2013 is shaping up to be an awesome year for video games and video game consoles. First we have the two big powerhouses, Sony and Microsoft, readying their consoles for the next generation of games. Also coming out is the very open and developer friendly Ouya system, as well as Valve’s Steam Box. With some of these systems planning on having specs that rival gaming PC’s the future of video game consoles is looking bright.
From systems that could keep your beer cool, to oddities trying to get in on the popularity of VHS and laserdisc, you’ve got some very, very weird video game consoles out there.
I had the LaserActive... it was a nice collectors piece but not very practical. Especially when it came to needing recapping. I think i paid all of about $50 for the floor model from an incredible Universe back in the day. I ended up selling it many years later for $300 at the time due to it needing a new laser and the aforementioned recapping.
An honorable mention not on the list would be the VM Labs Nuon. It basically looked like any regular DVD player but it had ports on it for controllers to play specific games. one of which is still exclusive to it with Tempest 3000. It also offered nuon enhanced DVD movies with extra content not accessible by regular players.
Virtual Boy, Sega Nomad, Ouya and the other troubled game systems that nobody bought.
How has this article missed out Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's Wii U, two consoles that were actually superb devices in their own right, but were seen as failed due to lacklustre sales at the time of release?
Wonder how long before Stadia appears on the list surprised the Ngage is not on that list
Talk about a blast to the past.......I remember trying the virtual boy at Toy R Us and it was cool but I did feel slightly disoriented afterwards......good article.
The Ouya, a failed Android gaming console from early in this generation, is getting a second lease on life thanks to Internet archivists and some new software.
That's pretty cool they were able to bring it back. It sucks when something online only gets killed.
I got mine when it first launched, however it wasn't good for anything other than retro emulation. I couldn't sell the thing fast enough. Managed to get almost all my money back selling it on eBay.
I guess the Stadia launch is bringing back memories of other failed consoles/services.
hey where's the big N?
Pc wins console suckers. Consoles dying out.
yeas they are consoles though valves one is a cross between console and pc really,and ouya is a budget almost ipad level gaming system but the games will be cheap and free to play, and wether they compete no one can really know till they release them, and theyll have to do a lot of publicity to get word out
well valve isnt making an actual console and ouya isnt actually on anybodies radar. There was alot of confusion in the media, and Xi3 kinda went with it. It was just another pc like they have made before.