How many of these did you own? I’ll share my total at the end of this entry…
Be it a lack of games, poor strategy, or inadequate marketing, a majority of video game consoles are commercial failures. Here are the 10 worst selling consoles of all time in terms of high-profile systems that stood a viable chance. Other lesser-known consoles are sure to have sold worse, but the below represent the notable platforms that never met expectations.
10. Dreamcast
Released in the fall of 1998 in Japan and a year later in the US, the Dreamcast was Sega’s fifth and final video game system. The much beloved console launched years ahead of the competition but ultimately struggled to shed the negative reputation it had gained during the Saturn, Sega 32X, and Sega CD days. As a result, casual gamers and jaded third-party developers doubted Sega’s ability to deliver. Despite a much celebrated game library, the Dreamcast only sold 10.6 million units during its short, three-year lifespan.
Key games: Soul Calibur, Seaman, Crazy Taxi
9. TurboGrafx-16
The TurboGrafx-16 was released in 1989 in North America and was largely considered a success in Japan. But the console never caught on in the US for two reasons: 1) Nintendo’s anti-competitive (now illegal) practices prevented Japanese developers from making games for both the TG16 and NES; and 2) poor localization. NEC successfully promoted the system in Japan using advertising in big cities only. When a similar strategy was implemented in the much larger and more diverse North America, a lack of public awareness resulted in smaller communities leaving NEC unable to compete. By 1991, the TurboGrafx-16 was all but dead and would go on to sell a total of 10 million units worldwide with only 2.5 million sold in the States.
Key games: Bonk’s Adventure, Splatterhouse
8. Saturn
The Sega Saturn was released in the US several months before the PlayStation in 1995, but like the Dreamcast that would later follow, it failed to last more than 3 years on the market. The console’s high $399 price put the sting on gamer wallets, and a complex multi-processor hardware architecture hindered game development leaving Saturn with relatively few good games. As a result, the more technogically forgiving PlayStation enjoyed a high influx of games to become the clear best-selling system of that generation. The “stillborn” Saturn would sell only 9.5 million units worldwide.
Key games: NIGHTS, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA
7. Sega CD
Compact Disc was all the rage in the early 90s when Sega released their first Genesis add-on that played 16-bit full-motion video games. The problem was threefold: the device was expensive at $299, it arrived late in the 16-bit life cycle, and it didn’t do much (if anything) to enhance the gameplay experience. Granted, the attachment delivered the greatest Sonic game of all time (Sonic CD), but everything else under whelmed and the system sold only 6 million units in its short-lived life. Worse still, Sega CD marked the first of several Sega systems that saw very poor support; something that devalued the once-popular Sega brand in the eyes of consumers, and something that would ultimately lead to the company’s demise as a hardware maker.
Key games: Sonic CD, Night Trap, Earthworm Jim
6. 3DO
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was the first legitimate 32-bit console to hit retail. Engineered by EA founder Trip Hawkins, the system was released in September 1993 by Panasonic. Despite its highly promoted launch, unprecedented power, and attractive development terms, the machine flopped because 3DO was unable to convince consumers to pay an exorbitant $700 price tag (and you thought the PS3 was expensive!). Interestingly enough, the 3DO was one of the first machines to be marketed as a “high-end audio-visual system” in addition to being a game console. Add that to the over-saturated console market of the mid-90s, and the EA-backed system would sell little more than 2 million units (note: the Wikipedia entry claims 6 million, a figure we couldn’t verify).
Key games: Road Rash, The Horde
5. Virtual Boy
Not quite a portable, definitely not a handheld, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy a few months after Sega’s Saturn in the summer of 1995 (a bad time for hardware launches). Priced at a pricey $180 dollars, the red monochrome system was met with a lukewarm reception despite its pseudo-3D graphics and continued price drops. Nintendo rushed the Virtual Boy to market in light of longer-than-expected N64 delays resulting in a poor selection of games and third-party support. Hence, only 770,000 units were ever sold, and the Virtual Boy was discontinued after just one year. It would be Nintendo’s only commercial hardware flop but at the additional expense of losing the creator of the venerable Game Boy line and Metroid franchise. That man Gunpei Yokoi who also designed the Virtual Boy, was kindly asked to leave after the debacle.
Key games: None, really
4. CD-i
If there was one machine that didn’t know what it was, it was Philip’s CD-i. Released in 1991 and heavily promoted via infomercials, the system was similar to the Sega CD in that it played 16-bit video CDs but was marketed as an all encompassing “interactive” player that included educational software, music, and self-improvement titles in addition to a limited number of video games. The arrival of cheaper, more powerful consoles in the mid 90s effectively sealed its fate, but miraculously, Philips life-supported the system until 1998 when it was finally discontinued. The CD-i would only sell a paltry 570,000 units.
Key games: Zelda: The Wand of Gannon, Dragon’s Lair, Myst
3. Atari Jaguar
The Jaguar was Atari’s last-ditch effort to deliver a financially successful video game console. The system was released in November 1993 as a 64-bit machine when in reality it was a 32-bit system (only the graphics card had 64-bit capabilities). Launching at a $250 price point, Jaguar was marketed under the slogan “Do the Math.” Let’s take Atari up on that mathematical challenge: Atari’s final console sold a measly 250,000 units in just over a year on the market. Sure the system had the ultra-cool Tempest 2000, but just about every other game was garbage. Is it a coincidence that the number three console on our list had the worst game controller ever invented by man? We think not.
Key games: Aliens vs. Predator, Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier
2. Sega 32X
The 32X was the epitome of Sega’s hardware failure. Launched in November 1994, this second Genesis add-on left gamers even more confused in light of the previously released Sega CD. Just how many 16-bit attachments did one need? All in all, if you were one of the unlucky souls who completely bought into Sega’s add-on frenzy, you would have spent a whopping $650 dollars for something that weighed about us much as a small dog. The real problem, however, was that Sega of America (which developed the 32X) had no idea the Saturn was being developed in Japan until it was too late. As a result, the 32X was half-heartily supported for only a few months selling an unthinkably low 200,000 units.
Key games: Virtua Racing Deluxe, Knuckles Chaotix, Doom
1. Apple Pippin
Apple and successful Japanese toy maker Bandai teamed up in 1995 to delivery a next-gen video game console and their lack of experience showed. The system launched at a pricey $599, making it more expensive albeit less powerful than the competition (kinda hard to sell something on that value proposition). The platform failed to gain any traction, had an appallingly limited roster of games, and only sold 42,000 units before being discontinued in 1997. Combine its ridiculously low sales in addition to making PC World’s “Worst Tech Products of All-time,” and the Pippin easily tops our list of the most under-performing, high-profile consoles ever.
Key games: none
I can’t believe I only owned 2 out of the 10 listed - the Dreamcast & SegaCD, and I still have my NEC TurboExpress which didn’t exactly set the world on fire, on second thought it did burn through 6AA batteries pretty fast. How many did you have? You can leave a comment or discuss this further in our forum.
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