From hype to humiliation: Gaming notables
Microsoft's Project Natal has some real promise. It could transform the video game space. It could even catapult Microsoft to the industry lead.
Microsoft is so excited about that possibility that Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, said in a recent interview with MCV that Project Natal will make gamers think that it's a new generation.
"When Natal comes out, it will feel like a new generation has arrived," Spencer told the publication. "I see it as like the launch of the Xbox 360 back in 2005--there will be a launch portfolio of games to support it."
It's a lofty hope. Project Natal is still very much a question mark in the video game industry. It might be a huge success. Or it might be a major failure that didn't live up to the hype.
If it's the latter, Project Natal would follow a long list of video game ideas that never quite made it. Let's take a look at some of the most prominent of those failures.
3DO
The 3DO was founded by Electronic Arts co-founder Trip Hawkins. He believed that the 3DO could become a next-generation, CD-based console developed by a variety of vendors. Hawkins and his partners thought it would lead to major success in the market. It never happened. With a $699 price tag, consumers weren't interested. (Side note: I bought my 3DO for $50, including three games, six months after it was released in 1993. The sales clerk at the toy store where I bought it said he couldn't sell one unit. I still play games on my 3DO to this day.)
The 3DO was a big console with little sales.
(Credit: Consolegames.com)Atari Lynx
The Atari Lynx was supposed to be the leader in the handheld market when it was released in 1989. It was the first handheld gaming device to feature a color screen. That same year, Nintendo released the Game Boy with a monochromatic display. Although it had features that weren't quite as attractive as the Lynx, the Game Boy stole the market with better games. Atari sold just 500,000 Lynx units. Maybe it was ahead of its time.
The Atari Lynx was perhaps ahead of its time.
(Credit: Wikipedia)Gizmondo
The Gizmondo is one of the most interesting failures in gaming history. The handheld failed miserably, selling less than 25,000 units worldwide. It even pushed the device's designer into bankruptcy, which was perhaps overshadowed by allegations of organized crime regarding one of its executives.
The Gizmondo didn't sell well, but it's an interesting topic.
(Credit: Gizmondo)Pippin
The Pippin was designed by Apple and produced by Bandai. It ran on a laughable Power PC processor, sported a 14.4kbps modem, and was based on a stripped-down version of System 7. It had few games, a $600 price tag at launch and, oh yeah, few users. It was an embarrassment for Apple (and what many critics point to when discussions on Apple entering the gaming space are brought up.).
The Pippin was, uh, quite the machine.
(Credit: Wikipedia)Power Glove
Nintendo's Power Glove was a disaster. The accessory was supposed to provide gamers with full-motion control over their games. It was a rather large glove, complete with a game pad sitting on the gamer's forearm. But once users put the glove on, they found that the glove worked poorly, and controlling the game was difficult. Nintendo sold 100,000 Power Glove units. Ironically, it became the inspiration for Nintendo's wildly popular
Wii console.
Power Glove had some promise, but it didn't quite work.
(Credit: Nintendo)Sega 32X
The Sega 32X was Sega's attempt to beat the SNES. The company hoped consumers would see the 32X and its 32-bit technology as more capable. It didn't take long for the 32X to die. Its price ($159) and laughably small library of games ensured that it would never live up to the hype. All told, Sega sold 200,000 32X units. Yikes.
The 32X was a disaster for Sega.
(Credit: Wikipedia)Sega CD
The Sega CD was Sega's first foray into the CD market. It promised more capabilities for the Sega Genesis, and Sega hoped it would lead to domination in the industry. After 6 million units were sold, a small library of lackluster games didn't grow, and its underpowered specs became a nuisance, the Sega CD went down as just another mistake from the gaming legend.
The Sega CD just didn't have what it took to make it in the CD market.
(Credit: Sega)Virtual Boy
Nintendo's Virtual Boy promised a slew of great features. Gamers were to be treated to 3D gaming by looking through the device's display, which sat on the desk in front of the user. Unfortunately, the Virtual Boy never followed through on Nintendo's promises. Images were red, only 22 games were released, and Nintendo shipped just 800,000 units. It was a disaster.
The Virtual Boy was quite the machine.
(Credit: Nintendo)Other notable contenders
I couldn't fit every gaming disaster into this roundup, so here's a quick list of other gaming failures that didn't quite make the cut:
- Sega Dreamcast
- Sega VMU memory units
- Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on
- Philips CD-i
- PocketStation
Will Project Natal follow the path blazed by these failures? Which other video game disasters come to mind? Let us know in the comments below.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Peace.
It'd be quite boring if not for the egos.
The Saturn, the Jaguar, and the TurboGrafx-16 were all larger duds...I would argue the the SuperNES did not live up to the hype, was delayed and could be considered more humiliating than the Dreamcast
In my opinion, every generation since has been a disappointment as less effort is expended in gameplay and more effort, time and money is expended on script-writers for B-grade cut-scenes and turning video games into the new Hollywood.
Original Xbox was not a success, agreed there, but it wasn't a total disaster for the first console release by Microsoft. Microsoft has is about even with the Xbox360 (which I don't own).
The PS3 division has lost ALL the profits of the PS2. yes over the 9-10 years of the PS2 the PS3 has gone through ALL of that profit. How can this not be called a complete disaster? I don't hate Sony, the PS1 and PS2 were great machines but Sony really dropped the ball with the PS3. Sure they make their money on the software licensing but this has been a complete disaster with the lower amount of titles and the low sales compared to the other consoles.
without fanboy colored glasses, the PS3 is a FAR bigger failure than the Dreamcast in sheer dollars lost.
ps: anyone who spells Microsoft as M$, Windoze etc... loses all credibility.
Yes, one of my best friends owns a PS3 and loves it, but then again he has bought almost every console made since the atari.
Even if that were true, by your logic, the 360 must be an even bigger failure with the 1 BILLION they put aside for RRoD warranty.
yes, Sony has gone through all the profits of the PS2... stop looking through fanboy colored glasses.
So HAVE you played any of the AAA PS3 exclusives? I bought a 360 at launch and have played 75% of the AAA exclusives. That's one of the many reasons why I wouldn't trottle myself out here and say it's one of the biggest failures in video games. Fanboy glasses? I'm surprised you can see anything through yours.
PS3 Time. The PS3 is one of the largest hardware advancements we've seen recently in gaming. This system really upped the bar even more than the 360 for what is possible in a game. lnconnux brings up the loss of money for each system sold. I don't think this can make the system a failure at all. The PS3 (once the library expands) I presume will live on similarly to the PS2. The PS2 wasn't a monstrous profit like the Wii initially, but it is still selling today. I think for the PS3 it is too early to judge failure or success. From what is going on right now, I say it is on the road to success. Blu-Ray increases marketability. Games are tough to make, but once people figure it out the library will expand qickly with some great AAA titles. Plus Sony has great exclusives as pointed out (MGS, Killzone, Little Big Planet, and the SOCOM franchise)
I tried to make this with as little bias as possible. I own a 360, and am waiting for the holiday games to roll arund before buying a PS3. I have never been a fanboy of anything (unless you can be an anti-Fanboy, in which case I can't stand the Mac vs. PC war... let people choose based on what they need... please...)
Oh, what should also be on the list is the Amiga game console. I can't remember the name any more. It didn't last very long. I launched, but that's about it. I guess it might not make the cut if the CD-i didn't.
The Power Glove was not developed by Nintendo. It was a third party controller developed by Mattel.
Any-who allot of these systems failed out of pure bad timing, but I did enjoy the dreamcast long after its death.
One thing did come to mind upon the mention of handhelds......Tiger handheld games, the worst looking games ever but damn if you didn't want one. Double Dragon baby.
The fact that all it has is eye candy and no compelling gameplay is another reason it is a failure.
- by CrashPad63 July 23, 2009 2:45 PM PDT
- Decider, your opinion is decidedly poor. Compelling... lmao you must be reading too many blogs.
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