You can't define "failure" as not turning a profit, because there are many systems that died in infancy, that theoretically COULD have done much better, with a little help. You could define it as simply "profoundly unpopular," but that's almost as hard to quantify as saying it's not successful.

 

Personally, I've always loved the Virtual Boy. It was a failure by any measure-- not the market leader, never profitable, and certainly not popular. However, in my fantasy world, I like to think a different selection of developers + a different marketing strategy could have turned this thing into a much bigger success.

[Lendorien]

Here's a question... What constitutes a failed system?

 

A system that loses money?

A system that was canceled for lack of sales?

A system that had poor market penetration (few units sold)?

A system that had a regular life cycle but never had a strong sales presence?

A system that was canceled due to factors unrelated to the system?

A system that did well in some markets but failed in others?

 

Systems that were not failures:

• Atari 2600 - One of the best-selling consoles of the 70's and 80's, this console printed money for Atari for over a decade.
  
• Colecovision - Selling over 2 million units, the system was arguably successful, but was pulled off the market to make room for Coleco's Adam (which drove the company into bankruptcy.)
  
• Intellivision - While the system was taken out by the VG crash, it sold well with over 3 million shipped units.
  
• Atari 7800 - Surprisingly enough, while not a big seller compared to the dominant NES, it served out a complete life cycle and AFAIK actually made a modest amount of money.
  
• Nintendo Entertainment System\Famicom - Often credited with reviving the American Console Industry and a bestseller in Japan
  
• Sega Master System - While not a huge seller in the US, in South America and Europe it demonstrated strong sales.
  
• Turbografx 16/PC engine - Whil not a big seller int he US, it was quite successful in Japan.
  
• Nintendo Gameboy - A groundbreaking handheld, the GB printed money for Nintendo. Likewise with the Advance.
  
• Sega GameGear - While not as popular as the Gameboy, it held its own and had a decent market share.
  
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System\Super Famicom - One of the best selling consoles of the early 90's in Japan and the US
  
• Sega Genesis/Mega Drive - One of the best selling consoles in the United States, it rivaled the SNES.
  
• Neo Geo - On the market for 14 years, it never had more than a niche market, but it sold for longer than most.
  
• Nintendo 64 - While the N64 made Nintendo lose dominance in the market, it was still a strong seller and had a regular life-cycle.
  
• Nintendo Gamecube - Hampered by its odd media format, it still sold well to those seeking a family friendly console.
  
• Sony Playstation - A groundbreaking console in some ways, it introduced 3d in a big way and was the bestselling console of its generation
  
• Sony Playstation 2 - Still for sale, this console printed money for Sony and arguably, still does.
  
• Microsoft Xbox - Microsoft's entry into the market and the PS2's main rival. Extremely successful.
  

 

Confirmed Failures:

• Fairchild Channel F - Exact sales numbers are hard to find, but it was eclipsed by the 2600 and likely did not have too much market share, nor did it stay on the market long.
  
• Atari 5200 - Pulled from the market after 2 years due to lack of sales.
  
• Vectrex - A victim of bad timing (the VG crash), it was canceled after 2 years for lack of sales.
  
• Laseractive - Prohibitively expensive, this LD system did not do well.
  
• NeoGeo Pocket - A handheld that did not sell well. It was canceled after about a year.
  
• Atari Jaguar - Rushed buggy hardware and lack of advertising doomed the Jag.
  
• 3DO - While innovative, the price point and licenced hardware model caused it to eventually wither and be canceled.
  
• CD-i - Lack of consumer interest led to the system focusing on the commercial market.
  
• FM Towns Marty - A commercial failure in Japan.
  
• Sega 32X - A failure. Half baked and overhyped, it sold poorly.
  
• Sega Nomad - Sold poorly and was eventually dropped.
  
• Sega Saturn - While well received when released, foolish marketing decisions doomed it to an early death (well, that and the hard to program for hardware).
  
• Mattel Hyperscan - Among the worst consoles ever marketed.
  

 

Debatable

• Bally Astrocade - Released under several names during its 7 year life cycle, one could argue that due to its long life cycle, it was moderately successful
  
• Magnavox Oddessey2 - Surprisingly enough, it sold over 1 million units in the US and was fairly successful in Europe and Brazil.
  
• Atari Lynx - Groundbreaking in its own right, it was on the market for half a decade and while not a chief handheld, did decently, at least at first.
  
• Sega/Mega CD - Sold over 6 million units which means it reached around 15% of Genesis/Mega drive users.
  
• Sega Dreamcast - The last Sega console, it was well received and loved, but could not stand up to the PS2 and the mismanagement of Sega itself.
  

 

I realize I probably missed a few. But this is my analysis of the systems I know about.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Lendorien

[toptenmaterial]

Thanks Lendorien!

[TheGameCollector]

The Neo Geo Pocket Color sure had a short lifespan. By the time the Game Boy Advance came out it was eclipsed by the better graphics while this one had only come out two years before it. Great games, but SNK withdrew it from the market as soon as the GBA arrived. It never really competed well with its rival Game Boy Color either.

[+save2600]

I don't consider the CD-i a failure really at all. I know a lot of gamers might feel that way, but the machine was always about more than just gaming. Philips also did an amazing job keeping track of their customers and providing software way into the late 90's, early 2000's. Incredible how much software came out for that thing toward the end of its life. Probably the most successful "failed" system of all time that way. Considering its specs, the system lasted for quite a while and even had various models come to market. Take into consideration also that it doubled as a nice MPEG video player w/ the DV cartridge. Sears also had special software made for 'em that provided POS and sales training, among other things that were still being used by the mid 2000's. I know, because I worked for them up until around the same time.

 

I also do not consider Amiga's CD32 as a qualified failure as it never stood a chance, thanks to Commodore's decision to jump ship near the time of its release. Had that system been marketed wisely, I think it would have done fairly well - all things considered. Especially over in Europe. CDTV on the other hand - yeah, major fail there.

 

Dreamcast is another system I do not consider a failure. Sega prematurely pulled the plug on that one. It would have survived quite a bit longer as a budget system at the very least. Look how long the PS2 has been going.

 

Systems that seem like true failures to me include Apple's Pippin, Sega's 32x, Bally's Astrocade, NEC's SuperGrafx, the Game.com thing, that Mattel CD abomination, Neo*Geo Pocket, Atari's 5200 AND the 7800. I mention the 7800 only because I believe it could have competed better with the NES had there been better software and more of it. It definitely stood a chance, but Atari impeded their own success once again by not recognizing how to market, what to market, who to market to and negotiate wisely for licenses.

 

My impressions and opinions anyway.

[BassGuitari]

To me, a failed video game console is a machine that was designed to play video games, but didn't.

 

Likewise, did you know that the Atari 2600 was a failed brake press backgauge controller?

[godslabrat]

To me, a failed video game console is a machine that was designed to play video games, but didn't.

 

 

In other words... my PS3?

 

*rimshot!*

[jeremysart]

I cant find Intellivsion anywhere on this list

 

I definitely don't think it failed, but its an underdog system thats certainly deserves more attention and respect. It is also the one that a lot of people never heard heard of; you say Atari, everyone knows what your talking about.

 

Its one of my all time favorites.

[atarian63]

The 32X is an excellent failed system.

yes it is!

[atarian63]

To me, a failed video game console is a machine that was designed to play video games, but didn't.

 

 

In other words... my PS3?

 

*rimshot!*

Or a 360 (broken too often to play games and chose the wrong dvd standard)

[atarian63]

CD32 or CDTV. I have had both,limited game supply but a neat idea,especially CD32,Comes to mind it was Atari's original intent to make a console from that chipset But anyway a cool idea just too late.

[+save2600]

I cant find Intellivsion anywhere on this list

 

I definitely don't think it failed, but its an underdog system thats certainly deserves more attention and respect. It is also the one that a lot of people never heard heard of; you say Atari, everyone knows what your talking about.

You're not cool if you don't know Intellivision

 

And yeah, I forgot to mention the CDTV. Commodore had gold in their hands, a CD-i killer to be sure: a "simple" CD based Amiga computer that was relatively easy to program and port to. I don't know what their deal totally was on that as I haven't read the 'Over the Edge' Commodore book, but seems to me they had trouble distributing and of course, marketing the thing. It was also waaaaay overpriced. A500's were $500 at the time and CDTV should have been priced at or near that, to be competitive. Also, the software which many were simply ports, should not have been more than $30-$40. I remember seeing $60 and $70 price tags on that shit. All in the name of "new technology". Whooopeee. Even I didn't fall for that thing when it was finally released. I especially hated that stupid CD caddy design. CAddies. Pffft! They were so proud to be able to disassociate CDTV from computing ("place this in your entertainment center"), but included an obvious computer-like drive? For the money ($900), it *should* have been drawer loading. Commodore sure made some extremely stupid moves at the time.

[toptenmaterial]

does anyone here remember the emerson arcadia 2001? before my time....

[nightwheel]

I personally own a Game.com and Vtech Socrates

[Lendorien]

I cant find Intellivsion anywhere on this list

 

I definitely don't think it failed, but its an underdog system thats certainly deserves more attention and respect. It is also the one that a lot of people never heard heard of; you say Atari, everyone knows what your talking about.

 

Its one of my all time favorites.

 

It's on there. I listed as one that wasn't a failure. It sold over 3 million consoles, which for the 80's really was a lot.

[Austin]

The Neo-Geo CD.

 

I could also list the AES, but won't because it was somewhat in a league of its own for obvious reasons, an anomaly if you will.

[GKC]

Two of my favorite consoles are the Atari Jaguar and the Sega 32x. I Also got a Sega CD on the way and I am sure I will like that as well. Sonic CD? Silpheed? Android Assault? Yes please.