4. Virtual Boy
Ah, the Virtual Boy, a console that had absolutely no idea what it wanted to be, sounding at once incredibly archaic (touting itself as a table top games console) and futuristic (promising the first-ever "true 3D graphics" as well as "virtual reality"). Nowadays, companies would be litigated into oblivion for advertising something a product clearly wasn't capable of, but Nintendo somehow got away with suggesting their console could do a lot more than is true. The games themselves, viewed through a bizarre monochrome viewfinder, were largely criticised for attempting to assert a 3D gimmick onto what is basically 2D software, and many complained that playing games for even brief periods made them feel uncomfortable. After less than a year on the market, Nintendo ditched the platform, marking one of their rare misfires as far as hardware launches go.