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Top 5 Failed Gaming Consoles

3Do

Year of Release: 1993, stopped production in 1996

Summary: Spearheaded by EA co-founder Trip Hawkins, Panasonic's foray into video game entertainment was the first game system to use CDs for content delivery. The resulting increase in data storage allowed developers working on the system to blaze trails in the realm of 3D graphics, getting game visuals that much closer to being able to portray the real world.

Virtual Boy

Year of Release: 1995, discontinued in 1996

Summary: With near-total dominance in the handheld gaming market until the iPhone's release and the best-selling home console ever in the Wii, Nintendo's not a company known for its stumbles. But, when the House of Mario chased after the virtual reality craze of the 1990s, it notched its worst fail ever.

Pippin

Year of Release: 1995, Discontinued in 1997

Summary: Apple's ill-fated foray into gaming, the Pippin was released in the U.S. in 1996. The Internet-capable console so slow that it positively chugged, proved an undisputed embarrassment for the computer giant. With meager processing power and a high price tag, it's no shock the company abandoned Pippin like the illegitimate child of gaming world it was.

Phantom

Year of Release: Never went on sale (Announced in 2002, Delayed pending further funding in 2006)

Summary: In theory the Phantom Entertainment Phantom sounds like the perfect console. Not only can it read and play PC games, virtually creating a massive library of developed product, the Phantom used a direct download content system so there was no need to go to the store and pick up the latest game. It's the future of where we're heading with computer programs so the details of the Phantom were definitely ahead of their time, except that it was never released. Although it was supposed to come out as a direct competitor to the Xbox 360 in 2005, besides a prototype console that was seen in May 2004 the system was never released. Too bad: It received first place in Wired's Vaporwares 2004.

Dreamcast

Year of Release: 1998 in Japan, 1999 in the US; New consoles discontinued in 2001, Refurbished consoles discontinued in 2006

Summary: Widely acknowledged as ahead of its time, the Sega Dreamcast was the first console to be able to plug into the internet with a built-in modem. It took CDs instead of cartridges like the standard today, and it's still possible to find new games, albeit they're typically fan-programed freeware releases. It also marked Sega's sixth and final home gaming console release, as they have no plans to follow up their failed system.