Summary
- Unsuccessful consoles like Zeebo, Panasonic Q, and Sony PSX offered unique features but failed due to poor sales and limited availability.
- Zeebo was an edutainment console, Panasonic Q could play DVDs, and Sony PSX played PS1 and PS2 games, but only Japan releases hurt sales.
- Nokia N-Gage combined mobile phone and handheld gaming, attracting third-party developers, but failed commercially due to high costs.
The sixth-generation of consoles officially kicked off in 1998 with the launch of the Sega Dreamcast, but would make its largest impact on the industry during the 2000s, when the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube would begin a full-scale hardware conflict that defined gaming for generations. But among all the debris and carnage left over from the sixth-generation console war, a few machines were forgotten as the shadows of the big three loomed large.
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Whether it was a commitment to a niche market, a poor software library or a lack of worldwide availability, these consoles were doomed to fade into obscurity. Some of them were fascinating, offering unique services, while others simply didn't provide what players in the 2000s really wanted. It was hard to compete with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo during this time, and they are still dominating the hardware production space today, proving just how difficult it is to get into this fast-moving industry. Others were actually products and add-ons for the consoles of those larger companies, but were not useful or desired enough to warrant massive sales numbers.
4 Zeebo
A Hybrid Game Console And Edutainment System
Designed to take advantage of entertainment markets in emerging countries like Brazil and Mexico, the Zeebo was not just a traditional video game console. It was also an edutainment machine that could connect to the internet and run educational apps that expanded its ability beyond what other consoles at the time could do. It was a fascinating device that acted almost like a bridge between classic video game consoles and a home computer, adding access to email and social network features.
Zeebo was launched in Mexico and Brazil at the tail end of the decade in 2009, with some rather impressive titles from major franchises like Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Quake and FIFA. As a device intended to appeal to families and children, Zeebo had a tough time competing with a market in the middle of a hardware transition, and poor sales forced the company to re-evaluate the platform moving forward. Releases in other countries were planned and announced, but Zeebo Inc. Eventually discontinued the machine and folded the company in 2014.
3 Panasonic Q
Slick Revision Of GameCube Hardware Allowed It To Play Other Forms Of Media
Nintendo was no stranger to unique hardware add-ons to their existing platforms, as they had attempted it with the Nintendo 64 via the 64DD, and would try it once more with the GameCube. However, this time, instead of an add-on to the system, they teamed up with electronics manufacturer Panasonic to create what would later be called the GameQ within the community. The Panasonic Q was a new version of the GameCube that came with several new additions to the old machine, and was one of many ways that Nintendo tried to compete with the PS2 and Xbox.
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The Panasonic Q was able to play every GameCube game on the market, but it also allowed for DVD playback, a feature missing from the original console. It also allowed for CD and MP3 playback, and was equipped with a nifty LCD screen on the front of the console, as well as a Dolby 5.1 headphone jack. Unfortunately, the Panasonic Q was only released in Japan, which led to sluggish sales and caused Nintendo to cease production not long after launch.
2 Sony PSX
Sony-Branded DVR Played PS1 And PS2 Games
Released three years after the launch of the PS2 in 2003, the Sony PSX was a remarkable device that was both a digital video recorder and able to play every single PlayStation 1 and 2 game to boot. The DVR features were excellent, with the ability to play DVDs and CDs, and the ability to record to DVD and CD formats. It initially launched without support for CD-R and DVD+RW formats, but firmware updates would remedy this not long after release. It was also the first Sony device to use the massively popular XMB UI, which would become a defining feature of the PS3 three years later.
The Sony PSX launched exclusively in Japan, severely limiting its market appeal. It was also rather expensive at the time: coming in at roughly 270 USD, it was something of a luxury product that was far more expensive than Sony's home consoles. Due to its poor sales and limited availability in worldwide markets, the PSX was discontinued in 2005, but would have a major influence on the PlayStation 3 and Sony's identity moving forward.
1 The Nokia N-Gage
Mobile Phone Meets Dedicated Handheld Gaming Machine
The video game market was exploding during the 2000s, and mobile gaming was starting what would become a meteoric rise to the top. Noticing these trends, and wanting to enter both the mobile and handheld video game market, Nokia threw their hat into the ring by announcing the N-Gage at the Mobile Internet Conference in 2002. Combining a genuine cell phone with a dedicated video game device was a pretty edgy move back when it launched in 2003, and the machine enticed a lot of third-party developers during this time.
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The launch line-up of the N-Gage was rather impressive, featuring franchises like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Sonic and Tomb Raider. Over the next few years, the N-Gage would see game releases from Splinter Cell, Rayman and even Spider-Man, which boosted its software line-up in some pretty significant ways. Alas, due to the significant cost of software development and the rather high production budget for the hardware itself, the N-Gage was a commercial failure. The mobile company tried to remedy these issues by releasing an updated version known as the N-Gage QD, but little could be done to reverse the damage already caused, and Nokia discontinued the device in 2006.
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