The video game industry is cutthroat at best, producing winners and losers. We all know the gaming systems that made it to the big leagues, but what about those systems that for whatever reason didn't quite catch on? Although the list of ill-fated consoles could be longer, here are 9 rather obscure video game systems you may not have heard of that fell prey to the appetites of their competitors.

Vectrex

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This interesting console was the first system to bring real 3D graphics out of the arcade and into the home. The system boasted cutting edge vector graphics made by plastic screen overlays. Because of this, the system was unable to play on televisions and was only usable on the integrated monitor. Although the system received various accolades, it was eclipsed in popularity by systems that displayed their games on home televisions. Today it remains a popular system among vintage gaming enthusiasts.

Neo-Geo

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The Neo-Geo was a cutting-edge system released in 1990, boasting the ability to bring arcade quality graphics into the home. But at $649, the price was astronomically high for it to become popular among the masses. Furthermore, most of the games were priced at $100 and some of the titles sold for as much as $200. This system was destined to flop, and flop it did. Many of these games are now collectible and fetch thousands on Ebay.

Sega CD

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Originally titled "Mega-CD", this console was developed in secret and debuted in Japan in 1991. Unfortunately the library of games was rather lackluster as many developers weren't ready to adapt games to the large storage capacity of the discs. Many of the system's titles simply revamped versions of older games by adding a new soundtrack and interspersed video sequences. While it did sell a reasonable number of consoles, it failed to gain anything resembling mass popularity.

CD-i

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Philips' entrance into the gaming market was monumentally depressing. The CD-i was originally slated to be an add-on to the Super Nintendo, but the deal fell through. Nintendo did, however, give Philips the rights to use 5 Nintendo characters in their video games. They went on to release three Zelda games and a game titled Hotel Mario. These games are frequently referred to as some of the worst video games ever made. If that weren't enough, the controller received wide criticism and the 1991 price tag of $700 was simply offensive.

Atari Jaguar

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Being touted as the first 64 bit gaming console, the Atari Jaguar was created to surpass its contemporaries like the SNES and Sega Genesis, as well as compete with other 5th generation gaming systems. Unfortunately, the overly complex controller, which sported 15 buttons, was virtually unusable. Furthermore, the system suffered from crippling hardware flaws and very few titles were released. It sold less than 250,000 units and forced Atari out of the home video game market.

3DO Interactive Multiplayer

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The 3DO was released in 1993 by Panasonic. The console received an extraordinary amount of hype, but the $699.95 price tag was too much for most consumers to stomach. On top of that, the gaming market newbie released the system into an already over-saturated gaming market. Third party development was also limited preventing this interesting system from hitting the main stream.

Nintendo Virtual Boy

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This experimental system proved that Nintendo could in fact create an unsuccessful product. To play a game, the user looks into a neoprene eyepiece and views the 3D screen while the control sits in the hand. But the fact that it resembles a gun on a stand, the ergonomic stress and unorthodox gaming experience as well as the poor monochrome graphics led to its demise. Following its release in 1995, only 22 games were made and it sold a mere 770,000 units worldwide.

Apple Pippin

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The Pippin was Apple's attempt to make their mark in the already robust gaming sector. They tried to market this $599 device as a cheap computer, but most everyone saw it as an expensive video game console. Needless to say it was unable to compete with the Playstation and Nintendo 64. It suffered a silent death after selling only 42,000 units.

N64DD

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Perhaps one of the worst video system flops of all time, the N64DD (disk drive) sold only 15,000 units and was never released outside of Japan. Development for this N64 peripheral device took longer than expected and by the time it debuted in 1999, the N64 was going out of style. Only 9 games exist and the system is now at collectible status.

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