Top 5 Worst Consoles of All Time

Home entertainment systems became very popular in a very short amount of time. The idea of using a joystick to control a virtual character on TV was, at first, quite weird. However, people found it enjoyable and wanted one for themselves. This is how console manufacturers became very popular, rich and appreciated. Many video gaming companies appeared, but not all of them succeeded in making a great console. Here are the Top 5 Worst Video Consoles:

5. Gizmondo

On the 19th of March, 2005, Tiger Telematics made a new handheld video console, as a response for the Nokia N-Cage. The console was called Gizmondo. The system had some critical problems. It came with a high price, 400$, but it offered a cheaper 299$ version, a version which would force you to watch so called "Smart Ads." During the game, the console would stop you from playing and would present you commercials. This concept, plus a small library of games, and only 25 000 units sold, it failed hard.

4. Pioneer LaserActive

An interesting concept, but poorly executed. The idea of running games from different companies was good, but in order to do that, you would have to buy a lot of add-ons for the console to work. That being said, if you wanted to take maximum advantage of the console, you would have to pay 2500$. Yes, you read that correctly. An insane amount of cash just to play games with graphics that were barely on par with other systems. With few games and only 10 000 units sold, the console was a big failure.

3. Atari Jaguar

Such a bad move from Atari, which used to be one of the biggest console producers. This console was the last one launched by Atari, then getting out of the gaming industry with no glory at all. The idea was nice, taking benefit from a more powerful 64-bit system, but because of the lack of games, horrible controller and almost 250 000 sales, it forced Atari to step out of this world. Not only that, but video game companies couldn't take advantage of the system at all, because of the times back then. Anyway, it was about time for Atari to disappear, so this console wasn't exactly a bad thing. 

2. Nokia N-Gage

When Nokia released the N-Gage, a console-phone combo created to rival the Gameboy advance, it came with a few problems. First of all, using the phone only for calling is very cumbersome, because of the weird hardware. Many critics gave it funny nicknames, such as "taco", or "Frankenphone". It was also hard to control.  Nokia sold only 3 million units with this phone. Many people found this concept unusable, but the idea was pretty cool.

1. Nintendo Virtual Boy

Yes. You didn't expect this, did you? The worst console being from Nintendo. Well, here it is. The idea was way too ahead of its time, knowing that the dual display started to catch shape in 2010. Nintendo came up with a very cool idea, but sadly, poorly executed. The display, in order to work properly, it had to sacrifice some basic things, such as color. When you put your head in to play the game, you are surrounded by a wave of red and black. Because of that, most people using it got eye-strains and also a very stiff neck. This virtual reality concept just couldn't take shape in the 90's because of the technology back then.