Top 10 Worst Consoles you never heard of

[Coldguy]

I saw this online and had to share:

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/bt/the-sage/sage-review/6457-top10worst

I had some complaints with this list, vertex at 8?! Just curious to see if anyone else had some issues with the selections or has some of the consoles mentioned.

[TonyTheTiger]

I actually don't mind the list too much. He did nail a few of the more loony consoles like the Loopy and Pippin which I wasn't expecting. If we made a list of all the "fringe" consoles and then checked off all of the jokes I'm sure we wouldn't come up with that large of a number so I'll give a pass on some of the choices since we are working with a limited number of options. I certainly would have replaced the Vectrex with something like Game.com or R-Zone, and possibly replaced the Laseractive with something else (although the price point of that thing was a joke itself back in the day) but all in all I don't think it was a terrible video.

[j_factor]

Tried way too hard to be funny. And he mispronounced "Epoch". And mentioning in passing that the Turbografx-16 "had nothing special about it" -- them's fighting words.

And the Nomad?! Hell no.

[TonyTheTiger]

The Nomad was a real stretch if we're talking about consoles you've "never heard of." By the way, I'm not sure how to pronounce "epoch" myself. There seems to be a lot of accepted pronunciations.

[Tupin]

The video is taking forever to load for me, but how did I know he would mention the Nomad, TurboGrafx-16, and Vectrex?

[Coldguy]

TG 16 wasnt mentioned

[TonyTheTiger]

The TG16 isn't actually on the list. He mentioned it in passing because the SuperGrafx is.

[Tupin]

The Nomad was a real stretch if we're talking about consoles you've "never heard of." By the way, I'm not sure how to pronounce "epoch" myself. There seems to be a lot of accepted pronunciations.
I say it as "E-pock".

[j_factor]

I'm disappointed that it doesn't have the Halcyon. Especially since he harps on the LaserActive so much for being laserdisc-based.

[Tupin]

Okay, what was the list? The video has been playing for over a half hour and is only at #6.

[tubeway]

These discussions always remind me of the folks left sitting in the movie theater picking apart the comic book based film they just saw.

....

I was one of those people a couple days ago, after seeing Wolverine.

Yeah.

[Baloo]

Okay, what was the list? The video has been playing for over a half hour and is only at #6.

Yeah, it was loading slow for me as well. Maybe it's the site?

Nomad could be a candidate for unknown handhelds, but I would hardly call it a truly bad console with the likes of the Pippin and Fairchild F. It wasn't even that unknown to begin with!

[NayusDante]

If I remember correctly, the PCFX garnered a strong cult following, and wasn't really much of a failure.

[TonyTheTiger]

If I remember correctly, the PCFX garnered a strong cult following, and wasn't really much of a failure.

The hentai wouldn't have something to do with that, would it? ;)

[Baloo]

The hentai wouldn't have something to do with that, would it? ;)

Heh. That can garner some fans I guess.

Although porn doesn't always give a good following to a system. Just look at the CD-i.

[mnbren05]

Hm odd choices the Nomad may no real sense on that list like a few other consoles. Why no Bandai Playdia, I thought for sure I would see that on the list.

[crom]

I dont agree with his list...

nomad is good...

the vectrex is what it is, 1982... far from a bad system

nothing special about turbo grafx16? didint have any special games? what no bonk?


the laseractive is not a bad system, the price of a system doesnt make it a bad system...

[mobiusclimber]

1) I'd heard of every single console mentioned.

2) The point he was making about the TG-16 is entirely wrong. He claimed that there was no good 1st party support, yet the system was developed by Hudson Soft who supplied unlimited amounts of 1st party titles, most of which were great.

3) Half of his consoles listed only got a release in Japan so it's no wonder American gamers don't talk about those failures.

4) The Nomad is a cheat for several reasons: It sold well, so it can't be considered a financial failure; It's fairly well-known (though not on par with the Game Gear); It's not a console!

Definitely an interesting and humorous countdown, but not terribly informative, particularly when some of the info is wrong.

[Arcade_Ness]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the terrible PS3 joke he did. I found it sad and pedantic. The rest of the video was alright, if only for the fact I didn't know anything about some of those consoles.

[Poofta!]

wow this is an awful video. the jokes are stupid and the guy is way too obnoxious.

[Press_Start]

This guy reminds me of those wannabe "angry" reviews started poppin out when the Nerd became famous. Difference is when the Nerd reviews something, he actually has the darn thing to base his videos on.

How can he call a console a piece of sh!t when the guy doesn't have the console or played any of the games in the first place? That's saying Dark Knight is a horrible film before you see the movie. Going to take this guy's list with a pinch of salt.

Nothing special about the TurboGrafx?! :o Someone needs an all-night gaming marathon. With the good old TG16, games, and some rope, we'll have him "corrected" in no time. ;)

[eastbayarb]

I'm surprised the Atari 5200 wasn't mentioned based on the horrible controllers alone (It did have some good games but the controllers just ruined it badly). I have a Vectrex and I like it a lot. If he's gonna mention bad systems based on price, why not mention the Turbo Grafx express, or Neo Geo?

[Tron 2.0]

1) I'd heard of every single console mentioned.

2) The point he was making about the TG-16 is entirely wrong. He claimed that there was no good 1st party support, yet the system was developed by Hudson Soft who supplied unlimited amounts of 1st party titles, most of which were great.

3) Half of his consoles listed only got a release in Japan so it's no wonder American gamers don't talk about those failures.

4) The Nomad is a cheat for several reasons: It sold well, so it can't be considered a financial failure; It's fairly well-known (though not on par with the Game Gear); It's not a console!

Definitely an interesting and humorous countdown, but not terribly informative, particularly when some of the info is wrong.
Agreed.

[TonyTheTiger]

1) I'd heard of every single console mentioned.

That's probably not fair. Sure, we know what a Pippin is but do most people? I somehow doubt it.


3) Half of his consoles listed only got a release in Japan so it's no wonder American gamers don't talk about those failures.

Isn't that kind of the point? How else can you make a list of consoles "you've never heard of" without at least considering leaving North America? I mean, you could, but it would be more lame because as much fun as it is to make fun of the N-Gage, everybody did it already. Not so with the Loopy.

I think you guys are taking this way too seriously. He's a video blogger with clearly limited video editing skills (as in, he isn't AVGN or Nostalgia Critic) who was just trying to make a little video about obscure consoles. Need this hobby be so revered that we become "those people"? You know the kind, the people who can't watch a movie without telling you minute by minute how the book did this scene or that scene so much better or the people who get all hung up on why Bumblebee was a Camaro in the Transformers movie.

[CosmicMonkey]

I think he's wrong regarding the Laser Active.

Is the LA a games console? No. It's a LaserDisc player that facilitates the use of games through expansion packs. To say it's crap is to say that the MegaDrive or PC Engine game libraries themselves are crap. It was very expensive and way ahead of it's time but I think it's a very cool system.

I also wouldn't include the Vectrex. I think it's a very unique machine that offered an interesting gaming experience. Different yes, but certainly not a 'worst console'.

He obviously hasn't heard of the Amastrad GX 4000 otherwise that would certainly feature on the list. Or maybe the Super A'Can? So Mr Sage, there's two arguably awful consoles that you've never heared of.

[ShinobiMan]

Informative in some areas... unnecessary in others. I found the info on the Supergrafx and Casio Loopy interesting... but his rant on the Laseractive and Vectrix was really misguided.

Thanks for sharing the link!

[PresidentLeever]

I think he's wrong regarding the Laser Active.

Is the LA a games console? No. It's a LaserDisc player that facilitates the use of games through expansion packs. To say it's crap is to say that the MegaDrive or PC Engine game libraries themselves are crap. It was very expensive and way ahead of it's time but I think it's a very cool system.


Agreed. Iirc it wasn't even that expensive by the time it came to Europe (sweden), and I don't think he mentioned that it could also play CD games. He also didn't mention any Good LA games like Rocket Coaster and Hyperion, only a couple of FMV titles (Triad stone isn't too bad either, just very hard).

[Pantechnicon]

Pfft. I have little patience for people who rag on the Vectrex, particularly those who, when the Vectrex was released, were still trying to get a handle on the mind-boggling concept of peeing in the potty.

[TurboGenesis]

I think you guys are taking this way too seriously. He's a video blogger with clearly limited video editing skills (as in, he isn't AVGN or Nostalgia Critic) who was just trying to make a little video about obscure consoles. Need this hobby be so revered that we become "those people"? You know the kind, the people who can't watch a movie without telling you minute by minute how the book did this scene or that scene so much better or the people who get all hung up on why Bumblebee was a Camaro in the Transformers movie.

AKA Snobs.

Video games is become that. I will admit that I can roll my eyes sometimes with the things people do and say that are not "in the know" but I hold back and try not to be bothered. I have several friends and family who are hard to understand my passion for the video games hobby and would rather play the latest madden or grand theft automobiles, but I keep my mouth shut and just smile and nod…

In regards to the list, (I had no audio, only visual) It does gain its strength on hardware that was never realized here in the USA, so that contribute to why noone has heard of them…

[A Black Falcon]

Decent video, but yeah, why was the Nomad there but not the R-Zone or Game.com? Those two were far worse... and as has been said, it's simply false that the TG16 'had no memorable first-party games'. He's never heard of Bonk? Really? But he knows about the Loopy? I'm skeptical...


I think he's wrong regarding the Laser Active.

Is the LA a games console? No. It's a LaserDisc player that facilitates the use of games through expansion packs. To say it's crap is to say that the MegaDrive or PC Engine game libraries themselves are crap. It was very expensive and way ahead of it's time but I think it's a very cool system.

I also wouldn't include the Vectrex. I think it's a very unique machine that offered an interesting gaming experience. Different yes, but certainly not a 'worst console'.

He obviously hasn't heard of the Amastrad GX 4000 otherwise that would certainly feature on the list. Or maybe the Super A'Can? So Mr Sage, there's two arguably awful consoles that you've never heared of.

What? Of course the LaserActive is a console. It has games which only run on a LaserActive. Yes, the games all require either the Genesis module or TG16 module to work (depending on which one they were designed for), but you can't play those games on a Sega CD or Turbo CD, can you? No? You have to play them on the LaserActive, which has its own hardware inside?

Then it's its own system. At worst you could sort of consider it an addon to both the Genesis+Sega CD and TurboGrafx+Turbo CD, but really it's its own system.


If I remember correctly, the PCFX garnered a strong cult following, and wasn't really much of a failure.

The Dreamcast got a strong cult following in Japan too and had years of releases after its death, but it's generally considered a total failure there because of how horribly it did in the general market... having a tiny but loyal audience isn't enough to make a system a success. The PCFX did badly. Four years of releases, sure, but virtually every single one had anime cutscenes... they were aiming at a specific market, and while they got some of it, it was a quite small market compared to the ones Sega, Sony, or Nintendo got that generation.

As he said, it'd probably have done better coming out several years earlier, when the tech wasn't outdated and the idea of a 2d-only, anime FMV game-focused console still sounded like a good one... but by 1994-1995, that time was passing.

[7th lutz]

1.)The Sega Nomad had no business on the list.

2.) There was no reason for bashing Vectrex homebrewers a first place.

3.) Arcade Games had vector graphics back in the late 1970's and early 1980's. That info means Vectrex was not a terrible game console in 1982. Space Duel was released as an arcade game in the same year the Vectrex was released.

I think person didn't do any research on what the early 1980's were like for video games in terms of what style of games were released in the arcades.

3.) How didn't he heard hear about the Bonk Series?

[Famidrive-16]

Some aspects aside (I wouldn't put LA at 1) I didn't find the list too bad. Nomad shouldn't have been there though, even he admitted it was a bit of a stretch to include.

[Kid Ice]

Pfft. I have little patience for people who rag on the Vectrex, particularly those who, when the Vectrex was released, were still trying to get a handle on the mind-boggling concept of peeing in the potty.

I had to stop watching this video after about three minutes because the guy is so irritating.

Still playing the Vectrex after 25 years.

[crom]

this man is here by declared

stupid...

[MrSparkle]

Horrible audio mixing! LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD ever so quiet *adjusts audio* and now INCREDIBLY LOUD AGAIN . trying to watch this at work is impossible. and on the content some of these are well deserved rants but you cant rag on the nomad its a portable genesis, or the vectrex its immensely badass.

[Sonicwolf]

Horrible audio mixing! LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD ever so quiet *adjusts audio* and now INCREDIBLY LOUD AGAIN . trying to watch this at work is impossible.

LOL At work? Try everywhere...

[Zap!]

Pretty good list. Like someone else mentioned, I disagree with the Vectrex on that list though. Where's the Halcyon? Why didn't that make the list? And I heard of every one except the Casio Loopy. :)

[TonyTheTiger]

Agreed. Iirc it wasn't even that expensive by the time it came to Europe (sweden), and I don't think he mentioned that it could also play CD games. He also didn't mention any Good LA games like Rocket Coaster and Hyperion, only a couple of FMV titles (Triad stone isn't too bad either, just very hard).

The problem wasn't really the price of the base machine. It was pretty common for Laserdisc players to cost nearly a grand back then. But $600 for the Sega and NEC modules was stupidly expensive.


2.) There was no reason for bashing Vectrex homebrewers a first place.

He used that as a springboard for self depreciating humor. It may not have been a funny joke but it was a joke. He was just setting up a punchline.

[exit]

At times he was somewhat informative, but a lot of the time he was very obnoxious. I've been using that word a lot, obnoxious.

[Sonicwolf]

At times he was somewhat informative, but a lot of the time he was very obnoxious. I've been using that word a lot, obnoxious.

Obnoxiousism has become the stape of video game reviews since the advent of the AVGN...

[Tupin]

The problem wasn't really the price of the base machine. It was pretty common for Laserdisc players to cost nearly a grand back then. But $600 for the Sega and NEC modules was stupidly expensive.



He used that as a springboard for self depreciating humor. It may not have been a funny joke but it was a joke. He was just setting up a punchline.
You could buy a separate LaserDisc Player, TG-16, and Genesis for the price of the base unit. How did Sega/NEC think that it was a fair price?

[Zebbe]

They wanted to make sure no-one bought the modules and got the original consoles instead? Haha, I don't know.

I'm tired of top 10 worst/best lists... Can't we have top 10 average lists soon? They must be better.

[Tupin]

TOP TEN MOST MEDIOCRE GAMES

Actually sounds better than most lists online today. LOL

[TonyTheTiger]

You could buy a separate LaserDisc Player, TG-16, and Genesis for the price of the base unit. How did Sega/NEC think that it was a fair price?

I don't know. It is true that in the early 90s Laserdisc players were marketed to more affluent consumers. The Laseractive followed suit. But I can't fathom why the modules cost $600. What was in them that was so beyond what you'd find inside a real Genesis/SCD or TG16/CD? The NEC PAC cost twice as much as a Turbo Duo. Hell, the Sega module cost more than an X'Eye and from what I can tell it did nothing beyond what the X'Eye could do. It's almost as if they charged that much just for the hell of it. Since they were marketing the console to the more affluent anyway I guess they figured it would be worth trying to gouge them.


TOP TEN MOST MEDIOCRE GAMES

Actually sounds better than most lists online today. LOL

We should try it. I'll vote for a good chunk of Acclaim's old library.

[mobiusclimber]

If he were on tv, I would have let the whole "... you've never heard of" remark slide. I don't expect the general population, or even the segment of the population that would watch a gaming show to see a segment about the biggest failures in home consoles. But online... I'd be surprised if a tenth of the people watching that video hadn't heard of every single console he mentioned. It's also surprising that he'd have to stretch to fit the Nomad when others have brought up the exact same bad points about it. But worse is that there are SO MANY other handhelds he could have mentioned. Who talks about the disasterous attempt to break into the US handheld market made by the NGPC? What about, as has been mentioned, game.com? What about the Supervision? I'd much rather have heard about ANY of those than the Nomad, mostly b/c it's already been discussed to death. I thought the point of this video was to avoid that.

[TonyTheTiger]

If he were on tv, I would have let the whole "... you've never heard of" remark slide. I don't expect the general population, or even the segment of the population that would watch a gaming show to see a segment about the biggest failures in home consoles. But online... I'd be surprised if a tenth of the people watching that video hadn't heard of every single console he mentioned.

You guys are being unfair with the whole "never heard of" thing. Anybody who talks about the Loopy and Pippin can certainly say "never heard of" and be relatively justified to do that. This community, and the information within, is well beyond what should be used as a foundation. That's like me making a video blog about "worst medical procedures you've never heard of" and then having a bunch of doctors on the internet poo-poo me because "Obviously we've heard of them. What is he, stupid or something?" If that's the case, then it would be impossible to make a list of any unknown consoles because you'll find some people on here who not only know about them but possibly own them, too. There are things to criticize in this video (including the Nomad) but I think the "never heard of" complaint in particular is nitpicking. I'd also bet far more than 1 in 10 would not know the Loopy.

[Sonicwolf]

I don't know. It is true that in the early 90s Laserdisc players were marketed to more affluent consumers. The Laseractive followed suit. But I can't fathom why the modules cost $600. What was in them that was so beyond what you'd find inside a real Genesis/SCD or TG16/CD? The NEC PAC cost twice as much as a Turbo Duo. Hell, the Sega module cost more than an X'Eye and from what I can tell it did nothing beyond what the X'Eye could do. It's almost as if they charged that much just for the hell of it. Since they were marketing the console to the more affluent anyway I guess they figured it would be worth trying to gouge them.


The LaserActive wasnt a bad idea. Pioneer made two dipshit mistakes though. The price of the hardware and the addons and the fact that the system has one addon slot and 2 major addon cartridges.

[j_factor]

You guys are being unfair with the whole "never heard of" thing. Anybody who talks about the Loopy and Pippin can certainly say "never heard of" and be relatively justified to do that. This community, and the information within, is well beyond what should be used as a foundation. That's like me making a video blog about "worst medical procedures you've never heard of" and then having a bunch of doctors on the internet poo-poo me because "Obviously we've heard of them. What is he, stupid or something?" If that's the case, then it would be impossible to make a list of any unknown consoles because you'll find some people on here who not only know about them but possibly own them, too. There are things to criticize in this video (including the Nomad) but I think the "never heard of" complaint in particular is nitpicking. I'd also bet far more than 1 in 10 would not know the Loopy.

The "never heard of" part of the title implies that you've never heard of any of them. I won't criticize over the fact that I personally have heard of every single one of those, because I've probably heard of every console that exists. But certainly not all 10 of those are as obscure as the Loopy. I would be surprised if the majority of people viewing that video have never heard of a single one of those 10 systems. Also, it's not like there weren't other, more unheard-of systems to choose from. I think we can all agree that the Halcyon is both worse and more obscure compared to the Vectrex.

Also, why the hell did he call it "worst consoles" if he was going to include portables? Is the phrase "game system" not in this dude's vocabulary?

[TonyTheTiger]

I dunno. Maybe he likes the Halcyon and maybe he loathes the Nomad for some personal reason. I just think this is all a little silly. It's a video blog by some unknown guy talking about video games. I feel like what I'm watching here is a bunch of members of the New York Philharmonic criticizing a grammar school band because "they just really suck and don't know what they're doing."

[k8track]

Two things:

1. What's the point of doing this list in video format if you're not going to take advantage of that and actually show video clips? Why bother?

2. I stopped watching when he mentioned Vectrex. I realized that I could not possibly take this list or anything he had to say at all seriously.

Nice try, frat boy.

[Diosoth]

The Nomad was a portable version of a home console, and it was garbage. Real useless battery life, same screen as the Game Gear...

Hyperkin's Pluto system should out-perform it in every way, it sounds like.

[TonyTheTiger]

It depends on how you define "bad" I guess. Is the Xbox 360 a "bad" console because it has a tendency to stop working? Was the 5200 a "bad" console because of the controllers and the unnecessary bulk? Was the Jaguar an amazingly great console that most developers just didn't use properly? The answer depends on which matters more, game library or engineering.

[Ze_ro]

Don't bother watching the video. It's a waste of time. He never shows any screenshots (except for the Vectrex), and all of the pictures you see are just clipart he found using Google (And he must not have tried very hard if he couldn't even find screenshots, or even a picture of Triad Stone). It's obvious he doesn't own any of these systems, so how is his opinion even valid? He complains about the Channel F because the print on the cartridges is too small? Please.

I'm not even going to try to argue with his list... They're all bad systems, and even if I happen to like a couple of them, I still know they're bad. But he should at least try playing these things before he sits there and insults them like a smug jerk.

In the hopes that no one else will bother watching the video, here's his list:
LaserActive
Casio Loopy
SuperGrafx
Nomad
Pippen
CassetteVision
SuperVision
Vectrex
Channel F
PC-FX
--Zero

[Jorpho]

I was just watching this review of the R-Zone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09so0ghPYG4

This Ashens.com fellow seems to lend credence to my theory that angry video game reviews are immensely improved by the addition of a dry British accent.

[NayusDante]

Ashens is what he is. He doesn't really do video game reviews so much as Chinese LCD game reviews. He also has a great sense of humor.

[LazingBlazers]

Didn't watch the video because I'm not too concerned about being entertained with this guy's worst 10 consoles, but...

If he catches me on a bad day and calls the SuperGrafx one of the worst, and insinuates that the TurboGrafx is nothing special, he will be That Guy with the Broken Glasses! LOL

[SPAZ-12]

If he catches me on a bad day and calls the SuperGrafx one of the worst, and insinuates that the TurboGrafx is nothing special, he will be That Guy with the Broken Glasses! LOL

Actually this review was done by "The Sage," just some other random guy on the site. That Guy With the Glasses actually has entertaining nostalgic reviews. Actually, never mind. I wouldn't mind seeing you break "The Sage"'s glasses.