What consoles didn't succeed but are good?

[Vectrex28 | 366]

On 11/29/2019 at 10:30 AM, Sumez said:

Master System, PC Engine, Saturn, what? This thread has a really funny standard for a console "not succeeding"  I was expecting stuff like 3DO and N-Gage.

I mean sure, if you look specifically at the American TurboGrafx, that was a bit of a failure, but that's kind of no surprise with the absurdly lacking game library it had compared to the Japanese version. I'm a huge fan of the PC Engine, but the US library just isn't good, outside of a couple of bangers (Ninja Spirit and Parasol Stars)

I think one of the big issues with the US version is that they had killer app material but failed to capitalise on it. If they had Legendary Axe or R-Type as a pack-in it prolly would've fared better.

Also their localisation job was fairly underwhelming to say the least.

[AstralSoul | 502]

Saturn, Dreamcast, Turbografx-16

[elprincipe | 142]

3 hours ago, Vectrex28 said:

Turbografx-16 baby! (In the US and Europe at least)

Hot take: The Master System (Outside of Brazil and some European countries before you start grabbing your pitchforks) and Wii U rightfully bombed because they had no truly great games (Wonder Boy 3 doesn't count because the Turbo got a better version)

Wii U didn't have great games? Most of the top-selling games for Switch are repackaged Wii U games! I think more that people didn't buy the system and thus didn't buy the games, not that it has a bad library (because it has a great library).

[elprincipe | 142]

3 hours ago, Vectrex28 said:

Turbografx-16 baby! (In the US and Europe at least)

Hot take: The Master System (Outside of Brazil and some European countries before you start grabbing your pitchforks) and Wii U rightfully bombed because they had no truly great games (Wonder Boy 3 doesn't count because the Turbo got a better version)

double post

Edited November 2, 2020 by elprincipe

[Sumez | 2,933]

It's funny seeing people put down WiiU like that, and how obvious it is that the people doing it never had one.  

It's true that with most of its best games being ported to Switch, the console has little value now as is.
But right from its release, it's been a beautiful little thing. Like the Switch is now, the WiiU was a nice alternative to its contemporaries, the PS4 and Xbox One, much smaller, lighter, focused on just games, as opposed to all the junk that clutters other modern consoles. At the time it got a lot of comparisons to the Dreamcast, most of it related to it being the underdog with a limited life span.

To me, the WiiU represents a resurgence of the Nintendo I liked. Outside of a couple of good first party games, the Wii was IMO a pretty drab chapter in their history, in spite of its financial success. They tried so hard to bank on crappy shovelware party games because, well, they made a lot of money on it. And its lack of technical capabilities just made it drag too far behind to ever really be competitive on the field of new exciting video games.

When the WiiU came out, the waggle gimmicks were immediately shelved, and the second screen in the controller actually had a ton of utility that worked well for video games. And when that wasn't relevant, being able to play on the controller instead of the TV whenever you wanted was a nice addition.
Sure, the WiiU didn't sell that well, but it wasn't a massive failure either. Everyone I've known who had one was a big fan of it. And with games like Mario Maker, 3D World, Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3Yoshi's Woolly World, Bayonetta 2, Breath of the Wild, both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess remakes, and Splatoon, how couldn't you?
It was Nintendo back in action, and the only "detriment" to that is the fact that they've kept the same streak going with the Switch, which is an improvement in nearly every way - but the biggest difference between the two is the branding. Which might be enough to say that a console "failed", but if you say that it sucked you probably just never had one.