The 5: Video Game Console Disasters

This Week on the 5:  Game Consoles That Didn’t Make It

Today their are three companies that dominate the home video game console market – Nintendo, SONY and Microsoft. Back in the early to mid 90’s this was not the case. In those early days of the home console wars, their were far more duds created than successes. Before these three giants solidified their stranglehold, one console after another came out trying to get a piece of the pie. For whatever reasons they each fell by the wayside. Below are 5 that blew up on the launchpad.

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  • NEO GEO (1990; Cost: $650).  NEO GEO was a company that specialized in arcade machines that created a console that brought the arcade into your home. It brought far superior graphics than anything else at the time but the $650 price tag for the system along with $250 a pop for games doomed it from the beginning. It was the better system but it priced itself out of the game. It was rare to find anyone who could afford a NEO GEO home system unless they financed it back in 1990.
  • 3DO (1993; Cost $699). Created by one of the founders of Electronic Arts, Tim Hawkins and Panasonic, the 3DO Interactive System had a gigantic push to it when the system first broke. Time awarded it 1994’s “Product of the Year” but lack of games being made for it coupled with it’s ridiculous price tag doomed the 3DO. The company expected to make all it’s money off the hardware sales as opposed to software – something only they were doing. This business plan and general lack of game support deep sixed the 3DO by 1996.
  • Atari Jaguar (1993; Cost: $250).  The Jaguar was the death knell of Atari’s foray into the home system arena. The system boasted 64 bit graphics at a time when most systems were half that. A ridiculous looking controller for the Jaguar along with developers having a hard time making game for it did not help anything. They only moved 250,000 units, far below their expectations. Once Atari merged with JT Storage, the Jaguar was done. Oddly enough, the Jaguar was the last video game console to be made in America before the Xbox in 2001.
  • Virtual Boy (1995; Cost: 180).  Before the Nintendo 64 came out, there was a weird middle time between console generations. That’s what led to the Virtual Boy being made in the first place. Nintendo touted this wacked out creation as a 3D gaming experience when it was anything but. Not only could you play really bad video games but you could look like a complete idiot at the same time. It barely lasted a year.
  • Sega Saturn (1995; Cost: $399).  The Saturn was Sega’s first foray into the 64 bit video game console generation. Its main competition turned out to be the original Playstation and Nintendo 64. The Saturn was released before both of those and at a higher price point. Combine that with the fact that the hardware the Saturn used made it hard for games to be developed for it and the Saturn had little hope. It was popular in Japan but never really gained a foothold in North America. Not to worry though, Sega totally redeemed themselves with the Dreamcast a few years later.

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