What is/do you have a favorite "failed" console?

I do, the Sega Dreamcast.

It was only in production for a very limited time and did not even scratch the surface of the expectations for sales but I had a lot of fun with it.

For one it is probably still the best system ever for fighting games, it was just ridiculous for what it had in that department. I also remember enjoying Virtua Tennis way too much and really liking Shenmue II (i ordered it from the UK with a emu disc). Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II were great but sadly pretty much the only good rpg's and pretty much just only on the system. Project Gotham Racing on it was great too, played on a monitor with the S box it was amazing.

With the death of the DC is also when my brand loyalty died since I had been a Sega gamer since the Master System, now I just go wherever the games are.

Do you have a favorite "failed" system?

Probably the OG Xbox or as some call it, Dreamcast 2. While it was second in its generation. It no where near came close the ps2 numbers.

It did everything better than its nearest competitor (online, features, storage, raw power, multiplats, controller, games). The Xbox not only goes down as my favourite failed console, but my overall favourite console in general.

I don't have a failed console favorite but I guess you could say The Virtual Boy but in this case, it was a freaking piece of shit!

You have got to be kidding me, OG Xbox was my favorite MS console cause it gave us Halo CE and so much more exclusive games content you could ask for. I didn't care if it never came close to PS2 numbers, Xbox had awesome games compare to PS2 in my opinion.

Dreamcast.

-GameCube (even before the fandom for this console became so revisionist)

-Wii U

Hmm... probably Dreamcast followed by Sega CD.

Dreamcast didn't deserve its fate having some incredible titles in its library like Shenmue, Ecco, Jet Set, etc. Also the first to come with a built in modem and the VMU was really cool tech at the time.

Sega CD was also great. Spendy for its time which helped kill it, but ultimately pretty great. Was one of the first to have a disc based medium as well as memory card. The second version looked super sleek with the second version of Genesis. Great games like Sonic CD, Sewer Shark, Jurassic Park, etc.

@nintendoboy16: Is Gamecube considered a failed system? Also, what do you mean by the fans of the Gamecube are revisionist?

The Dreamcast, Segas penultimate war cry before it went into a zombie state and whoring Sonic for all he's worth.

When it was third place and considered the butt of jokes for it's time (which not even the Dreamcast suffered, and that console, plus it's company, were nuked out of competition) for being "kiddy", behind the times, low sales, etc. What else can you call it?

Revisionist in that they are pretending they never hated it when 2006 (Wii's release) rolled along. Like with Star Wars fans and how they apparently never disliked the prequels ever since Force Awakens and subsequent Disney films (Rogue One, Solo, Last Jedi) came along. I was there that gen, quite a lot of people, even the press hated the system.

Saturn.

It's a beast for 2D games and has the greatest controller of all-time. It also home to some of my favorite masterpieces in all of gaming such as NiGHTS into Dreams and Panzer Dragoon Saga. The library very much represents vintage SEGA, and (unfortunately) collectors know that too now.

I'll go with Sega Saturn as well.

It was last place and sold far less than N64, so I'd say yes. Obviously it wasn't Virtual Boy or Wii-U levels of failed - but it was last place so it was at least a borderline level of fail.

I picked up mine at the tail end of that gen when they were discounting it to $99, and I really liked the design of the Gamecube. It was definitely an interesting piece of hardware. Probably the best design of that gen, mini-DVD worked for games for the most part but if I had to guess the marketing disadvantage of lacking DVD probably cost them from at least having N64 or better level sales (also keeping them behind OG Xbox)

For me personally, I hardly ever owned any of the "failed" systems. I guess that's why they were considered failed LOL. I usually wait a year or two to see how things are shaking out before buying hardware. I guess the closest for me was Vita, and then the aforementioned Gamecube was the next closest.

Hmm, I don’t know what some people are going to consider a failed console to be. Is the Neo Geo considered to be a failed console? If so then I would say probably that one. If not that then probably the Wii U.

@nintendoboy16: Thanks for the reply. Interesting. I still hold Gamecube as a favorite system of mine. It was my introduction to Smash Bros and 3D Zelda as I skipped N64. It became my Zelda system having every game in the series on it through Twilight Princess with my added GBA player attachment. I initially bought it for Resident Evil Remake but my enjoyment of Nintendo IPs expanded greatly because of it. Thus, I never considered it a failed system.

@davillain-: If you’re going by numbers (24m vs 150m), then yes - the Xbox would be considered a failure. Regardless, it’s still my favourite console of all time.

Sega Saturn

followed by OG xbox.

@boxrekt:

Xbox was not a failure. It was that console which stole the thunder from Sony over the course of thst generation. It was that console which sold the 360.

My choice goes to Virtual Boy.

Damn, I paid full retail for my Dreamcast and Gamecube, good times though.

The Dreamcast. It only lasted one year but it had one of the best launch lineups ever.

Mine would be the PS3. Even though it faired better over it's lifetime, it was and is considered "less than" in most conversations. But I loved so many things about it; first wireless controller that worked well (that I had used), customizable backgrounds/themes, format war between hddvd and Blu-ray, new IP, hoping that new IP would be good enough to shut 360 fans up ;), backwards compatible with ps1 and ps2, the wild west versions of the store, etc. I never knew what to expect (which was fun) and then it just kept getting better and better...minus the network hack.

What do we class as a "failed" console?

I guess in terms of consoles that didn't sell very well compared to the competition, my votes go to the Gamecube and OG Xbox. These are my 2 favourite consoles of all time.

MS sure thought xbox was a failure!

Which is why they abandoned the way they supported future systems and only release 1 or 2 high profile first party games during the holiday season to maximize profits and virtually abandoned making new AAA IP...that's your precious 360 in a nut shell.

OG Xbox was a different beast littered with all kinds of original game experiences that made the platform shine.

MS abandoned everything that make OG xbox great.

Yeah OG Xbox was a failure, I enjoyed the system, but all in all it failed to be competitive with PS in market dominance...which is the main thing MS cares about.

@boxrekt:

Definitely not a failure. They hooked in console gamers. It sold xbox live. That console is responsible for the success of the 360. No way is that console a failure.

Gamecube is probably the best console I've ever owned.

It's purple and has these tiny discs.

Also it has the best Mario Kart, Zelda and Mario games. Along with the best new Nintendo IP: Pikmin.

It has eternal darkness, metal gear solid, ... I love my Gamecube.

Some of the consoles mentioned above could be considered a success in certain ways.

The Saturn was a flop in most of the world, yet it was Sega's most successful console ever in Japan.

The GameCube may have under-performed, but it was still mildly profitable for Nintendo.

And the Xbox may have flopped in most places, but it was a moderate hit in the US and UK, though it never turned a profit.

@heirren:

Agree to disagree.

MS switched up when they went to 360 and they have never been the same since.

I consider OG Xbox a great system.

I can't say that for any console MS has produced after only being rehash boxes and multiplat generators.

If OG Xbox didn't fail MS would not have changed everything like they did chasing an imaginary pot of gold.

@Jag85: I mention the gamecube because very few people I know owned one. While basically everyone had a PS2 and a lot of people had an Xbox.

@boxrekt:

Fair.

But it was that system which was responsible for the overwhelming success of the xbox 360. It completely changed the expectations for the next gen hardware.

@R4gn4r0k: Xbox beat GameCube in the West, whereas GameCube beat Xbox in Asia.

I know the DC kind of failed but to me personally, it never felt that it did. The number of good games that released on that console was incredible; if ever a console delivered, it was the Dreamcast.

My favorite failed console though was the Atari Jaguar. The console was sexy as **** (apart from the controllers) it had so much potential but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I am not sad that I bought that console though because Doom was great on it, Iron Soldier showed what it was capable of for its time and AVP was absolutely BRILLIANT!

Pretty sure the OG doesn't count as a failed console. It beat one of it's competitors, and introduced new things to the industry that we still see today. And MS never seemed to consider it a failure, even though it didn't turn them a profit unlike the 360.

Dreamcast. That candle burned twice as bright.

Dreamcast or Gamecube. Both excellent consoles.

No it wasn't and you still salty about the 360 destroying the PS3 in North America, Uk, few other countries. lol

OG Xbox was not a failure. MS had to get rid of it because the deal they made with Nvidia was costing them a lot.

I never owned a failed console but for some reason I have Nostalgia for the Gamecube even though I never had one it's weird.

SEGA Saturn. Everything from its poor hardware choices, save for the controller, to the games limited by the former meant that I had a lot to look for and collect, introducing me to online trading and the Japanese language, of which I'm grateful for the anime.

Love the Vita despite how hard support was dropped for it outside of Japan.

Has my PS1 library on it as well as a bunch of imports.

The Vita. It has one of the best jrpg lineup ever in Persona 4G, Trails of Cold Steel 1&2, YS memories of celceta and Atelier series. Not to mention PSP and PS1 classics.

The PS4 as Sony failed its racing games fans by putting average first party racing games on it, but i'm glad it failed as I didn't have to waste money on it. A YouTube console if there ever was one.

PS Vita. The amount of games that you have access to on it is astounding. I also had a lot of fun playing Wario World on my Virtual Boy when I was a kid too.

I have 2 unfortunately both from sega. I loved the Saturn for its arcade classics and the dreamcast was way ahead of its time. If only it had a DVD player.

Probably the Saturn and the Gamecube. NiGHTs was such a unique game when I played it back in the mid 90s and VF2 introduced me to 3D fighters.

GameCube if it's considered a failure. Otherwise I'd say Wii U. It had a few good games. I never had a Dreamcast..

The 2 that stick out for me are the vita and the gamecube.

the gamecube is the perfect console in my book in terms of the hardware. it is everything a console should be about: built with the single focus of providing the best gaming experience possible without costing a fortune. it was dev friendly (but tricky to master) and very reliable. it was perhaps a bit pedestrian in terms of new stuff it brought to the table but excellent overall.

no nonsense, no bloat, minimal BS (the lack of a 4th shoulder button and lack of clickable sticks on the controller were a bit silly on an otherwise excellent controller). it had plenty of cool games too.

Just...well it had nintendo at their worst in many ways. couldnt promote it to save their life. game support was patchy. it was also at a time were sony were so dominant that gamecube and xbox versions of games were just a mere afterthought (multiplat development was harder back then too).

Then there is the vita which has kind of a similar story. wonderful hardware, quite a few cool gems of games. but sony treated it like a second class citizen and the memory card fiasco really stung. but it was the first handeld that properly sparked off the idea of portable hardware being able to actually deliver great games. i still miss my vita (it died :( ).

Nintendo profited off of both consoles, so I don't consider either of these failures. If you come out of the casino with more money than what you went in with, you won!

The Dreamcast was also a profitable machine, BUT, because of their dire financial position and declining arcade business, their profits were offset and they couldn't continue support the console. They were basically faced with pouring what little money they had left into the Dreamcast and possibly going bankrupt, or staying alive as a company by going 3rd party. They chose to stay alive.

Anyway, my favorite failed console is easily the Atari Jaguar. Like the Dreamcast, it has some hits and misses. But unlike the Dreamcast, the Jaguar sees supports to this very day.

There is support for the dreamcast games were still releasing in Japan as recently as a few years back. And there is still a very unique homebrew scene.

Nope, they eventually took a loss with the GameCube.

@nerdrage: The Gamecube was a total lost by Nintendo and even they admit it. Xbox came into the gaming fray and made a name for itself. Nintendo not only compete with PS2 but Xbox as well. I own all those consoles and love them but Gamecube was my favorite though. Follow by Xbox.

Dreamcast for sure. I loved the games and the controller. And that it had some online capabilities. It was my Marvel vs Capcom 2 machine for a while.