History AwesomeButImpractical / SystemsAndAccessories

* Going GunsAkimbo in a LightGunGame. It looks cool, and you get twice as much ammo to work with, but the tactical advantage is negligible, you have to manage two health bars, and if you're playing on an arcade cabinet that isn't set to free play, you have to pay twice as much. Also depending on the game, dual-wielding can be pretty uncomfortable, if the gun is particularly big (like ''The VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead III''[='=]s shotgun and ''VideoGame/GHOSTSquad''[='=]s assault rifle) or each player gets their own screen (like in ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis''). On top of all this, many games will increase the difficulty (usually by adding more enemies, giving them more health, or making them fire more attacks) if both player slots are in use, turning the game from what's already a [[NintendoHard quarter-muncher]] into a quarter vacuum. This is even if you have the dexterity to be able to "point and shoot" at two different targets at once, let alone hitting them and being able to do that quickly before getting hit or killed. Heck, even firing at one target can be a chore as you try to point both guns at the same spot.

* UsefulNotes/CloudGaming. Instead of having the game and the hardware needed to run it, you instead stream video from a top-of-the-line PC that can run the game at maximum settings; in short, remote computing but optimized for games. In theory, all you need is a high-speed Internet connection and a device that can handle video at the quality of your choice -- usually a PC, but there are also dedicated cloud gaming devices such as Platform/GoogleStadia (before it was announced to be shut down in 2023) and you can even use a smartphone -- to play. However, cloud gaming runs into multiple problems:

** Finally, cloud gaming has some unsettling implications about game ownership and [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes what will happen to the game, particularly if it's a cloud-exclusive, when the service is inevitably terminated]]. With the traditional model of you having the game data, even if it has some sort of UsefulNotes/{{DRM}} one could theoretically crack the DRM so that they can run the game without it, as has been done with dozens of DRM schemes and thousands of games. But with cloud gaming, all you have is the video data, which certainly cannot be reverse-engineered into a working game.

** Probably the biggest example of this trope and Sega is the Sega Nomad. Playing the Sega Genesis on the go or hook it up to a tv and play it like a regular Genesis, it was a hybrid console like the Platform/NintendoSwitch [[OlderThanTheyThink 20 years before it]]. However, despite this, things worked against it. The LCD screen that displayed the games could blur should there be fast scrolling (a bad thing considering Sega's [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog famous blue mascot]]), drained batteries faster than the infamously-battery-hungry Game Gear (Game Gear's batteries could last 3-5 hours. Nomad? Only 2-3. And both used six AA batteries), couldn't use a separate controller to play one-player games (it had a built-in controller port, but since a controller was already built into the main design, a separate controller plugged into that port would invariably be player two) and no reset button, which made certain games UnintentionallyUnwinnable.

* The Platform/NeoGeo AES shows that yes, you could have [[ArcadePerfectPort Arcade-Perfect Ports]] in a home system in TheNineties. Unfortunately, during the Neo Geo's prime, conventional home console technology still had a ways to go to be caught up with arcade game technology, resulting in game cartridges costing hundreds of dollars each; in other words, for the price of one game, you could purchase an entire game console or two! At the time, it was far better for the average consumer to simply settle for a lower-quality port for a much better price point, and by UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Neo Geo games started to get {{Arcade Perfect Port}}s on more mainstream consoles at the 30-60 USD price range and later Hamster's ''ACA Neo Geo'' port series for less than 10 USD a game, while AES games only get more and more expensive due to their growing status as collector's items, leaving the AES as a "die-hard fans only" item.

** Originally, console hardware was inferior to arcade hardware, so while you could get home ports of your favorite arcade games, they might be missing some features or levels, or the action might be watered down. Starting around UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, games started to get accurate ports as console hardware technology was rapidly closing the gap, so people could just plomp down a few dozen dollars on ports of their favorites and never really have to pay for every credit again. Eventually, console and PC hardware would start to become the basis for arcade games themselves.

** Arcade machines cost a lot of money individually and consume a considerable amount of energy, so it is not cheap for a business to maintain an arcade, and as a result, arcades in major countries started to raise their prices, with games previously costing 25 US cents being increased to 50 cents.[[note]]Many people who were children around this time often complain that 50-cent pricing killed arcades. While this certainly turned away less-affluent gamers from playing at arcades, if anything, such pricing was a ''symptom'' of the economy shifting against the arcade industry's favor rather than being a ''cause''.[[/note]] By the 2000s, arcades in the West were starting to go out of business ''en masse'', and the ones that didn't were generally part of entertainment centers that provide socialization options like bowling alleys, billiard halls, and bars. Trying to run an arcade that's just an arcade in the 2020s in the West is an exercise in futility, especially in more sparsely-populated parts of the world.

** Originally, console hardware was inferior to arcade hardware, so while you could get home ports of your favorite arcade games, they might be missing some features or levels, or the action might be watered down. With UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, games started to get accurate ports, so people could just plomp down a few dozen dollars on ports of their favorites and never really have to pay for every credit again.

* The Platform/NeoGeo AES shows that yes, you could have [[ArcadePerfectPort Arcade-Perfect Ports]] in a home system in TheNineties. Unfortunately, during the Neo Geo's prime, conventional home console technology still had a ways to go to be caught up with arcade game technology, resulting in game cartridges costing hundreds of dollars each; in other words, for the price of one game, you could purchase an entire game console or two! At the time, it was far better for the average consumer to simply settle for a lower-quality port for a much better price point, and by Platform/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Neo Geo games started to get {{Arcade Perfect Port}}s on more mainstream consoles at the 30-60 USD price range and later Hamster's ''ACA Neo Geo'' port series for less than 10 USD a game, while AES games only get more and more expensive due to their growing status as collector's items, leaving the AES as a "die-hard fans only" item.

** Originally, console hardware was inferior to arcade hardware, so while you could get home ports of your favorite arcade games, they might be missing some features or levels, or the action might be watered down. With Platform/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, games started to get accurate ports, so people could just plomp down a few dozen dollars on ports of their favorites and never really have to pay for every credit again.

* The Frostbite Engine in Creator/ElectronicArts games. It's an undeniably powerful engine that features realistic animations, dynamic lighting, destructible environments and high fidelity graphics. However, as Frostbite was originally designed by studio Creator/{{DICE}} for their ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' games, [[CripplingOverspecialization it's perfect for making shooters but struggles to work for games outside that genre]]. When [=EA=] pushed their studios like Creator/BioWare to use the engine for their [=RPGs=], development went to hell with developers being forced to build new tools from the ground-up to support basic features in the genre like a crafting system and inventory menu; as a result of the engine's technical issues, several [=EA=] games were either cancelled or released in buggy launch states as seen with ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' and ''VideoGame/Anthem2019''. Furthermore, bringing out the best of Frostbite is dependent on specialized technicians and engineers who aren't always available for every game as [=EA=] diverts them towards their more profitable sports titles. With the failures of several Frostbite-based games and the lack of resources caused by the Platform/COVID19Pandemic, EA started scaling back on using the engine in the 2020s.

* UsefulNotes/Nintendo64:

** Nintendo stuck to using cartridges for the N64, thus thwarting piracy, keeping load times low, making games more physically durable and allowing for game data to be saved on them, while the system's competitors adapted read-only compact discs that depend on a moving laser to be read and which probably shouldn't be handled by very young children. Unfortunately, the cartridges were very expensive to produce and have pitiful amounts of storage space, with 8 MB being the standard and 64 MB being the best that Nintendo could offer, while CD-ROM discs could store up to 650 MB (admittedly, most of this was for the use of game soundtracks, but that's still ''exponentially'' more than N64 carts). And the salt on the wound was that the average N64 game retailed for 50-60 USD ''despite using less space'' as mentioned above, as opposed to the more successful [=PS1=] and its $30-40 games. It took about another 20 years for Nintendo to take another stab at cartridges for home systems, when solid state data storage technology had improved to the point where it was feasible to store AAA games on them once again, resulting in a commercially successful implementation of game cartridges for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch. On the other hand, cartridges did continue to stay BoringButPractical for their handhelds due to ther durability and lack of moving parts required, leading to an edge over the disc-based PSP.
* UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube

* UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS

** The New 3DS system has the ability to wirelessly transfer images and video from the SD card to a computer. This sounds great, but it is slow and not all the data can arrive. It also relies on an older version of the protocol that modern operating systems don't support. What is really odd is the old version has a much better way to do this; unlike the New 3DS, the SD card can be easily taken out of its slot while you need to dismantle the New 3DS to get its SD card. Nintendo would learn their lesson for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, which as of a November 2020 software update allows transferring media to other devices via either a direct USB connection or using the Switch itself as a wireless intranet network to download media from, both methods having a wider range of compatible devices.
* Ultimately one of the factors in what killed the UsefulNotes/WiiU, among other things. On paper, it was basically a DS/3DS as a console. While the two screens and touch screen formula worked incredibly well for the previous two, it turned out to be more cumbersome for the latter, as having to keep track of two screens that ''aren't'' on top of each other is [[SomeDexterityRequired much more difficult than you'd think]]. And while being able to play off-screen is neat, the very short range the tablet having to be next to the console makes it rather pointless anyway. Combined with the monster of a controller that was the tablet itself, the selling point of the console just wasn't very worthwhile in many people's eyes.

* The add-ons for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the Sega CD and the Sega 32X. The wonders of improved graphics, CD-level sound and bigger space to make games with were the selling points. It also made the thing look incredibly clunky, and each one required its own power supply. That's right - if you wanted to play all three of these systems, you'd better have a surge protector.

** Probably the biggest example of this trope and Sega is the Sega Nomad. Playing the Sega Genesis on the go or hook it up to a tv and play it like a regular Genesis, it was a hybrid console like the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch [[OlderThanTheyThink 20 years before it]]. However, despite this, things worked against it. The LCD screen that displayed the games could blur should there be fast scrolling (a bad thing considering Sega's [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog famous blue mascot]]), drained batteries faster than the infamously-battery-hungry Game Gear (Game Gear's batteries could last 3-5 hours. Nomad? Only 2-3. And both used six AA batteries), couldn't use a separate controller to play one-player games (it had a built-in controller port, but since a controller was already built into the main design, a separate controller plugged into that port would invariably be player two) and no reset button, which made certain games UnintentionallyUnwinnable.
* One of the main reasons for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn Sega Saturn's]] failure was that it was too complicated for its own good. It had 2 32-bit processor, which sounds impressive, but they weren't properly linked together and required extreme technical knowledge to get anywhere with. The Quadrangular polygons on paper would strongly reduce the effect of texture warping and give better representation for round objects, but required extra work for any porting jobs and made modelling even more difficult due to the entire industry already being used to triangular polygons. Finally, the 2 VDP chips were extremely sophisticated and allowed the system to handle backgrounds and polygon and sprite mixtures easier (As seen in games like Bulk Slash), but resulted in further complexity and difficult with transparency effects. All this resulted in games generally looking and running worse, despite the system being technically superior in most ways to the Playstation and Nintendo 64. However, a few developers got over this handicaps, with later games for the system such as ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoonSaga'', ''VideoGame/PowerSlave'', ''Last Bronx'' and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZUcPQAMvg unreleased beta]] (Yes, that is running on hardware) of ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' showcasing its potential.

* When Sony announced that its UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable handheld console would use a brand new optical media format--the UMD--everyone predicted that it would be the key to the console's success, much like how the first UsefulNotes/PlayStation's success was driven by the CD-ROM format. However, it turned out that optical discs weren't very well suited for a portable system--loading times got in the way of quick gaming fixes, and the moving parts of an optical drive ate up precious battery life and had trouble withstanding the movement and jostling that a handheld system must endure, leading to problems like the discs spontaneously ejecting. And because UMD didn't see any applications outside of the PSP, it didn't see the economies of scale that [=CDs=] and [=DVDs=] did and therefore not as much of an edge in manufacturing costs over cartridges. As a result, the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, which continued to stick to solid-state cartridges, ended up outselling the PSP by a wide margin, an ironic twist on the [=N64=] vs. [=PS1=] era. In the few countries where the PSP ''did'' win out such as the Philippines, their sales was mostly due to a combination of brand loyalty held over from the [=PS1=] and 2 days and pirating game ISO images and putting them on Memory Sticks rather than legitimate software sales.
* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation3's Cell Broadband Engine CPU was capable of amazing levels of performance and insane parallelization...theoretically. In practice, due to the CPU being designed very differently from any other CPU before or since, developers struggled to achieve such levels of performance due to it requiring a very unique style of programming.[[note]]While multi-core [=CPUs=] did indeed take off and developers had to adjust to them, they were designed much more like traditional [=CPUs=], and very different from the Cell.[[/note]] Worse still, because of its unique design, the chip was ridiculously expensive to design and manufacturer, putting Sony in a financial hole that they wouldn't dig themselves out of for several years.
* The UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita was Awesome, but Impractical in a few ways, leading to poor market performance and its eventual demise:
** One reason why it bombed was, ironically, its powerful hardware. It was nearly on par with the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, and miles stronger than its competitor, the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS--but this meant that games would need a larger budget to take advantage of these specs. The smaller devs that'd normally be on board with portable games refused to bite, and the larger studios that could afford to make Vita games stuck with their home turf of console games, at most giving Vita projects to their B-team. This created a negative feedback loop: with so few games being made for the system, not many consumers were interested in buying a Vita, and with so few Vitas being sold, not many developers were interested in making games for it. By the end of the Vita's lifespan, most of the releases on the console were ports, either of indie games that didn't truly take advantage of the console's impressive specs, or of {{JRPG}}s that appealed mostly to the small niche of players who already owned a Vita.

** The Vita also used proprietary memory cards that were ridiculously expensive, costing several times more than the equivalent microSD cards would. The system and its game cartridges had little-to-no onboard storage, so buying a Vita usually meant having to buy one of these expensive memory cards as well if you wanted to save games, never mind downloading entire games from the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork.

* The [[Platform/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] was in many ways ahead of the curve of the gaming console market, and had much to promise at the time when compared to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the biggest being that the hardware was capable of natively rendering textured 3D graphics. The 3DO also managed to earn the good will of third-party developers due to low licensing costs (as little as $3 per game copy sold), which would've theoretically given it a robust game library with developers wanting to jump on a platform providing the newest, most impressive tech out there. Where things went wrong came down to the fact that the 3DO was ''expensive'' for just about everyone else -- The 3DO Company didn't have the funds to manufacture the console natively, and thus licensed the blueprints of the console for various manufacturers to produce their own versions, but this had a knock-on effect of introducing a middleman that increased long-term costs, and also left the 3DO unable to rely on the razor-and-blades business model other console manufacturers use (i.e. selling consoles at a loss, then making profits by way of selling the games via licenses, along with other complementary items), resulting in the consumer launch price being ''$699'' in 1993 (almost ''$1,450'' when adjusted for inflation in 2023). Combined with the lack of first-party content at launch, consumers weren't impressed, and many bigger-name developers weren't excited to jump onboard either (more to invest only meant more to lose), especially as the likes of the more-powerful UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and ''especially'' the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation were just around the corner, thus leading the 3DO's exclusive library to consist largely of cheap shovelware who were more occupied by the console's FMV capabilities, a far cry from what it or future consoles had in terms of technical potential.
* Many early color-screen handheld systems such as the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx and the UsefulNotes/GameGear, due to requiring a backlight and a large number of batteries, and even then will often run for 5 hours or less before requiring battery replacements. This is why Nintendo held off on making a system with a color screen until 1998 (UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor) and one with a built-in light until 2003 (UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance SP).
* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar, Atari's last home console, was heavily promoted as the first "64-bit" gaming console. However, the console lacked a true 64-bit processing unit. Instead, it contained two processing units which theoretically could work together to do 64-bit calculations. The problem is that this multi-processor setup was difficult to code games for, and most developers exclusively used the Jaguar's weaker Motorola 68000 16-bit processor, the same processor as the Sega Genesis. Atari's obsession with making a 64-bit machine was misguided, as later game consoles like the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 used 32-bit processors, with 64-bit ones only truly taking off, at least for the purposes of gaming, at the start of TheNewTens.
* The UsefulNotes/NeoGeo AES shows that yes, you could have [[ArcadePerfectPort Arcade-Perfect Ports]] in a home system in TheNineties. Unfortunately, during the Neo Geo's prime, conventional home console technology still had a ways to go to be caught up with arcade game technology, resulting in game cartridges costing hundreds of dollars each; in other words, for the price of one game, you could purchase an entire game console or two! At the time, it was far better for the average consumer to simply settle for a lower-quality port for a much better price point, and by UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, Neo Geo games started to get {{Arcade Perfect Port}}s on more mainstream consoles at the 30-60 USD price range and later Hamster's ''ACA Neo Geo'' port series for less than 10 USD a game, while AES games only get more and more expensive due to their growing status as collector's items, leaving the AES as a "die-hard fans only" item.
* The UsefulNotes/GameCom was the first handheld system to use both a touch screen and stylus, long before the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, as well as the first system in general to incorporate rudimentary Internet functionality. However, the touch screen technology wasn't very impressive, and the Internet functionality negated its use as a portable device, since you had to physically hook it up to a modem in your house. As WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd in his review noted, you ''could'' use it to read your email... or you could just use the home computer, which likely had far better graphics anyways. Handhelds having Internet access would not become a big thing until the mid-2000s, when the advent of Wi-Fi protocol enabled wireless Internet, allowing portable gaming devices to have online access in a much more practical fashion.

** Originally, console hardware was inferior to arcade hardware, so while you could get home ports of your favorite arcade games, they might be missing some features or levels, or the action might be watered down. With UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, games started to get accurate ports, so people could just plomp down a few dozen dollars on ports of their favorites and never really have to pay for every credit again.

** The Creator/{{Nintendo}} UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy. The mechanism used to generate the video game image is cool when you think about it. It works like a supermarket scanner, except on your eyes, and without a laser. However, many players reported that it hurt their eyes and head. Worse, the Virtual Boy came on a stand and had no headband, so finding a comfortable position to actually play any games was difficult.

* The Frostbite Engine in Creator/ElectronicArts games. It's an undeniably powerful engine that features realistic animations, dynamic lighting, destructible environments and high fidelity graphics. However, as Frostbite was originally designed by studio Creator/{{DICE}} for their ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' games, [[CripplingOverspecialization it's perfect for making shooters but struggles to work for games outside that genre]]. When [=EA=] pushed their studios like Creator/BioWare to use the engine for their [=RPGs=], development went to hell with developers being forced to build new tools from the ground-up to support basic features in the genre like a crafting system and inventory menu; as a result of the engine's technical issues, several [=EA=] games were either cancelled or released in buggy launch states as seen with ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' and ''VideoGame/Anthem2019''. Furthermore, bringing out the best of Frostbite is dependent on specialized technicians and engineers who aren't always available for every game as [=EA=] diverts them towards their more profitable sports titles. With the failures of several Frostbite-based games and the lack of resources caused by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, EA started scaling back on using the engine in the 2020s.

* The infamous Mattel Power Glove for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem is an interesting product of its time that is mostly known for its appearance in ''Film/TheWizard'' and for not being all that useful as a controller. While it does look pretty stylish, it was very awkward to use. For starters, [[ScrappyMechanic you had to enter a code before playing most games]]. Once you have it set up, technical limitations of the time mean that it doesn't translate your movements into the game as you'd expect: rather, each input is associated with a certain gesture. It also had regular buttons on its side, defeating the entire point of the Power Glove. Nowadays, the only reasons why someone would buy one are [[BileFascination curiosity]] or as a collector's item.

* UsefulNotes/CloudGaming. Instead of having the game and the hardware needed to run it, you instead stream video from a top-of-the-line PC that can run the game at maximum settings; in short, remote computing but optimized for games. In theory, all you need is a high-speed Internet connection and a device that can handle video at the quality of your choice -- usually a PC, but there are also dedicated cloud gaming devices such as UsefulNotes/{{Stadia}} (before it was announced to be shut down in 2023) and you can even use a smartphone -- to play. However, cloud gaming runs into multiple problems:
** First, this depends ''heavily'' on your Internet connection not only being fast, but ''stable''. Any lapse in your connection could lead to inputs not being registered, video output getting messed up, or you being kicked out of your game entirely. This leaves cloud gaming completely out of the question for those who do not have access to consistently fast Internet. At least your old UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 doesn't need an Internet connection.

* The [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] was in many ways ahead of the curve of the gaming console market, and had much to promise at the time when compared to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the biggest being that the hardware was capable of natively rendering textured 3D graphics. The 3DO also managed to earn the good will of third-party developers due to low licensing costs (as little as $3 per game copy sold), which would've theoretically given it a robust game library with developers wanting to jump on a platform providing the newest, most impressive tech out there. Where things went wrong came down to the fact that the 3DO was ''expensive'' for just about everyone else -- The 3DO Company didn't have the funds to manufacture the console natively, and thus licensed the blueprints of the console for various manufacturers to produce their own versions, but this had a knock-on effect of introducing a middleman that increased long-term costs, and also left the 3DO unable to rely on the razor-and-blades business model other console manufacturers use (i.e. selling consoles at a loss, then making profits by way of selling the games via licenses, along with other complementary items), resulting in the consumer launch price being ''$699'' in 1993 (almost ''$1,450'' when adjusted for inflation in 2023). Combined with the lack of first-party content at launch, consumers weren't impressed, and many bigger-name developers weren't excited to jump onboard either (more to invest only meant more to lose), especially as the likes of the more-powerful UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and ''especially'' the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation were just around the corner, thus leading the 3DO's exclusive library to consist largely of cheap shovelware who were more occupied by the console's FMV capabilities, a far cry from what it or future consoles had in terms of technical potential.

* The Creative Labs [[{{UsefulNotes/ThreeDO}} 3DO]] Blaster. On paper, it sounds super cool -- an entire 3DO setup contained in a computer expansion card, playable in a resizable window on your desktop (sounds mundane now, but remember that this was back when emulation was nowhere near as widespread nor possible on most computers of the time). How could one not be intrigued on that concept? Unfortunately, the cost could not be overstated, both in the literal and figurative sense. One must recall that an average desktop computer would cost or come just shy of quadruple digit prices back then, so expecting the user to fork out ''another'' $400 for the card was a lot to ask. On top of that, the card required a CD-ROM drive...but said drive had to be one of Creative's drives that utilized a proprietary interface, so if you either didn't have one or had a drive that wasn't compatible, you were either out of luck or had to fork over yet ''another'' $100+ for one of them. In the long run, it was generally a much better idea to invest in playing the games the computer was ''meant'' to play rather than buying this bizarre hybrid solution, effectively cementing its fate and now making it a highly valued collector's item.

** The console itself infamously had a handle that made it easier to carry around. Of course, this didn't account for the cables and controllers that had to be plugged into the system for it to even work, and there's no easy way to store them. And that's not even accounting for the memory cards...

* The UsefulNotes/GameCom was the first handheld system to use both a touch screen and stylus, long before the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, as well as the first system in general to incorporate rudimentary Internet functionality. However, the touch screen technology wasn't very impressive, and the Internet functionality negated its use as a portable device, since you had to physically hook it up to a modem in your house. As WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd in his review noted, you ''could'' use it to read your email... or you could just use the home computer, which likely had far better graphics anyways.

* The [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] was in many ways ahead of the curve of the gaming console market, and had much to promise at the time when compared to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the biggest being that the hardware was capable of natively rendering textured 3D graphics. The 3DO also managed to earn the good will of third-party developers due to low licensing costs (as little as $3 per game copy sold), which would've theoretically given it a robust game library with developers wanting to jump on a platform providing the newest, most impressive tech out there. Where things went wrong came down to the fact that the 3DO was ''expensive'' for just about everyone else -- The 3DO Company didn't have the funds to manufacture the console natively, and thus licensed the blueprints of the console for various manufacturers to produce their own versions, but this had a knock-on effect of introducing a middleman that increased long-term costs, and also left the 3DO unable to rely on the razor-and-blades business model other console manufacturers use (i.e. selling consoles at a loss, then making profits by way of selling the games via licenses, along with other complementary items), resulting in the consumer launch price being ''$699'' in 1993 (almost ''$1,450'' when adjusted for inflation in 2023). Combined with the lack of first-party content at launch, consumers weren't impressed, and many bigger-name developers weren't excited to jump onboard either (more to invest only meant more to lose), especially as the likes of the more-powerful UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and ''especially'' the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation were just around the corner, thus leading the 3DO's exclusive library to consist largely of cheap shovelware who were more occupied by the console's FMV capabilities, a far cry from what it or future consoles had in terms of technical potential.
** The Creative Labs [[{{UsefulNotes/ThreeDO}} 3DO]] Blaster. On paper, it sounds super cool -- an entire 3DO setup contained in a computer expansion card, playable in a resizable window on your desktop (sounds mundane now, but remember that this was back when emulation was nowhere near as widespread nor possible on most computers of the time). How could one not be intrigued on that concept? Unfortunately, the cost could not be overstated, both in the literal and figurative sense. One must recall that an average desktop computer would cost or come just shy of quadruple digit prices back then, so expecting the user to fork out ''another'' $400 for the card was a lot to ask. On top of that, the card required a CD-ROM drive...but said drive had to be one of Creative's drives that utilized a proprietary interface, so if you either didn't have one or had a drive that wasn't compatible, you were either out of luck or had to fork over yet ''another'' $100+ for one of them. In the long run, it was generally a much better idea to invest in playing the games the computer was ''meant'' to play rather than buying this bizarre hybrid solution, effectively cementing its fate and now making it a highly valued collector's item.

* The [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] was in many ways ahead of the curve of the gaming console market, and had much to promise at the time when compared to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the biggest being that the hardware was capable of natively rendering textured 3D graphics. The 3DO also managed to earn the good will of third-party developers due to low licensing costs (as little as $3 per game copy sold), which would've theoretically given it a robust game library with developers wanting to jump on a platform providing the newest, most impressive tech out there. Where things went wrong started came down to the fact that the 3DO was ''expensive'' for just about everyone else -- The 3DO Company didn't have the funds to manufacture the console natively, and thus licensed the blueprints of the console for various manufacturers to produce their own versions, but this had a knock-on effect of introducing a middleman that increased long-term costs, and also left the 3DO unable to rely on the razor-and-blades business model other console manufacturers use (i.e. selling consoles at a loss, then making profits by way of selling the games via licenses, along with other complementary items), resulting in the consumer launch price being ''$699'' in 1993 (almost ''$1,450'' when adjusted for inflation in 2023). Combined with the lack of first-party content at launch, consumers weren't impressed, and many bigger-name developers weren't excited to jump onboard either (more to invest only meant more to lose), especially as the likes of the more-powerful UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and ''especially'' the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation were just around the corner, thus leading the 3DO's exclusive library to consist largely of cheap shovelware who were more occupied by the console's FMV capabilities, a far cry from what it or future consoles had in terms of technical potential.

* The [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] was in many ways ahead of the curve of the gaming console market, and had much to promise at the time when compared to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] and the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, the biggest being that the hardware was capable of natively rendering textured 3D graphics. The 3DO also managed to earn the good will of third-party developers due to low licensing costs (as little as $3 per game copy sold), which would've theoretically given it a robust game library with developers wanting to jump on a platform providing the newest, most impressive tech out there. Where things went wrong started came down to the fact that the 3DO was ''expensive'' for just about everyone else -- The 3DO Company didn't have the funds to manufacture the console natively, and thus licensed the blueprints of the console for various manufacturers to produce their own versions, but this had a knock-on effect of introducing a middleman that increased long-term costs, and also left the 3DO unable to rely on the razor-and-blades business model other console manufacturers use (i.e. selling consoles at a loss, then making profits by way of selling the games via licenses, along with other complementary items), resulting in the consumer launch price being ''$699'' in 1993 (almost ''$1,450'' when adjusted for inflation in 2023). Combined with the lack of first-party content at launch, consumers weren't impressed, and many bigger-name developers with more potential weren't excited to jump onboard either (more to invest only meant more to lose), especially as the likes of the more-powerful UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and ''especially'' the Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation were just around the corner, thus leading the 3DO's exclusive library to consist largely of cheap shovelware who were more occupied by the console's FMV capabilities, a far cry from what it or future consoles had in terms of technical potential.

* The Creative Labs [[{{UsefulNotes/ThreeDO}} 3DO]] Blaster. On paper, it sounds super cool -- an entire 3DO setup contained in a computer expansion card, playable in a resizable window on your desktop (sounds mundane now, but remember that this was back when emulation was nowhere near as widespread nor possible on most computers of the time). How could one not be intrigued on that concept? Unfortunately, the cost could not be overstated, both in the literal and figurative sense. One must recall that an average desktop computer would cost or come just shy of quadruple digit prices back then, so expecting the user to fork out ''another'' $400 for the card was a lot to ask. On top of that, the card required a CD-ROM drive...but said drive had to be one of Creative's drives that utilized a proprietary interface, so if you either didn't have one or had a drive that wasn't compatible, you were either out of luck or had to fork over yet ''another'' $100+ for one of them. In the long run, it was generally a much better idea to invest in playing the games the computer was ''meant'' to play rather than buying this bizarre hybrid solution, effectively cementing its fate and now making it a highly valued collector's item.

** Arcade machines cost a lot of money individually and consume a considerable amount of energy, so it is not cheap for a business to maintain an arcade, and as a result, arcades in major countries started to raise their prices, with games previously costing 25 US cents being increased to 50 cents.[[note]]Many people who were children around this time often complain that 50-cent pricing killed arcades. If anything, it was a ''symptom'' of the economy shifting against the arcade industry's favor rather than being a ''cause''.[[/note]] By the 2000s, arcades in the West were starting to go out of business ''en masse'', and the ones that didn't were generally part of entertainment centers that provide socialization options like bowling alleys, billiard halls, and bars. Trying to run an arcade that's just an arcade in the 2020s in the West is an exercise in futility, especially in more sparsely-populated parts of the world.

** Today, with how sparse arcades are outside of East Asia (specifically Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong), one may have to drive or take public transit for hours just to visit an arcade, which is both taxing on one's wallet (in addition to having to pay to play the games) and mental health; arcades might not exist in one's own state/province or even ''[[NoExportForYou country]]''. The vast majority of gamers prefer to just stay home with console, [=PC=], and smartphone gaming.

** Today, with how sparse arcades are outside of East Asia, one may have to drive or take public transit for hours just to visit an arcade, which is both taxing on one's wallet (in addition to having to pay to play the games) and mental health; arcades might not exist in one's own state/province or even ''[[NoExportForYou country]]''. The vast majority of gamers prefer to just stay home with console, [=PC=], and smartphone gaming.

** Today, with how sparse arcades are outside of East Asia, one may have to drive or take public transit for hours just to visit an arcade, which is both taxing on one's wallet (in addition to having to pay to play the games) and mental health; arcades might not exist in one's own state/province or even ''country''. The vast majority of gamers prefer to just stay home with console, [=PC=], and smartphone gaming.

** Around that same generation, the video game industry started to undergo a major paradigm shift, shifting away from arcade-style games to lean more into long-form video games that don't really fit an arcade environment. While these sorts of hours-long games had been around since the mid-80s with the likes of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' and ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'', it wasn't until the era of polygon-capable consoles that developers were able to start producing narrative-driven games and "career"-type games (such as ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'') with the graphical power to render 3D graphics that could be considered realistic rather than being blocky polygons, which is when video games started to be treated as part of the greater entertainment industry alongside film and TV shows, rather than just children's toys. As a result, the demand for arcade-style experiences began to diminish, reducing the profitability of arcades (even ports of arcade games don't sell as well as cinematic AAA games, except for {{Fighting Game}}s).

** Arcade machines cost a lot of money individually and consume a considerable amount of energy, so it is not cheap for a business to maintain an arcade. By the 2000s, arcades in the West were starting to go out of business ''en masse'', and the ones that didn't were generally part of entertainment centers that provide socialization options like bowling alleys, billiard halls, and bars. Trying to run an arcade that's just an arcade in the 2020s in the West is an exercise in futility, especially in more sparsely-populated parts of the world.