10 worst video game consoles ever
Since the 1970s, different companies have made their own video game consoles, which have had varying degrees of success. While some systems, like the Nintendo Switch, have received a lot of rave reviews and popularity, many failures have missed the mark.
While many of these failures are just plain poor and easily overlooked, some of these consoles have become infamous for their horror. From smelly graphics to clunky controllers, these worst consoles have a certain charm that has kept people talking about them to this day.
ten Virtual boy
Nintendo has always been an innovation-driven company, and many of its consoles have introduced new game mechanics and ideas that have inspired and changed the rest of the gaming industry. But sometimes a creator can be so ahead of time that the technology is not yet ready for it. A major example of this for Nintendo is the Virtual Boy, which was Nintendo’s first VR console and first 32-bit system.
While the Virtual Boy used interesting mechanics to simulate 3D space, the monochrome red screen and stereoscopic graphics made the console hard on the eyes and unpleasant to use or play. Plus, the console only had 22 games, and only a few are still worth playing, like Atlus’ one. Jack Bros, which is part of Shin megami tensei franchise. While the console is notable for its technological creativity, it’s still obvious why it’s Nintendo’s best-selling console.
9 Sega 32X
After the release of the Master System and Genesis consoles, Sega became a major player in the console market that even rivaled Nintendo. In the present, however, Sega has left the console war entirely. This extreme change in just a few decades is due to Sega releasing too many mediocre consoles in a row rather than spending more time on a single console. One of the consoles that has oversaturated the market is the 32X.
The 32X was an addition to the Genesis that increased the computing power of this aging console so that it could play 32-bit games. Similar to other Sega consoles of this era, the add-on was intended to bridge the gap between Sega’s main consoles, the aforementioned Genesis, and the Sega Saturn. While the 32X improved on the Genesis and there were some good titles such as Chaotix of joins with its unique cast of popular Sonic the hedgehog characters that need to make a comeback, the small library of 41 games, and only marginal graphics and audio enhancements made it an overall critical and business failure.
8 Atari jaguar
Founded in 1972, Atari was a major pioneer in the video game industry that laid the foundation for modern media. In the ’70s and early’ 80s, Atari was the biggest name in the gaming market. Atari tried to maintain its position in the industry by creating too many consoles and games, which would eventually lead to their destruction. At the end of its life, Atari developed a last main console that is also generally forgotten, the Atari Jaguar.
Although the Jaguar was marketed as the first 64-bit system, it was actually made from a combination of 32-bit processors. This confusing assortment of parts made it difficult to develop games for the system, which is why there were only 50 official games in total. Despite the setbacks, the console has maintained a cult following and is still played by die-hard fans.
7 Atari 5200
Following the success of the 1977 Atari 2600 console, the company released the 1982 console, the Atari 5200, as a possible successor to the first console. Using technology similar to Atari’s 8-bit computers, the console was a technological improvement, but the positives end there. The heaviness and bulk of the console itself, the necessary power source, and the odd controller resembling a telephone router made it extremely unappealing.
Additionally, the console had a very small game library, and most of the games were ports of 2,600 games. As Atari continued to mass-produce 2,600 games along with thousands of other developers, the economics of the video game industry would become so dire it would lead to the crash of 1983.
6 Compact Disc-Interactive
When the large electronics company Philips launched the Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-i) in 1990, it was not originally created for video games. The company wanted the focus to be on educational and commercial software, and video games would only be a side part of the product. Instead, this optical disc data storage unit has become known for its list of mostly terrible games.
With the strange combination of technology in the CD-i, it was difficult for developers to create games on the system. While there are a few notable games, other titles, especially the Zelda and Mario entrees, are known to be so bad that they have become infamous online. Specifically, Zelda’s Adventure is well known for adopting the then popular Full Motion live video format. The title’s resounding failure keeps it from being considered one of the best FMV games of all time.
5 Apple Bandai Pippin
The Apple Bandai Pippin is another console originally intended to be a multimedia device with video games as a secondary component. Shortly before Steve Jobs returned to Apple after several years without being a part of the company, potential tech giant Apple and one of the biggest toy companies Bandai joined forces to launch the console. 1996. The combination of the incredibly small game library and the fact that it costs $ 599 caused the system to sell poorly. After only a few years, the console was abandoned and forgotten.
4 N-Gage
Commonly referred to as the “taco phone,” the N-Gage is a hybrid of portable game console and smartphone launched in 2003 by Nokia. The main appeal of the device was believed to be the fact that people could use it as both a gaming system and a phone, but the attempt to include the buttons needed for both types of devices led to a confusing set of commands that didn’t work. for one thing or the other.
Later in the life of the system, several games, such as Sega’s MMORPG Pocket Kingdom: Own the world, turned out to be interesting games that should still be played. But those games came out too late and didn’t take away from the console’s other negatives like poor battery life.
3 Nuon
When several big names in the tech industry came together to create VM Labs in the 1990s, it looked like the company was going to completely change the industry. The goal of VM Labs was to create a chip, which was originally called Project X, that would upgrade DVD players into a multimedia platform. This Nuon chip was supposed to combine entertainment from CDs, DVDs, video games, and the Internet into one platform. But when it was released in 2000, Sony’s PlayStation 2 destroyed any chance the chip had in the market. With just eight games and four movies, the once prophesied game changer is dead with a groan.
2 Ouya
While most of the worst video game consoles came out years ago, Ouya is a relatively modern flop. Released in 2013 after one of the most lucrative Kickstarter campaigns, the Ouya was an Android-based console that had to be hooked up to the TV. The main draw of the console was supposed to be the ease with which it was possible to modify the hardware and create games for it.
Despite this, the controller and console felt cheap and didn’t perform well most of the time. While anyone could technically make their own games, the console didn’t have much to offer on its own. After a few short years, this experimental console died with disgruntled backers.
1 HyperScan
Besides the Intellivision in 1979, the toy company Mattel released only one other console, the HyperScan of 2006. The purpose of this console was to scan the cards of certain games on CD-ROM in order to unlock them. parts of the game, which meant players couldn’t access an entire game without purchasing more cards.
Because the console was discontinued after only a year, only five games were made for the console. Out of these games, three of them, which include X-Men, Interstellar Wrestling League, and Spider Man, all maps were never published. This means that some parts of these games have never been released as they continue to be locked behind a paywall. With the long load times, the old hardware, the clunky controller, and the easily breakable system, it’s no surprise that this died within the year.
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