The Worst Console Launch Lineups of All Time

Think the titles releasing alongside the Switch are bad? Let's not forget the questionable launch lineups of years past.

[Neonridr]

N64 hands down. While we did get Super Mario 64, arguably one of the greatest games ever, it was that and Pilotwings 64 for the NA launch. Not only was it small, but the N64 didn't receive another new game for an entire month.

[Moonman]

You beat SM64 that quickly? N64 had a small but absolutely classic library.

[Neonridr]

the entire N64 library is filled with gems. But from the start, it was slim pickings. SM64 tided us over for quite some time, but it was still a weak launch lineup.

[Moonman]

Every game I had for N64 I still have.

[bouzebbal]

no idea what 3DS is doing there. It had a wide variety of games at launch.
The N64 had 2 games, but back in 98 you only nedded one great game, and SM64 is more than that!

[deafdani]

@bouzebbal: and every single game on 3DS's launch lineup was a piece of steaming crap. You can easily see how shitty its launch was when the flagship titles were Pilotwings and Steel Diver...

[Sirk7x]

This article is discussing launch titles. N64 launched with two titles. Not fantastic. The SNES also only launched with 3, which I think actually shows that a console's initial launch isn't nearly as important as people think.

[darthv72]

sorry Neon.. the 3DO beats that with its one and only launch game Crash n Burn.

[rocketpanda]

A whole month! Wow, how ever did you manage?

[pcz]

mario 64 was a monumental, revolutionary, historic game. even if the n64 launched with 30 games, the only game people would be buying, playing or remember, would be mario 64.

the switch only has 1-2 switch. NO! zelda doesnt count! its a wiiu game. its like launching the super nintendo with super mario 3. its a nes title no matter how good it is. scavenging games from a last gen system and attempting to pass them off as launch titles is not impressive
.
the switch has the single most worse launch line up of any console in history.

[thegamefox93]

Switch has a better launch lineup than Wii and Wii u

[Neonridr]

fair enough, but you want to offer people some variety. 2 games to pick from is not exactly giving gamers an option. Mario 64 was amazing, and everyone needed to play it. But it meant that once you beat it, you were sitting around waiting for more stuff to release. Different time back then without the online stores and all that stuff.

[Angeljuice]

The Amiga CD32 beats N64 massively, it had the exact same games as the standard Amiga but on a CD rather than floppies.
It launched with several games, but they weren't even ports, just the same code on a CD.

[giovonni]

The Atari jaguar is by far the worst nothing has anything on that

[Angeljuice]

Apple Pippin?

[VJGenova]

Pilotwings is a great game, too. So hard yo get 100s. I never got a system launch day, so my first memories of n64 include wave racer and wayne gretsky 3d hockey. Good stuff.

[2pacalypsenow]

Imagine releasing a console with 2 games in 2017, people would riot

[The 10th Rider]

Even add-ons like Kinect, PSVR, and PS Move launched with more titles, lol

[conanlifts]

The thing people are forgetting is often there is a 2-3 month gap with no games within 1-2 weeks of a systems launch. On switch this is not happening, there are numerous games releasing almost weekly immediately after launch. Launch day is limited with 5 so far confirmed, but the first 8 weeks is pretty full.

[Segata]

PS1 and PS2 had abysmal launch lineups. PS1 maybe one of the worst I ever did see. Thankfully filled out over time,same with PS2. Even PS3/4 were pretty weak. I am never that concerned with launch games. I worry how it will fill up over the next year and beyond.

[Knushwood Butt]

For PS2 I think I got Tekken and Sylpheed (sp?).

Hardly plsyed Tekken but quite enjoyed Sylpheed.

[ZeekQuattro]

By the time I got the N64 in December 1996 Shadows of the Empire was out and between that and Super Mario 64 I experienced one of my best launches. Those were two games I played to death.

[gamejediben]

Pretty much all console launch lineups suck. The only real exception was the Dreamcast and maybe the original Xbox. If you're buying a console on launch date, you are getting screwed over no matter what. Let me count the ways:

1. Limited launch library

As this article points out, there's just not much to play on it yet. Why not wait till there's more Nintendo goodness before you open your wallet? Say a Smash bros, a Mario Kart and a Metroid? Wait! Whats that you say? Mario is packed in the Switch starting next year? Holy Nintendo savings, Batman!

2. Buggy system software

Wii U's system software was slower than molasses in a freezer on launch day. Even after several updates the firmware is still painfully slow. Wanna watch Netflix? Well you can't until they add it in. Why not wait till they iron this stuff out?

3. High Prices

Why pay $300 for a console and $60 per game when you can wait a few months/years and get a discount? I genuinely feel sorry for people who pay $300 for a console. That's just wasteful. That same $300 got me a Wii U and 4 games back in November 2014!

4. Limited availability

This one is especially true with Nintendo consoles. They have mastered the art of artificial shortages to increase demand. It took years for the Wii to be easily available at most retailers and the big N is still using this tactic with the NES Classic right now. Don't pay inflated prices on Ebay or wait in line for hours. Just go play something else and wait till theres lots of Switches on store shelves.

[captainexplosion]

Honestly, I think people who wait a year plus to be a console and only save $50 are screwing themselves over. Do you really not think your going to get $50 of use in the first year? That's why I almost always buy consoles on launch day.

[conanlifts]

Some people don't like to spend their life waiting.

Ironically that's why the wii u annoyed me.

But seriously i personally do not want to spend over 1% of my life waiting to buy a console to save $50. Particularly when there are things i want to play on it. Plus without early adopters every console would die in its first year. The more people that jump on board early on the more chance the console has of avoiding the wii u fiasco.

[Fishy Fingers]

PS4 Pro (and probably soon Scorpio), zero exclusive content, minimal upgrades to existing games (the ones they patched). Limited 4K support (media and games).

Of course they're not technically 'new' systems and the requirement to support base models is largely to blame for borking their potential.

[Artemidorus]

Not clicking through the website because it takes forever.

[captainexplosion]

I think the Switch has the worst launch lineup ever. No idea how people can say it's the N64. Mario 64 is much bigger than Zelda. Even if Zelda was an exclusive, and it isn't, Mario 64 is the bigger system seller for sure. Not only was it great but it was a technical showcase which you want on a brand new console. The only other game was Pilotwings, but that game was popular too. All Switch is getting is one big game that isn't an exclusive and nothing else that even matters. No tech showcase. And lets remember that its much easier to make games now than it was on N64. N64 didn't have an app store and it was expensive as hell to put games on those cartridges so you really couldn't see games like The binding of Isaac. Another thing that pisses me off is people saying the Switch lineup is no worse than the PS4 launch. PS4 launch wasn't good, but so much better than the Switch. It had Killzone, Resogun, Knack and some other first party games, PLUS CoD, Assassin's Creed, Battlefied, Fifa, NBA2K, Madden, etc. I think people really underestimate the importance of CoD. People bought PS4s and XB1s just to play CoD. And yeah, they are multiplat but the improvements from PS3 to PS4 CoD Ghosts was much bigger than the improvements from Zelda WiiU to Switch.

[Sirk7x]

Of course it was a technical showcase; Mario 64 showed the industry how to make adventure games in 3D work. We're reaching a point where almost everything has been done, until new technology is developed, and VR and AI really advance.

[Knushwood Butt]

Vita had a varied and plentiful launch lineup but most didn't sell well at all.

Proof that you only need one or two strong games at launch.

[Angeljuice]

Can I just point out that the author isn't very knowledgeable on the subject at all. To say that these are the worst launch lineups of all time is ignorant beyond belief.

What did the Apple Pippin launch with?
The 3do?
The Atari Jaguar?
The Commodore CD32?
Gizmondo?

All of these were worse than those stated in the article by far (and there are plenty more besides).
If you're going to pretend to be knowledgeable about console history, you have to know more than just Sega, Nintendo and Sony. That's just wiping out huge swaths of history.

[conanlifts]

The Amiga cd32 was probably the worst console i have ever purchased. I did get to play James pond robocod on it though which i remember enjoying.

[giovonni]

Lol! You guys are too young to understand that The Atari Jaguar had the worst console line up of all times. with only one game being considered "great." To add the cartridge based system's games costed 10 dollars more than the New (at the time) standard CD formate with a CD attachment that barely saw the light of day. The system came pacakaged with a game that was Terrible, under powered, and graphics so bad, a Super Nintendo game out performed it . let me not mention the controller,

[Angeljuice]

CD32's controller had the buttons stuck on with glue. When you played for more than an hour, the glue would heat up and the buttons would fall off (well they'd still be attached by long sticky strings of glue, but I'd have to put them back in place and Chuck the controller in the freezer for a few minutes before I could play again).

Jaguar was bad (I had one too), but I still think there were worse out there.

[SynestheticRoar]

I recall watching video of little kids in third world countries throwing the N64 off of mountains. It's still amusing.

[Bebob]

Super mario 64 is the best launche game of all time! That alone is enough to make the N64 launch GREAT.

[Tetsujin]

The N64 I remember had more games at launch than just Mario and Pilotwings 64. I remember Waverace 64 and Killer Instinct Gold, and something else. When I got mine for Xmas I had Mario 64, Killer Instinct Gold, and Waverace 64. Around my bday (a month later) Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and during the summer Mario Kart 64.

Why wasn't the Sega Saturn listed? Didn't they release the console before 3rd party games were even ready?

Also, I don't go for number of titles, I go for which titles will keep me occupied without having to buy new games on a constant basis. I'd rather own 4-5 games I can play without being bored than own 30+ and rotating all the time because I'm "bored."

[jaymacx]

Those games came shortly after launch.. some today call it launch window. I remember because all i had was Mario 64 until wave race 64 (nov 1 1996) then KI gold (nov 25 1996) Star wars shadows of the empire (dec 3 1996). 1997 was great as well with Turok and Goldeneye etc.

[callahan09]

In fairness to the N64's teeny tiny line-up, it *did* have Super Mario 64, which I would consider to be the greatest launch outside of Super Mario Bros. on the original NES and Super Mario World on the SNES. They had three consoles in a row that launched with absolute classic Mario games that have stood the test of time. The only other launch title I can think of that's close to those 3 is the original Halo on the original Xbox.

[iofhua]

N64 started out bad, but it eventually did get a decent lineup of games. Still my favorite console.

[Petebloodyonion]

This article is bogus and is click bait!
N64 worst console launch ever by providing 1 of the best game?

How about the Atari Jaguar with 2 games that are often in the worst game of all time
the 3do with 1 games that no one remembers.

[wutang4ever]

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