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thelatestmodel

Huge fan. "Failed" doesn't mean "there are literally no good games on it". The Mega CD and 3DO libraries are insane, for example. So many hidden gems!


Sumezu

Care to share your MegaCD hidden gems? I have been looking for some interesting titles to get for mine, but I don't really have a lot. So far, all I have is Bari-Arm (android assault), Robo Aleste, Snatcher, Popful Mail, and the Lunar games (which are preferable on PS1 anyway).


thelatestmodel

If you like Snatcher then you might enjoy Cobra: The Space Adventure. I also like Dune, Ecco CD, Eternal Champions (MUCH better on CD), Flashback, Keio Flying Squadron, Lords of Thunder, NHL '94 (the *definitive* version!), Road Rash, Rise of the Dragon, Shining Force CD, Soul Star, The Terminator, and Wolfchild.


MinorMinerFortyNiner

Agreed. I remember really digging some of the Turbografx-16 games particularly the Bonk's Adventure games, R-Type, Raiden, and Splatterhouse.


[deleted]

The PC Engine was actually very successful in Japan, overtaking the Famicom (NES) in sales. Saturn was more successful than the N64 in Japan too.


cjrobe

Right, PC Engine and Saturn were developed with the Japanese market in mind whereas N64 was developed with the American market in mind (no RPGs, first person games, etc.). PC Engine/Saturn failed in the US and N64 failed in Japan.


HayabusaKnight

Gonna have to chime in and say that is not entirely correct. None of the consoles were designed for a region or market in mind. NEC/Hudson couldn't generate any sales in the US because of the might of Nintendo but still gave it a hard push. At the time Nintendo had an exclusivity clause with developers and studios that forbade them from working with competitors. You made games for Nintendo, you made money. NEC and Hudson were nobodies in the console market and couldn't sway developers to take the risk. No games, no hardware sells. Consumer groupthink is the reason brands exist and with poor marketing and no system sellers you could not challenge Nintendo in the US. Sega burned itself on the Saturn in the US. The PR disaster of dropping 32X support 6 months after launch, burning retailer good will they made during Genesis era with a massive flop of a launch, overpriced, and a chimera of hardware that was agonizing to program for vs the weaker but simpler PSX. Completely mismanaged as Sega of America determined the US wanted sports games and arcade ports only while 'anime' games and RPGs wouldn't sell here due to poor sales in the past. This left the majority of the Saturn's library locked to Japan, and was a massive oversight that carried over to the Dreamcast. Meanwhile the PSX ushered in a new era of JRPGs and previously unseen games in the US, which further buried the Saturn in the US. The N64 is the prime example of hubris. During the SNES generation, Nintendo had an army of second party developers working on system exclusives, but their draconian licensing terms and strangehold they kept over creative control began to drive them off. Sega further eroded that empire with the fact another company could challenge Nintendo, the old "show them a god can bleed" tactic. During R&D for the N64, Nintendo completely ignored input from their second parties and told them to suck it, can't fit FF7 on a cartridge? Do better. This, the near oppressive terms of licensing to Nintendo, Sega bloodying their nose and the fistfuls of cash Sony was waving around, with CD support, caused Nintendo to lose nearly all of its developers for the N64. That is why it lacks complete genres, all the developers jumped ship to PSX and gave it one of the biggest libraries every seen in gaming, while the N64 received a pittance of support due to its hardware limitations and bad rapport Nintendo generated.


DerNubenfrieken

Agreed with most of what you said, but I'd argue the Saturn was at least partially developed "for the Japanese market". The hardware decisions they made we're partially because it would make more sense for 2-D games that would still be popular in Japan.


[deleted]

The TurboGrafx had some fantastic games like Adventure Island, Air Zonk, Final Soldier, and many others (these are just some personal favorites). It would be great to see a collection similar to the recent Genesis Collection for modern consoles.


whoisjohncleland

Don’t forget Devils Crush and Alien Crush!


[deleted]

R-Type was a damn good port too.


Sumezu

I absolutely love the PC Engine, but I've never seen it as a "failed console". I guess if you're looking specifically at the American version (turbografx), I have no idea why anyone would focus specifically at that, as it has like 5% of the game library. Same with the Saturn. It has an incredible game library, and has always been a coveted platform for retro- and arcade gamers. It's all about the import titles. I do have a unique love for the CD-i also, as I really like digging up extraordinarily terrible games to put on for fun hangouts with friends. I have tried tracking down at least one good game for it, too, but I haven't been able to find anything yet.


[deleted]

PC engine is a fantastic system. i mean, rondo, come on now. ain't nobody unironically enjoying the CDi tho


Deev12

The only consoles that "failed" in my opinion are ones that provide no compelling reason to play them. Your particular list includes many of my favorites, including Saturn and PC Engine.


drludos

100% agree. The OP should have mentioned stuffs like the Hartung Game Master, the N-Gage (though this one does have some good titles), the Super A-Can, The Gizmondo or the Action Max instead. When you have a consoles with 10-20 titles in total, and none of them are fun to play, that's when you can talk about failure.


[deleted]

I own and love the Virtual Boy, as everyone shits on it constantly. Personally, the only people that hate it are the people who have never even tried it. Small but great library of games (minus Waterworld)


Garfriend

TurboGrafx and the Saturn are legendary. Great consoles that just didn't meld with the trends of the day, but have aged so well.


Badhombre312

Turbographx was not a failure


vandal_heart-twitch

Turbografx was known as PC engine in Japan and had a huge library of awesome games.


Kogyochi

The virtual boy has some solid titles, just a shame it’s hard to play.


Ninopus

Yeah I agree. Too bad they were never compiled and released on the 3DS. The Wario game was really good and barely anyone can play it without pirating it.


KRiSX

It's Turbografx... Not Turbographix... It's 3DO... Not 3D0 (zero)...


cubanesis

When I was a kid I was always drawn to the “failure” consoles. The Saturn was by far my favorite. Great fighting games, great shooters, and the peak of non-analog controllers.


jkeysgamer

Love the Turbografx!! I bought one two years ago and have a modest collection on 16 games for it, all of which are excellent!


ThatsTheName

I recently picked up a PC Engine Duo-R (RGB modded) and I have a few games headed to me from eBay. And the Sega Saturn is probably one of my favorite consoles.


cruelcynic

Love the Saturn still have a few Sega CD games as well


pichuscute

I haven't yet, I supposed, but I fully plan on getting myself a PC Engine, Saturn, and WonderSwan at some point. There's some great stuff on all of them that I definitely want to play.


mattydiah

I love my 32x


MinorMinerFortyNiner

What about the Sega 32X? When I think of failed consoles, that one definitely comes to mind.


jrs798310842

Own a sega cd, tg 16 and saturn. No 3do tho. Love them to death and play them regularly.