While today’s gaming consoles aren’t perfect, they’re far from bad. They all have a great lineup of games (yes, even the Xbox Series X|S), impressive features, and powerful hardware that results in some of the best looking games of all time.
We’re not here to talk about those consoles, though. I want to focus on the worst game consoles of all time. If you were “lucky” enough to own one of these, then let me be the first to apologize.
Nokia N-Gage
Nokia wanted to make a big splash and compete with Nintendo in the handheld space. Enter the N-Gage, which doubles as a cell phone and a gaming device.
I remember having these in stock at GameStop when I worked there. I also cannot remember selling a single N-Gage. Its design was abysmal, it didn’t play games efficiently, and it was an even worse cell phone.
Ouya
Despite a successful launch on Kickstarter, the Ouya failed to resonate with gamers when it was finally released.
The notion of an Android-based game console worked well in theory, but once it made it to retail shelves, it became apparent that it couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with the big guns. Plus, why invest in an Android-based console when you can play games on your Android mobile phone?
Sega 32x
I remember a friend having one of these things, and my biggest takeaway was that it was the biggest pain in the butt to set up and install.
The Sega 32X was an add-on for the Sega Genesis that made it more powerful, but what was the point when the Sega Saturn was already announced?
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Atari Jaguar
While Atari once dominated the gaming market, they lost control following the crash of 1983 and the rise of Nintendo’s NES system.
In 1993, they released the Jaguar, a 64-bit console poised to bring the company back to its glory days. Sadly for Atari it did anything but and one big reason why is its terrible controller. That’s saying something, considering how awkward the Nintendo 64’s controller is.
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Nintendo isn’t perfect, and the Virtual Boy is one reason why.
Virtual Reality was all the rage in the 1990s, and Nintendo jumped on the train with a system that puts the game right in your face. However, its poor visuals, limited screen space, and uncomfortable hardware were a gigantic pain. Why bother with this when the traditional Nintendo consoles are so much better?
R-Zone
Nintendo wasn’t the only one trying to cash in on the Virtual Reality craze.
The R-Zone from Tiger Electronics crashed and burned worse than the Virtual Boy. It felt like a cheaply made toy with worse graphics than those one-game Tiger handheld electronic devices I played as a kid. It’s a hard pass.
Phillips CDi
The Phillips CDi is best known for its awful Legend of Zelda game, but it’s so much more than that! Literally! It tried to be an all-in-one multimedia device decades before Microsoft introduced the Xbox One to the world with its TV and entertainment capabilities rather than focusing on it as a gaming device.
That went as well for the CDi back then as it did for the Xbox One.
Casio PV-1000
The Casio PV-1000 was only released in Japan due to its unfortunate timing in competing with the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Its hardware, including an integrated keyboard, was more akin to a home computer than a gaming console. That’s not what we wanted, though. We wanted to play Mario. It never stood a chance.
Apple Bandai Pippin
Did you know Apple and Bandai joined forces to release the Pippin console in 1996? Well, they did. Since you probably didn’t know about it, you can guess how well it went.
The Pippin was overpriced and too complicated for the retail market. Its failure resulted from the decision to focus more on internet capabilities and less on making a good gaming console.
Mattel HyperScan
We’ve talked about a lot of bad game consoles, but the Mattel HyperScan takes the cake.
It lacked games, and the ones it had were downright terrible, but that wasn’t the issue here. The console worked by buying games and then buying trading cards to add more content to the game. It was like buying lootboxes and DLC before they were a thing. No wonder why it didn’t work.
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