The top 5 early adopter products that fizzled:
5) Atari Jaguar
Released:
1993
Promoted as:
Five processors, 3 chips and 64 bits of gaming power. How could it go possibly go wrong? Released around the same time as the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) and SNES, Atari had put $3million into marketing the Jaguar, thereby banking everything on its success.
What actually happened:
Put simply, the Jaguar was the console that sunk Atari. Sensing an opportunity in the market, Atari cancelled their 32bit 'Panther ' and pushed ahead with releasing the Jaguar to stores in 1993. Thanks to a number of well documented hardware bugs, including problems with the system's memory controller, very few games were actually released; but mainly because nobody bought the damn thing and because game developers weren't going to risk going belly-up with a non-rating console.
Atari CEO Samuel Trammel famously admitted that the Sony Playstation was more powerful than the Jaguar, one of those special CEO moments reserved for the Darwin awards. Even the 64bit system, which the Jaguar supposedly ran on, was accused by critics for being misleading. It technically ran on two separate 32bit chips - each running parallel.
Atari almost released a VR headset in a last ditch effort to save face, but it was too late - the company was effectively pronounced dead in the water because of plummeting sales. In 1995, the Sony Playstation was released, effectively killing off any last hopes of an Atari revival.
 |
| Is this the worst controller ever? |
In 1996, the Jaguar was done for and so was Atari; they were taken over by hard drive manufacturer, JD Storage the same year.
How early adopters got burnt:
Ouch. If you had paid $250 for a fifth generation console and it only played a handful of mediocre games, you'd of wished you had followed the kid next door's advice and purchased a Sega or a Super Nintendo.
Matters weren't made any better by a complex 15 button controller that had game players envying the simplicity of the Super NES gamepad. When the PSP rolled around, it was an entire game changer and the Jaguar was a distant memory for gamers.
The entire brand was laid to rest just 3 years after the console release, making this a spectacular miss and a real waste of money for the people who rushed out to buy one in the early days of 93.
Successor:
Sony Playstation. Need we say more?
Runner-up:
Nintendo Virtual Boy. Arguably a bigger flop than the Jaguar, Nintendo were lucky that this epic failure didn't plunge them into bankruptcy. Only 14 games were ever produced and the VR headset encouraged motion sickness and eyestrain.
And, because of a shortage of decent priced blue and red LEDs in the mid 90s, the games were strictly red and black. Could you imagine anything worse? Strangely enough, nobody cares about virtual reality 14 years later. Not surprising really.
4) Gizmondo
Released:
2005
Promoted as:
A 'revolutionary' handheld gaming device featuring GPS technology, Nvidia 3D graphics, Bluetooth, SMS and JPG camera.
What actually happened:
The events surrounding Gizmondo would make for a very entertaining film. The rise and fall this company is spectacular: convicted drug trafficker Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson became known famously for smashing rare, expensive Ferraris and courting exotic supermodels.
Ericksson's criminal ties and involvement in the company overshadowed the poorly received handset that critics panned upon release. Poorly marketed, hardly advertised and with dwindling sales, manufacturer Tiger Telematics were forced into receivership after just one year of release.
 |
| All the attractive ladies in the world wasn't going to help this failed handheld |
How early adopters got burnt:
We have to admit that back in 2005, the lure of GPS, Bluetooth and 3D graphics on a handheld sounded pretty sweet. But for customers who paid the $400 asking price, many of them would of been pretty annoyed to learn that the device would only ever play a total of 8 (yes, 8!) games.
Succeeded by:
Gizmondo 2. No we're not kidding - they're still trying to release a sequel to the world's worst selling handheld. After missing its 2008 release schedule, the device is now aiming for 2009, but we doubt this will pull a phoenix and rise from the ashes.
Runner up:
Gameboy Micro. The inability to play original GameBoy games (and Gameboy colour catridges) on the GB Micro made this a big no-no in Donkey Kong land and a handheld fizzler for Nintendo.
3) IBM PCjr
Released:
1984
Promoted as:
IBM's 'Green Dragon' (as it was internally known) came in two distinct models, a US$699, 64k model and a more expensive US$1299 model packed with 128K of RAM. It also featured a speedy 4.77Mhz 8088 Intel CPU. Ahh, those were the days.
What actually happened:
A massive failure, that's what. Compatibility issues with IBM PC software titles rocked the PCjr, a function it was supposed to serve without question. Due to memory problems, and non-standard expansion ports, the IBM branded PC shared little relation to other IBM computers : most customers bought the PCjr under this proviso and were ultimately mislead.
How early adopters got burnt:
Picture this: You just paid US$1299 for a computer that had very few software titles and was severely hampered by a cheap looking 64 key chiclet keyboard that made normal typing almost impossible.
To make matters even crazier, the keyboard was controlled by an old school wireless protocol (line of sight), so it would only work under optimum circumstances. Useless expansion ports made life equally tough. But it could have been worse; you might of purchased the Apple III the same year and wasted another US$7000 on a another stinker.
Succeeded by:
IBM PS/1 in 1990. Although, it can be argued that the popularity of the Commodore 64 dealt the real death blow to the IBM jr in the mid 1980's.
Runner up:
NeXT computer. After Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, he created the NeXT computer with a goal to make it his new baby. With over US$250 million in development costs, the expensive UNIX powered machine (US$6000) failed to work with any software titles and was a huge financial disaster for the short lived company - although Tim Berners- Lee somehow managed to design the World Wide Web using it.
2) Sinclair C5 electric vehicle
Released:
1985
Promoted as:
A sexy alternative to petrol guzzlers. Inventor-genius Clive Sinclair had already achieved a level of success with the pocket calculator and digital watch (not to mention his early pioneering work in the computer business with the Sinclair PC).
With the C5, Sinclair envisioned a utopian people mover that required few age limits (over 14), no licence or registration to drive. Best of all, it was electric and operated by a simple push button starter. This was the future of driving according to this famous ad.
What actually happened:
Due to its unusual size and design profile, the C5 was derided and made fun of, becoming a financial disaster for its inventor. The company quickly went bankrupt less than 10 months after its launch in 1985.
More so, the roofless pod design of the C5 made it a poor choice for regular use in the UK, famous for its inclement weather. Cold weather severely undercut the battery life, long hills hurt the motor and because of the C5's low size - traffic visibility was determined to be a constant threat.
Urban legends hounded the design of the motor; many believed it was made from a washing machine motor, because of its association with Italian manufacturer, Polymotor.
How early adopters got burnt:
Apart from the listed design and motor faults, we imagine that regular service and spare parts would have been a little tricky to access when the company was as good as dead in the same year it was launched. Less than 17000 were ultimately sold, before the plug was pulled.
Succeeded by:
The EV1 (by General Motors). That electric vehicle didn't get too far either, come to think of it.
Runner -up:
DeLorean DMC -12. We're proud as punch to drop a Back to the Future reference in our feature, but just a little misty-eyed to see this work of automobile art relegated to a footnote in scrap heap history.
After being cleared of federal drug trafficking by the FBI, founder John DeLorean eventually saw his Northern Ireland based business sucked into a financial black hole. Less than 9000 were ever produced.
The only way to get one today is through collectors and occasionally on eBay. Although it's too bad if you dropped US$29,000 big ones back in the early 80's - we doubt the service warranty would get you far.
1) Apple III
Released:
1984
Promoted as:
Apple's finest creation since the Apple II computer.
What actually happened:
The Apple III was littered with hardware bugs - namely overheating issues and crammed components. Lacking a cooling fan, memory chips would randomly pop out and motherboards would warp.
The price of the machine was incredibly expensive and it was a total financial disaster for Apple. Over 14000 were eventually replaced by Apple.
 |
| PB's offered more junk than a scrapyard |
How early adopters got burnt:
Think about it: You paid almost US$8000 for a computer in 1984 (almost a year's wage for some people then), for a machine that overheated and broke down regularly. To make matters worse, software for the machine were strictly limited to just a few titles. This was not the sexy iPod era of Apple. This was the 'Oh my god, I can't believe I just wasted money on an Apple' era. Things were going so well for Steve Jobs and then he had to do this.... No wonder the following year in 1985; although his NeXT PC was just as badly recieved and a bigger disaster.
Succeeded by:
Apple III Plus. We're not sure the naming of this was a good idea, considering what came before it.
Runner up:
Packard Bell PC's. Known to have more faults than an Indian tech support line, the PB machines were famous for being seriously junky.