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Worst console flop ever?

JaiGuru

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I might actually go full retro with this and say the Atari 5200.

The thing about that console is that it was riding the pedigree of the biggest name in video games of the time. It would be like if today Nintendo or Sony put out a console and it flopped. Some might argue that the Wii U actually did flop, but I'd point out that console did turn a profit even if it wasn't what was projected. And it does have high quality titles that are worth playing today if you've never investigated them. The Atari 5200, however, came at a time when there were fewer regulatory laws about who was allowed to develop and market software, and what intellectual property protections they had to observe. This meant the market was flooded with unfit-for-purpose games that cost full price and devastated consumer confidence, not just in Atari, but the entire video game industry!

Also consider that the thing was huge by the standards of the time. Remember, this was a time when video gaming was largely seen as kids' stuff, a rainy day hobby with an item that is to be put away when the sun comes out and not a centerpiece of your entertainment center as our media devices tend to be today. It's size was a massive turn off for consumers.

The poor quality of thing is legendary, too. The controllers often didn't work right out of the box. The rotating sliders were arguably a pretty novel feature for the time but functioned so poorly that it never got the chance to be taken seriously as an input device. The thing lasted just over a year and half, cost over $300 USD in some markets (and that's in early '80s money, remember), and Atari even tried to essentially deny it ever existed after the fact because it was such a black eye on their record.

That's a pretty gargantuan flop no matter what your standards and definitions are.
 

appleandcinnamon

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Definitely Virtual Boy. The graphics were really poor and they were in freaking red. It was uncomfortable for most players to look into it for too long precisely because of its color scheme.
 

StolenKid

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I think that Nokia N-Cage was a huge flop for it's time, it was the worst portable platform ever, and it didn't work as a phone either, it was just garbage.
 

Westbay

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For me the Nintendo WII is the most useless console have seen in my entire life its basically useless I was at a mall and I saw it there we were kids so they let us test any game console so I was done checking the play station 2 It looked so small I liked it until when I saw the controller I had to ask the attendant who forgot their TV remote control and he laughed and told me that was the Nitendo WII controller I was so shocked because I used to own a Nitendo Nes and to Nitendo 64 they were awesome games so I tried the games they were all crappy, Tennis, Golf?? in my mind I knew it was just a bad idea since then I couldn't remember ever seeing a Nitendo WII at anyone's house. I think that particular design took Nitendo off the market.
 

SeanP

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The Virtual Boy is what comes to mind first. What were they thinking with that? I suppose they thought that the novelty of "3-D" would justify the side effects that would inevitably come with using the headset. Its funny that we are sort of running into the same issues today with VR helmets, although not nearly to the same degree.

Other, lesser failures include the Dreamcast and Wii U. The Dreamcast in particular was a huge shame - the console was so ahead of its time! Sad way for Sega to exit the console industry.
 

Soulwatcher

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The Sega Dreamcast was a huge flop. I can remember how much I wanted one and when I finally had enough money to buy one Sega wasn't making anymore. Its a shame that the PS2 killed it, because it would be really nice to have another AAA game console maker. And I am sorry but the Nintendo Switch is a kids console.
 

Referal

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I think Virtual Boy I heard was a worst console game ever made 2 for me its GameBoy Advance not the one with the flip I am talking about the older one It was terrible I had it and then they removed the games from the market then it was the Advance with the flip was introduced and took the gaming market by storm back in 2000's era sad to see those time goes by too fast when your gaming lol.
 
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