10 Video Game Consoles The World Wasn't Ready For
4. NEC Turbo Express
When the GameBoy, Game Gear, and Atari Lynx were launched, they had to completely rebuild their libraries with entirely new content. This was due to the fact that the cartridges they supported couldn't be used directly in one of their pre-established home consoles, or vise-versa.
The TurboExpress from NEC didn't have that problem, which was one of its biggest features, though not the only one. The TurboExpress could play every single game already released for the Turbo Grafx 16, which meant it had a library on launch that exceeded that of its rivals.
While this definitely was a good thing, it wasn't exactly a benefit seeing as hardly anyone in the United States or Europe had a Turbo Grafx 16. While it was one of the most advanced consoles in its generation, it was poorly marketed outside of Japan, and barely anyone owned one. This meant that the huge library advantage wasn't so huge after all.
Something else the TurboExpress had that the competition didn't was a color display, much better graphics and sound, a TV tuner, and a backlit screen. It only sold around 1.5 million units, and despite all it had going for it, the cost was the main feature in its demise. Innovation costs money, and even though it was incredibly advanced, at $249 ($488 in 2019), it was cheaper and easier to buy a Game Boy.