The Worst Decisions in Videogame History

[wraggster]

Those of us who have been following Video Games for many years already know this but Gamerfeed have posted a great article about the biggest mistakes of the Videogame History:

heres an excerpt:

The videogame industry is certainly not perfect. There have been a ton of mistakes and we're here to tell you about them.

The video game industry, let's face it, is not a perfect place. As alive as it is with quality software and great system hardware, there are mistakes that are made that leave the competition reeling and gamers fleeing for better pastures. Here now is a list of some of the most significant mistakes to come down the pike in the industry. I'm sure you're likely to reflect with some of these mistakes, and may even have them somewhere in your gaming collection.

Nintendo Dumps the PlayStation, and Creates a Competitor
Year: 1993

In 1993, Sony approached Nintendo of Japan with an idea for an add-on device for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, still gathering steam in popularity. It was a CD-Rom based add-on that would allow the capability of adding quality music and more content to games. Nintendo was keen on the idea at first, but would eventually drop it, instead opting for some kind of deal involving Philips (which, ironically enough, would lead to the CD-I games we mention later in the article).

But Sony did not stop work on the device. Ken Kutaragi, an employee of Sony at the time, put some further design efforts into the machine and eventually developed it into the PlayStation, a new next-generation game machine that would allow for loading games from CD format for better quality visuals, sound, and processing.

Sony eventually made use of the PlayStation, releasing it onto a worldwide market in 1995. In March '95, it sold phenomenally well in Japan, with such games as Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden backed behind it. In September '95, a US and European release followed, and the rest is history. The PlayStation remains one of the highest-selling video game platforms in the world, all because Nintendo decided they just weren't up to the CD generation. Imagine if they had kept Sony around.

More here --> http://www.gamerfeed.com/gf/features/929/

[Groo]

Hahahaha, and don't forget that the Final Fantasy VII was originally planned for Nintendo 64, but Nintendo decided it wasn't worth it. So, $ony took it. Yes, Nintendo has made some huge mistakes

[gronne]

Haha, nice reading. But they missed the craziest of them all the PHANTOM!!! The console that was superhyped year after year, yet never saw the the public lights. Can a story be more mysterious than that?

[bullhead]

what happened to the sony psx?

[drew4237]

they only made a few prototypes but they thought that the public wouldnt want them cause they were gonna sell them for over $1,000 so to my knowledge i think they only made 7 of them and if u find someone with one u could try and buy it from them. but i wouldnt sell it if i had one cause it will play ps2 and ps1 games and it is a pc so it is versital.

[b8a]

Personally, I'd add the failure to embrace anime style graphics by many companies thoughout the nineties to the list. For everyone old enough to remember, I'm sure there's one or two games you can think of that had westernized, bastordized box art in the years before anime became main stream. Failing to trust in the original box art, many companies, including NEC/SSI (whose TurboGrafx/TurboDuo popularity was, ironically, owed largely to the variety of anime styled graphics imployed IN it's games) commissioned entirely new box art when porting games overseas from Japan. This was bad enough since the original box art was often times attractive enough on it's own, but they added insult to injury due to the fact that the large majority of the rerendered graphics were done by untalented hacks and resulted in the games looking like bad weekend hobbiest products when merely seen on the shelf. I don't know the sales figures for theses games, but I'm sure that it couldn't have been pretty. I have a friend from Taiwan who's a HUGE Wataru fan, and one day it dawned on me where I had run into the Wataru franchise before... Anyone remember Keith Courage in Alpha Zones? I had my brother buy pick up a copy of the game (for a buck, if I remember right) and ship it to me so I could show it to this gal. She busted up laughing immediately when she saw it!! It's package art was a TOTAL bastordization and stylistc contradiction of what Wataru was all about. The games' companies caution might have payed off if anime never caught on, but it did, and beyond that, the repackaging always felt like a rip off when the player was faced with a game that was NOTHING like what the cover art promoted. There was a long time where you had absolutely no clue about the contents of a game just by looking at the package. Like I said, I don't know the sales figures, but I know a lot of people who were disillusioned by this, and I personally would rank it right up there with one of the biggest blunders in the gaming industries history.

[Smiths]

too bad they've proven themselves idiots who just wanted to make another top 10 list:

the Mortal Kombat code was wrong, but of course they state it as 100% fact.
Research just a little or else all your wild claims about "iside company opinions" goes haywire.

for reference: ABACABB

[r2works]

That popped in my head the other day for no reason "ABACABA." I didnt even remember where the hell I remembered it until I saw I sega controller just recently. That code will for ever be stuck in my brain...

[slayer2psp]

i forgot about that i paid 600us dollars for my first playstation with ridge racer and Battle Arena Toshinden of course it was the jap model i still have it and it still works i dont ever use it i have the psone with the lcd i use that if i want a psone fix. boy did nintendo blow it they could have keep sega in it if sony would of stuck with nintendo that was the end of sega when the psone came out and sorry ass ea wouldnt make games for the best system ever the dreamcast

[slayer2psp]

what happened to the sony psx?
The PSX is a PS2, Tivo, and DVD-R All Rolled Into One
Targeting the year-end shopping season in Japan, Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc. launched two models of PSX, a new generation HDD+DVD recorder, created through the convergence of electronics and games technologies of the Sony Group.
Empowered by two key semiconductors ("EmotionEngine" and "Graphics Synthesizer"), CPU and graphics rendering processor used for PlayStation 2, PSX has realized a high-speed high-definition GUI (Graphical User Interface), the likes of which have never been experienced before. This first-of-a-kind GUI enables speedy and easy access of various content to be enjoyed on PSX, with the same level easiness as switching TV channels with a remote control.

PSX is also equipped with various features as a digital media player, providing storage and playback of a variety of entertainment content such as high-resolution, mega-pixel images from digital still cameras and music from various package media.

Since PSX is designed to run various features by firmware via a powerful hardware engine, users can upgrade or add new features later by accessing the network.

The two PSX models of DESR-5000 and DESR-7000 are equipped with maximum capacity HDD respectively to accommodate various features in serving as a digital home electronics product as well as a game device for enjoying PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games.

Sony Marketing (Japan) aims to accelerate the expansion of the DVD recorder market by positioning PSX as the key to home entertainment and the core for digital electronics products throughout the living room.

Model Names Launch Dates Planned, MSRP
250GB HDD+DVD recorder [DESR-7000] December 13, 2003 99,800 yen
160GB HDD+DVD recorder[DESR-5000] December 13, 2003 79,800 yen
160GB "PSX" analog controller(DUAL SHOCK2)[DESR-10] December 13, 2003 3,500 yen

DESR-5000/7000 Main Features

1. High capacity HDD+DVD recorder
PSX, "DESR-7000" and "DESR-5000" are equipped with 250GB and 160GB HDD respectively, largest HDD capacity*2 in each class as consumer DVD recorder. This enables recording up to 325 hours*3 of video content on HDD with DESR-7000 and 204 hours*3 with DESR-5000.
*2: As of October 6, 2003, surveyed by Sony Marketing (Japan).
*3: When recorded at SLP mode.

2. High-quality GUI
By using a PS2 based real-time operation system, comfortable operation never experienced until now, has been achieved. Advanced GUI with full color and half transparent display.

3. Firmware upgrade
Features can later be added or upgraded via the network. (Details to be announced on the Sony Marketing website as available.)

4. High speed dubbing from HDD to DVD
The speed of dubbing from HDD to DVD is 12 times maximum. PSX adopts DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW*4.
*4: Subsequent upgrades via the network.

5. Various recording/playback features
PSX supports various user-friendly features, such as enabling users to watch recorded content on the HDD without waiting for the recording to finish, watch recorded content on the HDD while recording another program or play games while recording programs, etc.

6. Equipped with ghost reduction tuner
Analog terrestrial tuner is equipped with ghost reduction tuner.

7. Progressive scan DVD video output
Progressive scan DVD video output supports high-resolution pictures.

8. Memory Stick slot
Memory Stick slot is available on the front side of PSX. Digital still mages stored on a Memory Stick can be transferred to the HDD and displayed on a large TV monitor.

9. USB port
USB port is available on the front side of PSX for a connection with digital still cameras*5 and USB game controllers.
*5: At launch, only Sony digital still cameras are supported. There are plans to support others in the future.

10. "PlayStation"/ PlayStation 2" game software
More than 5000 PS and PS2 game titles can be played on PSX*6. Online games can also be enjoyed through the PSX network services.
*6: Due to the fact that there is only one USB port for PSX, some peripheral combinations may not be supported.

11. Compact size
Simple and translucent design in line with latest digital electronics products. Compact design (312mm width) for both horizontal and vertical positioning.

12. Less Noise
Silent operation through heat control and temperature-actuated cooling fan.

-from Sony

it only came out in japan...........

[slayer2psp]

they only made a few prototypes but they thought that the public wouldnt want them cause they were gonna sell them for over $1,000 so to my knowledge i think they only made 7 of them and if u find someone with one u could try and buy it from them. but i wouldnt sell it if i had one cause it will play ps2 and ps1 games and it is a pc so it is versital.
wrong they made a lot of them and it isnt a pc

[inlovewithi]

hey now

[inlovewithi]

It's apples and oranges, Nintendo would have been stupid to make an expensive Sega CD kind of add on. It just would have been a dissaster, more storage, plays cds, but similar graphics, and lots of loading time. And Nintendo didn't kill Final Fantasy VII for the Nintendo 64, why would they do that? Squae killed it because the game would have been too big, and only a CD could handle the memory. Read about it here http://www.lostlevels.org/200510/ It's amazing how people post false information and make it sound like facts. I mean how stupid to think that Nintendo would kill a game that would sell lots of systems for them.