10 Most Infamous Unreleased Gaming Consoles

Some of the most interesting consoles were never even available in stores.

Sony

In video gaming - and the technology world in general - there's a term for hardware and software that's promoted and promised without a product even hitting the market: Vaporware.

Sometimes, years later, dreams of the past are dramatically exhumed and become reality, Duke Nukem Forever being easily the most notable example. Generally speaking, though, when it comes to the biggest pieces of vaporware in gaming, unreleased consoles are usually what come to mind. Sony, Sega, Nintendo, and Atari have all gotten heavily into development for new consoles that never hit the market, as have mainstream electronics companies like Panasonic and a whole host of companies you've never heard of.

Some of these actually got pretty far, with announced release dates, games getting previewed in many of the popular magazines at the time, and all sorts of other hype. At least one of these consoles completely changed the face of the video game industry. If this console was actually released, it's entirely possible we'd have at least one fewer player in the current console market.

On that note, it's time to look at those consoles that just vanished into the ether.

Contributor
Contributor

Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.