How sometimes those who seem to prove to be of great ideas … – Multiplayer.it

Sometimes what seem like great ideas will prove deadly boomerang

How many ‘revolutions’ failed is dotted with the world of video games? Countless. There are so many that it is difficult to put them all in a special one. In fact the term revolution is often misused for revolutionary devices that have very little (recent example: the Shield of Nvidia), but it seems that serves to sell, so no one makes us miss his daily revolution, just to remind us what a world we live in and what the audience is targeted advertising. Between Power Glove, plastic guns, bazookas, ghost console, floor mats and other miraculous contraptions out of the world, over the years there have been cases of blatant failures, which often led to complete failure of established reality. How can we forget, for example, the uDraw tablet for the Nintendo Wii, with which THQ is sentenced to death? Yet marketing the publisher’s now failed imagined a future videogame full of children who drew sheep due to its device . Or, how not to mention Ngage? The famous phone-console from Nokia that failed to establish himself in any of the two sectors, despite the impressive Launch? Here, in this special talk about such facts, that revolutions are missing. Indeed, claims of revolutions missed and, in some cases, equipment unfortunate that, while highly innovative, came on the market ahead of time and have not been able to establish itself. As usual in these cases, do not claim to be exhaustive, but above all we want you to have fun to read and discover some curiosity about the world that you are passionate about, so that we understand that video games have evolved far more complex and intricate than what seems.

The intuition for projects bankruptcy of Commodore: CDTV

For young people the word “Commodore” will mean little or nothing in terms videogame, but in the eighties and early nineties, the German company was one of the most significant players in the home computer market with cars like the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga, which have undoubtedly made history. This is why many have not yet overcome the trauma for the failure of the brand, which still exists today, but reduced to a minimum, and the death of his philosophy to design computers. The problem of Commodore was, in a sense, the desire to innovate too far in advance, to find themselves not able to innovate at all. Among the biggest technological failures of the company certainly stand Commodore 64 Games System , or C64GS for friends, console hardware-based Commodore 64 that broke new ground in quite a few hearts, and CD32, console-based hardware of the Amiga 1200 (approx.) which sold very little and only came out of port, despite good potential. However, the biggest failure of Commodore, from which he never fully recovered, was the revolutionary CDTV, computer / console / multimedia station ahead of its time in many ways. The CDTV was like an Amiga 500 with a CD-Rom, the first car in the world to fit a standard, which had different functions then absolutely out parameter. What is now an established technology, and fundamental overtaken by DVD and Blu-Ray at the time was not able to push the sales of the machine on which the Commodore had invested much of its resources. In fact, the CDTV sold very little, saw a few games and failed to launch all the news that nonetheless offered and that would spread only a few years later.

The magic of virtual viewers: the Nintendo Virtual Boy

Today we talk about 3D viewers with a certain force, given the actors in the field. Maybe for us we would go with feet of lead due to some intrinsic problems that systems like Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus and company are bleating bring with them, but we do not want the birds of ill omen. In the meantime, we use this special reminder that 3D viewers were already once proposed as a possible revolution in the world of video games . We are in the mid-nineties and the fairs are full of people who fears the magnificent destiny in the world of video games thanks to the adoption of these gizmos. The first and only manufacturer of gaming hardware that will try to enter into the business will be seriously Nintendo, with its Virtual Boy, which was launched in the summer of 1995 in Japan and the U.S. (but never officially imported into Europe). system “oscillating mirrors, lenses and LEDs” which allowed the projection of stereoscopic images of monochromatic red and black not convinced that few people . Overall, the Virtual Boy sold less than a million pieces, very few Nintendo, accustomed to the numbers of multimillionaires NES, Gameboy and Super Nintendo. Many were frightened by its size, as it was sold as a portable machine, but did not have a laptop nothing. Others avoided buying it because it was written on the packaging that prolonged use could cause nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances. It was true in a few cases, but it was enough to hold the credit cards of parents concerned about the health of their children.

The massacre of nineties: CDi, 3DO, Atari Jaguar and Pippin!

The nineties were a time of great experimentation in the world of video games, looking for a direction to follow after the emergence of technologies new and unsettling as the CD-Rom, and consequently the failures were numerous. Usually three consoles most of the quotes cited as sfig … bad luck are the Philips CDi, 3DO of The 3DO Company, behind with manufacturers such as Panasonic, GoldStar, Sanyo and Creative Technology, and the Atari Jaguar’s evergreen. Each of them has its reasons for not having caught on in the market and this is not the place to deal with it at length. Of our we introduce a fourth name, unless also known to fans, but definitely more bankruptcy of all the other machines mentioned. We’re talking about the Pippin, Apple console. Yes, the home of the bitten apple also tried the way of the console market with an innovative machine in some ways, given that in 1995 was equipped with a 14.4-kbps modem. Too bad for the glacial pace, the complete lack of games appealing to the masses and the high launch price of $ 599, when direct competitors cost about $ 300. The only producer who tried to embrace the Pippin was Namco Bandai, Namco Bandai today, who made it to assemble 100,000 units but managed to sell less than half (just over forty thousand pieces). will be after this immense failure that Apple has developed its proverbial snobbery towards the world of video games? Who can say …

Systems anti-piracy assault: Lenslok and disappearing ink

It may seem paradoxical, but some of the biggest failures of the gaming world is not unique to the video game console produced or some ill- successful, but also collateral aspects such as anti-piracy protection called DRM in recent times. Yes, they too are often accompanied by bombastic announcements of total defense from illegal copies and over the years there have been promises of the revolution. Many of you know the infamous DRM SecuRom, which limited the number of installations of a few titles, like Bioshock, or the even more famous Starforce, which for a time seemed to be able to keep the promise to prevent the spread of pirated copies of video games PC in the first weeks of launch (yes this would have been a beautiful revolution), but then it was like all the other laundry. In the eighties protection systems were much more craft and creative than in subsequent years. opening the packaging of the games were always strange sheets with codes to crack or directions on how to activate the game by entering keywords and related . However, the anti-piracy more absurd than ever are definitely two: Lenslock and the fantastic protection StarTropics, a video game for the NES. First things first. The Lenslock was a small prism that was leaning on the TV screen to bring up an unlock code. Beautiful and futuristic, right? The problem was not so much the thing itself, when the prerequisite to make it work: the TV had to be the right size for the Lenslock, otherwise no code and the game remained dead thing in its packaging. In addition, the various buyers chanced also some sad incidents, such as Lenslock showing incorrect codes for other games (they finished in the packaging wrong). In short, you understand the level of failure of this anti-piracy system “revolutionary”? The system of anti-piracy StarTropics was equally brilliant. Starting the game on the screen appeared the invitation letter to immerse in water, without giving further explanation. The mystery was easy to solve: the game was included in the box of a paper letter that if immersed in water would reveal the unlock code, written in invisible ink. The problem is that this macchinosissimo protection system was not explained anywhere, and many threw the letter considering one of the many useless sheets included in the box (at the bottom was completely white). Others, however, were able to understand and plunged into the water, to discover with horror that tenendocela too long in sending you ruined completely ruin the valuable code. Ugh, today we also want protection systems like

The shooting star: Sega Dreamcast

The Sega Dreamcast is one of the many mysteries in the world of video games. Released in Japan in late 1998 and in Europe and the USA at the end of 1999, had all the papers in order to be successful, saw that it was both technologically advanced in terms of graphics, both in terms of services offered . To say, possessed of possibilities for online that a machine such as PlayStation 2, exit a year later, he was dreaming. Among its features flagship park also had a rich titles, which feared not competitors and that is still an object of worship among the finest gamers, and a structure to be much easier to program direct competitors. And indeed it is difficult to consider the Dreamcast console bankruptcy in the strict sense. Also because of the very competitive American launch price of just $ 199, the machine saw good results obtained in stores, thanks to production difficulties PlayStation 2, which for months was difficult to find, and has sold a total of more than ten million units. So why Sega stopped producing it in 2001 and came out of the hardware market, becoming a pure publisher? Be ‘, seems that the Japanese company had deep financial trouble derived from poor sales of the previous console, the Sega Saturn , on which he had invested so much that, moreover, turned a negative cycle began with the Megadrive and 32X continued with the Mega-CD. In short, the more Dreamcast failed for a number of unfortunate circumstances, which for its defects. Sin.

fresh corpses: the revolution of the open console Ouya

you remember some statement a couple of years ago when the Kickstarter campaign was active Ouya, he was getting a resounding success? Many hailed the advent of micro-economic console based on the Android operating system as a revolution. Imagine: a console open to all, designed to meet the needs of developers and no system of protection. Excited? Ouya raised over eight million dollars on Kickstarter, making a name for himself as a great example of the success of the concept of funding from below. problems, unfortunately, are initiated when the euphoria is followed by contact with reality. Meanwhile, it was discovered that produce the hardware was not as simple as you thought: the first version of the console joypad is out with structural defects that are not seen in years (keys that were blocking, cross directional imprecise, and so on), while the software launch was really primitive. Moreover, the excitation of the base did not produce the desired results and, in some circles as word of mouth has been effective, in others it has proved useless. Yes, because the company behind Ouya has spent almost nothing in marketing, hoping that enough love from fans to spread the console , which is, however, remained the prerogative of a narrow niche of users, most geeks, plus a little interested in the purchase of published games. So, after less than a year after its launch, the revolutionary Android console has found itself without commercial success, without the public, and finally without the promised exclusive games, failing miserably. Let’s also some controversial cases, like that of Gridiron Thunder, who have tarnished the image, and the disaster is over. The revolution of the console open is postponed until a later date.

failures in the making: Wii U and Kinect 2

Here we come on a thorny, or try to talk to two failures in the making. As the others faced paragraphs cases now part of the history of the medium, and then sedimented and raccontabili with ease, entering into the pile Wii U and Kinect 2 we’re going to touch something that is still a part of this and that, therefore, is subject to the whims of fate . However, it is difficult not to see Wii U symptoms of failure, failure much bigger because it’s still the console that has taken the legacy of the Wii, which instead was a machine of enormous success (although there would be a lot to discuss on the type of success). The reasons for the failure, at least at present, are many: firstly demonstrated by the inability Nintendo to implement and meet the needs of the market, in which gamers not migrated on mobile systems, namely those called ‘core’, asking a decided leap forward and a new kind of controller. It also seems that many potential buyers have not really understood the differences between the Wii and Wii U and have received the second as an improved version of the first, finally deciding not to buy it. However, by the time the Wii U has been shown to not be able to give that extra punch to the kidneys need to recover, losing more and more third-party support and becoming a game machine Nintendo only, that is able to meet only the hardcore fans of the multinational Japanese. In short, the new revolution of the big N seems to have already been declassified in bankruptcy, to the point that there are rumors of a new machine coming. Kinect 2 .. To the question becomes even more complicated, because the news of the cutting device from Xbox One is very recent. However, it is a clear signal: the traditional public , what is currently doing the numbers on the console market from the living room, it does not do anything about Kinect and various peripheral motion detection . Indeed, it does not want to see it as negative because connecting the hated world of casual gamers, those who now live on smartphones and tablets. So Kinect 2 was sheared from Xbox One to allow a lowering of the price of the console, finally aligned to that of the PlayStation 4. Certainly, the device will be sold separately, although it is not clear in what way and at what price. The overall picture given by Microsoft is still one of the sailors who throw the bodies into the sea so as not to rock the boat.
 

What are the prospects of failure offers us the future?

worry, the failures do not end there. This already gives us perspective of revolutionary technologies and new gaming machines that can become epic failures, the more are enhanced by those who are planning. For example, after the initial euphoria, the famous Steam Machine Valve seem increasingly cumbersome a bandwagon for the PC game market, on which no one wants to go up and that is leading to many statements between the skeptic and the dejected by various operators in the sector. The problem? It costs a lot to produce them and nobody sees no prospect of gain. Even the Steam Controller seems destined to a miserable end, if they are not solved some of the problems that door (it is convenient, but not as comfortable as it should be to compete with mouse and keyboard). Meanwhile, the world of the Android console is doing the end of Ouya and after the anthology of sticks, docking stations and various trinkets that promised to play the entire globe to Flappy Bird on a two-hundred-inch screen, braking is now evident, also because of the crisis in the underground of the mobile market, where only a very short traders fail to make money, while the bulk of the investment ends up in smoke. And viewers of 3D? We want to talk about it? Currently have the technology to keep an eye on, that is the trend that blindly follows the gaming world as the rats followed the Pied Piper of Hamelin. For now, viewers have found the excitement of 3D: developers, designers, corporations and voyeurs; the sin is still missing a paying audience, or an outlet on the market that allow you to define a true success. Even in this case, only the future will tell if it was love or just a gig, then we have to wait … Hoping not to fill the closets of many grandchildren of Visual Boy.