21 Consoles And Handhelds That Crashed And Burned

From Tom's Hardware

The history of video games is littered with consoles that were epic fiascoes. Most were just bad platforms that either lacked in performance, compelling software, or a true market niche. But some had a good chance at success that was spoiled by management issues, marketing gaffes, or a lack of relationships in the software development community.

We present 20 console failures that have left their marks on history.

[Belking]

Why is the vita on that list...lol Do they know something we don't.What about PSPgo?

[MikeMyers]

The PSP Go will have crashed and burned more than Vita. Vita has already sold about 2 million and it's only been less than a year. Give it time. I just don't see it being as adopted as the PSP and it's not because of the system. I think it has been poorly marketed and because it is seen as a higher end device it has to compete more with other gadgets. Still a far cry from viewing it as crashing and burning.

2013 will have to be a big year for Sony and Vita. They cannot afford for the system to be forgotten. It also needs real 3rd party commitment. Not rushed projects like Call of Duty or watered down existing ips.

[360ICE]

PSPgo crashed and burned for sure. But it's a re-release. And yeah, I would hold PS Vita. It hasn't been around long enough to be talked about in the past tense.

Btw. No console that has Gravity Rush will ever be a complete failure. Look it up in the Geneva convention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[tubers]

"2013 will have to be a big year for Sony and Vita. They cannot afford for the system to be forgotten. It also needs real 3rd party commitment. Not rushed projects like Call of Duty or watered down existing ips."

Amen.

*looks forward to Feb. 25 Destination Playstation Even LEAKS (retail event) and E3*

[XB1_PS4]

I love my vita, and the tons of games I have on it.

[SilentNegotiator]

What pitiful trolling for hits. Making a list of 20 and then tacking on a ~1 year old system?

Reported as lame.

[aceitman]

the vita has sold 4 million so far.

[rbailey]

Vita sold 4 million units but where are the GAMES? In my opinion that right there is the exact reason why its in this article.

[Ult iMate]

@rbailey
I didn't know such ignorant gamers still left...

Games for 3DS on its first year
http://www.metacritic.com/b...
Games for PSV on its first year
http://www.metacritic.com/b...

[MmaFan-Qc]

yeah right, ps vita has no games.... excepted

Uncharted Golden Abyss
Touch My Katamari(aww yeah, TOUCH IT!)
GravityRush
SoundShape
Ragnarock Odyssey
LBP:PsVita
SuperStardustDelta
DJMAX:Technika Tune
Lumines:Electronic Symphony
Persona4:Golden
Mutant Blobs Attack
ZEN Pinball 2(perfect for handheld)
Sonic&All Stars Racing Transformed(even better than MK7)
(MortalKombat and SFxTekken, fighting games on the go? ...CMON!thats awesome!)
shit load of great psp games
ps1 classics
and now with the cross-buy fonction, even more games on the go.

so honestly if you dont see games, ..then its simply because you can't see further than the end of your nose.

what's next? the "PsTripple has no games" bullshit again?

...yep, no games.

[Aceman18]

@Ult

i just checked both lists and it seems the vita games are rated better in its first year so there are games for it like most people have so, but i also noticed that most users are stupid because they rated uncharted card game higher than the actual action games wth is that about lol.

[InTheLab]

The PspGo is just a PSP. Much like the DSlite or PS Slim.

The author also acknowledges the trolling so...yeah.

Also, the Ouya isnt even out yet and it's on the obnoxious 20 page clickathon list.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Even though I owned a Go I'm not afraid to admit it tanked. I'm just surprised it tanked worse than the last PSP model that didn't include WiFi.

What if the Vita does fail, what might that mean for the PS4 and garnering developer support and consumer appeal.

[iamnsuperman]

Alright, so we're trolling a bit. But there's a kernel of truth to our jest.

You right. This way people have to click next 21 times to get to what you say about the vita. Come on those console that have crashed and burned mean they have not done well and so it has to cease production (a.k.a psp go). The Vita isnt over yet with some quality titles this year. Wait till Sony announce the cease in production before it can be considered

[amaguli]

21 consoles, 21-pages. I suffered through it so you didn't have to.

ColecoVision
Vectrex
Atari 7800
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
Atari Lynx
Amstrad GX4000
Commodore 64GS
PC Engine GT/TurboExpress
Philips CD-i
Commodore CDTV
3DO
Atari Jaguar
Pioneer LaserActive
Apple Bandai Pippin
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Tiger Game.com
Neo Geo Pocket Color
N-Gage
Gizmondo
The Phantom
PS Vita

There is seriously no need for a 21-page list. Next time consider a 7-page max list if you are going to attempt something like this again.

[EddieNX]

There is a distinct lack of Sega saturn , Sega CD , 32X and Dreamcast. Whilst all amazing , they ''Crashed and burned'' financialy for Sega.

[InTheLab]

add the N64, Xbox, and Gamecube. Both Nintendo consoles sold less than the NES combined...and the Xbox sold slightly more than the GC...

[deafdani]

The Dreamcast didn't exactly crash and burn... it was actually selling pretty well. The problem was that Sega needed a fucking miracle to get out of their financial troubles, and the Dreamcast sales just weren't enough to put them out of the shithole they dug themselves.

If Sega wasn't already massively broke because of their stupid previous decisions (Saturn, Sega CD, 32X, Nomad and Game Gear), then they could have done well with the Dreamcast, actually. Even with the PS2 destroying everything in the market.

@InTheLab: Nintendo saw a nice profit even with the sales of the N64 and Gamecube, actually.

Whereas Microsoft sustained massive financial losses with the original Xbox, Nintendo apparently only took a pretty slight initial loss per console sold within the first 6 months or so of the Gamecube's life. After that, every Gamecube sold turned a profit for them, so in the end, they did well. Not a massive success, but definitely not a "crash and burn".

And N64 sold more than the Gamecube, and with profit from day one.

And I wouldn't call the Xbox a "crash and burn", exactly, because Microsoft took that massive loss in purpose. It was their intention all along, to establish a brand, and now the Xbox 360 is reaping the benefits from that. It was a pretty long time plan.

[ShaunCameron]

@ deafdani

And let's not forget that $80 000 000 game that exacerbated their financial woes.

[RuperttheBear]

@

'add the N64, Xbox, and Gamecube.'

They still, each, sold over 20 million units, the n64 sold over 30 million. The N64 and the Gamecube were still profitable for Nintendo, and the Xbox laid the foundation for MS to gain a much bigger market share with the 360.

They certainly didn't 'crash and burn'.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Thanks for posting the full list.

The author of this article is an idiot of he thinks the PC Engine "crashed and burned."

And ColecoVision sold something like 3 million units, which for the early 80s was fairly good.

And hilariously enough, he does't have the Atari 5200 on the list. It's one of Atari's most costly disasters.

[Amplitude]

Based off the comments saying that its a 21-page list and the fact that theres a vita on the picture, im not even gonna click this guy's website.

[Zhipp]

"This guy"? You've never heard of Tom's Hardware?

EDIT: Also, it may be 21 pages, but only the section of the page that contains the content has to be reloaded each time you change the page. It's a lot more bare-able than IGN's system.

[Amplitude]

nope lol

[Cam977]

I've just got my PS+ Music Unlimited trial and WOW! It is absolutely amazing! I can now play games on my Vita listening to any song I like, I wish I'd bought it at the reduced price a few weeks ago. And PS Vita, I can tell the writer merely dislikes the console because I think it's done better than a few consoles on that lengthy list. DO NOT VIEW THE LINK, THE FOOL GETS REVENUE FROM EVERY CHEAPSKATE SLIDESHOW SCREEN.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Custom playlists, who would have thought /s.

[Hicken]

You just put in way too much effort, but don't have much in the way of results, man.

[2pacalypsenow]

what about the xbox and gamecube they only sold about 20 million a piece in 4-5 years for the xbox and 6 years for the gamecube and support got chopped as soon as the 360 came out

[vikingland1]

And the Sega Dreamcast. But that would have made it 22 pages. Thank goodness that website isn't thorough.

[Zhipp]

Xbox and Dreamcast yes, but not the Gamecube. The sales may have been lackluster, but it was still profitable, and it didn't have to be discontinued.

[jlafount]

I'm surprised. I love the Vita. Has the horsepower and a great screen to make it a monster handheld. Just needs a few more great games.

[r21]

Arent all the consoles mentioned in the article besides the vita, oh whats the words, dead and not selling? The vita is still alive and selling, though not amazing sales, it is still selling. Author, you disappoint.

[JadedWriter]

Shouldn't the Wonder Swan be somewhere on this list?

[remanutd55]

Seems to me that someone is looking for some traffic.

[urwifeminder]

Toms hardware rocks got me out of many a tricky pc situation.

[Ult iMate]

As long as they clearly know much about PC, it appeared they don't know s**t about game consoles.

[WalterWJR]

Lets all listen to "tom" and his "hardware" - what a jokester of a site.

[H4all]

See See....
See See....

There is no end of article about fail handheld..
and the vita is inside...

Give it time...!!!!
it's gonna make to second year okay!!!

[tachy0n]

thumb down sites like this.

[WeAreLegion]

Vita? No. It's doing fine. The sales increase every single month. The Vita is a wonderful system with some of the best games in years.

[DivineAssault]

even if vita crashed n burned, as long as i get soul sacrifice & the rest of 2013s line up, i wouldnt care.. Theres better games in one year from vita than all those ancient machines combined

[hawkeyejonjon]

Vita didn't crash & burn. Yes it has bad sales but sony is still shipping it. Crash & Burn means it was so bad that it got pulled off the market and stopped getting produced in less than a year aka dreamcast, gizmondo, atari 5200. At least he added gizmondo to the list. I believe dreamcast stopped getting produced in less than a year of its release but i am not sure on that one.

Oh and 21 pages? Next time just make it much less pages because it is just annoying doing it so many times

[AntsPai]

Yeah, 21 pages just so you get 21 times advertising money? Using Vita to attract hits? No thanks, I'm just going to vote down and move on.

[Kingthrash360]

Trash article. Why is the vita on a crash and burn list? Only a year old. Best handheld I've had. If thier was an announcement by Sony stating the vita will no longer be produced and sold then I haven't heard. It's the only one one the list still in production.... Down vote

[GribbleGrunger]

Even when articles like this appear that talk generally, people just can't resist putting a picture of some Sony product, be it game, internet or hardware. They just can't stop themselves.

So ... I'll get this out of the way just as I did early on in the PS3s lifecycle: Don't gloat because one day you could end up looking really stupid.

[Deku-Johnny]

"The Vita is a great console and will definitely not fail" - Said no one ever.

[animegamingnerd]

if the vita crash and burned why is it still alive?

[edwardm96]

How does the Vita belong on there? This absolutely makes no sense because it's still supported. A very dumb article. It should be deleted. The Vita is a amazing piece of hardware that has just started out. Does anyone agree?