When you think about video game consoles, the same few names come over again and again. Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Sega immediately come to mind, but they actually only account for a portion of the overall picture.
Throughout gaming’s history, there have been a number of video game consoles that have slipped through the cracks. Whether they were from obscure developers, lacked the proper software support, or just couldn’t cut through in a very competitive market, these forgotten consoles nonetheless deserve to be remembered in some form or another.
8Atari Jaguar
The Fall Of An Empire
Atari was the first truly big name in the home console market, dominating the space in the pre-Nintendo era of the late ’70s and early ’80s. By 1993, though, Atari has lost a lot of its past credibility, and so it attempted one final comeback with the release of the Jaguar. It… didn’t go well.
To be fair to the Atari Jaguar, the console’s twin 32-bit processors (essentially making it a 64-bit console) did deliver some truly eye-catching visuals for its time. The issue was that the actual games were generally too poorly designed to capitalise on the system’s advanced hardware, leading to historically poor sales and Atari’s unheralded exit from the home console market.
7WonderSwan
No Ugly Duckling Here
While some video game systems get lost to time because of poor marketing or software, others simply don’t get a chance to thrive because of accessibility. Take the Bandai WonderSwan for example. This 16-bit handheld system was the last piece of hardware that legendary designer Gunpei Yokoi worked on, and despite having some truly unique features that made it popular amongst gamers, it was never released outside of Japan.
At its peak, the WonderSwan was a genuine competitor of the Game Boy and had strong software support from major third-party developers like Squaresoft and Capcom. Today, the WonderSwan continues to enjoy a cult following of fans, although its recognition outside of Japan remains tragically limited.
6Apple Pippin
Not The Tastiest Apple Pip
It may come as a surprise to many that Apple launched a video game console in the mid ’90s, but that is exactly what happened with the Pippin. It was developed in collaboration with Bandai and intended as Apple’s Trojan horse to carry over their home computer success into home consoles, but it’s safe to say the Pippin didn’t fulfil its mission.
Part of the Pippin’s problem was the system’s identity crisis. It had some web browser functionality – which was pretty unique for its era – but it didn’t have the quantity or quality of games to justify its home console angle.
5HyperScan
A Cool Idea Poorly Executed
Just like Atari, Mattel has previous experience in the video game console market with 1979’s Intellivsion. However, it would take until 2006 for Mattel to finally release a new gaming system, this time with HyperScan.
The HyperScan’s main point of difference were the special ‘IntelliCards’ – trading cards that were required to unlock features in games, acting like a physical form of DLC. Unfortunately, the steep price of acquiring these IntelliCards as well as the tiny game library of just five titles meant that the HyperScan quickly faded into obscurity.
43DO
The System That Brought Us Gex And Not Much Else
The 3DO was an interesting piece of gaming hardware that licensed its tech specifications to different companies who would take care of the actual manufacturing. Because of this business strategy, multiple 3DO systems were created and distributed by multiple tech companies – from Panasonic to Sanyo.
Unfortunately, this forward-thinking approach to hardware development didn’t translate into audience adoption, and the 3DO struggled to leave a noticeable impact on the market throughout its lifespan. At least it gave us the Gex series, one of the mostunderrated platforming series of all time.
3Phillips CD-i
If the Phillips CD-i gets mentioned today, it’s often in the context of cringey cutscenes and non-canonical Zelda games that Nintendo would rather forget existed. But, in truth, this CD-based gaming console came onto the market with some revolutionary ideas back in 1990. It’s just that most of those ideas failed to meet their potential.
On top of the impressive CD technology, the CD-I also had internet connection at a time when the word ‘internet’ barely meant anything to most people. Indeed, the biggest crime that the Phillips CD-i committed was being too far ahead of its time for all of these advanced features to enjoy the proper implementation.
2Ouya
A Successful Kickstarter Failure
For a system that was genuinely competing with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One not that many years ago, it’s remarkable how quickly the Ouya has fallen from gamer’s memories. Thesuccessful kickstarter campaign, the Android-based technology, the mircoconsole design – all of it has seemingly been wiped from existence.
Which is a shame, because at its heart, the Ouya was a passion project that was let down by lacklustre software support, poor marketing, and simply being dwarfed by the other console manufacturers. Unfortunately for the Ouya, it’s well-meaning ambitions never really stood a chance to come to fruition.
1Vectrex
The Coolest Retro Console You Have (Probably) Never Heard Of
Is it a gaming console? A mini arcade machine? A very cumbersome handheld system? However you want to classify the Vectrex, there is no denying this wonderfully weird piece of hardware from the early ’80s carved out its very own unique place in the history of the medium.
Cashing in on thegolden age of arcade games, the Vectrex was a standalone system with its own vector display that allowed you to play a small (but endearing) library of games. Sadly, the Vectrex doesn’t get mentioned a lot among modern gaming circles, but that takes nothing away from what is undeniably a one-of-a-kind console.
