10 Consoles That Flopped Article

[Bartsfam]

Page hits.

 

A site that nobody's ever heard of trolls classic video game enthusiasts so they can see yet another person's random list of "10 consoles/video games that _______" and generate web traffic. Historical and technical inaccuracies are sure to ensue and I would be very surprised if they put all ten consoles on one page. Speaking of which, I think we are due for another Seanbaby clone list that says E.T. was the worst game ever and that it caused the crash of '83.

 

I found this article originally by accident. It all started with TMZ, and at the bottom there was a link for "hottest Emma Watson picture ever!". That led me to "BroBible.com", which had a clickable link to the article about the 10 biggest console flops ever on "mandatory.com."

 

So..it's all Emma Watson's fault that I found the article in the first place!!

 

 

I wonder if the Wii U will be on their future list..?..

Edited March 18, 2013 by Bartsfam

[gorfcadet]

Is the WiiU doing poorly? Its hard to know anymore. They do actually profit on the hardware I think. Like every gen, it'll sell when a 3D Mario or a new Zelda hits.

[GKC]

No Atari Jaguar? Vindication! I'm so happy right now!

[Dr Manhattan]

I actually saw the Phantom in person at E3. Crazy! I've been going to the show for the past 14 years. It's amazing how many products ever saw the light of day.

[Vic George 2K3]

The Wii U has only been out for months, and people want to automatically consider it a flop before waiting to see if it picks up any steam? What a faithless generation we have turned out to be.

[godslabrat]

The Wii U has only been out for months, and people want to automatically consider it a flop before waiting to see if it picks up any steam? What a faithless generation we have turned out to be.

 

Ehh... I remember people saying that about the PS2. It spent most of its first year with a high price tag and a crappy library. We forget that.

[Algus]

The PS3 didn't fare to well in its early years either. And everyone was LOLing when the Xbox was announced.

 

I'm not super enthusiastic about the Wii U, mostly because I never thought the Wii lived up to its potential. Kinda sad when one of the best games is the one that shipped with the console when it was new. If it gets a few big titles, I'll take another look though. Though to be honest neither Twilight Princess or Super Mario Galaxy did much for me. I never even bothered with the followups. Zelda was best in the 2D era imo and I'll take regular controls for Mario thank you.

[JamesD]

I think most people find the 360 and PS3 provide excellent visuals, great gameplay, and a lot of games.

Convincing people to move to a new generation in a slow economy might be a tough sell and the fact that the Wii U isn't even a match for the current consoles won't help it one bit.

Nintendo is trying to gain sales through gadgets because it worked with the Wii but this time I think people aren't as excited over the new gadget.

[godslabrat]

I certainly wouldn't have included the Phantom since it is widely regarded as Vaporware and is also tied up in issues involving financial scandals with the company.

 

Back when the Phantom PR machine was in full swing, I wrote this response in a newsgroup. Thought you might all get a chuckle:

 

A Tampa Bay area technology company, Infinium Labs Corporation, will

develop and market a new >game console that will outperform the XBOX, Sony

Playstation 2, and GameCube.

 

The company plans to market a high performance gaming console and delivery

system to provide consumers with options and capabilities that are not

available in today’s marketplace.

 

 

Yeah, good luck with that.

 

The console will appeal to the hard-core gamer and the high end consumer

electronic purchaser.

 

 

Unlike the current three, which appeal to sheep herders and meat cutters.

 

This next generation game console provides a robust, fault tolerant

delivery system that supports games on demand,

 

 

 

Oh, good. I've been looking for a device that lets me download games. Oh,

wait...

 

 

game rentals,

 

 

Oh, good, I can't rent games for my GameCube.

 

 

game demos,

A good idea. I hope Sony doesn't catch on.

 

 

> seamless upgrades

More seamless than plugging in an expansion pak?

 

 

> and patch management.

 

 

The fact that patches are even a concern says something.

 

 

>The game >console is an “ALWAYS ON BROADBAND DEVICE.”

Unlike other broadband devices, which dial up?

 

 

> It is easy enough for children to use independently

 

 

Yeah, kids can't figure out video games these days.

 

 

>yet so advanced it exceeds the needs of hard-core gamers.

Hard-core gamers, of course, being the type of people who will

never want something new and better.

 

 

>Key features include:

>- Fastest console on the market

Speed is certainly the deciding factor in market success, right Sony?

 

 

>- Broadest selection of preloaded games

Of what?

 

 

>- Cross Platform capabilities

Play against PC users... why not just have a PC?

 

>- State of the art design and architecture

I'm tired of that cardboard box my GameCube is made out of. Thank God

some genius decided to make systems out of chips and plastic.

 

 

>- Advanced accessories and wireless capabilities

Crap, next you'll tell me the thing is compatible with common household

electricity. Dare I hope?

 

>- Seamless upgrades and patch management

Yeah, we heard that part.

 

>- Game Rentals

Do they *really* think this is something new?

My favorite part is from the website, in which they offer over 50,000 games

for

the system, yet don't mention even one specific title.

[Arkhan]

The laseractive is only a flop if you're lame.

[Vic George 2K3]

The LaserActive wouldn't have been a bad system if Genesis/Sega CD or TurboGrafx-16/CD compatibility was built-in. Come to think of it, I'd rather have it just be Genesis/Sega CD compatible.

[onthinice]

I'm also glad the Action Max and 3DO were not slammed. I had a CD-i years ago. Not a bad machine. It has a good early version of Axis and Allies. Just did not play it much. Decided I had too many consoles and chose to sell it.