There are a lot of consoles out there, though they tend to get forgotten amidst the modern goliaths. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo very much dominate the video game console industry, and have plenty of internal development divisions as well. If you make a game, it’s more than likely going to come out on at least one of their platforms.
In earlier years, however, we had many more video games consoles, and many more choices on where to put your games. And that meant, sometimes, a console falling to the wayside regardless of how popular it is. Some of these consoles were very popular at the time but became forgotten after poor performance, or have gained more love since despite a lackluster library.
8Apple Pippin
60 Total Games, Less Than 20 In North America
Over the years, Apple has dabbled in the video game industry, switching back-and-forth with their own gaming apps on iPhone, investing in developers to create games for them, and even making the Apple Arcade format for people to exclusively launch their games on Apple devices. But in earlier years, they had a console of their own.
Made in collaboration with Bandai, the Apple Bandai Pippin was intended to be a middle-ground between a Mac computer and a gaming console. A ‘cheap’ medium, Apple defined it as, despite far exceeding the price of any other console at the time. On top of that, it’s own internals were much weaker than the other 3D consoles of the time. As such, you got but a minimal librabry of just 20 games in the US, despite Apple’s backing.
The library of games was much larger in Japan due to Bandai itself publishing most of them.
7Nuon
8 Games
The Nuon is a fascinating device because it was less a console in it’s own right, but a platform that could be integrated into other DVD players. As such, this made Nuon devices indistinguisable from other DVD players. And while it did offer advanced DVD players functions, it truly did want to become something more, something that could compete with other major consoles.
Except a lackluster image, no killer games, and a lack of cohesion meant it simply never took off despite support. As such, it only had a total of 8 games released for the platform, with countless more that were pitched or in development canceled or shifted to other platforms entirely.
6Philips CD-i
Approximately 200 Games
The Philips CD-i is likely less well-known for its own video game library at large as it is for its rather infamous video game failures. After a deal with Nintendo that ensuredit could develop a release exclusive Zelda games, these games became the defining face of the CD-i, despite a surprisingly large library all things considered.
Somewhat akin to the Nuon, the CD-i could play CDs and its own software, and after being co-developed by Sony, it felt like it really had a life. Except it simply couldn’t keep up with the competition, on either the CD front or from other gaming consoles. So despite getting a respectable library of around 200 games, it paled in comparison to those it competed with.
5PC Engine SuperGrafx
6 Games
The PC Engine line of consoles were initially some of the headliners in the industry. Not groundbreaking, but still a household name, in Japan especially. After early success, it started to struggle quickly afterwards, and released the SuperGrafx in a rush to try meet demand and catch the attention of the public once again.
Except the original TurboGrafx-16 released in 1987, with the SuperGrafx coming just two years later with almost no prepared games for it. In fact, the TurboGrafx-16 was then supported long afterwards too due to how little an impact the SuperGrafx had. a library of five games and an enhanced version of an existing game isn’t exactly a system seller.
4Atari Jaguar
50 Games
tIn the early days of the home console industry, Atari was one of the biggest names.It produced arcades, games and plenty of home consoles, too. But by the time of the Atari Jaguar, its dominance started to dwindle. The Atari ST was a failure, so the Jaguar had to be a hit. It was advertised as the first 64-bit system, though failed to actually hit the mark by the time of its release.
And sadly, the Jaguar just couldn’t get a foothold. It had limited third-party support, which only dwindled further as the consoles fell into obscurity. Despite being such a big name, the Atari Jaguar ultimately ended with only 50 licensed games to its name.
3Virtual Boy
22 Games
Over the years, Nintendo has made quite a few consoles, the vast majority of them being a roaring success. The one oddity noted in its library is typically the Wii U, which failed to establish what exactly it was or generate many well-known games. Long before that though, Nintendo had a much more critical failure - the Virtual Boy.
The Virtual Boy was a primitive form of VR, an interesting idea that the company did not dedicate to. Combined with the N64 in development and a fear over health issues from long-term usage, the Virtual Boy was hastened to release. And with only 22 games to its name, it was quickly discontinued. So next time you look at the Wii U as a failure, remember that it could be so much worse.
2Mattel Hyperscan
5 Games
There was a time when everyone felt they could have a hand in the video games industry. After the former giants, Sega and Atari, had pulled out of the home console market, others sought to fill those gaps. Not to the same scale, but to latch onto anything they could. And one of those was Mattel with the Hyperscan.
Previously only licensing games, Mattel made the Hyperscan as an intentionally niche product that could bridge the gap between a toy and a console you invest in. Except the absurd system of cards that were purchased like random trading cards, a miniscule library of five games, and vastly inferior hardware compared to its competitors doomed the Hyperscan to a swift death.
1Nintendo 64
388 Games
Well if we haven’t heard of you already. Developed alongside the Virtual Boy, the N64 was Nintendo’s real focus during this era, though it was also its first console capable of 3D rendering. In retrospect, the N64 is a beloved game for how its games pioneered 3D game design, and the games that did release were stellar.
Except despite the fame,there just weren’t many games there. In total, the N64 is typically accepted to have had 388 games. While this might seem like a large number, it is tiny compared to what came before and after. The SNES had almost 2,000 games, and the GameCube, itself far from a roaring success, had around 600 games. The impact of the N64 mostly came posthumously.
