10 Unreleased Video Game Consoles

In the mid-1990s, Sega's product line suffered an extreme case of multiple personality disorder. By 1995, the company supported eight incompatible gaming platforms: Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, 32X CD, Game Gear, Pico, Saturn, and in some markets, Master System. It also sold the CDX (a combined Sega Genesis and a Sega CD unit in a semi-portable package) and the Nomad (a fully handheld Genesis console). Then, on top of all that, there was the proposed Sega Neptune.

Sega designed the Neptune as a way to simplify its product line by combining a Genesis and the 32X add-on into one unit. But as you can see by the list above, Sega definitely did not need another game product to support. Around this time, a rare modicum of sanity hit the company, and word came down from its Japanese HQ to focus only on its new flagship console, the Sega Saturn (1994). As a result, the Neptune (phew) never made it to market.

Photo: John Tobias

The VAS, designed and promoted by a small American company called Ultravision, promised to be an all-in-one answer to every video gamer's wildest dreams. It was to integrate a 10-inch color TV set, a video game system, and a high-powered computer into one unit. In addition to the console's own custom software, plug-in modules would be available to let users play Atari 2600 and Colecovision games on the VAS. All this sounded too good to be true, and it was: in the end, Ultravision's promises of gaming excellence proved to be nothing more than a load of hot air.

Photo: Ultravision

The Jaguar Duo, like the Neptune seen earlier, was an attempt to combine a base console and an add-on device. In this case, the Duo would include the Atari Jaguar console (1994) and its Jaguar CD-ROM drive together in one sleek unit that would go head-to-head with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. While Atari produced a small run of cases for the console, the Jaguar Duo never made it into full production.

Photo: Michael Thomasson

By 1989, British peripheral maker Konix had already established a reputation creating game controllers for other systems. When it came to designing its own game console, it took what it knew and ran with it, crafting a complex steering controller...with a built-in video game system. The Multisystem's integrated controller could be changed into three modes: steering wheel, flight yoke, and motorcycle handles (all of which supported tactile force feedback).

The system would eschew cartridges for 3.5-inch floppy disks for cost reasons, and additional accessories like a joystick, foot pedals, a light gun (with recoil), and a motorized gaming chair were planned. Not too long after revealing these supremely ambitious plans, the company ran out of money (wonder why), and the console never launched.

Photos: Konix

Magnavox intended the Odyssey 3 to be the follow-up to its somewhat successful 1978 Odyssey 2 console. Under its hood would have been an Americanized version of the Philips Videopac G7400 (1983), which actually found release in Europe. The G7400 preserved compatibility with Odyssey 2 games while allowing better graphics for an entirely new line of software. Just as the Odyssey 3 was set for launch, the video game crash of 1983 ruined everybody's plans, and the second Odyssey sequel never made it to wide market release, although it is rumored that a few were test marketed in the US and Europe.

Photo: René van den Enden

Before its planned release, Atari touted the Cosmos handheld game system as a sophisticated 3D machine of the future—supposedly the first electronic game system to use holographic images in game play. The reality, however, wasn't nearly as exciting: a pre-printed holographic overlay merely served as window dressing for simple, interchangeable electronic games displayed on a 7-by-6 grid of red LEDs. When the press got wind of the system's true nature, enthusiasm dropped, and Atari pulled the plug on the Cosmos just as it was ready to launch.

Photos: Curt Vendel (L), Atari (R)

The story of the Phantom is a messy one. Like many unreleased systems, it involves large sums of cash and big promises never kept. In a nutshell, Infinium Labs designed the Phantom to play standard PC games on a TV set like a game console. Its most novel feature, however, was the fact that it would use no removable media whatsoever: instead, users would purchase and download games for the Phantom over the internet. While such a practice is easily possible today, it wasn't quite as simple as it sounded in 2004. Over the next two years, Infinium Labs burned through insanely large gobs of money ($62.7 million) trying to forcibly march the Phantom to market. Ultimately, the money ran out, and the Phantom went poof. No one missed it.

Photo: Phantom Entertainment

The Taito WoWoW was a joint project between renowned arcade game producer Taito, JSB (parent company of a TV channel called "WoWoW"), and ASCII, a software developer. The trio of companies designed the console to use CD-ROMs as its main form of game media, but also to be able to download new games through a satellite television hookup. Apparently, the project never truly got off the ground because the WoWoW console vanished after making only a few public appearances.

Photos: Fabrizio Pedrazzini

The M2 project, started by 3DO, began as a follow-up to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (1993) console. After a few years in development, 3DO sold the M2 technology to Panasonic, which readied a full-on assault on the game console market with an M2-based machine. At the last minute, Panasonic got cold feet and canceled the launch. The M2 technology then morphed into products like the Panasonic FZ-21S multimedia player (1998) seen here, which was briefly released in 1998, but was not aimed at consumers. The multimedia tech then found its way into ATMs, vending machines, and information kiosks where it is still used today.

Photo: Pischty Hufnagel

In 1977, Atari designed its first cartridge-based game console, the Atari Game Brain. Prior to that year, all Atari consoles (like Atari Pong, Stunt Cycle, and Video Pinball) had been dedicated machines with built-in games only. The Game Brain, however, wasn't actually all that different: its interchangeable cartridges contained the exact same custom IC chips that Atari used in its standalone games, complete with supporting circuitry. The console itself had no smarts—only built-in controls, a power supply, and a video output.

It's probably wise, then, that Atari passed up this product in favor of the Atari 2600 (also designed in 1977), which would quickly become Atari's landmark product.

Photos: Curt Vendel

For more, check out this roundup of quirky and wonderful import-only consoles from the land of the rising sun.