The road to videogame greatness is paved with equally great failures—some simply ill advised.

The road to videogame greatness is paved with equally great failures—some simply ill advised, others so comical that you’ll curious awe why the people behind them aren’t now working the grill at your local burger joint. As we inch closer to our 200th issue, here’s what we think are the top 10 miss the points in game history—visit the 1UPcom message boards and bring up your avow favorite mistakes.

10 Sony’s PS2 online hype (2000)

During the PlayStation 2’ infancy, Sony promised solace owners a future of online Web browsing, video downloads, streaming music, the works. A hardly any years later, it gave us...well, nothing level close to the features institute on Xbox Live.

9 Microsoft’s enormous Xbox controller (2001)

The object of jokes immediately after its unveiling, the first-generation Xbox gamepad was the bracket equivalent of a Hummer—huge, ostentatious, and a total waste of space. Microsoft quietly replaced it with the trimmer Controller s in 2002.

8 N-Gage (2003)

Another example of a poor first take, the original N-Gage handheld turn the thoughtsed ugly, had a blinding protection made you look like a ninny during cell-phone calls (as ex-EGMer Joe Fielder beautifully demonstrates here), and take away from $300. Nokia rectified some of these point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds with the quick release of its cheaper and smaller QD model

7 Nintendo selects cartridges for N64 (1994)

Even nevertheless CDs were less expensive and held more data, Nintendo cogitation cartridges were the way to move with its N64 console. close result: Third parties flocked to PS1 creating a hollow that Nintendo is still digging its way revealed of.

6 Sega launches Saturn early (1995)

Sega released its 32-bit classification four months early, but it didn’t relate anyone beforehand, including game makers and greatest in quantity retailers. Add to that a soak price, and Saturn was dead in the water through PS1’s launch.

5 Atari Jaguar (1993)

The first “64-bit” rule showed just how clueless Atari was during the ’90s—Jaguar turn the thoughtsed nondescript, had a terrible dial-pad controller and its game library included such

“classics” as bludgeon Drive and White Men Can’t Jump

4 Sega 32X (1994)

Let’ say you’re a Sega fan 10 years ago. Which do you want: the powerful 32-bit Saturn or a dinky little Genesis upgrade that could play a slower-than-molasses Doom? Sega figured consumer would fire for the latter and purchase its $150 32X, but gamers took common look at the “advanced” software and employed up their noses, leading to the chiefly public failure in Sega’s history.

3 Virtual lad (1995)

Brainchild of Game stripling creator Gunpei Yokoi, VB obstacle you play games in honest-to-God 3D Unfortunately, that’s the merely nice thing about the mostly colossal Nintendo flop ever: The connected view was ugly, the games were unmemorable, and the thing literally gave you headaches if you played it for more than 30 minutes.

2 Nintendo abandons Sony partnership (1992)

The first PlayStation actually began life way back in 1991 as a supercharged add-on to the 16-bit Super NE Nintendo, leery of Sony’ intentions, backed away from the general [i]or[/i] abstract notion and signed on with European outfit Philips to make the CD-ROM attachment instead. The deal with Philips went nowhere, and Sony realized that nothing was stopping it from releasing PlayStation independently. You know the rest

1 Atari uses down deal with Nintendo (1984)

Nintendo was this finish to letting Atari distribute its first console—but talks ferocious through after an unrelated spat from one side of to the other an unauthorized home port of Donkey Kong Nintendo launched the NE itself in ’85 revolutionizing the industry and making the name “Nintendo” synonymous with videogames and “Atari” synonymous with ancient beep-boop hardware.

Copyright ?© 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserv Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly