These days, retro gaming consoles have become hugely popular. People love to look back on the games that have come out in previous decades and play favorites they grew up with, games they missed out on when they were new, and the classics that inspired modern gaming.
Even though there are a lot of retro gaming consoles like the NES, the Sega Genesis, and even the PlayStation that are still really popular among both gamers and collectors, not all retro gaming consoles have stood the test of time. Some consoles were massive failures when they were released and have been all but forgotten since then. To see 10 retro gaming consoles that no one bought, just keep reading!
10 Apple Bandai Pippin
Who knew that Apple once tried to get into the world of video gaming? They may be known for cell phones, computers, and tablets now, but in the 1990s, Apple also had a game console.
The Apple Bandai Pippin was released in 1996 and sold for a whopping $599. For comparison, the PlayStation sold for around $299 at this time. The console was unique because of its built-in Internet access, but the fact that Sega and Nintendo were really dominating the video gaming market at the time meant that the Apple Bandai Pippin ended up selling less than 50,000 units.
9 Philips CD-i
The CD-i dates back to the 1980s when gaming companies were trying to find a way to make the jump from cartridge games to compact discs, a new and exciting form of media that was on the cutting edge at the time. While PlayStation eventually managed to make it work, not everyone was so successful.
The Philips CD-i was released in 1991. Along with being a video game console, it was marketed as a complete entertainment system that could also play CDs, play movies, display educational content, and yes, play games. It cost around $1,000 and even though there were over 150 games on it, including Hotel Mario, it sold just over 500,000 consoles.
8 N-Gage
Remember when having the most interesting looking phone was a big deal? Instead of having these sleek, all-screen devices we have now, manufacturers tried to make eye-catching mobile phones that could play games or music or had full keyboards. Those were the days.
The Nokia N-Gage is a handheld gaming console and smartphone combined into one device. It was designed to rival the success of the Game Boy Advance and was released in 2003. During the two years it was on the market, Nokia sold around 2 million devices. While that may sound like a lot, the GBA it was trying to steal the spotlight from has sold around 80 million.
7 Genesis Nomad
Even though Sega was a huge name in the home console world back in the 90s, not all of their consoles were successes and this console isn’t the only time you’ll be seeing Sega’s name on this list. The Genesis Nomad is a portable version of the Sega Genesis and was released in 1995.
It was only released in North America and Sega moved on pretty quickly to focus on other projects, leaving the Genesis Nomad without support and basically ignored by the company until it was discontinued in 1999. Because of this, less than a million devices were sold.
6 Virtual Boy
Nintendo has been dominating the gaming world for decades, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had their fair share of misses. In the mid-1990s, they released the Virtual Boy. It was marketed as the first “3D” gaming console and Nintendo made 22 games for the console.
It cost nearly $200 when it was released which was a lot for a single-player, specialty console in 1995. Nintendo only sold the Virtual Boy for a year before discontinuing it and it sold under a million consoles.
5 Commodore 64 Games System
The Commodore 64 was a home computer that just about anyone who is interested in retro technology is probably familiar with. But, don’t get that confused with the Commodore 64 Games System, an 8-bit video game console that was released in 1990 exclusively in Europe. At release, it cost around £100.
The fact that this console was only released in a single region definitely made it difficult for it to become popular. That, paired with the fact that there were already other huge consoles on the market at this time caused the Commodore 64 Games System to be a massive failure, selling only around 100,000 units.
4 Atari Lynx
The Atari Lynx is a 16-bit console that was released in 1989 and was on shelves around the world until 1995. When it hit shelves, it cost $179 and was the first handheld console to be released with a full-color screen. So, how could it have failed?
It was initially really popular with a ton of people picking them up during the first weeks of its release. It was released about two months before the Game Boy, so it didn’t have a lot of competition in the handheld gaming world and it had some unique features. Unfortunately, Atari didn’t do much marketing and when Nintendo released the Game Boy, the Lynx was mostly forgotten. By the time it was discontinued in the mid-1990s, it had only sold around 3 million devices.
3 Fairchild Channel F
The Fairchild Channel F was released back in 1976. It was released before the Atari 2600, but when people think of the earliest home video game consoles, most people think of the Atari one before they think of this one.
The Fairchild Channel F cost $169 when it was released (around $750 today) and had a number of games that were pretty fun and interesting at the time, but when the Atari 2600 was released the following year, it cast a pretty bland light on the Fairchild Channel F. Because of the fact that it was overtaken by a better system with better games, this console ended up selling only around 250,000 consoles.
2 Sega Dreamcast
The Sega Dreamcast was released in 1998 in Japan and 1999 everywhere else. This console was the last home console that Sega ever released and they attempted to regain the popularity the Genesis had gotten them. The Dreamcast had a launch price of $199, half the price of their massively unpopular Sega Saturn, and they pushed the marketing on the console pretty hard.
Unfortunately, the console was released just as Sony was building hype for their PlayStation 2 and Sega’s hopes for having another hugely popular home console were dashed. Despite the low price and a ton of really awesome games that were released on the console, it only sold around 9 million consoles. Considering the PlayStation 2 sold over 150 million in its lifetime, this isn’t great.
1 Bally Astrocade
The Bally Astrocade was released in 1977 and cost $299 at release - the equivalent of about $1,200 today. When it was originally released, it was only available through mail order under the name Bally Home Library Computer. But, due to delays and changes in the device, it was eventually renamed to the Bally Professional Arcade and put on store shelves.
In the 1980s, some changes in the company meant that they changed the name of the device once again to the Bally Astrocade. It was sold under this name through the mid-1980s before it completely disappeared from shelves in 1985. The repeated name changes, lack of marketing, and competition meant that this console never became particularly popular.
