Did you ever buy a console that was a failure?

[IcKy99]

well the only "failing" console i had was dreamcast i think i got it back when they had that first major price drop right before the ps2 came out (i was unaware of this) then next thing i know all my friends get PS2 for xmas and i get some crappy DC game dont remember the name, then Gamecube comes out and then i realize i have a dead console. Few months later i got GC for my b-day!

[marurun]

I think "failure" has not adequately been addressed here. I think a console would only truly be considered to have failed if it did not at all make money for the company. For example, the TG-16 was a failure in the US, but the PCE made tons of money for Hudson and NEC in Japan and overall could not have been considered a failure. The same for the Sega Saturn. The reverse, I think, applies to the Dreamcast. I think the Virtual Boy, the 3DO, the Jaguar, the Game.com, and the Lynx are the only true failed systems of the 8-bit generation on. There are a couple more out there, probably, but I don't think failure is as broad as some of you think it is.

[shallowgamer]

I think "failure" has not adequately been addressed here. I think a console would only truly be considered to have failed if it did not at all make money for the company. For example, the TG-16 was a failure in the US, but the PCE made tons of money for Hudson and NEC in Japan and overall could not have been considered a failure. The same for the Sega Saturn. The reverse, I think, applies to the Dreamcast. I think the Virtual Boy, the 3DO, the Jaguar, the Game.com, and the Lynx are the only true failed systems of the 8-bit generation on. There are a couple more out there, probably, but I don't think failure is as broad as some of you think it is.

I agree, but we're using "failure" in the sense that there was true remorse about acquiring it. As far as Sega is concerned, They've always stressed being first to Market, and there's something to be said for that. Of course, that also means that your competitor is usually going to look better when it comes out later.

I was really tickled when I heard about kids being patient for the PS2, instead of buying a dreamcast. I don't think I would have had that kind of discipline when I was young (or even now, for that matter).

[marurun]

The problem with waiting is that there's always something better. The next best thing is never too far off. If you keep waiting for the best you'll never commit. I purchased a Dreamcast right when the price dropped and I never regretted that purchase. The system gave me more than enough fun to justify its existence.

[superlarz]

I had a virtual boy. I got it cheap around its launch. I pretty much knew it would be a failure, but the concept interested me, and I wanted to try some of the games .

[MrPopo]

I had a virtual boy. I got it cheap around its launch. I pretty much knew it would be a failure, but the concept interested me, and I wanted to try some of the games .

And now, 10+ years later, your eyesight is so bad that you have to have the Racketboy forums read to you.

Curse you Virtual Boy!

[t0yrobo]

I never actually got any of them, I wanted a wonderswan and a neogeo pocket pretty bad when they were released. I still want them now but just haven't go to it yet.

[bacteria]

Yes, I got a Vectrex in the first week of launch. That was certainly a failed system. Best games on it were Minesweeper. Combat and Scramble; most of the others sucked.

[shallowgamer]

The problem with waiting is that there's always something better. The next best thing is never too far off. If you keep waiting for the best you'll never commit. I purchased a Dreamcast right when the price dropped and I never regretted that purchase. The system gave me more than enough fun to justify its existence.

I (my then fiance actually) got our dreamcast at full price a few months after it came out. Never regretted it. When the price went down, I picked up another one. I have great difficulty calling it a "failure", as I have many more games for it than I do for my PS2.

The N64, in my opinion, was a failure for gamers when you think about the number of quality titles released. I will now duck for cover.

[andythebadass]

as a little kid my grandfather was so nice to take me to look at a phillips CDI at conn's.... i think he had read about it or something.... anyway he knew more about it that I when we went to look at it. What I remember about it was that it cost an arm and a leg, we talked with the sales guy about it (he showed us some of the educational stuff about it too). I even think i remembered wanting it being a kid who loved all video games) . But thank god he didnt get it for me. It is a really cool memory though... and I can say I saw one when it was brand spanking new.