Biggest failure of a console

[tomaitheous]

I'd estimate maybe a third of all N64 owners had one.

You mean what was left of the N64 user base by 2000/1? Nintendo loyalist fans, explains quite a bit. N64, GC (was rooting for the system myself for a while, until I took a hard look at what was going happen.. and it wasn't the GC that was going happen), and Wii. They all have/had their die-hard fans. Not sure if they're enough to qualify the n64 ram addon as 'successful' though.

How many games actually required the ram expansion pak? I remember the second Zelda game did, but that's all I can remember. LoL @ Nintendo for releasing that game super late in the game, let alone forcing whatever user base that was left to have the expansion pak. Way to milk that last bit of money from the n64, Nintendo. I wouldn't doubt the majority of the expansion sales were from that game.

[pepharytheworm]

Here's a list of all the games that used the expansion pak and only two had to use it.

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage
All-Star Baseball 2001
Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes
Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Command & Conquer
Cruis'n World
Daikatana
Donkey Kong 64 (had to have expansion)
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
Extreme-G 2
Excitebike 64
F-1 World Grand Prix II
Gauntlet Legends
Hot Wheels
Hybrid Heaven
Hydro Thunder
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
International Track and Field 2000
Jeremy McGrath's Supercross 2000
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (had to have expansion)
Madden NFL '99
Madden NFL 2000
Mario Golf
NBA Courtside 2
NBA Jam 2000
New Tetris, The
NFL Quarterback Club '99
NFL Quarterback Club 2000
Nuclear Strike 64
Perfect Dark (needs expansion for multi-player)
Pokémon Stadium 2
Quake 2
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Re-volt
Resident Evil 2
Road Rash 64
Roadsters
San Francisco Rush 2049
Shadow Man
Spider-Man
South Park
South Park Rally
StarCraft 64 (needs expansion for multi-player)
Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo
Star Wars: Episode 1: Racer
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
The World Is Not Enough
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Top Gear Hyper-Bike
Top Gear Overdrive
Top Gear Rally 2
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
Turok: Rage Wars
Vigilante 8
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
World Driver Championship
Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate

Thats roughly 20% or 1/5 of all US N64 games that used it. I guess you people feel the Ram Cart for the Saturn was stupid too.

[buzz_n64]

Thats roughly 20% or 1/5 of all US N64 games that used it. I guess you people feel the Ram Cart for the Saturn was stupid too.

You said it dude! The Playstation, and almost every system in the 90's and early 00's had some sort of add-on or extra feature added in their 2nd half or late in their life span.

Genesis - 32x/cd
CD-i - Digital Video adapter
Saturn - 3d pad/ram card
Playstation - Dual Shock/Analog (Featured game- Ape Escape)
N64 - Expansion Pak
and so on...

[CRV]

Its Brazilian longevity is quite well-established and widely known; it even got perfectly legitimate ports of games that came out much later. Wikipedia should tell you more.

They haven't released a Master System game on cartridge in years.

[todesengel]

Here's a list of all the games that used the expansion pak and only two had to use it.

Actually Perfect Dark required the RAM pak for the single player mode. Other than those 3 games that required it, I prefer not to use the RAM pak for those other titles since the games would run much faster without it.

[Rob2600]

You mean what was left of the N64 user base by 2000/1?

The Expansion Pak was released in late 1998. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, and Top Gear Overdrive were the first games to use it.

[pepharytheworm]

Actually Perfect Dark required the RAM pak for the single player mode. Other than those 3 games that required it, I prefer not to use the RAM pak for those other titles since the games would run much faster without it.

I read that on wiki too, but my Perfect Dark works without it on single. I just couldn't get it to work multi. Maybe I am just remembering wrong. I will have to test again.

What games ran slower? I haven't played any that ran slower most either had just a visual upgrade or smoother frame rate. Never heard of it slowing down. Give me some examples so I can test them out.

[Rob2600]

What games ran slower? I haven't played any that ran slower most either had just a visual upgrade or smoother frame rate. Never heard of it slowing down. Give me some examples so I can test them out.

A few games got choppy at times in high-res mode. Off the top of my head: Turok 2, Hybrid Heaven, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, and Perfect Dark.

Rayman 2, Turok 3, Shadow Man, Top Gear Overdrive, Resident Evil 2, and Indiana Jones are some examples of N64 games that ran well in high-res mode.

[Arkhan]

Regardless of your opinion, the Expansion Pak was a successful add-on.

It was a success in the same regard that the bigger 360 hard drive was a success. It's the only available option. lol.

They had plans for the thing from the get go. It should have just been there from the get go. More games early on wouldn't have sucked so hard probably.

Its not like they put the expansion port on it and were like "JUST IN CASE WE COME UP WITH SOMETHING LATER"

And according to your philosophy, the Multitap should've been included with - or built into - the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 from the get go, which I agree with.

me too. but at least the multi tap wasn't REQUIRED to play games. Just needed it for >2 people.

[todesengel]

I read that on wiki too, but my Perfect Dark works without it on single. I just couldn't get it to work multi. Maybe I am just remembering wrong. I will have to test again.

What games ran slower? I haven't played any that ran slower most either had just a visual upgrade or smoother frame rate. Never heard of it slowing down. Give me some examples so I can test them out.

I could have sworn that Perfect Dark would only let you play the multiplayer if you didn't have the RAM pak, definitely post about it if you have the time cause now I'm curious. As for games that ran slower choppier, out of the 3 games that I own that use the RAM pak Castlevania Legacy of Darkness (Rob2600 mentioned this one) and Duke Nukem Zero Hour both run pretty slow and choppy to the point that I turn off the high-res mode in both of them. The other game RAM pak game I own is Resident Evil 2 but I don't remember if that one ran slower or choppier, it's been a good while since I had the N64 hooked up.

[j_factor]

Thats roughly 20% or 1/5 of all US N64 games that used it.

If that's what qualifies it as a success, Sega CD was a success. More than 1/5 of all Sega 16-bit console games were either exclusive to Sega CD or had a Sega CD version.

[pepharytheworm]

If that's what qualifies it as a success, Sega CD was a success. More than 1/5 of all Sega 16-bit console games were either exclusive to Sega CD or had a Sega CD version.

Did I say that said it was a success. My point was it was utilized and not just a gimick or a "crock" as someone put it. I have no idea how many people had one but I am sure quite a lot did. By the way there is a big difference between a performance add-on and a console add-on. I am sure more people would have bought a sega CD if all it did was just make 1/5 of the games look better or run smoother. The Sega CD did sell over 5 million so not bad really could have been better though..

[Rob2600]

The other game RAM pak game I own is Resident Evil 2 but I don't remember if that one ran slower or choppier

Resident Evil 2 ran perfectly in high-res mode. It featured Dolby Surround Sound, too. And I loved the analog control option...way better than the default "tank" controls. Angel Studios did an amazing job on that port and even outdid the CD-based PlayStation version.

Again, Rayman 2, Turok 3, Shadow Man, Top Gear Overdrive, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars: Battle for Naboo ran well in high-res mode, too.

[YoshiM]

I could have sworn that Perfect Dark would only let you play the multiplayer if you didn't have the RAM pak, definitely post about it if you have the time cause now I'm curious.

You need the Expansion Pak in order to access most of the contents including the solo missions. Without the Pak you can play the multiplayer challenges, the 1-to-2 player combat simulator with or without Simulants (up to 8).

[danny_galaga]

360 has it's flaws, but IN NO WAY is a failure, games sell, best online gaming experience, and many other great features. If the system was a true failure, it either would have only lasted a few years, or Microsoft's next system would've been out already. Just because you might not like the system for one reason or another doesn't put it at Nuon or Virtual Boy status.

Try finding a properly functioning Xbox 360 ten years from now.

What does it matter if a console works ten years from now? It won't be making any more money for the manufacturer. Even CAR manufacturers don't count on much from their cars much after ten years- the rate at which people bother to spend money to repair them with genuine parts drops off very rapidly...

[Seaquest]

Nintendo: Virtual boy
Sega: Saturn
Atari: Jaguar
All were flops that financialy damaged the companys and crushed their reputations!

[todesengel]

Nintendo: Virtual boy
Sega: Saturn
Atari: Jaguar
All were flops that financialy damaged the companys and crushed their reputations!

The Virtual Boy didn't damage Nintendo in anyway and in no way crushed their reputation. I could argue that the Saturn didn't destroy Sega either since it was a hit in Japan but that would just open up whole new argument.

[Edward Randy]

Actually, Neo Geo also, because the price was so expensive it was a complete joke. My friends and I had yet another chuckle on that one.

I would consider it a resounding success, considering it had a 10+ year run in a niche market.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

I have the Casio Loopy. I'm wondering which was the bigger failure, that or its PV-1000 predecessor. The Loopy was a system targeted for girls but it didn't really take hold in Japan because most girls just weren't interested, I guess.

I have a Loopy (though I didn't yet in June 2010 when this comment was posted; I got my Loopy December 25, 2012) - 400 bucks! I think it was the only one on eBay at the time so this thing didn't do very well. It's from Japan which will limit its availability in the USA but go on eBay and you'll be up to your eyeballs in successful Japanese consoles like the Famicom. Loopy probably sold a few hundred thousand at most.

As for BIGGEST failure, that would have to be the Memorex VIS. This was the console that tried to compete with the CD-i and failed miserably. Come on... how bad of a failure do you have to be, to "fail miserably" against the CD-i, which in turn failed miserably compared to the 3DO, which in turn saw very limited success compared to the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The VIS sold just 10,000 units, and was on sale for only two months, November 1992 - January 1993 (gasp... I was born during that two month period) and had a game library that made the CD-i's look as rich and diverse as the SNES by comparison.

[AdamAnt316]

"Wize fwom your gwabe..."

I can't believe that nobody mentioned the Bentley Compu-Vision. A simple Pong clone, based around the GI AY-3-8500 Pong chip. Battery operated with fixed controllers, and a decent set of options for the usual 4 games. Pretty good for 1975 or 1976, right? Except... it was released in 1983! Not only were Pong systems several years out-of-date by that time, but the video game crash was rearing its ugly head. If Bentley didn't lose money on it, it's likely because the thing probably cost them around $2 to make...
-Adam