History Horrible / VideoGamesOther

# To ensure that the work is judged with a clear mind and the hatred isn't just a knee-jerk reaction, as well as to allow opinions to properly form, '''[[Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease examples should not be added until at least one month after release]]'''.

** [[https://twitter.com/boxartscrewup/status/784934349732847616 The North American cover art]] for UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and UsefulNotes/PlayStation ports of '''''Bust-A-Move 2''''' shows human faces trapped in bubbles yawning widely, with their eyelids propped open using matchsticks. The tagline on the bottom of the cover art reads "So addictive, it should be illegal!" The problem is, the picture in the layout is more suggestive of [[AndIMustScream inhumane torture]] than simple extreme tiredness. The entire image was copied directly from adverts used to hawk this game in magazines, with no further adjustments. As a cover meant to sell the game to children, it failed horribly. Unsurprisingly, Acclaim wised up and used the same cover art for all international releases of ''Bust-A-Move '99'' and ''4'', but would nonetheless repeat this mistake with...

* [[http://stevenpayneuca.blogspot.com/2011/11/environment-inspiration-behind-icos.html The North American cover art]] for '''''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'''''. In contrast to the [[MinimalisticCoverArt Giorgio de Chirico-inspired box art]] of the Japanese and European versions, the North American box art uses a more generic layout: the [[RaceLift race-lifted]] Ico brandishing his wooden sword in the foreground; a faded head shot of Yorda staring off blankly in the intermediate space behind Ico; and the windmill standing inconspicuously in the background, making awkward use of negative space. It failed to incite emotion, reflect the [[ArtGame artistic]], [[{{Minimalism}} minimalistic]] style of the game, or [[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/last-guardian-game-named-for-us-europe-kobayashi give American players a reason to play the game]]. While it was assumed to be [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore a misguided attempt to appeal to the tastes of American audiences]], it was actually the result of a fixed deadline for the North American release, as the cover used for the other versions wasn't available in time for the game's release. Thankfully, the UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 (bundled with ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'') used the original art across all regions.

* The 2014 '''[=iOS=] port of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''''' was one of the most infamous {{Allegedly Free Game}}s on the App Store prior to its removal that same year. What was a pretty good RPG on the SNES and UsefulNotes/PlayStation and a less-so-but-still-playable RPG on the Game Boy Advance and PSP was butchered into nothing short of a blatantly cynical cash grab for [=iOS=]. Difficulty settings were cut entirely, locking the players into the [[HarderThanHard hardest difficulty setting]] and item prices in stores are '''doubled''', resulting in a game that was [[BribingYourWayToVictory nigh-unwinnable without the use of microtransactions]]. Worst of all, a constant internet connection was required to play, despite it being a single-player game without any social elements, meaning the game was unplayable after being pulled and all the money anyone spent on it went down the drain.

* '''''Wave: Naminori Boys''''' was a gacha RhythmGame based on a GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga franchise about surfing. Unfortunately, in spite of the game having decent artwork, everything else was [[ObviousBeta virtually unplayable from the very start]]: the UI was extremely clunky, and the English translation was blatantly unfinished, with much of the game's text (including the tutorial) being replaced with placeholders if your phone was set to English. Even worse, in spite of being a score-based rhythm gacha game, using the skills associated with the characters would show an obtrusive animation that would get in the way of seeing what's actually going on. After its March 1st, 2021 launch, the game went into "emergency maintenance" on March 4th after it was found that its voice actors had their names [[TyopOnTheCover misspelled in the credits]], and this "emergency maintenance" never ended, the game shutting down for good on April 6th. This means that the game was only playable for ''3 days'' before the end of its life, and there's very little evidence of its existence as a result: this [[https://noisypixel.net/wave-naminori-boys-shutting-down/ news article]] that covered the game's end of service is one of the few sources that exist.

* Horrible/{{Presentations}}

* [[Horrible/CompaniesAndDevelopers Companies and Developers]]
* [[Horrible/ConsolesAndOtherHardware Consoles and other Hardware]]

# A game isn't horrible just because WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]], [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]], WebVideo/AngryJoe, WebVideo/JonTron, {{WebVideo/Rerez}} or any other CausticCritic reviewed it. Nor is it horrible just because it has a flood of negative reviews on Amazon.com and Metacritic.[[note]]''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' is a prime example of a perfectly functional game with a ridiculous number of negative Amazon.com reviews -- at least 90% of which are nothing more than complaints about the game's DRM system.[[/note]] There needs to be independent evidence, such as reputable, professional reviews, to list it. Though once it is listed, the Caustic Critics can provide the detailed review(s).

** [[https://twitter.com/boxartscrewup/status/784934349732847616 The North American cover art]] for UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and UsefulNotes/PlayStation ports of '''''Bust-A-Move 2''''' shows human faces trapped in bubbles yawning widely, with their eyelids propped open using matchsticks. The tagline on the bottom of the cover art reads "So addictive, it should be illegal!" Only, the picture in the layout is more suggestive of [[AndIMustScream inhumane torture]] than the extreme tiredness. The entire image was copied directly from adverts used to hawk this game in magazines, with no further adjustments. As a cover meant to sell the game to children, it failed horribly. Unsurprisingly, Acclaim wised up and used the same cover art for all international releases of ''Bust-A-Move '99'' and ''4'', but would nonetheless repeat this mistake with...

[[folder:Presentations]]
Sometimes, the first impression was so bad the game or console is doomed no matter how well-received it turns out to be. Regardless of the product, first impressions count. And when the first impressions of a product give consumers at large no confidence that it will be worth their money, that's going to affect consumer perceptions of a product even if there's time for a course correction.

Do not add any examples to this folder without discussion over whether the presentation you want to add actually qualifies first. There is a big difference between a botched presentation that is a technical trainwreck and/or kills all hype for a game/system and a presentation that was simply boring, lacked any heavy hitting announcements, or received HypeBacklash afterward because it lacked an announcement the VocalMinority heavily expected.

* Nowadays, it's common for [=E3=] presentations to include at least one game that is released during the presentation itself, but '''Sega's surprise launch of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn''' in 1995 proved to be a bit too ahead of its time, resulting in one of the most infamous misfires in [=E3=] history. The console was intended to launch in September of that year, but Sega suddenly decided to move the release date ahead by 4 months and launch it during the presentation instead. Intended as a chance to gain a head start, it instead backfired spectacularly and [[CreatorKiller served a major role in the downfall of Sega as a console developer]], for the following reasons:
** Most retailers, including Walmart, were caught off guard, and were pissed that Sega had circumvented them for their rivals. This gave them little incentive to sell the Saturn, and they teamed up with their rivals instead.
** As a consequence of their lack of planning, only six games were available at launch, and the intended console seller ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' ended up being a [[ObviousBeta buggy mess]] as a result of the early launch. Furthermore, not only were retailers out of the know about the surprise launch until it happened, ''so were the third-party developers''. Since none of said developers were even remotely ready to put out their games yet, the console effectively began with a four month drought of releases, souring trust both in developers and in consumers right out the gate.
** Its '''$400''' pricetag, combined with the above problems, ensured that there was little interest among consumers in picking one up. Add in Sony [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExaAYIKsDBI upstaging Sega]] with a lower $300 for their hyped UsefulNotes/PlayStation, and the fate of the Saturn was all but sealed. All Steve Race did was walk up to the podium, say "299", and walk away. The audience responded with rapturous applause.
** The aftermath: The failure of the Saturn thanks to Sega's abysmal marketing decisions kickstarted their downfall[[note]]Really the UsefulNotes/Sega32X (or even the UsefulNotes/SegaCD) kickstarted the downfall, the Saturn was supposed to pull them back out. It instead sent them full speed off a cliff[[/note]]. Sega was eventually forced to release a successor, the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, in ''1998 (Japan) and 1999 (overseas)'', just four years after the Saturn's release in the respective regions. On its own, the Saturn failure may have been survivable in the long term, but the nature of its failure, combined with the numerous other mistakes Sega made before and after (including, most infamously, transpacific ExecutiveMeddling from Japan in response to an IPO from the originally planned chip supplier for the Dreamcast that led to not just an acrimonious lawsuit but also Electronic Arts cutting ties with Sega), ensured that despite the Dreamcast's strong launch it was likely doomed from the beginning. To be successful, it required ludicrous sales that the wait-and-see approach gamers took made impossible to achieve, and all it took to kill any hope of its success was the announcement of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, [[CreatorKiller ultimately leading to Sega withdrawing from the console market.]] The Dreamcast's lifespan was so short that it was discontinued before two of its would-be competitors (the UsefulNotes/XBox and the UsefulNotes/GameCube) hit the stores--in fact, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', a first-party title, was ported to the latter after ''less than a year'', even being a '''launch title''' in PAL regions. [[https://youtu.be/rEmYBWCDUJg This video]] sums up the entire fiasco quite nicely.
* The '''Nokia E3 2003 Presentation''' where they unveiled their handheld gaming device, the [[UsefulNotes/NGage Nokia N-Gage]]. While a smaller affair than Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony's conferences, the press felt welcomed by Nokia's floor display. Then the presentation started, which was less than impressive. Four hip hop breakdancers went up on stage to bust some moves and play on their own N-Gages to showcase the multiplayer and mobile functionality, which came off as dated. After that, the presenters showed up to talk about the N-Gage while showing gameplay footage. However, not only was the lineup not wowing the press since it was mostly ports of older games[[note]]''VideoGame/TombRaiderI'', ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'', ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall'', etc.[[/note]], the ultimate killer was the frame rate being shown, which was reflected on the demo N-Gages as well. The 3D games were running with a lower FPS than the final product, giving off the impression that the N-Gage was far less powerful than it was. To top things off, the price was announced by a model taking her shirt off to reveal "$299" drawn on her abdomen - which was three times the price of the N-Gage’s primary competition, the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. Like Sony's E3 over the [=PS3=] in 2006, the crowd gawked at the price and what potential momentum Nokia could've drawn for their handheld was effectively killed. You can read more about the E3 coverage from Eurogamer [[https://www.eurogamer.net/news140503nokiae3 here]] and WebVideo/{{Rerez}} talks about the presentation on their video over the N-Gage [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKjR71VSTMU here]].
* The '''Sony E3 2006 Presentation''', despite having some highlights such as the ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' trailers, was considered a disaster by most everyone. Mainly intended to drum up hype for their then-upcoming UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, it instead left people unenthused about it. This presentation helped ensure that the [=PS3=] stayed in dead last among their competition in the 7th console generation for a long time, despite dominating the industry for the past two generations and their solid recovery efforts that barely put its sales ahead of the Xbox 360 years later. Creator/JoshScorcher [[https://youtu.be/9riKo4qLRAU?t=956 declared it as Sony's second-biggest failure]], putting it behind only their [[SmallNameBigEgo notorious penchant for arrogance]] and previously cited Sony's early mishandling of the [=PS3=] in general, implicitly including this presentation, as the only reason the Red Ring of Death[[note]]a nickname for the Xbox 360's extremely frequent hardware failure, referring to a circular set of red lights around the power button used to inform the user about hardware problems[[/note]] wasn't a FranchiseKiller for the Xbox brand. Or watch the presentation in its entirety [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtB4pbojEfk here]]. Among the lowlights were:
** The presentation of ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' (or "[[MemeticMutation Riiiiiidge Racer]]") to advertise their [=PlayStation=] Network Service offering [=PlayStation=] games on the [[UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable PSP]]. That the audience was completely silent during this part shows just how little anybody cared.
** The ''[[VideoGame/{{Genji}} Genji: Days of the Blade]]'' presentation, where Sony was billing how it was [[BlatantLies based off of real Japanese historical events]], only to [[ImmediateSelfContradiction instantly disprove this]] by showing a BossBattle with the TropeNamer for GiantEnemyCrab. While certainly a SoBadItsGood moment that instantly went [[MemeticMutation Memetic]], it wasn't persuasive to most people that the launch library of the [=PlayStation=] 3 was worth their time.
** Then there's the Sixaxis demonstration, where they show off its capabilities and brag about how innovative it is, trying to convince people it was more than a last-second effort to [[FollowTheLeader upstage the Wii's more impressive motion controls]]. Nobody was fooled, and it didn't help that it came at the expense of Rumble, which had otherwise been an industry standard since the Nintendo 64 (scuttlebug was the Sixaxis only happened because of legal issues Sony had with the Rumble feature of prior controllers at the time).
** The final nail in the coffin came with the announcement of the [=PlayStation=] 3's "[[MemeticMutation 599 US Dollars]]" launch price. With this being the most expensive launch price of a console in almost a decade, few would end up rushing to pick one up, and Sony's arrogant statements making clear how justified they thought the pricetag was did no favors. Not even being a comparatively cheap UsefulNotes/BluRay player at the time was enough to convince people, and what ''certainly'' didn't help was the 2008 Great Recession that was just around the corner, which stunted the adoption of HD home media as many people during that era could not afford [=HDTVs=] which were required to truly take advantage of Blu-Ray's improved picture quality. It also allowed Nintendo to effortlessly upstage Sony with the Wii's $250 launch price, and for Microsoft to regain their footing after the [=RROD=] debacle. The disastrous launch of the [=PlayStation=] 3 that was in no small part a result of the conference left Sony with little choice but to drop its price, several times, in order to get people to start buying the system.
* Around the time E3 was getting mainstream publicity equal to major tech conferences, ''Creator/{{Disney}}'' chose to try and host a presentation at the conference. '''Disney's E3 2007 presentation''' was only an hour long, had very little revealed besides [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames licensed games]], the presenters were all exceptionally wooden (including "volunteers" who were obviously paid actors) and it concluded on one of the most cringeworthy events in the history of the conference: a full team of cheerleaders came in and begun a fully choreographed music number in the style of ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', an event which left what little remaining audience there was in a state of, to quote a journalist who attended, "incredulity, despair, and extreme embarrassment." Needless to say, Disney didn't hold a show the following year.
* The '''Creator/{{Nintendo}} E3 2008 Presentation''' is considered an all-time low for a variety of reasons. WebVideo/{{Arlo}} recounts the entire sorry presentation [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huoy0OiOEsc here]], you can watch it yourself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4DOn9465xo here]], or, if you want real-time reactions, you can read Nintendo Life's [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2008/07/e3_2008_nintendo_conference_live_text_commentary live text commentary]] from the time, which borders on ApocalypticLog. In short:
** The entire show consisted of a long series of segments that were largely dedicated to market research and unfunny jokes that would be more at home at an office meeting than at a big show dedicated to fun and games.
** The scant few actual game reveals were mostly third-party titles and/or lacking information, most infamously the ''Shawn White's Snowboarding'' segment. The reveal of the GuestStar drew a bit of applause and cheering, but once that faded viewers were left with the sight of a grown man badly playing a video game in front of a quiet audience while emitting forced laughs, which is exactly as cringe-inducing as it sounds.
** The few first party announcements were either real bare-bones (new ''Mario'' and ''Zelda'' games, with no information other than that they're in development) or for more casual games: ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingCityFolk'', ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'', and ''VideoGame/WiiMusic'' (see below). ''Animal Crossing'' alone wasn't enough to save the show, and ''Wii Sports Resort'' had the misfortune of being attached to the reveal of the Wii [=MotionPlus=], which was another flop, as Reggie was clearly expecting applause, only to get nothing.
** Finally, the most infamous part of the presentation: the ''VideoGame/WiiMusic'' reveal, which Nintendo [[MagnumOpusDissonance was banking on as the big "hype generator" of the presentation]], a mark they missed by a wide margin. Even worse were the gameplay demonstrations, featuring drums being banged randomly with no sense of rhythm and a very bad performance of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' theme.
** While the aftermath wasn't immediate, it's likely their setback from 2008 (alongside technical difficulties from 2010 and widely criticized 2012 presentation) ultimately led to Nintendo stopping the previously traditional E3 showcase live in front of crowds to their newer, E3 Nintendo Direct tradition that started in 2013[[note]]though Nintendo first started their Nintendo Direct segments in late 2011[[/note]] and for the most part, they continue under positive reception to this day.
* The '''Microsoft E3 2010 Presentations''' (yes, plural) may well have been the nadir of [=E3=] 2010, even keeping in mind Nintendo's catastrophically botched presentation of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. This was the year where Microsoft launched the Kinect, and they made a huge effort promoting it. Neither of their events did much good for publicity of the peripheral, but for more specific details:
** The exclusive Sunday Kinect presentation. They were clearly trying to put on a show for those invited, even paying for Creator/CirqueDuSoleil. Among those who attended, however, it became infamous for having everybody wear white ponchos and be uncomfortably crammed together with everybody else in the venue, a bunch of bizarre performances, and very few details about the Kinect itself with only some brief game footage (details were saved for the main E3 presentation). Most of the game journalists who attended and reported on it were not impressed.
** Even more infamous was the main E3 presentation. While they briefly gave airtime to titles most fans were interested in, such as ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', they devoted the vast majority of time to the Kinect, showing off the upcoming games in more detail, almost all of which were [[FollowTheLeader blatant rip-offs of games already available on the Wii]]. They also showed off many features with unconvincing actors, a Music/JustinBieber song when his hatedom was still going strong, and how you could use it to control watching movies, a passive activity that gels poorly with a peripheral requiring you to stand up to function properly. It's telling that the main highlight was the unveiling of a new Xbox 360 model and giving a bunch out for free, seemingly as an apology for the conference. [[https://mobile.twitter.com/Doctor_Cupcakes/status/1143262886246133765 An image with a visibly unimpressed audience]] that included Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto is considered emblematic of Microsoft's E3 that year. These conferences irreparably tainted the Kinect brand, making it dreaded anytime Microsoft talked about it in future conferences and forcing Microsoft to drop support for all versions of it by the end of 2017.
* While not as bad as the Microsoft presentation in terms of PR, '''Konami E3 2010''' is infamous for being perhaps the most uncomfortable presentation in the history of the event. While the games showcased were fine (including ''VideoGame/MetalGearRising'', ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'', and two ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games), the issue came in that virtually none of the people involved had much in the way of stage experience, and the Japanese devs had no translators and thus spoke in very stilted and accented English. This combined with a large number of poorly-done skits (including one infamous part involving a trio of luchadors, done to promote the company's licensed wrestling game based on the Mexican Wrestling/{{AAA}} lucha-libre promotion) turned the presentation into the world's most awkward variety show as the presenters went through each poorly-handled reveal and discussion after the next, leaving the entire audience uncomfortable in the process. To this day, it's shorthand for how a presentation can go terribly wrong from a design standpoint.
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}} presentation at SXSW 2013''' killed a lot of the initial hype generated the console's highly successful Kickstarter campaign, and left it facing an uphill struggle for the rest of its short life. The presentation got off to a bad start when Ouya's CEO, Julie Uhrman, took a prototype console out of a small paper bag, which was intended to demonstrate how compact the system was, but immediately gave both the console and company an unprofessional image that stuck with it for the rest of its existence. Things then got worse when Uhrman openly stated that there was "nothing special" about the Ouya's hardware or software, as if it was somehow a selling point (even though it meant that ''anyone'' could duplicate their business model), and also behaved in a dismissive manner towards the AAA game model and claimed that mobile-style games was the future, only to then admit that she had no idea how many launch titles or exclusives the system had lined up. The presentation was so disastrous that ''half of the attendees'' had walked out by the end, and it proved just the first in a catalog of missteps that ended up burying the Ouya.
* The '''reveal of the UsefulNotes/XboxOne''' was a disaster on par with the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn [=E3=] '95 presentation, caused by [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism complacency on Microsoft's part]] due to the success of the UsefulNotes/Xbox360. Instead of getting gamers even more hyped for its new system, the presentation was marred by two fatal mistakes that caused the [[TaintedByThePreview mother of all backlashes]] against the Xbox One (or "Xbone", as it was eventually nicknamed) and prevented the system from establishing early momentum, ultimately resulting in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 dominating UsefulNotes/{{the eighth generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}}.
** '''Mistake the first: [[SkewedPriorities Excessive focus on secondary functionality]].''' The presentation focused on multimedia features - in particular DVR functionality and Skype calling - at the expense of games. The few games that Microsoft did show largely consisted of AAA blockbuster titles not exclusive to the Xbone. Microsoft's vision was an all-in-one entertainment device but gamers, the people who were most likely to watch the presentation, were obviously more interested in video games, with everything else being a secondary concern.
** '''Mistake the second: Needless, unacceptable restrictions.''' The same presentation also confirmed some rumors that were floating around and causing suspicion and worries among gamers:
*** The Xbone would require an online check-in every 24 hours, or else it wouldn't work. This was a particularly bad and unpopular idea, considering the [[DemandOverload server meltdowns]] that ''VideoGame/SimCity2013'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' had with this sort of DRM, preventing people from playing them due to the single points of failure online requirements inherently introduce.
*** The Xbone would have unprecedented restrictions on used games, charging players money just to be able to play a copy of a game someone else had purchased. This would have made borrowing games a hassle and potentially made it too expensive for some gamers to buy games for the Xbone.
*** Every Xbone would come with a Kinect, a camera peripheral that was always on for the purposes of the "Xbox On" command, and would be required to be plugged in for the console to function. At the time, Edward Snowden had just recently exposed underhanded surveillance by the NSA and caused Americans to become concerned about privacy which earned the Kinect [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJB80Xsj5BY mockery]]. Obviously, the NSA was a political issue beyond Microsoft's control, but they could've considered people's new privacy concerns.[[note]]Not helped by the outside reveal that Microsoft had filed a patent for a technology that would use the Kinect for DRM, counting the number of people watching a DRM'd movie.[[/note]] Interest in motion controls had also been waning over the years, partly ''because'' of the original Kinect; this, combined with the aforementioned terrible showing at [=E3=] 2010, meant the Kinect name was tainted no matter how much of an improvement functionality-wise this new Kinect was. The final issue was that it added $100 to the Xbone's price, making the console, already marred by the used game fee, seem ''even less economical''.
** Then there was the '''Microsoft E3 2013 presentation'''. While it did have some games to show off to garner some hype, the botched reveal hung over their heads. This was their best chance to turn things around in their favor. Instead, when pressed Microsoft at best dismissed concerns and at worst showed outright contempt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEOuKH-W8yM with Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, recommending non-online users stick with the Xbox 360]]. This went over like a lead balloon and allowed Sony to effortlessly upstage Microsoft by revealing that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSBaviQwdTo the PS4 would not restrict offline play]] [[TakeThat or used games in any way]] such as with this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA "instructional video" on game sharing]]. As [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdK3XNKbe2A pointed out]], Sony was applauded for doing ''[[WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing nothing different from normal]]'', almost entirely because what Microsoft was doing different was so consumer-hostile.\\
The positive reaction to Sony's presentation [[OhCrap brought Microsoft to their senses]]. Soon afterwards, Microsoft announced they would [[AuthorsSavingThrow give the Xbone a day-one patch to remove the 24-hour check-in and the used game policy]] and just six months after release came out with a cheaper Xbone SKU without the Kinect. Still, this course correction came too late for Microsoft to fully recover from the botched reveal, and the Xbox One's lackluster sales (estimated [[note]]{out of seeming embarrassment, Microsoft stopped publicizing the Xbox One's sales after a year of its release}[[/note]] 41 million units sold vs. the [=PS4=]'s 92 million, as of April 2019) are at least partially attributable to the terrible first impression. Watch an extremely tired WebVideo/AngryJoe rant semi-coherently about the reveal (yet somehow manage to sum it up best) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ekOtn7L1N0 here]]. Creator/JoshScorcher [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxBdVuwd_vk would later declare it, and the Xbox One launch in general, to be Microsoft's second-biggest failure]], behind only the Red Ring of Death. Stop Skeletons From Fighting did [[https://youtu.be/GcZD__XquCk an in depth retrospective of the launch]].
--->'''Angry Joe:''' You fucking idiots. I... I... no... ''this''... I just... I can't even start! This is... This is literally the worst reveal event I-I've ever seen. This, literally... if you can't bring the big guns, if you can't bring the good stuff to your reveal, '''[[SuddenlyShouting DON'T DO THE REVEAL!]]''' Wait until [=E3=]!
** If one good thing came out of the presentation, it's that it was the kick Microsoft needed to stop taking their gaming division for granted. The presentation was a CreatorKiller for Don Mattrick, as he left Microsoft to become CEO of Zynga just two months after the Xbox One's announcement. His replacement as Head of Xbox was Phil Spencer, previously the head manager of Xbox's game studios, who was told upon accepting the role that Microsoft was seriously considering pulling out of the console market thanks to Mattrick's failure. Under Phil Spencer, Xbox abandoned most of the One's initial controversial features, began a spending spree on studios to build up the portfolio of Creator/XboxGameStudios, and initiated a shift to less console-dependent services such as Xbox Game Pass and improved support for PC gaming. While many of these initiatives were slow to get going and the Xbox One-era as a whole was definitely a tumultuous period for the brand, by the time of its successor in the UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS Phil Spencer's work had paid off in bringing Xbox back into the gaming limelight and finally shedding the legacy of the Xbox One's announcement, which remains a regrettable moment for the division.
--->'''Phil Spencer:''' If you were an employee in team Xbox, then you were [a part of a team of] thousands of people that work on the Xbox. But there's like a handful of people that stand in front of cameras, on the stage and talk about things. There can be a divide between, 'Why is that person saying that? That's not the product I'm building,' or, 'Why are we doing that? That's not what I think we should be doing.' The feedback we got from the employees, maybe said and unsaid, was, 'We've been working really hard for two years to ship this product. You stand on stage at this event and blow up all the good work that we've done by talking about the product in a way that's not really matching what the soul of an Xbox console is about and what our customers are looking for from us.'
* Very few moments in gaming presentation history live up to the infamy that was the '''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal unveil at [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzcon]] 2018'''. The tone-deafness on the part of those who put together the announcement cannot be overstated:
** It had been six years since the release of the [[VideoGame/DiabloIII latest installment]], and people were expecting ''VideoGame/DiabloIV''. The presentation had all the weight of a new mainline game announcement, but as soon as the presenter started talking about mobile devices, you could hear the crowd's hype train grind to a halt. In what came off as a blissfully unaware BaitAndSwitch, this "new ''Diablo'' game" turned out to be a mobile-only release, presented to an audience mostly made of hardcore PC gamers. Not helping matters, they spent a long time talking about how the game was being co-developed with [=NetEase=], a Chinese developer known for making mobile ''Diablo'' clones, which made Blizzard come off as cheap. To make things more awkward, the presentation was clearly rehearsed expecting cheers from the audience, with long pauses after every sentence. As it dragged on, the cheering just got quieter and quieter until the very end when the audience fell into ''total silence.'' You could see the look on the presenter's face slowly change as he realized this wasn't going as planned.
** Things only got worse at the Q&A panel, which took place directly after the reveal. One of the attendees came up and asked "Is this an out of season April Fools' joke?". Not missing a beat, the audience ''immediately'' reacted with thunderous applause, which was the first time they showed that kind of excitement since before the game was revealed. In another infamous misstep, an attendee asked if there were any plans for a PC release. After being firmly told no, the crowd loudly booed, to which their response was "[[DiggingYourselfDeeper Do you guys not have phones?]]". It was probably meant to lighten the mood, but came off as ''extremely'' dismissive and out-of-touch, as if the devs didn't understand why their audience would want to use their expensive gaming machines. Following this disaster, both "out of season April Fools' joke" and "Do you guys not have phones" became MemeticMutation shorthand for terrible gaming announcements.
** The backlash in the aftermath of the announcement was immediately apparent. Blizzard's stock fell over 7%, and the [=YouTube=] trailers for the game have dislikes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Blizzard, to their credit, called for reworking of the game in response to the negative reception and has since released an actual ''Diablo IV'' and a remake of ''Diablo II''. The backlash was so intense that updates on the game were rare up until it finally got a June 2, 2022 release, where it was playable on PC via cross-play through Battle.net.
%%Do not add references to the 2021 Blizzard lawsuit. It is unrelated to this presentation. Cleanup thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15574101790A64005900&page=134#3338 Also, do not add references to the 2022 Microsoft buyout until at least July 2023 when it's official. Reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15574101790A64005900&page=160#comment-3982 Furthermore, do not add references to the infamous microtransaction problems the game has, since it more fits a Scrappy Mechanic than anything relating to the presentation at hand. Reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=112808&type=att#comment-336009
* The digital-only '''E3 2021''' was an abysmal event for the conference all around due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting game development and Sony, a platform holder, skipping E3 entirely for the second time in a row, leading to a shortage of exciting video game news. [[WebVideo/ScottTheWoz Scott the Woz]] runs down the whole event [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPv-mcEZyHc here.]] It wasn't a total wash, with the joint Xbox and Bethesda Showcase (the first since their merger), the Nintendo Direct, the Ubisoft presentation, and the parody presentations by Devolver Digital and Limited Run Games all being considered good to great, but one must wonder why these companies even bothered to show up:
** '''Creator/{{Capcom}}'s E3 2021''' tried to set expectations by detailing exactly what would be discussed ahead of time, but that didn't prevent it for earning its own share of backlash. The announcement that ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' would be receiving DLC was just that, coming with no footage of gameplay or any other kind of preview for it. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'''s DLC announcements and ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' were thought to have been fine, but incapable of carrying a presentation all by themselves. The most derided part of the presentation, however, was the ten-minute segment on Esports that happened at the end of a presentation that was only thirty minutes long. All of this left many feeling that it was unnecessary for Capcom to have held a separate event for themselves that year.
** '''Creator/GearboxSoftware's E3 2021''' presentation had little to nothing of interest. Aside from ''VideoGame/TinyTinasWonderlands'', all Gearbox had to present was a trailer for ''VideoGame/Homeworld3'' that showed no gameplay, in-game footage, or even cinematics, a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 port for ''VideoGame/{{Godfall}}'', already considered to be an unremarkable game in its own right, and a behind-the-scenes look at the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' movie that could only be described as being painfully awkward at best and tenuous at worst, especially in regards to the interactions between Randy Pitchford and Creator/KevinHart, with the presentation as a whole becoming the source of online mockery.
** '''Creator/SquareEnix's 2021 E3 presentation''' was near-universally panned by everyone who watched it. It began by showing off ''VideoGame/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2021'' for twenty minutes of its sixty-minute airtime, and the footage used showed numerous frame drops during combat portions of the game. While the game itself was fine, the fact that so much time was devoted to it saw people quickly getting bored. Then came the long-awaited announcement of the first six ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games being rereleased... onto Steam and mobile phones only, which made many a ''Final Fantasy'' fan mad, especially those who owned a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch [[note]]Switch and [=PS4=] ports of the ''Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster'' games would eventually be announced a year and a half later, after much nagging from fans[[/note]]. After that was DLC for ''VideoGame/MarvelsAvengers'', an already divisive game by itself, which did no favors to people already burned out by what was being shown. Followed by that was a sizzle reel for a number of mobile titles like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyBraveExvius'' and ''VideoGame/NierReincarnation'', and only after that did they get to ''VideoGame/BabylonsFall'', the highly-anticipated StylishAction title by Creator/PlatinumGames... which was immediately followed by the reveal that what was teased as a single-player HackAndSlash became a co-op "live service" ActionRPG akin to ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}'', and Square Enix's own ''Marvel's Avengers'', [[note]]Or so it was thought- it turned out ''Babylon's Fall'' was intended to be a live service game from the ''very beginning''. To no one's surprise, the game bombed spectacularly on release, had all future plans cancelled 6 months in, and its servers shut down just 11 months after launch.[[/note]] which was met with immediate backlash from nearly everyone for taking what was a promising action game and turning it into another game following the "games as a service" model that people derided ''Avengers'' for using. Only after that was more information given on ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeTrueColors'' and the reveal of ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', the latter of which became incredibly divisive for its bizarre presentation and having stilted and awkward dialogue throughout its reveal trailer. The presentations was finished then, but the troubles weren't, as ''Final Fantasy Origin'' was given a demo on UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 immediately after... only for the demo to be inaccessible for the first three days because the files were corrupted. Overall, Square Enix's E3 2021 presentation left many disappointed by the tone-deaf announcements and the lack of highly-anticipated games like ''Final Fantasy XVI'' and ''Forspoken''.
** '''Koch Media's E3 2021 presentation''' seemed more oriented towards ''advertising Koch to indie developers'' than advertising games to gamers. Less than a quarter of the two hours airtime actually showed the games (and even less showed actual gameplay footage), the rest being dedicated to interviews of the devs with the same scripted questions on why the dev choose Koch Media as publisher and how good Koch Media is. And even those interviews were marred by a cramped stage that made it look like the interviewer was lying on her back on the floor. The presentation closed on the highly-anticipated "''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'' teaser"... which turned out to be a single artwork shown for all of three seconds.
** '''Creator/TakeTwoInteractive's E3 2021 presentation''' had the company stress the importance of representing minorities in video games. That's all fine and dandy... if it weren't for the fact that Take-Two had [[ShowDontTell no games to show for it]]. The entire conference was them talking about representation and inclusivity in video games... and that's it. No trailers, no gameplay footage, no screenshots, no concept art, no talk about upcoming projects like Rockstar's remastering of the VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto trilogy from the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.[[note]]In hindsight, this was probably a smart decision, as the remastered ''Grand Theft Auto'' trilogy was horrifically bugged and poorly optimized at launch, to the point where Rockstar ''relisted'' the previously removed original versions of the games on PC as a result of the backlash[[/note]] ''Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all!'' Fans were furious that they were presented with a half-hour lecture with no news about upcoming video games, the entire point of E3. As botched as many of the other companies may have been with their presentations, at least those companies showed something from their video game lines. Even people who generally agreed with what Take-Two was trying to say questioned why they thought doing it at the biggest video game show of the year was a good idea, since [[DontShootTheMessage it may have done more harm than good thanks to the tone-deaf timing of the presentation]]. Creator/JoshScorcher listed that as [[https://youtu.be/WhkHF3PmTgc one of the biggest failures of 2021]] in his video to end that particular year.
** Finally, '''Creator/BandaiNamco's E3 2021 presentation''' closed out the event, as if to serve as the straw that broke the camel's back. While most of these presentations were bad, the ones that showed stuff at least showed multiple games and DLC, which warranted some sort of existence at hand for the event. But Namco only showed '''''one''''' game, ''VideoGame/TheDarkPicturesAnthology: VideoGame/HouseOfAshes'', which not only had little hype surrounding it, but had already been announced the year before. This is especially baffling since they not only had ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' set to launch that September, but were also publishing ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' the following year. But the worst part was that Namco didn't reveal that they would be showing only one game until the day of the presentation, causing anyone who didn't see this announcement to get their hopes up for nothing. The Internet was absolutely livid when they realized that Namco had almost nothing to show that year, and began declaring E3 2021 the worst E3 in history.
[[/folder]]

!!Consoles and other Hardware

%% Please do not add consoles with a cult following, such as the Virtual Boy or Atari Jaguar, as they would be inherently disqualified for this list by that very following. If, however, there is an add-on for one of those consoles that even the fans of the base hardware won't defend (see Accessories below), then it's fair game.
Even the most snobbish member of the Glorious PC Master Race knows not to use these to [[FanHater mock filthy console peasants]], for they would be preaching to the choir.

[[folder:Repeat Offenders]]
* '''Commodore''':
** If you ever wondered what the worst-selling video game console of all-time was, look no further than the '''Commodore [=C64GS=]'''. What was intended to be Commodore's original answer for competing against the likes of Nintendo and Sega turned out to be the [[CreatorKiller beginning of the end for the Commodore brand altogether]]. The long design of the system was the molding of a typical Commodore keyboard without the actual keys needed for some of these games to activate properly. It didn't help that the game they first bundled the system with, ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', included the goof of requiring that the user press a certain key on a system that didn't have any keyboard buttons at all. [[https://youtu.be/-8p1a46F-yU?t=420 Commodore later changed the game to a 4-in-1 cartridge of old Commodore 64 games,]] [[{{Irony}} while the Terminator 2 cartridges that weren't put out were later bundled into the regular Commodore 64 system instead.]] Combine that with the fact that it was only £50 less than the actual Commodore 64 ''computer'' and that [[NoExportForYou it had a limited release in only the United Kingdom and Germany]], and you got yourself a console that, what originally shipped in 20,000 copies at the time of its launch, ultimately sold only a tenth of its meager launch sales; remaining stock were converted back into regular Commodore 64 units to be sold as normal home computers. Guru Larry talked about it in more detail on his [[https://youtu.be/zc-QAbIgQRc?t=14m13s Top 10 ACTUAL Worst Selling Consoles]] video in his ''Fact Hunt'' series.
** The next console they created was the '''Commodore [=CDTV=]'''. Their goal with this console was mainly to be a multimedia system similar to the Philips CD-i. Long story short, when you decide to compete against the ''Philips CD-i'' over bigger competition like Nintendo and Sega, you're bound to set yourself up for failure there. Being released for only the United Kingdom and Germany and promoting it as the "Commodore Dynamic Total Vision"[[note]]technically making it [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Commodore Commodore Dynamic Total Vision]][[/note]], Commodore decided to [[ChristmasRushed rush their release into Europe first]] by using the computing system of the already-outdated Amiga 500 as the base of its functionality, removing the keyboard (though allowing it as an extra for £70), having a weird controller that's a mix between a proper controller and what looks like a remote controller in the middle of it, and allowing it to run [=CD-ROMs=] instead of the typical floppy disc drive at the time. What also didn't help matters was the fact that it was sold for an even more exorbitant £600, which translates to around ''£1,300'' as of 2020, combined with the fact that Commodore was so desperate to get people to buy it that they demanded the [=CDTV=] be sold on the opposite side from Amiga computers in stores. Despite Commodore's drastic measures and threats, people weren't thrilled about what the [=CDTV=] was doing, with reviewers exposing this console's dark truth not long after it was released to the public. Even more pathetic is that despite it lasting longer than the [=CD32=], the console only sold around 55,000 total units in both countries (nearly 30,000 in the UK and 25,800 total in Germany) [[note]](the Amiga [=CD32=] meanwhile sold around 100,000 copies all around Europe, at the very least)[[/note]], [[CreatorKiller which sealed Commodore's fate by that point,]] and the [=CD32=] could just play [=CDTV=] games just fine without it being necessary. Guru Larry reviews it on on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc-QAbIgQRc&t=139s Top 10 ACTUAL Worst Selling Consoles]] video in his ''Fact Hunt'' series.
** Once a staple of the home computer market, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} was [[CreatorKiller brought down]] by its one foray into the home console market: the '''Amiga [=CD32=]''', which was released in September 1993 and discontinued in less than a year (for a mercy, [[NoExportForYou it was never released outside of Europe and Canada]]). The console is a hodgepodge of questionable design choices seemingly made to spite console gamers, including the power button being on the back of the unit instead of on top or up front, and the controller ports being on the side instead of in front. The CD unit was also notably faulty -- the lid had no safety lock and, depending on how old the system is, the discs may not spin unless a weight (like a paint can, for an extreme example) was on it to help keep it closed. The controller's design was similarly questionable: in addition to being designed in an upside-down way in comparison to the more user-friendly controllers of its competitors, the face buttons are labeled with odd media player symbols[[note]]Comparing the [=CD32=]'s button symbols to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]]'s: the SNES has A, B, X, Y, L, R, Start and Select; the [=CD32=] has Stop, Eject, Loop, Chapters, Rewind, Fast Forward and Pause/Play[[/note]] instead of simple letters, numbers, or basic shapes[[note]]Not that it particularly mattered since most of the games that were ported from Amiga [=PCs=] (which were intended for a joystick with two buttons) didn't get the control scheme rearranged for a [=SNES=]-style gamepad, meaning you'd get weird, console-unsuited stuff like having to press up to jump in platform games, instead of one of the face buttons. In other words, even if [=CD32=] shipped with a really good controller, the games still would have played like garbage because they weren't optimized or programmed to properly utilize it[[/note]]. The MSRP was another slap in the face: $400 (adjusted for inflation, almost ''$700'' as of 2018) on its own, for which you could've bought a Mega Drive or SNES with a second controller and multiple games to go with either choice. And for all of its boasts of being the first 32-bit console[[note]]Which was a lie, the Japan-only FM Towns Marty beat it to the market by 7 months[[/note]], it was more of a low-end Amiga computer in a console shell than a true home console like the Saturn or [=Playstation=]. The [=CD32=]'s library does little to justify a purchase: for every one halfway-decent game (most of which were already available on older Amiga systems or other [=PCs=] or consoles), there were at least five shovelware titles such as the infamous video game adaptation of ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}''. Furthermore, the console was also based off of software from the Amiga 1200 instead of something else that was original or exclusive to itself. All that meant the [=CD32=] being banned in the United States over a patent dispute before it was even released there (though a handful of [=NTSC=] consoles were sold in Canada) was seen, in hindsight, as a ''mercy'' to hardcore gamers, and today the console is ignored by both collectors and the retro gaming community. The WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKqRz64eQD4 pulled no punches in his criticisms of this console]] before [[https://youtu.be/HfnNrISCFfk?t=871 destroying it with a flamethrower.]] What's probably worse as a kicker to it was that [[HistoryRepeats it was a repeat of what happened]] to the parent company's aforementioned Commodore [=CDTV=].
* '''[=JungleTac=]''':
** The '''Wireless 60''' is a Wii ripoff with poor and stolen graphics, dull gameplay, and fake motion controls. Shane Luis of Rerez takes a look at it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eBwHq144_M here]] as the very first episode of "The Worst Ever" series, where he calls it the worst game system he has ever played.
** '''Wireless: Hunting Video Game System''' aka the '''Wireless'''. The console tries to act like a home console version of the ''Big Buck Hunter'' arcade game found in certain establishments (with 20 total games on it), but none of them really work out so well at all. Games there range from the typical military shooters and gallery shooters to games that feel out of place for this type of console like ''Darts'' and whatever ''Be Careful'' could be classified as, and all of them (including their ripoff of ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'') hold major problems that ruin whatever fun might have been had with them, some of which including game-breaking bugs and games that are either too short, too long, or could even be played without doing anything at all. Combine that with a broken set-up for even playing the console properly, including a lesser pointing system when compared to the Wii, plus the fact that this actually rips off a different light gun system done by Hamy, and you got quite a system that you'd be better off forgetting about completely. However, if you want to see it in action, Shane Luis from Rerez [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoEFTg9iRzU has a video where he has his friend/co-host Adam also look at the system alongside him.]][[note]]At the time of review, Shane wrongly assumed that the Wireless was the first console in the Wireless line due to the name of this particular console, as the Wireless 60 came out in 2009, 2 whole years before the Wireless, meaning the Wireless is the actual predecessor at hand, not the Wireless 60.[[/note]]
** '''Wireless Air 60''', the sequel to the aforementioned Wireless 60, is a console that knocks off Microsoft's Usefulnotes/Xbox360 or UsefulNotes/XboxOne with the UsefulNotes/{{Kinect}} functionality but managed to make the knockoff Kinect become ''a lot less functional'' by comparison. The problems from its predecessor still remain here, only in addition to fake motion controls, it also features a completely broken method to move various things from one way to the next in many different ways. Rerez considers this sequel to be even worse by comparison, so much so he destroyed it at the end of his review. You can watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qiRCU0SCTs here]].
* Music/SouljaBoy has released several terrible consoles in a thoroughly misguided attempt to cash in on the retro video game console trend that was made popular by the NES Classic, SNES Classic, Sega Genesis Mini, and (to a much lesser extent) [=PlayStation=] Classic. Creator/YongYea covered the entire history of Soulja Boy's failed console releases [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhENlZ0dioA here]], as has Izzzyzzz [[https://youtu.be/KfOSOv_8tDk here]], while iiluminaughtii covered it as part of her chronicle of Soulja Boy's numerous scams starting at [[https://youtu.be/-ckwOSqxhwo?t=731 12:11 of this video]]:
** The '''[=SouljaGame=] Console''' and the '''[=SouljaGame=] Handheld''' both boasted hundreds of built-in games and capabilities that sounded too good to be true (the Handheld [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181205184902/https://souljawatch.com/products/souljagame-handheld was advertised]] to emulate the Switch, 3DS, and [=PlayStation=] Vita [[note]]{not only do stable emulators not exist for those handhelds, with only the 3DS having a ''usable'' emulator, it doesn't have all the inputs needed to emulate a PSP or an old 3DS sans Circle Pad Pro, let alone a Switch}[[/note]] and the Console's advertising [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181205184841/https://souljawatch.com/products/souljagame-console had a screenshot]] implying that it could play ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' at 4K resolution). As it turns out, they were nothing more than cheap Chinese consoles sold at inflated prices that could barely do half of the things that were advertised. The games that could be played were emulated with terrible video settings that were meant to fill widescreen displays but led to the video being slightly cropped. Not even the metadata were spared by the creators' incompetence and laziness; a significant number of games on the Console have art from other games, fan-made covers, or materials that aren't from a video game at all[[note]]including [[SweetSeal Mamegoma]] images -- apparently the creators tried to get generic art by Googling "mamegame" but misspelt it as either "mamegome" or "mamegama" and failed to realise the admittedly adorable picture they ended up with had nothing to do with anything[[/note]]. The Console was bundled with games that Soulja Boy or the console designers couldn't possibly have the rights to, which eventually [[ScrewedByTheLawyers forced him to pull the SouljaGame from his online store to avoid legal action from Nintendo.]] Despite all that, many people never even got their consoles despite paying extra for three-day shipping. Madlittlepixel [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo-qNU7Qu3k gives a breakdown]] of the [=SouljaGame=] Console, [[DropTheHammer literally]] and figuratively, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKgujlj_KM later showcases]] what it [[note]](or rather, the '''[=TsingChu=] X Pro''', the original Chinese console the [=SouljaGame=] is based off)[[/note]] is actually capable of. WebVideo/JonTron riffs on it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f5nIq9qL6Mh here,]] but he was forced to review the original Chinese console because his copy of the [=SouljaGame=] never showed up. Rerez also showcased the actual consoles (in their original forms and not with the Soulja Boy brand on them), as well as a couple more consoles he released before being sued by Nintendo in the '''Retro [=SouljaBoy=] Mini''' and '''[=SouljaGame=] Fuze''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqXuAuTFXpA here.]]
** After canning most of those consoles by force from his Soulja Watch website, he came back later in January 2019 with three different consoles on sale: a different version of the '''[=SouljaGame=] Handheld''' that was released (which looked like a UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, but has since later been "remodeled" a bit to look like a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch after the Vita was discontinued), the '''[=SouljaGame=] Portable Screen''' (which was a portable [=DVD=] player (that might also play the rare [=EVD=]), though it includes a small disc of 300 [=NES=] games inside of it with bootlegged stuff included there), and a ''third'' [=SouljaGame=] Handheld (though this one was properly named the '''PVP 3000 (Game Console Suit)''', with it sometimes going under different names and retailers properly like the '''PXP 3 Slim Station''' instead) that tries to ripoff the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable. All three of these consoles hold significant issues that make them completely unplayable for one reason or another.
** The third [=SouljaGame=] Handheld (or PVP 3000 or PXP 3 or whatever it might be found under) gained some extra notoriety initially for not only having a various amount of exclusive cartridges of said many-in-one games alongside having one within the console that could be activated on its own right (assuming you actually have one of those many-in-one cartridges around the first time around), but also bootlegged Genesis games like ''Angry Birds'' and ''Super Mario World'', none of which perform well. Most egregious is a ROM of ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'' locked onto an ''incompatible cartridge'', resulting in ''VideoGame/BlueSphere'' masquerading as ''Sonic & Knuckles''. And as an added bonus, the video output cables that came with the system are also prone to failure if they're ever used long enough. Rerez covers that console in better detail [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAbscJU72XU here]], with the note that during its production the [=souljawatch.com=] website the consoles were sold at shut down, stating that maybe it should stay that way.
** He then [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crOLkqfAiTs eventually found a proper SouljaGame Portable Screen]] (though it went under the name '''Buyee''' (not to be confused with the proxy shopping service with the same name that lets you bid and purchase Japanese products online) as a portable DVD/EVD player with the same Super Game 300 disc included), and with a controller being cheap and easy to break (the buttons feel like marshmallows or chewed up chewing gum and often require moving your fingers around to get them back into their proper molding) combined with the disc player potentially breaking its optical disc drive randomly, never mind the faults involved with game emulation, it's almost no wonder why he finds it to be the worst of not just the Soulja Boy based knock-off consoles, but potentially other consoles he reviewed like the Wireless Air 60 and SX-86 above.
** By March 2020, Rerez accidentally found the second [=SouljaGame=] Handheld in the '''X-7 Plus''' (and a more recently updated version of it named the '''X-12''') when covering the worst [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3LGlkTpVCQ Nintendo Switch knock-off(s) yet.]] The X-7 Plus specifically was modified to look like a Switch, only it doesn't have the split Joy-Con abilities like the Switch would; the X-12 was a little bigger, but not by much. However, they both hold similar designs to the Vita, including a right thumb stick that alternates as ''buttons'' for some reason, a poor camera that significantly delays audio and makes things fuzzy, and custom composite video output cables that are ridiculously short and easy to glitch out either system, especially the X-7 Plus. Weirdly enough, the X-7 Plus doesn't have their default SD cards working properly on the system, yet the X-12 can, and it somehow does it worse by comparison. Add all that with more emulation problems from both systems, including one game on the X-12 that somehow showed its debug screen ''upside-down,'' and you can see how absolutely worthless Soulja Boy's second gaming endeavors were.
* '''Tiger Electronics''':
** The '''UsefulNotes/RZone''', which manages the impressive feat of being a ShoddyKnockoffProduct of the UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy. The one thing it did have in its favor that the Virtual Boy didn't was that you could wear it on your head rather than having to use a stand. However, when you did put it on, you were treated to graphics ''worse than a UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch or even their prior handheld games'' (mostly due to the eye-searing "red on slightly darker red" color scheme) rendered about three inches in front of your right eye. Needless to say, this didn't produce anything even vaguely resembling virtual reality. Making this whole system even more ridiculous, there were no less than four different versions: the standard "headgear" version, a much larger tabletop variant, a traditional handheld version, and one which also incorporated an electronic organizer, all of which crashed and burned equally. Creator/StuartAshen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09so0ghPYG4 gives his take]] on the handheld version while WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u5dtBtG9yU&t=15m23s briefly analyzed]] the headgear version. Mark Bussler of WebVideo/ClassicGameRoom [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY_kGWMjJW8 also took a look at the system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_dN8ZwASXk the handheld version]], the former being so bad [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext it warped him to an alternate dimension.]] Poor WebVideo/Octav1usKitten [[https://youtu.be/fCnRupdj2RE had to play the headgear version upside-down]] due to being blind in their right eye, which the headgear was specifically molded for. They also covered the handheld version and the [[https://youtu.be/6HbJe3pv2S0 tabletop]] version. The commercials were [[Horrible/{{Advertising}} horrible in their own way]], since [[VeryFalseAdvertising they showed footage from the]] ''[[VeryFalseAdvertising arcade]]'' [[VeryFalseAdvertising versions of the R-Zone titles rather than the crude monochromatic blobs that passed for the system's graphics.]] When the AVGN [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5RzMmBaLOI released his video of the top ten worst video game consoles he had reviewed thus far]], he really did consider it the absolute worst console he had ever reviewed, and that console ended up beating some video game consoles that are also on this list. It also had the misfortune of spoiling a [[TheReveal dramatic reveal]] for ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' by revealing that Tommy was the White Ranger ''at least a month'' before "The White Light" aired via a freebie card in magazines.
** The '''UsefulNotes/GameCom'''[[note]]The dot is silent[[/note]] (The console's advertising is horrible in its own right; see its entry on [[Horrible/{{Advertising}} the Advertising subpage]] for more on it). It introduced the touch screen, Internet browsing, and the potential for online multiplayer (no game for this system used it for gameplay) a full seven years before the big names. [[AwesomeButImpractical Unfortunately, it just wasn't possible to do that well with 1997 technology.]] The device had to be tethered to a bulky modem and two expensive add-on cartridges if you wanted to use the Internet (text only, for fairly obvious reasons). Its Game Boy-grade CPU was crippled (by multiple culprits, one being the OS-mandated processing overhead) to the point of barely surpassing the UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch. The touchscreen didn't have a full percent of modern touchscreens' sensitivity, and suffered so much ghosting and smearing [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable that faster-paced games were virtually unplayable.]] You can actually see the touchscreen electrodes when you pick the thing up, [[ObviousBeta all 108 of them]]. Add a library of under 20 games, and you have an example of great idea, '''lousy''' execution. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbD2SP37s3o Here it is in action]], specifically the game ''Sonic Jam'' (which is not an actual port of [[VideoGame/SonicJam the Saturn game]] but merely a compilation of levels loosely based on some from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''). For some reason, there was a port of ''Franchise/MortalKombat Trilogy'', a sluggish and stripped-down version of the game that only included 13 of the characters of the console versions (and neither Scorpion nor Sub-Zero are one of them), and a limited pool of special attacks and [[FinishingMove finishers]] for each. [[Creator/StuartAshen Ashens]] reviewed this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tIBIny4L6E game system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWKfNqjjd2g several of its games]]. He was not merciful, nor was AVGN when he tore the thing to shreds in the [[https://youtu.be/_u5dtBtG9yU?t=777 Tiger Electronic Games episode]]. WebVideo/Octav1usKitten also reviewed the ''entire'' library in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jb631kam8Q this video]]. Rerez also reviewed the console and all of its games for their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F14pBxcu6yY "Worst Ever Series,"]] adding that several games on the console performed worse than comparable ports released around the same time on hardware that was made much earlier.
** Tiger made a last-ditch attempt to save the console with the '''Pocket Pro''' revision in 1999, which was somewhat smaller and had a ''much'' better backlit screen... but cut out the original model's internet connectivity and unique second cartridge slot. Unsurprisingly, it again flopped at retail, having been overshadowed by the technically superior UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor released a year earlier. Tiger would discontinue the Game.com line in 2000 and [[CreatorKiller never make another cartridge-based handheld system again.]]

[[folder:Other Video Game Consoles]]
* The '''Action Max''' [[VHSGame VHS Video Game Console]], created by Worlds of Wonder (the people behind the beloved Teddy Ruxpin as well as another game of gunning, Lazer Tag, as well as distribution for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem during its first year in the US) was a game system that used VHS tapes as the medium to play games - except that the system itself was not what played the tapes, but rather the user needed their own VCR to play them, while the system was used for recording scores and playing gun sound effects through its speaker. Using a light gun (or two for 2-player games), players would shoot at the screen. The gaming was strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy - players could not truly "lose" or "win" a game. This, along with the fact that the library of the system was composed entirely of light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, greatly limited the system's appeal and led to its quick downfall with a measly 5 games to its library. Ben Minnotte of the WebVideo/OddityArchive provides further history on the Action Max and attempts to play it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMHa49VbHU here]]. When [=TripleJump=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI-JPlKROUk ranked every home console (and accessory relating to said home console) from worst to best,]] the Action Max was ranked the third worst console released, with its console being considered the worst in terms of games held. [[note]]The only two "systems" that were ranked worst than that were the APF Imagination Machine for being very expensive for even 1979's standards, and the entire first generation of video gaming systems, which were hundreds of systems playing only Pong and noting only two consoles from that generation truly stood out in that era.[[/note]] The system's failure would also serve as one of the contributing factors for Creator/{{Nintendo}} canceling their partnership with Worlds of Wonder.
* The '''Advanced Game Player''' and '''Advanced Game Player 2''', whose names were obviously patterned on that of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. And never has there been anything more unworthy of such a title. Both had the same eight games, all of which were stored internally but required a different game card to access; the system came with four such cards, two games to a card, although these didn't even always work since you wouldn't always get the game you were ''trying'' to play (sometimes the console would load up a pair of games from ''another'' game card for some reason - this meant that as long as you were fine with whatever randomly came up you didn't really need the cards anyways). Of the four face buttons, only ''one'' actually gives the games any input, making it a bizarre nod to the Atari 2600 controller (the other three control volume, brightness, and the power switch which you could accidentally hit and shut off your game). The only good thing is that it's backlit, but the backlight works independently of the system itself so you can turn this on and use it as an ordinary handheld light. It's one of those systems that promises thousands of different games when it has only eight and the "different" games are merely variations on the difficulty and speed. To ''really'' ice this rancid cake, however, ''the control interface would flip over at random times.'' You can't make this stuff up - the directional buttons would randomly remap to the face buttons and vice versa. The games themselves were utter crap, including such gems as "Hit Brick" and "Fill Brick" and two "Car Racing" games [[UnInstallment which for some reason are both sequels with no original installment]]. This is the kind of thing grandparents who don't know anything about gaming buy for their grandkids, especially since the [=AGP2=] sort of looks like a [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] so it ''obviously'' must be one.
* The '''UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar CD'''. Its very existence is preposterous, given the Jaguar's low sales. The toilet bowl-shaped design was the least of its troubles - few machines even worked, and were nigh irreparable to boot. Only 15 games were made for it, none of which could outperform Music/DireStraits' "Money For Nothing" music video in terms of graphics. One of the developers of the ''Highlander'' tie-in game for the Jaguar CD revealed why: when they were making the game for it, they found out the hard way that the add-on was [[ObviousBeta clearly rushed out the door and was too buggy and resource-constrained]], to the extent that everything for it had to be coded ''by hand from scratch'' just to make a game on it. The massive failure of the Jaguar [[CreatorKiller permanently ended Atari's involvement in the video game console industry]] and relegated the company to a third-party software developer. America would not have a dedicated home-grown gaming console system for years to come until Microsoft debuted with the Xbox in 2001, finally putting America back onto the game console map again.
** [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Dr. Insano]], after struggling to get one to work, said:
--->[N]ot only is it prone to hardware failures, it's prone to about five different ways it can fail. It can fail if the CD device isn't perfectly set on the machine. It can fail if the contacts aren't clean. It can fail if the [=MemoryTrack=] cart isn't perfectly set, and it can easily fail because the laser itself or the motor mechanism are defective, and they often are, and in ''this'' case, it failed because the lid is so poorly designed that, when closed, it actually closes too tightly and mashes the CD against the inside of the drive, preventing it from spinning, and that could easily cause additional internal damage [...] And even when I did get it to work the Jaguar still froze all the time, and I do mean ''all the damn time''!
** Spoony himself later remarked that after spending three days getting the thing to work "the motor on the CD drive completely crapped out."
** It took [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe]] (in tandem with Richard Daluz, his repairman) ''three tries'' to get a salvageable, let alone working, unit. [[note]]([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fezuYstS0Q8 The third was presented as a DVD extra.]])[[/note]]
* The '''Game Master''' by German company Hartung, which was also released in the UK as the '''Systema 2000''', was a horrid knockoff of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy [[note]](three others were Watara's UsefulNotes/{{Supervision}}, Welback's Mega Duck {also known as the Cougar Boy}, and Bit Corporation's Gamate, which are the lesser of the four evils)[[/note]]. Of the two dozen or so games made for it, all of them are just poor-quality knockoffs of Game Boy games. The screen also had a very low framerate and was very blurry. Even though it had a dot matrix display, it has nowhere near the resolution as that of the Game Boy and only had a single color. The controls for most of the games are slippery and unresponsive (not helped by the lopsided D-Pad and buttons positioned at the bottom of the system, forcing the user to stretch their thumbs down there or pinch the system by the bottom and causing it to fall out of their hands) and the music in most games sounds like a random mess of beeps, or distorted classical tunes in some games. The packages for every game (at least the UK versions) were no better as they not only featured very cheesy art, but poorly-translated Chinese text describing every game's features and the carts merely crammed in plastic baggies together with said manuals. Here is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIl-g0ZVkA Ashens' look at the system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ekQFAVkb0 a handful of games for it.]]
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Gizmondo}}''' was only sold for just under a year in 2005-06, and it's not hard to see why. The system came in two variations, one costing $229 and the other $400. The difference? The cheaper model had ''commercials'' that would be downloaded onto the console and randomly played when accessing the home screen; mercifully, the ad servers never went online during the system's lifespan. For the cost of either model, you could've just bought a UsefulNotes/NintendoDS or UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and a few games. You would get a hell of a lot more value with either, since the Gizmondo only saw 14 games released -- only '''eight''' of which got released in North America -- none of which were really worth owning as they were either ports of games you could get on consoles or lackluster exclusive titles. Worse still, one of the most heavily-touted features of the Gizmondo, its built-in GPS, ''didn't work at all'' in the United States of America[[note]]Though it did work in the United Kingdom... for all of a few weeks before going down for good as well[[/note]]. All this before getting into the controversy surrounding Gizmondo Europe's links to the Swedish mafia, a wrecked Ferrari, the subsequent arrest of the company's director, and [[CreatorKiller the subsequent dissolution of manufacturer Tiger Telematics]] [[note]](not to be confused with Tiger Electronics of the aforementioned [=Game.com=] and R-Zone)[[/note]]. And as one last kicker to it, besides not just being the worst selling handheld system of all-time (at least until the debatable, [=IndieGogo=]-existent ZX Spectrum Vega+ came out), the Gizmondo is completely made out of a rubbery plastic to make it look more luxurious at the time than it really was, which makes the console feel more like a strange, sticky goo after a certain point of time, as Guru Larry notes [[https://youtu.be/41rivol-cxQ?t=450 here.]] Creator/JoshScorcher placed it not only as his third worst console of all-time (behind only the multimedia-focused consoles known as the Philips CD-i and the Pioneer [=LaserActive=] for how they both failed spectacularly), but also saw it as his worst handheld console ever [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5h3wUlOP8 here.]]
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{HyperScan}}''' from Creator/{{Mattel}}, a small console released in late 2006 and discontinued only months later the next year. Similar to the likes of the later ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'', ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' and Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s Toys/{{Amiibo}}, the console has a scanner where you use cards to scan in power-ups for the character you want to play in the game. However, unlike the aforementioned games with figures and amiibo, the scanning refuses to work properly, leaving one to constantly either swipe or hold the card in place on the scanner to get it to read. Moreover, the system is incredibly light with no rubber pads to keep the console on the table. The games (all '''five''' of them) have abysmal loading times and unimpressive graphics for its time, which explains why they only cost $20 at the time of release. Despite retailing at only $70, the [=HyperScan=] failed to please its children demographic and Mattel had to sink to '''$10''' to push its product ($2 for their video games) before folding it in 2007. The final results for it lead to only 10,000 total units sold, meaning only the Casio PV-1000 (which was in the Japanese market for only two months before being discontinued) and the above mentioned Commodore [=C64GS=] sold worse as stand-alone consoles by comparison. Even worse, most units had to be returned due to said issues with its scanner, as Jamie from [=AllTimeGaming=] mentions in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc-QAbIgQRc Guru Larry's Worst Selling Consoles video.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv2-M78m_qI Classic Game Room takes a better look at it here.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ODebhGtiHs The Angry Video Game Nerd also reviewed the console]] as a part of his 2014 Twelve Days of Shitsmas series, as well as looked in-depth at four of the games that were released there (the fifth, a ''Spider-Man'' game, was not reviewed because he couldn't get a hold of it) and notes that it had fewer titles released for it than the Virtual Boy, which he reviewed earlier and whose ShoddyKnockoffProduct, the R-Zone (which he also previously reviewed), is described below. Rerez also reviewed the console and all five of its games for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7DbE6UemM their "Worst Ever Series"]], adding that the console's disc drive and AV cables (which are ''hard-wired'' into the console) are prone to failure as well as the scanning component; taking ''four tries'' to get a working console, a personal record for the show.[[note]]A comment on the video adds that, due to the console's failure, all five games are functionally ''[[StillbornFranchise incomplete]]'' due to Mattel never releasing all of the cards, meaning that you could only get a 'complete' HyperScan experience if you were to hack the console, or even ''get an emulator''.[[/note]]
* The '''Interact'''[[note]]Also [=MyQi=], [=WiWi=], [=MiWi=], [=MiWi=] Xtra, [=MiWi=] 2, [=MiWi=] 360 Deluxe, Digitron, and [=iSport=][[/note]], the only gaming system ever put out by Intec, a company that specializes in accessories for most gaming systems. This system is not advertised on Intec's official website at all, and for good reason. It's a [[ShoddyKnockoff flimsy ripoff]] of the Wii with a suspiciously similar-looking console and controllers. Unlike the Wii, this system only sports graphics that would look bad on the SNES and only mono audio support. The games for it are all soulless copycats of other better games, and some of them even steal graphics from well-respected franchises like ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', and ''VideoGame/MetalSlug''. Whereas the Wii had plenty of games with poorly implemented motion controls, the Interact, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0-NdIcjmCE as ProJared explains,]] has "faked motion controls" - using certain peripherals are the same as pushing the A button.
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}}''' set Website/{{Kickstarter}} records at $8 million in a month, with promise of a developer-friendly, hackable gaming system where players could try ''any'' game for free before buying. It was expected to revolutionise gaming, until backers actually received it, revealing it to be a flop.[[note]]Though, in hindsight, the fact that the Ouya's E3 2013 booth was in a parking lot across the street should have been a bad omen.[[/note]] The system struggled to play ''smartphone games'', despite being an Android system in a console shell, and the Ouya Store was filled with shovelware from the start (with one game even being '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGvZ8tUKxts animated rain]]'''). The controller (which cost $50, half the system's price) had poor build quality, with the analog sticks wearing down after just weeks and buttons sticking down, along with a bad design choice in no dedicated Start button. The promise of all games having free demos was dropped a year in, and having a registered account and credit card info was required for use. In the end it flopped so hard that Ouya, Inc. had to sell itself to Razer to escape its massive debts, and was discontinued in 2015, barely two years after launch. When the servers were finally shut down in 2019, all consoles turned into paperweights because of [[UsefulNotes/DigitalRightsManagement always-online DRM]] attached to every single game. Thus, the Ouya, on top of everything else, became a cautionary tale in the history of UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTqhyHuKVKA CrowbCat chronicles everything that went horribly wrong with the console in this video.]] WebVideo/{{Rerez}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rNpkZa-vI4 also made a video covering the Ouya story as part of their "Worst Ever" series.]]
* If you thought the Playstation Classic was bad, you'll feel thankful that was what Sony did when compared to the '''P1 Mini Game Console'''. With this system, they only did the bare minimum to try and make it look like a Playstation Classic knockoff on the surface, and the controller that's given can break on you very easily with the cheap molding looking like it can crack apart at any time! Not that you would want to play it for very long, considering its instructions imply it can malfunction and melt on you if it's played for more than 5 hours at a time, with its games library only featuring '''8-bit NES quality games for what's supposed to be a Playstation Classic knockoff!''' And even though it does feature hundreds of games, you wouldn't want to play any of them on there, bootleg games or otherwise. Combine that with it being around in either 2019 or 2020 and ''still requiring old, standard definition quality'' to make it work, and you got something that makes Sony's blunder not feel so bad there by comparison. Rerez looked at the quality of this device properly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGG_Rtyrv-Y here.]]
* Released during their AudienceAlienatingEra in the mid-90s, the '''Apple UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}''' was Apple's attempt at entering the video game console market in collaboration with Bandai to hilariously bad results. It was a video game console that ran off of Mac OS 7 and was supposed to be a sort of hybrid between a video game console and a computer. Despite having superior CPU and memory to rivaling contemporary consoles, the Pippin lacked a dedicated graphics and sound processor. In addition, Mac OS 7 didn't actually come preloaded onto the system: In what was possibly a poorly thought-out attempt to future-proof the platform, the OS had to be included in the game CD and loaded into the system's memory at startup, thus leaving little memory for the actual game. These factors would prove to be the Pippin's own undoing. As a result, games ran slowly, often with [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading drawn-out load times]] to even [[ExaggeratedTrope load a new menu]] and inferior graphics to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation released the previous year or even the UsefulNotes/ThreeDO released ''three years earlier''. Only 13 games were released in America, with ''even less'' in Japan and Europe. Highlights include ''Racing Days'', which is best described as a watered-down ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' with poorer graphics, and ''Super VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' from Bungie (yes, the same Bungie of ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' fame), which is a port of ''Marathon'' and ''Marathon 2'' from the Apple Macintosh [[PortingDisaster except with worse graphics and a poorer framerate]], both succeeding in showcasing the technical shortcomings of the system. It retailed for $599, which was ridiculous considering the power of the system. What really killed it however, is that any game written for the Pippin can also run on the Macintosh, rendering the Pippin absolutely unnecessary. Despite high expectations from Bandai and $93 million spent in marketing, the Pippin flopped, selling only 48,000 units, making it the worst-selling video game console of the fifth generation, as well as the third worst-selling console of the 90s, behind the previously mentioned Commodore CDTV and the Pioneer [=LaserActive=]. Unsurprisingly, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he put the kibosh on the Pippin only a year after its release, and Apple stayed out of the video game industry until [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames the iPhone and its App Store were released]], something that took over a decade. PC World named it the 22nd worst tech product of all time in [[https://www.pcworld.com/article/125772/worst_products_ever.html?page=6 a 2006 article]].
* There are a number of [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct shoddy knockoff]] game systems regularly churned out by an unnamed company affectionately dubbed as simply '''"POP Station"'''. Why are they so bad? They're glorified UsefulNotes/{{Game And Watch}}es [[note]](specifically, they're clones of Casio handhelds from [[TheEighties the mid-1980s]], which were themselves knockoffs of the Game & Watch, making the POP Station a ripoff of a ripoff)[[/note]] masquerading as high-end electronics. The only good thing out of them have been the reviews by Creator/StuartAshen. Worse, they in themselves have their own knockoffs - and true to form, they're still [[SerialEscalation worse than the original]].
** Every "knockoff" system ever made, such as the '''Zone 40''' (a Wii knockoff) and '''Guitar Star''' (a ''Guitar Hero'' knockoff that you plug straight into your TV set). It plays horridly with fragile and often unresponsive or delayed controls, the charts don't match the songs at all, and the songs themselves are poor-quality MIDI files with ear-grating guitar soundfonts. Watch Clone Hero streamer Acai as he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eGfpaVGf_k rips through one of these systems]] and laughs at how utterly bad it is. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhHOaMXYXU4 Ashens reviewed a similar piece of hardware called "Guitar Fever"]], but no matter which name you call it, it still sucks.
** Special note goes to the infamous ''Laden Vs. USA'' made by the same people who make POP Stations. Yes, they (in this specific case, a company named Gao Ming [or the Panyu Gaoming Electronic Co.]) made a terrible UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch knockoff game based on one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in history. Watch [[Creator/StuartAshen Ashens]] review it and see the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNJM_Kamyg sheer disgust he has with its very existence become all but visible on video]].
* At a time when LCD games were being phased out and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor was about to be released, the ill-conceived '''Pro 200''', made by a company under the name [=ProTech=], was sold via mail order, and claimed to be a cheap alternative to all the other systems out on the market. The system was marketed as having 200 games, being a full-function calculator and featuring "state-of-the-art" computer chip technology. In reality, the system had only ''15'' games (the marketers got the 200 figure by counting each difficulty level as an individual game), most of which were ''Tetris'' ripoffs. The ones that weren't ''Tetris'' ripoffs were just as bad (for example; Frog-a-Long is just a poor man's ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'') due to the system's ridiculously small screen which had a tendency to fade when not looked at straight on, much like those cheap electronic toys one could find at a bargain bin. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4Zn5u4NQA The commercial advertising is even worse]], going as so far as to drop an SNES ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' cartridge into a trash can at the halfway point. Inexplicably, the Pro 200 continued to be advertised through newspaper ads with the same ad they made in ''1998'', and it's been bootlegged and cloned by even cheaper companies since its release.
* The '''RCA Studio II''' was a poorly-designed console even for its day. Released in January 1977 before the [[UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} Atari Video Computer System]] and shortly after the Fairchild Channel F, the RCA Studio II had some major flaws, likely due in part to being rushed through development in an attempt to beat the aforementioned competitors to the market. Despite having five built-in games, the console could only play games in black and white; it had internal speakers whose only sounds you could hear were repetitive beeps; the numeric keypad controllers were built directly into the console, forcing you to huddle up close to the screen just to use them; and the RF switch box was of a faulty design that supplied the signal to your TV set which, at the same time, gave you both video and ''DC power to the system''. [[https://youtu.be/FvT8jG1OVdI?t=270 Not even the AVGN could understand how that worked, having its only viable comparison being the Atari 5200 in terms of setting itself up.]] Only 15 games were released on the RCA Studio II, the five built-in games plus 10 cartridge-based games, despite that it was one of the first systems to use interchangeable cartridges. It only sold 53,000 to 64,000 copies per RCA's estimations and was discontinued in February 1978 due to poor Christmas sales. Watch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiBLeYE8tU this]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CB-JOzsUCw this review]]. Incidentally, Joyce Weisbacker, the daughter of the console's designer Joseph Weisbacker, wrote a couple of games for the Studio II, making her the first woman to develop a commercial video game.
-->'''Angry Video Game Nerd:''' Man, if there was ever an RCA Studio I, I'd hate to see it.
* Before the critically-acclaimed UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mini, there was the '''Sega Genesis Flashback'''. Created by [=AtGames=], it boasted 80 games installed right out of the box; in addition to a cartridge slot that accepts regular Genesis games. This ''sounds'' great on paper, but half of them were not legitimate Genesis titles; and were actually filler games made by [=AtGames=] themselves (or an outside contractor), which included generic math/puzzle games, shoddy knockoffs of arcade staples like ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'', or original ideas that were hastily thrown together. None of them are particularly fun to play, but what about the actual Genesis games? Games with any kind of unusual cartridge -- such as ''VideoGame/VirtuaRacing'', ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' and ''[[VideoGame/MicroMachines Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament]]'' -- flat-out [[GameBreakingBug don't work in the slot]], and even on the pre-loaded games, the emulation quality is horrid; especially the sound. The music for ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' alone sounds so depressing due to the botched music emulation, it makes the game feel like Dr. Eggman already won long before you even pressed Start. That might as well be the case, given that the console shipped with two tiny 6-button controllers that are extremely unresponsive -- due to being infrared, rather than the Bluetooth used by most modern wireless controllers -- and make playing even simple puzzle games more akin to pulling teeth. The controllers also interfere with each other when used simultaneously due to the aforementioned infrared setup[[note]]Since only one button input can be registered at a time, one controller will always end up taking priority over the other; when that happens, inputs on the other stay held down momentarily, rendering it nigh-on impossible to put in multiple inputs -- such as a special move in a fighting game -- quickly[[/note]], which basically makes co-op play on the system a fool's errand. Yes, there is the option to plug standard Genesis controllers into the unit, but not everybody has one lying around, especially in 2017. The console itself barely even looks like an actual Genesis console[[note]]If you squint your eyes, it ''almost'' looks like a Genesis 3[[/note]], and inexplicably, only supports mono composite to keep it as inexpensive as possible. With the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES Classic Edition]] being out a year before, the overall level of quality is inexcusable. Thankfully, Sega dropped [=AtGames=] after the poor reception of the Genesis Flashback and partnered with Creator/{{M2}} to develop both the Genesis Mini and its eventual sequel.
* The '''[[https://www.amazon.com/s?k=super+mini+sn-02&crid=3D2Z2DQ832ATY&sprefix=Super+SN-02%2Caps%2C166&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_11&tag=timeextension-20 Super Mini SN-02]]''' looks to be a ShoddyKnockoffProduct of the SNES Classic with "821 games", but it isn't even that. The console only has 8-bit NES games, and many of said "821 games" are just duplicates of each other, Chinese bootleg hacks, or stolen ROM hacks that were never made for a commercial use. And it is being sold in stores such as Amazon and Walmart. What gets even worse is that the console has '''''inappropriate nudity and racist content''''', [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids in a console ostensibly aimed at families]]. [[https://youtu.be/bjbvY6fKn3w Here]] is NBC News reporting on the bootleg and [[https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/03/nbc-reports-on-shocking-x-rated-snes-classic-mini-clone-available-on-amazon Time Extension]]'s article on the matter.
* The '''SX-86 Mini Games Console Entertainment System''', an obvious knock-off of the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES Classic]] but containing controllers modelled after those of the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}, has the usual suspects for a cheap bootleg game console (pirated games, poor controller design, bad sound emulation, etc.), but the emulator in use is problematic [[FromBadToWorse enough to increase the console's issues]] ''[[FromBadToWorse tenfold]]''. Containing numerous games for the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo (misspelled as the "Neo Ngo" in the system; also includes some of Capcom's arcade games for some reason), UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, the aforementioned SNES and [=PlayStation=] [[note]](only ''four'' [=PlayStation=] games are included, most of them [[NoExportForYou Japan-exclusive]]; of those, two of them run horrifically even by this system's standards (with one of those games originally being released for the Neo Geo anyway); the third, ''VideoGame/{{Romance of the Three Kingdoms|Koei}} VII'', is a Simplified Chinese FanTranslation; and the fourth, ''Ugetsu Kitan'', is an extremely niche and obscure horror AdventureGame about a terminally ill man being DrivenToSuicide and ending up having a pre-mortem fever dream involving Japanese ghost stories and a mysterious girl who warned him that he would die in discomfort {not that you'd know that unless you understand Japanese, preferably to the point where you can read all the jōyō kanji, or have an Android tablet or [=iPad=] with the Google Translate app handy})[[/note]], UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES/Famicom]], '''none of them''' work properly, bogged down with such issues like input lag, slower framerate, and graphical issues (worst of all is ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobin'' which is ''missing the background'', making the game near-impossible to play). And that's not all - the emulator itself lacks a proper "Start Game" function, a few of the functions are ultimately worthless (to specify, "Game Guide" brings up an error message and it has "Load Progress" despite the lack of a '''save''' function), and one must ''restart'' in order to play a game. Whereas most cheap knock-off consoles have the games built into the internal hardware, the SX-86 has the games on a ''[[NoBudget micro SD chip inside an adapter]]'', and the console itself faces errors even when starting up for the first time (including with the SD card reader), requiring one to shut off and restart multiple times until it works. It even manages to fail from a presentation standpoint, as while the NES, Genesis, and Neo Geo games are at least represented with mascots from their respective first-party franchises like Mario, Sonic, and Iori, the GBA option decides to use VideoGame/CrashBandicoot as its representative, while the combined SNES and [=PS1=] option bizarrely decides to steal promotional artwork from ''VideoGame/BlazblueCentralFiction'', a game from a series that came out ''generations'' after these systems were on the market. Shane Luis of ''WebVideo/{{Rerez}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH8JNqNrTHk takes a look at it]] and you can practically ''feel'' the confused anger he expresses. And just for an extra kicker, the refusal to reliably boot up continues past the initial setup, with the system oftentimes ''not even sending a signal to the TV''.
* The '''Creator/{{LJN|Toys}} UsefulNotes/VideoArt''' is widely considered by console collectors to be the worst console ever made. Whether it even falls within the traditional definition of a video game console is questionable, because it's just a drawing program. You can load in "activity cartridges" with "pages" of line art, but that was it. Even as a coloring software, it's horrible because of its stiff (borderline unresponsive), yet really squeaky controls and lack of a save function; a 50-cent coloring book and a set of crayons could provide a better experience. The console lacks a soundtrack of any sort, instead outputting white noise. See [=Gamester81=]'s review of it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4NsRAZy1MM here]], as well as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-zEhhTqdvg the AVGN's evisceration of it during the finale of his 2014 Twelve Days of Shitsmas series here]], with him not only agreeing that it's the worst video game console ever made, but found that ''the styrofoam that came with it gave him more interest than the actual console did.'' He even went so far as to say the boring NES coloring game ''Color a Dinosaur'' was better in comparison.
* The '''VIS''' (Video Information System) was released by Tandy at [=RadioShack=] stores in 1992. It was built in the footsteps of the Philips CD-I and Commodore's CDTV as yet another CD-ROM based "multimedia" device, and had PC-like hardware[[labelnote:Fun Fact]]It was the first home console to be based on the x86 architecture which would go onto be the standard for game consoles beginning with the [=PS4=] and Xbox One[[/labelnote]] with an already-outdated Intel 286 processor, and a "modular" version of Windows 3.1. The reason why the system flopped can be summed up as such: it was marketed as primarily being an edutainment device, and its lineup was mainly cheap interactive storybooks and ports of existing Windows and DOS software, such as the Compton's [=MultiMedia=] Encyclopedia (which was promoted in the console's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y73XriwHJxQ extremely cheesy promo video]] as being a KillerApp, as it was for multimedia [=PCs=] in general). The closest thing to a legitimate video game was ''Links'' golf - but it was already available on PC and Amiga too. With a launch price of $699 (around the same price as the similarly unsuccessful 3DO, which was a far more decent platform and had an above-average gaming library), it was too expensive for a game console, and one could spend a few hundred dollars more to get a ''real'' PC that could do everything the VIS could ''and then some''; thanks to poor customer reception, some [=RadioShack=] employees jokingly declared that the VIS was [[FunWithAcronyms "Virtually Impossible to Sell"]]. In early 1993, Tandy attempted to sell the VIS through mail-order catalogs at a lower price of $399, and re-branded it as a Memorex product. Eventually, Tandy gave up after only being able to sell 11,000 units. Chadtronic riffed on the video that Tandy advertised the VIS on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-F5zQz7RE0 here]] while also briefly looking into some of the console's faults along the way.
* The '''Zeebo''' was launched by [=TecToy=] in 2009 in Brazil, a country where legitimate console gaming was historically reserved only for the wealthy classes. It was created to try and capitalize on the country's growing middle class as an alternative to expensive consoles and the large bootlegging/piracy scene, but botched the attempt at every possible turn. Despite its marketing as a cheaper alternative, the console's launch-day price was still more expensive than ''one month's'' worth of salary for the average Brazilian family. The game library did little to justify this price, as most of it was simply ports of mobile games, stripped-down versions of games that gamers could find elsewhere, or just plain shovelware-quality titles.[[note]]The major culprit was Qualcomm's Brew OS, which was built for cell phones and not gaming systems. It turned out to be incredibly difficult and time-consuming to develop for, with even basic features like two simultaneous players requiring some serious programmming workarounds to achieve.[[/note]] Add other problems like a flimsy controller and [=TecToy=]'s financial issues, and it's not hard to see why the Zeebo only lasted for two years on the shelf before being discontinued, despite attempts to push into other markets as an edutainment system. Derek and Grace of ''WebVideo/StopSkeletonsFromFighting'' made an in-depth video on how the Zeebo was doomed from the start [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOSpJp4GCXk here.]]
* The '''ZX Spectrum Vega+''' surpassed the Ouya by some distance in terms of disastrous crowdfunded consoles. Based on being a handheld version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_Vega an earlier and fairly successful microconsole]] that came pre-loaded with 1,000 UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum titles and was [[ApprovalOfGod officially approved by Sinclair themselves]], it quickly ran into more-or-less constant TroubledProduction; to the point that by the time the console shipped out, the creators no longer had the rights to the vast majority of those games and lost their previous endorsements thanks to the sheer DevelopmentHell that went on behind the scenes. When the handheld finally showed up, at significantly under even the intended 400 units, it was in as barebones of a state as possible. Several of its most egregious problems were knockoff-grade build quality, no charging cord, faulty batteries, multiple ports that didn't work,[[note]]Most notoriously, the SD card slot was completely non-functional; meaning you couldn't add anything to it even if you wanted to, and in turn [[AllForNothing defeated the entire purpose of the system]] as an easy, portable way to play classic ZX Spectrum games.[[/note]] and the original 1,000 games cut down to 14 homebrew titles, which weren't even mapped correctly to the thing's controls at the base settings. Even the boxes they came in were plain cardboard haphazardly stuffed with crumpled paper, rather than actual packaging material. WebVideo/{{Guru Larry|AndWez}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9jOjlJXB0 declared,]] after tooling around with a few, that it was more useful as a ''knife'' than a gaming device; given its oddly sharp edges that could cut through things [[MyLittlePanzer frighteningly well]]. Daniel Ibbertson of ''[=KickScammers=]'' also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkvOlE8qDB0 made a monstrous 82-minute video]] that discussed in-depth the complete insanity that went on behind the scenes of this console's confirmation and long-awaited existence... and even ''that'' isn’t the end of the story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Accessories and other Hardware]]
!!Accessories
From controllers that cost you fights against [[ZeroEffortBoss Zero-Effort Bosses]] to unusable alternative displays to potential console brickers, some accessories are best avoided.
* The '''Creator/{{Sega}} Activator''' was created during the first big push by video game companies to make virtual reality games (at least a full decade before the UsefulNotes/OculusRift and [=PlayStation=] VR made VR gaming viable). Designed as an octagon set on the floor, this special controller could let players play games with their body, ostensibly letting you enter the game you're playing. In practice, it was awkward and exhausting: each side of the octagon correlated with D-Pad directions and the Genesis controller's face buttons, and the game was controlled by moving one's arms and legs over the infrared sensors on the octagon, and much like the Power Glove described below, only a small handful of games were made to support the Activator: ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'', and ''VideoGame/ComixZone'' (and even then, they didn't support it very well). Trying to play other games with it was an exercise in exhaustion and futility. All this, combined with the need for perfectly level ceilings (ceiling fans and vaulted ceilings would interfere with the sensors), the need for its own power supply, and an $80 asking price, made it a very hard sell. The one upside is that the technology for the Activator was later used and improved by Sega for a Japan-exclusive arcade game: the deluxe version of ''Anime/DragonBallZ: V.R.V.S.''
* The '''[=AirStrike=] Drum Kit''' was created for use with VideoGame/PowerGigRiseOfTheSixString (see the [[Horrible/VideoGameGenerationsSeventhOnwards 7th gen folder]] for details on that game), with the main gimmick being that instead of drum kits for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, it instead uses sensors placed where the pads would be and you drum over them, which makes it quieter compared to a standard one. However, during the actual game, it barely worked at all, with the sensors being incredibly spotty at actually picking up any drum hits, making it nearly impossible to play it like a regular drum kit. It could be alleviated by adding a stand to it, but it actually decreases the range of the sensors according to the game itself, so it's not much help there either way. On top of that, the drum sticks have to be held in a specific position so that the sensors on the bottom can be picked up by the sensors on the "pads", which makes it hard to pull off any somewhat complex patterns and drum rolls. The whole contraption also requires ''6'' AA batteries (two for each drum stick and two for the pads themselves), and an Xbox Dashboard update in 2012 broke the functionality of the pads, making an achievement requiring the use of it [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable unachievable.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUU2itPSZ6M This video]] goes into more detail on the pads and how they (barely) work in-game.
* Around 1992, Camerica "released"[[note]]It is unclear if it was ever officially released at all, as no advertisements of the device exist in any known store catalogues around the period. If it was released, it was likely in very small quantities as many retailers were unwilling to stock Camerica products at this point in time due to the company's rocky relationship with retailers. Most stock you see today came from liquidation sales of Camerica's then-unsold inventory that started around 1996.[[/note]] the '''Aladdin Deck Enhancer''' on the world. This device was intended as an add-on to the venerable NES, but failed to add any positives. In what was likely an attempt to sell the device to parents who refused to upgrade to the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo, it was advertised on the box as a memory expansion (similar to the later Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak), claiming to add 64KB of RAM to the machine. In reality it only added 8KB of VRAM that served the same purpose as the CHR-ROM chip[[note]]The ROM chip on an NES cartridge that contains graphics data for the graphics chip to directly access[[/note]] found on many mainstream commercial NES titles so it didn't make any meaningful difference. What this really served as was a dongle for lower-cost proprietary cartridges by Camerica, only eight of which were released and the only one that was any good having been released as a standard cartridge prior (most of the others were, too). Its method to circumvent the 10NES lockout chip is known to fry top-loader NES systems, and only works on the original front-loader as a result (though not even that is guaranteed), being very hard for clone systems to replicate. The system was never given a full release and rapidly faded into obscurity until the likes of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eG-PSZU5MI the Gaming Historian]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnnf42BQTfo&t= Angry Video Game Nerd picked it up.]]
* The '''dance pads''' bundled with ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution DVD Game'' are unique: they don't register your inputs ''at all'' because the game has the players voting on each others' performances instead of actually scoring them. They also tend to slide around during gameplay, so they're not even good for very casual players. kkclue talks about it briefly in [[https://youtu.be/AttTFpKn0zQ?t=651 his rundown of various DDR controllers]].
* Creator/{{Mattel}} and PAX's '''Power Glove''', an NES accessory made famous by its appearance in ''Film/TheWizard'' and hyped by no less than ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', would theoretically allow the player to control the game using one hand. It was meant to be a big thing, but ended up a barely-functional piece of garbage. It cost more than an NES console and was nearly unusable. There were only two games released with programming ''specifically'' for the Power Glove, although three others were planned - the infamous ''VideoGame/BadStreetBrawler'' and ''Super Glove Ball''. There was a method intended to make the Power Glove work with other games via a keypad and punched-in combination, but even then it controlled at best like a drunk on a unicycle. These days, it's best known as a recurring {{motif}} in WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, being famously eviscerated in [[http://cinemassacre.com/2006/11/22/the-power-glove/ his 14th video]] back in 2006 and featuring in later videos, as well as being frequently associated with the character in FanArt and Fan Games.
* The [=VictorMaxx=] '''Virtual Reality Stuntmaster''', a large set of goggles that can plug into an SNES or Genesis and play games in front of the user's eyes. The box also boasted a "motion sensor", which supposedly reacts when the user turns his/her head. Whilst having a slightly better design with a headband rather than the Virtual Boy's stand, the thing's size and weight put serious discomfort on the user's nose. However, getting it to work presents the biggest problem: there were no instructions in the box (though it did have a bizarre joke résumé) and the wiring system was a complete mess. When you finally get it working, you are treated to a horribly muddy Game Gear-like display that seriously hurts the eyes. And the "motion sensor" promised on the box? It was a ripcord-like stick you clip onto your shirt and plug into the device, that shifts the display a little when the ripcord runs along a sensor. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy373DpKGAE James Rolfe and Mike Matei]] take a look at it and they both agree that it makes the Virtual Boy look good by comparison.

!!Miscellaneous
The stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else, but is still awful enough to note.

* The large '''long box jewel cases''' for US Sega CD games are ''reviled'' among collectors and retro gamers for being extremely fragile, often cracking or breaking with very little use, and shattering outright if not stored ''very'' carefully. The depth of the case was problematic as well, as discs would not stay held in their slots, necessitating a packed-in foam sponge to hold the disc in place and keep it from rattling around inside the case, and since this sponge was held in place by the case lid, that was even more stress on an already fragile piece of plastic. American Sega Saturn collectors don't get off any easier, as those same cases were reused for Saturn games. [[AuthorsSavingThrow Sony, on the other hand quickly abandoned their own badly designed long box casing]] (either long-box jewel cases like for CD-based Sega console games or black plastic cases with cardboard or paper box art simply glued on, which was prone to falling off) after the [=PS1's=] first year in favor of standard-size jewel cases with many early hits for the system being re-issued in this format while Sega stuck with long boxes until the Dreamcast era. It's common to see lots of unbroken Sega CD/Saturn cases go for big bucks, and one of the most demanded aftermarket products by collectors is replacement Sega CD jewel cases. Even more insulting is that Japan and Europe got the superior flat square jewel cases while [[BadExportForYou the Americas got the long box cases.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:Covers]]
While video game box art [[CoversAlwaysLie isn't always indicative of the game itself]], the truth is that first impressions in marketing ''do'' matter, and if a terrible cover doesn't turn potential players away outright, then it will certainly linger in their minds as they play the game.
* The ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Bust-A-Move]]'' series (known as ''Puzzle Bobble'' in Japan) has had a long run with AmericanKirbyIsHardcore, right down to the NonIndicativeTitle used for international releases. While the games themselves are untouched, being just as [[{{Kawaiiko}} cutesy]] as the original Japanese games, the cover art was not reflective of the game, with disastrous results:
** [[https://twitter.com/boxartscrewup/status/784934349732847616 The North American cover art]] for UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and UsefulNotes/PlayStation ports of '''''Bust-A-Move 2''''' shows human faces trapped in bubbles yawning widely, with their eyelids propped open using matchsticks. The tagline on the bottom of the cover art reads "So addictive, it should be illegal!" Only, the picture in the layout is more suggestive of [[AndIMustScream inhumane torture]] than the extreme tiredness. The entire image was copied directly from adverts used to hawk this game in magazines, with no further adjustments. As a cover meant to sell the game to children, it failed horribly. Unsurprisingly, Acclaim wised up and used the same cover art for all international releases of ''Bust-A-Move '99'' and ''4'', but would nonetheless repeat this mistake with...
** [[https://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/scblog/tcp/2003/07/04/super-bust-a-move-video-game-review The North American cover art]] for '''''Super Bust-A-Move'''''. While not as unintentionally disturbing as the above, it's much more obnoxious, with an ExtremeCloseUp of a baby in sunglasses blowing a bubble and the title of the game scribbled on their head. Even with the more surreal direction of the game's art style, the cover [[CoversAlwaysLie doesn't reflect the nature of the game]], and the only connection to the game it has is through the reflection in the baby's glasses. Both of these covers rank #7 on [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110626053745/http://archive.gamespy.com/top10/january03/covers/index2.shtml Gamespy.com's "Top 10 Worst Covers"]].[[note]]The other covers are closer to SoBadItsGood or NarmCharm.[[/note]]
* The [[https://cdn.mobygames.com/covers/6213731-chuckie-egg-ii-front-cover.jpg home computer port cover]] of '''''[[VideoGame/ChuckieEgg Chuckie Egg 2]]''''' has gained notoriety in recent years for the ''incredibly'' gross-looking character on it, which can best be described as if VideoGame/{{Dizzy}} took a deep dive into the UnintentionalUncannyValley. The {{Cephalothorax}} egg character has overly-long limbs, strangely-placed facial features that are needlessly organic-looking (especially the lips, hairy eyebrows and stretched, overly-shadowed eyes), and an overly-detailed skin tone (particularly on the limbs/forehead) that makes it look like [[FanDisservice it's jumping around naked]]. Creator/StuartAshen talks about it at length in his Norwich Games Festival [[https://youtu.be/wFF9O73iwko?t=1007 Gallery Of Shame,]] reserving special criticism for its [[CoversAlwaysLie inaccuracy]][[note]]Since you don't actually play as an egg of any sort in this game; you're actually a little hat-clad man named Henhouse Harry, who's gathering the ingredients to make chocolate eggs.[[/note]] and the [[AccidentalNightmareFuel disturbing layout and amount of detail]] on the egg character.
-->'''Ashens:''' The game's not quite as good as ''Chuckie Egg 1'', but it did '''not''' deserve whatever the hell this is!
* [[http://stevenpayneuca.blogspot.com/2011/11/environment-inspiration-behind-icos.html The North American cover art]] for '''''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'''''. In contrast to the [[MinimalisticCoverArt Giorgio de Chirico-inspired box art]] of the Japanese and European versions, the North American box art uses a more generic layout: the [[RaceLift race-lifted]] Ico brandishing his wooden sword in the foreground; a faded head shot of Yorda staring off blankly in the intermediate space behind Ico; and the windmill standing inconspicuously in the background, making awkward use of negative space. It failed to incite emotion, reflect the [[ArtGame artistic]], [[{{Minimalism}} minimalistic]] style of the game, or [[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/last-guardian-game-named-for-us-europe-kobayashi give American players a reason to play the game]]. While it was assumed to be [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore a misguided attempt to appeal to the tastes of American audiences]], it was actually the result of a fixed deadline for the North American release, as the cover used for the other versions wasn't available in time for the game's release. Thankfully, the UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 (bundled with ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'') used the original art across all regions.
* [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--zO5tXm8W--/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18j4h07j5si6njpg.jpg The European cover art for]] '''''[[Film/{{Juon}} Ju-on: The Grudge Haunted House Simulator]]''''', which doesn't show what the game's about, but rather [[ThisLoserIsYou how the player is expected to react]]: a woman crouching behind a chair, with eyes wide in fear. Not only does this scene have no relation to the ''Ju-on'' franchise, but it doesn't convey the game's atmosphere at all, being brightly lit in contrast to the dark, derelict environments within the game. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20191022211511/https://youchew.net/forum/73-hall-of-fame/38611-cornybadunintentionally-hilarious-box-art/15.html One comment]] on the now-defunct [=YouChew=] forums compares this to a ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' installment using "a greasy 12 year old screaming at a TV, surrounded by empty cans of energy drinks" for its cover. As if the cover wasn't bad enough on its own merits to warrant being listed on this page, Creator/JimSterling [[https://www.destructoid.com/ju-on-s-sh-tty-european-box-art-147625.phtml brought up]] another [[FridgeHorror disturbing possibility]]: that parents would have likely bought this for their children expecting DefangedHorrors from the playful cover, when in fact they were going to expose them to ghoulish scares intended for adults.
* The [[https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/megamanbox.jpg North American cover art]] for '''''VideoGame/MegaMan1''''' is one of the most oft-cited examples of the worst cover art in the history of video games. Here, Mega Man is depicted as a dopey-looking middle-aged man in [[WTHCostumingDepartment an atrocious blue-and-yellow costume]] that only vaguely resembles the character in the games, and he is set against a hilariously bad 80's-tastic backdrop. Even the [[http://ringsandcoins.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mega-Man-EU-Art.jpg European box art]] is more faithful (if [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore considerably more actionized]]). In the decades since, Capcom would develop a self-depricating sense of humor regarding the box art, creating intentionally cheesy homages to it for the release of ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', as well as including the "Bad Box Art" version of Mega Man as a playable character in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', where he is depicted as a ButtMonkey[[note]]The timing of Mega Man's inclusion in the game, which followed the simultaneous cancellation of multiple ''Mega Man'' games such as the highly anticipated and demanded ''Mega Man Legends 3'', wound up coming off as an insult to many fans, even though his inclusion was decided well in advance of the cancellations that precipitated the beginning of Capcom's AudienceAlienatingEra[[/note]]. In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', the "Bad Box Art" version appears again as a line of action figures in a toy store.
* While Creator/PhoenixGames are known for their awful movies put in video games and other awful video games of their own accord, no box art of theirs is more infamous than that of '''''[[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmU1ZGU3YmYtYTcyNS00ODRjLWJjZDgtM2JkZjczOWJlODE5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc5NzE0MzE@._V1_.jpg Snow White and the Seven Clever Boys]].''''' Instead of using the better-looking models from their "movie" (who, by the way, look nothing like the characters on the cover), Phoenix Games created custom 3D models of Snow White, Queen Grimhilde's witch disguise, and four of the seven dwarfs as they appear in [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs the Disney classic]], to [[{{Mockbuster}} trick unknowing consumers]]. What makes it stand out, however, is the fact that the designs for every character suffer from one of the most horrific cases of [[UnintentionalUncannyValley Uncanny Valley]] ever, with most of the characters looking directly at the camera and the models being extremely low quality. The designs combined with the atmosphere of the box art showcases a weird MoodDissonance on display. When WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} covered this game, he noted that there was so much wrong with the box art that it was more interesting than the game itself. Meanwhile, the WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdfFiUM10FU talks about how much of a nightmare this cover really is,]] joking that the game's rating means it needs only three more souls to consume.
[[/folder]]

!!Companies and Developers

One wonders how these companies managed to release multiple games period, never mind multiple irredeemably terrible ones.

[[folder:A-C]]
* '''Active Enterprises''' is best known for creating ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'', a compilation of 52 abysmal-quality "games" for the NES that cost $200 at the time of its release. In his review, WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4QBeADNM34 calculated]] that each of the 52 games would cost around $4[[note]]In 1991, the average NES game cost around $40 (and games for the just-released SNES were $60-80), making the $200 price tag for ''Action 52'' a bargain in theory[[/note]]. However, the games are so poor-quality that they are barely worth downloading for free. Some of the common issues among the games were repetitive music that was annoying and graphics that made many of the games hard to play and hard to look at. There is inconsistent difficulty among the games (some were extremely difficult, while others were simple) and obtuse controls. The games are riddled with glitches and bugs because the developers had no time to playtest any of them; graphics are occasionally scrambled, you can survive pitfalls in most platformers by repeatedly attacking, ''Chill Out''[='=]s music has an inconsistent tempo due to lag, ''Lollipop'''s music [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHMOorKpIKM completely and hopelessly]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMvgAuoK_Dc&t=151 breaks on the last level]], and game crashes are common. In the case of two games, they may not even load at all - trying to play them at all on some cartridges causes the game to crash, making even the title of this compilation questionable. The game's cartridge is so poorly manufactured that it produces a burning plastic smell if played for extended periods. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo rejected the game after being submitted, so it was sold unofficially through magazine advertising. Active Enterprises not only expected to profit off this game collection, they also had plans to make one of the games (''[[TeenageMutantSamuraiWombats Cheetahmen]]'', a very poorly-made side-scrolling BeatEmUp) into a CashCowFranchise like ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', including a line of action figures and a Saturday-morning cartoon. If you want to know why this was such a trainwreck, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLpEn0wmMrk miiyouandmii2's video]] details this compilation's troubled history.
** '''''Micro Mike''''' is considered to be the worst of the bunch, being almost unplayable. It has only three stages, but with claustrophobic level design and poor enemy placements, combined with the player character's fast movement, [[OneHitPointWonder dying in only one hit]], and bullets being able to appear behind the player during boss fights, tool assistance is practically required to beat it.
** '''''Meong''''' is barebones even when compared to the other games: The only goal is to navigate an "A-52" icon across a featureless tile puzzle to the end screen. The problem is that several of these tiles are traps, which only reveal themselves after a few seconds of standing (the result being that as you move, you'll often appear to die to nothing) - ''but standing still on the same tile will also kill you inexplicably''. So the way to beat the game involves shuffling back and forth, waiting to see where the traps are before proceeding.
** '''''Hambo's Adventures''''' is a VideoGame/DonkeyKong inspired game that gives you one life, with any margin for error relying on 1-ups. That wouldn't be so bad if the titular porker wasn't a OneHitPointWonder and/or the enemy placement was set, but as it is, the game is entirely too reliant on luck. As WebVideo/StuartAshen has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA3WogFaeFQ demonstrated]], you can game over in ''[[PressStartToGameOver less than half a second]]''. Judging by the babyish music and the anthropomorphic main character, and the lack of any indication that it's a {{Deconstruction}}, it appears to be intended for very young children; if that's the case, Active Enterprises seriously misjudged the skill and patience of the target audience, as FakeDifficulty is frustrating enough for an adult, let alone the poor kid whose ignorant, inattentive parents wouldn't let them rent a vaguely competent game until they got their money's worth out of the rental.
** '''''Cheetahmen 2''''', the unreleased sequel, was programmed into cartridges while [[ObviousBeta still unfinished]] (presumably they were prototypes). It had the same clunky ''Action 52'' jumping, waves of nigh-undodgeable GoddamnedBats and DemonicSpiders, the inability to crouch or shoot while jumping, and a [[GameBreakingBug game-breaking glitch]] which makes Level 4 unbeatable. Even if you use a ''UsefulNotes/GameGenie'' or hacked ROM (or you do what the AVGN did and slightly tilt the cartridge a little bit) to skip to the last two levels, there's NoEnding programmed. People like [[WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Vinny]] also noted that in the NES ''Cheetahmen'' game for ''Action 52'', if you go down a certain hole that takes you to a "Level 9" (which is just a room that holds a 1-Up and an exit in either direction) and then go to the right door, it takes you to a [[MinusWorld "Level 10"]] that's unplayable thanks to a GameBreakingBug. It's likely a thing that was originally cut due to strict deadlines, but to Vinny it was the first time he ever saw a game [[KillScreen corrupt itself]].
** While Active Enteprises ultimately went bust before they could release ''Cheetahmen 2'', the company and the title would see an unlikely resurrection two decades later with '''''Cheetahmen 2: The Lost Levels''''', which was touted as a remake that was "broken, but now complete" -- all the {{Game Breaking Bug}}s were allegedly ironed out. And its Website/{{Kickstarter}} campaign got it a big budget for an indie game. Wanna guess how many bugs they fixed from the original ''Cheetahmen''? None of them. You can still die by jumping and survive bottomless pits. All they did was ''add'' more bugs, which now [[GameBreakingBug make the game completely unplayable]].
* '''Arcane Raise''' is a "company" that downright ''abuses'' the ease-of-use of various GameMaker programs to churn out games with as little effort as possible. All their games have been removed from Steam, except for the first ''Arcane Raise'' game to showcase how low-effort their products are.
** The '''''Arcane Raise''''' series, made using UsefulNotes/RPGMaker, is a shining example of how to not use the engine. The store description promises "a hardcore game created through passion and dedication", but it's anything but that; the graphics, music, and sound effects are stock assets, the plot and characterization (when they even exist) [[ExcusePlot are weak]], the RandomEncounters are overly frequent, and combat is bland and unbalanced, especially when you can get money effortlessly to kit out your characters quickly. The games also features zero-effort achievements (completing the tutorial grants you access to a long hallway that grants one achievement for each tile) to appeal to lazy achievement hunters who only care about having as many achievements as possible or spelling funny messages in their achievement showcases. The games' worst sin, however, is that it sells ''characters and items'' as separate DLC that are more expensive than the base game, just to squeeze more money out of people unfortunate enough to buy these games. Given that many far superior titles are available for free elsewhere, there is no reason to buy these. Watch a video of it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB0dkRU7cQc here]].
** '''''Glitch Simulator 2018''''' is probably the first time where a game is horrible for ''not'' being an ObviousBeta. The title and Steam description suggest that it's a game deliberately filled with [[GoodBadBugs glitches that must be exploited to win]], which may sound like an interesting premise, but [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot the game doesn't deliver on that promise at all]] - instead, what you get is an extremely generic FirstPersonShooter made using the "Game Guru" engine, using only the default assets said engine comes with. The game contains a single map filled with a few zombies and assassins that you can kill with a small selection of bland weapons, and a handful of buildings that cannot be entered. See gameplay and criticism [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVnF0PSOa2g here]]. The game had so little effort put into it that the person who made the linked video recreated the entire game in only 12 minutes and [[https://iampattyjack.itch.io/smorsh-simulator-2018 distributed it for free]]. Also in the series are ''Suicide Simulator'' and ''ISIS Simulator'', which are similar FPS games with offensive premises shoehorned in solely to get a couple of extra sales from the morbidly curious.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQfotGHpG0M ZAMBI 2 KIL]]''''' represents everything that can go wrong with RPG Maker games: stock graphics and sound, no story whatsoever beyond "Kill the Zambis", and drawn-out, mindless combat make for one stinker of a game. Although your heroes have a few special moves, many of them are [[UselessUsefulSpell completely useless]]: characters can buff magic defense, inflict [[AntiMagic silence]] or a StatusBuffDispel, and cast various elemental spells, which means nothing, as there's only one enemy type who only uses basic physical attacks. Currency and the item and equipment menus are also pointless, as there are no shops or treasure chests in the game's single map. The StylisticSuck might have been worth a few chuckles if the game was free, but slapping a price tag on it makes it come off as nothing more than an insulting cash grab instead. There's also DownloadableContent that costs 10 times the price of the main game and supposedly does nothing but double the number of enemies.
* '''Atlantean Interactive Games''' was a short-lived publisher that only released a few games, most of which were not well-received.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AzlvErlF8 Catfight]]'''''[='s=] sole redeeming quality was featuring an all-female cast in a FightingGame (although, contrary to what its developers claimed on the game box, it wasn't the first - there were two [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] fighting games with an all-female roster: ''Pretty Fighter'' for the Super Famicom and its UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn follow-up ''Pretty Fighter X''). Never mind that the controls didn't work, the game (for the PC only) ran at a framerate measurable in the single digits, the voice recording and acting are both garbage, and [[ArtificialStupidity the AI didn't know how to do anything but block]].
** '''''Island Peril''''' (not to be confused with ''Isle of the Dead''), a 1995 FirstPersonShooter developed for MS-DOS, is a shoddy, sleazy, and buggy ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' clone that goes as far as to steal sprites from ''Doom''; what isn't stolen is a wildly inconsistent mix of digitized actors and ugly MS Paint-like art. The basic gameplay is seriously harmed by control issues, with slippery and inconsistent player movement along with an archaic control scheme that cannot be rebound to different keys. Saving the game only saves what level you are currently on; you restart the level from scratch when you load a save, which is a serious issue when the game is prone to crashing. Other technical issues include enemies [[ArtificialStupidity regularly walking into death traps]], the player phasing out of the level boundaries, or being unable to hit enemies while aiming up or down. FMV cutscenes occasionally play during the game, most of which are bad attempts at humor that indulge in island stereotypes and sexual innuendo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the only game that developer Electric Fantasies released. WebVideo/{{Brutalmoose}} did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmte0t2tb1g review]] of the game, and WebVideo/Civvie11 offers a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJKBM661tYw deeper dive]] into its faults.
** '''''Mirage''''', developed by The Dream Designers and released for the PC in 1995 (a [=3DO=] port was planned, but never released) is ostensibly a point-and-click adventure game about one Lieutenant Shooter searching for his kidnapped wife, Jenny, in a surreal distortion of the Old West. "Ostensibly", because in practice it's an obtuse, incoherent mess. You see, ''Mirage'' is an adaptation of a 1994 pornographic film, ''Shame'' (itself well-regarded within erotica circles), but very little effort was made to actually translate (the non-adult parts of) the plot--what you get instead is a series of bizarre scenes that are almost wholly disconnected from one another, puzzles and item locations that [[GuideDangIt require you to be clairvoyant]], and low-rez clips from ''Shame'' that barely work as a narrative in the context of ''Mirage''. The game is notorious for numerous cheap deaths, for actions such as lingering in the wrong room, picking up every note you find like you're supposed to and got the one that ends with the villain shooting you, and looking at a wanted poster. Between that and the complete lack of direction, ''Mirage'' is a fever dream of the worst sort. The Obscuritory [[https://obscuritory.com/multimedia/mirage/ has a review]] that goes over its issues in more detail; it also [[https://www.twitch.tv/videos/760914399?filter=highlights&sort=time stumped Stuart Ashen so badly]] that he needed a walkthrough to complete it.
* '''Blast! Entertainment''' was a joint-venture between Mastertronic Group in the United Kingdom and Disky Communications in the Netherlands. They exclusively focused on publishing licensed games based on movies, cartoons, TV shows, etc. for absurdly low prices. While not all of the contract developers they hired were awful, all of the games those companies did for Blast were, which is why people should thank Sony for making sure those titles were exclusive to Europe. All the below games (and many others made by the same company) were covered by Vinny from WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} on his Shovelware Showcase [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ3R-PTZSiI here.]]
** Their '''''Film/BeverlyHillsCop''''' game is a completely failed attempt at an FPS with generic and dull environments, stiff animations, sloppy shooting mechanics, lack of voice acting, countless glitches, and everything is covered in graphics and sound so dated that they're practically ancient (despite being released in '''2006'''). The stealth segments are damn near impossible due to a combination of detection leading to an instant Game Over and enemies capable of seeing you from a mile away. In addition, the developers not only couldn't afford Creator/EddieMurphy's likeness (Axel Foley is now a ''bald white man'' who looks closer to Creator/BruceWillis than Eddie Murphy), and ironically with Blast's titles only being released in PAL regions, and not the US, where the real-world Beverly Hills ''isn't''. The only decent thing is the music, which does a good job emulating the feel of a Harold Faltermeyer song...but even then there's very little of it, with most levels having no music at all. The developers, Atomic Planet Entertainment, would later develop another horrible FPS called ''Daemon Summoner'', which suffers from all the same problems as this game. Watch Vinny of WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} play it as part of his Shovelware Showcase (and losing it) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ3R-PTZSiI&t=1126s here.]] He later completed the game in its entirety [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GDeYygHIJg here]] as his last incentive for Vinesauce's 2018 PCRF Charity streams. Everything is covered in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGsDnGqs2HA this two-part video]], though Giant Bomb takes a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYZI-24Fc8 few swings at it]] as well.
** '''''Series/LittleBritain: The Video Game''''', which was hailed by many UK critics as the worst game on the [=PS2=], is a compilation of a few awful mini-games which were blatant ripoffs at best and pointless at worst. Anything you need to know about it is summed up nicely [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkCaT19JJCc by Tennings]]. WebVideo/CallMeKevin suffers for his art [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u07LxEkC9Y here]] before giving up at the second level. On top of all this, one of said mini-games, centered around the character of Dafydd ("the only gay in the village"), got the game indexed by Germany's [=BPjM=][[note]]''Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien'', or Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons[[/note]] and thus effectively [[BannedInChina banned there]] due to its homophobic overtones[[note]]Ironically, Dafydd's actor Matt Lucas [[OffendingTheCreatorsOwn is himself gay]].[[/note]].
--->'''Kevin:''' I lived through [=GirlsGoGames=].com, but I can't live through this! This is what will defeat me!
** Their version of '''Film/HomeAlone''' for the [=PS2=] has very unintuitive gameplay, horribly outdated graphics that make the game look like it came out on the Nintendo 64, very repetitive level design, and [[InNameOnly an extremely loose connection]] with the film. WebVideo/JonTron took a look at it in his ''Home Alone'' video game journey [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrUrQi3po8k#t=875 here.]] In fact, the Angry Video Game Nerd refused to even [[FanonDiscontinuity acknowledge it]] in his 2018 Christmas special (where he reviewed all the other ''Home Alone'' games alongside Creator/MacaulayCulkin himself) not because it sucked, but because it was just ''that'' disjointed from the classic duology and outdated (it was released in 2006, four years after the ContinuityReboot fourth movie).
** One rather strange situation had Blast collaborate with Data Design Interactive (as seen below) to create '''''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''''' game. Released in 2007 for the [=PlayStation=] 2 only to Europe (ironically enough), Australia, and New Zealand, the game features a mishmash of other styles of video games that loosely connect to the story at hand, all of which were reskinned from DDI's other titles. The first level (and bonus level) has Fievel running around in a bubble with ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall''-styled controls (taken from the game ''Habitrail Hampster Ball''), only done in a more nauseating manner that could make even the most stable of gamers feel sick to their stomachs just looking at it in action. The game's other levels don't help matters much either, varying from too easy to way too hard in almost random intervals, and with the option to skip levels you could beat the game in around 40 minutes if you wanted to, like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yDkuCykTl0 Vinny did in his stream.]] Combine that with only three total cutscenes lifted directly from the movie, none of which include the ending with Fievel reuniting with his family properly, and you can see why had WebVideo/FoldingIdeas not talked about it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--SXFB7m6mk here,]] this game would have been best left forgotten as well.
** '''''[[WesternAnimation/CaspertheFriendlyGhost Casper]] and The Ghostly Trio''''' is yet another collaboration between Blast and Data Design Interactive, and is a reskin of DDI's other platforming games like ''Ninjabread Man'' and ''Anubis II'', complete with the same faults: horrible graphics, boring and repetitive gameplay and incredibly stiff camera.
** Data Design also created a game based on '''''WesternAnimation/CaspersScareSchool''''', which is just a MissionPackSequel to ''Casper and The Ghostly Trio'', and runs on the same game engine. The only difference is the style of gameplay, where the missions involve collecting items before the time runs out and racing against other characters, neither of which are particularly fun or well made, due to the poor controls. LetsPlay/ProtonJon sees just how terrible it gets in a Fortune Cookie stream [[https://youtu.be/xgMN_hTvNCY?t=9818 here.]]
* '''The Code Monkeys''' was a company known for collaborating with Creator/DingoPictures to release games centered around Dingo Pictures films (exclusively for UsefulNotes/PlayStation). These games were nothing more than a mediocre activity center with puzzles and paint programs involved [[note]]The company constantly recycles the base for their games[[/note]], as well as watching the film they were based on. Normally, companies who make these type of games would not be here because most of them aren't horrible, but what made them so notorious is the fact that Dingo Pictures makes [[TheMockbuster shoddy knockoffs of more successful movies]], and they have their own spot on the [[Horrible/AnimatedFilms Animated Films subpage]]. Go look them up on Website/YouTube and witness them[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uukwhK9hcWA for yourself]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKZQb-jH-7A Caddicarus took a look at]] '''''Dalmatians 3''''', and he considers it the worst game he's ever played, even worse than ''Coronation Street: The Mystery of the Missing Hotpot Recipe''. It's not hard to see why, either: The game takes every notorious aspect of shovelware and somehow ratchets it up to new levels of horrible. The box art is meant to look like part of Disney's ''101 Dalmatians'' series, but features characters who [[LadyNotAppearingInThisGame never show up in the game at all]]. Instead, the main feature is a 45-minute video that is so badly written, animated, and voiced that it makes the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Zelda CD-i trilogy]] look good in comparison. The rest of the game consists of mind-numbingly easy minigames without an ounce of creativity in them. To top it all off, the game is so poorly coded that it takes quite a while to load even ''the language-selection screen'', and it spins so fast inside a [=PS2=] that the game can never play again if left on for too long. If you're wondering, "too long" in this case more-or-less refers to watching the entire movie.. There have been reported cases of [=PS2=] consoles stopped working upon attempting to play one of their games. To quote a [=YouTube=] comment:
--->''"I actually own Animal Soccer World and let me tell you it's a piece of shit. We actually had to get a new [=PS2=] because of it - our first one stopped working after I played it for the first time."''
** '''''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsSkateboarding''''': A third-rate knockoff of the ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' games. The game has terrible controls, with the spin command sometimes being ignored and grinds being ridiculously easy. Even with full upgrades, the boards are difficult to maneuver and move ridiculously slow. Not helping is the lack of special tricks beyond basic ones. The game also suffers from poor level design, with amateur blocky designs and unappealing graphics throughout each map. In a few cases, certain areas, such as bodies of water and power plant workers, go completely untextured. The characters themselves, while staying true to the show, have uncanny proportions that often result in the joints between their limbs being visible. The game also suffers from a vast amount of WelcomeToCorneria in part of various [=NPCs=], some of whom ''don't even have lines'', as well as Kent Brockman saying the same few lines after performing tricks. Caddicarus gives the game a bashing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ak2ssG56q0 here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFfx7kWPLU&t=3177s here]], and Square Eyed Jak suffers through the whole experience [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUeTD-XpDGM here]]. It was also ranked as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGrUzorWXn4 the second worst Simpsons game of all time]] by Triple Jump, behind only the just as awful The Simpsons Wrestling. Nightbane Games (a [=YouTuber=] best known for playing ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'' mods) has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fgs6D7AGjo&list=PLY_P7Yg5jqMHG-5lvQiEOa0ptNVUE78Mr a playthrough of the game]] pointing out some of the worst aspects. Particularly, he ended up rage-quitting for a few months after playing through Krustylu Studios, due to an objective that involves performing tricks in front of cameras placed ridiculously far away from each other in four minutes.
** '''''Shrek: Treasure Hunt''''': A minigame collection with horrible graphics, repetitive music, awful controls, and mediocre-at-best minigames. This game got a bashing from WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}}' sister, Professor Juice, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT-7nfwMl3A here,]] before getting cut in half by Caddy himself when [[https://youtu.be/ec-9WnQQiLw?t=455 talking about the weird, off-putting world of Dreamworks video games]].
%%* '''[[Creator/WisdomTree Color Dreams]]''' was an infamous and prolific developer of unlicensed NES games. Many of their beat-'em-ups share the same gameplay with unresponsive controls, near-zero attack range, etc. They eventually changed their name to Bunch Games ''because'' of the poor reputation of their games, and later on became a Christian company known as Wisdom Tree. However, it should be noted that while they had some of their best-selling games as Wisdom Tree (mostly because they took advantage of the loophole involving Nintendo refusing to supply licensed games to stores that sold pirated or unlicensed versions of their games by mainly selling their games in bookstores where most other forms of Christian media were sold at the time) and was the ''only'' company to have a working unlicensed SNES game (but in a weird manner involving plugging a secondary, official cartridge into it)[[note]]It's been speculated that Nintendo decided not to pursue legal action against Wisdom Tree (unlike every other company that tried getting around Nintendo's restrictions) because any money gained in a judgement still wasn't worth the trouble of (theoretically) pissing off the [[Main/ChurchMilitant sort of people that would make noise about it]]. It's also been theorized that Wisdom Tree might have actually ''helped'' sales of the NES console itself, as you obviously needed one to play the games[[/note]], they no longer sell video games in their current market and are no longer associated with Color Dreams. Wisdom Tree put some of their NES games up on the site as playable Java games. If you want to take a dive in their infamy, [[http://www.wisdomtreegames.com/arcade.html help yourself]]. (The ''Zelda'' clone ''VideoGame/SpiritualWarfare'' is actually not too bad, if you don't want to waste time clicking - it has a mention on the [[SoBadItsGood/VideoGames So Bad It's Good: Video Games]] page.)

[[folder:D]]

* '''[[Creator/DataDesignInteractive Data Design Interactive]]''' used to be a fairly decent, if polarizing, company and unlike many companies, they have their own engine, GODS[[note]]Game Oriented Development System[[/note]], the first version of it dating all the way back to 1990. However, from 2005 onwards they got a reputation as an infamous shovelware developer whose games were released on the Wii in North America, with very few differences between them. Watch WebVideo/{{Rerez}} chronicle and analyze the company's shallow cash grab practices in a special episode of "Just Bad Games" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSstGmk6D58 here]]. WebVideo/ScottTheWoz also dedicated [[https://youtu.be/cHOxQdzoews a special Christmas episode]] to the company and its downfall.
** '''''VideoGame/NickelodeonPartyBlast'''''. While most of Nickelodeon's games are {{Cult Classic}}s for the ages, this party game is ''not''. On top of having rather poor UsefulNotes/Nintendo64-level graphics for the systems it was on (Xbox and [=GameCube=]; a [=PS2=] port was planned, but cancelled), LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading, and almost no voice acting whatsoever (aside from host WesternAnimation/CatDog) beyond generic grunting sounds from the eight playable characters, the minigames feature terrible controls, boring gameplay, annoying sound effects ([[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound which are bound to be playing constantly during the game]]), and are [[ItsEasySoItSucks painfully easy to win]]. WebVideo/PeanutButterGamer ([[https://youtu.be/i8VTZEsPOD0?t=12m42s who placed this game 3rd on his "Top 10 Worst Party Games" list]]) demonstrates a food fight minigame where he won all of the rounds (except a boss fight) [[WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing by hardly doing anything]]. Watch Brandon of Cartoon Review rip this game to shreds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_BFYIEMmMk here.]]
** '''''Action [[XtremeKoolLetterz Girlz]] Racing''''', one of DDI's several half-hearted racing games. No sense of speed, floaty controls and physics that wouldn't pass muster in a Flash game, terrible level design that only spotlights the awful driving mechanics, misleading item/power-up placement (some levels have items placed in dead-end pathways branching off the track seemingly just to waste the player's time), and a forced TotallyRadical attitude. [=NeverChris=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8auuVFT1S0 said]] that pandering garbage like this is the reason why girls are stereotyped as not liking video games. It was only the third game in IGN's history to get a rating of less than 1.0 (it got a 0.8), and was called [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/02/12/action-girlz-racing-review the worst game of 2008.]] WebVideo/PeanutButterGamer called this the second-worst game ever released on the Wii in his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=607fNJgz1xo Top Ten WORST Wii Games]] video (being beaten only by ''VideoGame/NinjabreadMan'', also by Data Design), and WebVideo/SpaceHamster was inclined to agree when he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfetddIgrJw played the game with PBG]] on their gameplay channel PB And Jeff.
** DDI attempted to remake ''VideoGame/{{Zool}}'', but lost the license. DDI recycled the prototypes into five separate {{Obvious Beta}}s with different visual themes but the same gameplay and level design: '''''Ninjabread Man''''', '''''Anubis II''''', '''''Myth Makers: Trixie in Toyland''''', '''''Rock and Roll Adventures''''', and '''''Casper and The Ghostly Trio''''' [[note]](which was only released on [=PlayStation=] 2 {while the others had Wii versions} by the aforementioned Blast! Entertainment)[[/note]]. All of them share the same issues: ugly graphics even for the early Wii era, chugging framerate despite this, shallow gameplay amounting to little more than repetitions of "collect eight things," a host of bugs and glitches (to the point that it's actually possible to skip large sections of the game by jumping out of bounds), motion controls that barely function, HitboxDissonance out the whazoo, and very little actual content, usually consisting of a handful of levels that can be beaten in five minutes and no story whatsoever.
** '''''Billy the Wizard: Rocket Broomstick Racing''''' (originally unsubtly titled '''''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Barry Hatter and the Sorcerer's Broomstick]]'''''), is an atrocious attempt at a "flight racer" with poor controls, with the Wii version being nigh-unplayable due to being entirely motion-controlled. Said motion controls are implemented in the most baffling way: you adjust your flight direction by tilting the Nunchuck controller, which only has a rudimentary motion sensor, while you attack by waving the Wiimote, which has more precise motion detection that would've been better for movement (said precision also means that your attacks often fail to register if you aren't spot-on with your motion). Every single level is actually the exact same [[Franchise/HarryPotter Hogwarts]] lookalike with ''VideoGame/Superman64''-esque rings positioned slightly differently. The AI is nonexistent, as the NPC racers all move along the same predetermined path, and the tutorial fails to teach the player anything [[note]](you have to get Billy to fly down a rectangular corridor toward a round goal, with no instruction other than that)[[/note]]. On top of all the other problems it has, it recycles music from ''Ninjabread Man'' (which was released in 2005 while ''Billy'' was first released in 2006) which, while not terrible music, is ''not'' appropriate for either game. [=PeanutButterGamer=] played this game alongside other shovelware Wii games in a Twitch stream (highlights from his playthrough of it can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE4IJiCTfHY here]]), and found it so bad on so many levels that he felt that he needed to go back to his Top Ten Worst Wii Games list and put it above the aforementioned ''Action Girlz Racing''.
** The ''Tonka'' {{Licensed Game}}s from the late 90s have a small CultClassic status from people who fondly recalled playing them as young children, but '''''Tonka Space Station,''''' released in 2000 for PC and the [=PlayStation=], tells a different tale. While the visuals are pretty decent for the time, the metagame suffers a drastic case of UncertainAudience, way too complicated for the game's target audience to understand, yet wrapped in minigames that would quickly bore anyone older than seven. Despite being billed for "ages 5 and up", the game proper is a strategy game in which you have to play minigames to raise very nondescript bar graphs up as high as you can, an element that is given zero explanation anywhere outside the game manual, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids behind walls and walls of text no 5-year-old should reasonably be expected to comprehend.]] And while the expectation is that the player is ''supposed'' to play an equal balance of all the games to raise the graphs high, the reality is because you also have to deal with resources that drain very quickly and can only be recovered in two of the eight minigames, you will be playing those two to kingdom come while the others only get played once or twice. The end goal of the game is to rank all the way up, which requires superfluous amounts of LevelGrinding inexcusable for a children's game, and you can be ''demoted'' if you don't do well enough (and heaven help you if the "Boss Module" mission appears, because your rank may go down even if you ''complete'' said mission), which is a very strange design choice for a Tonka game. IGN gave the game a 3/10, calling it "a prime model for what's wrong with kid's games", with most user scores being similarly critical.
* '''Delta 4 Interactive''' ([=D4i=]) was a British development house that mainly developed [[InteractiveFiction text-adventure games]] for home computers. In TheNineties however, with publisher '''On-Line Entertainment''', they created some particularly terrible point-and-click adventure games that were only available for the short-lived Commodore UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} CDTV and Microsoft DOS.
** '''''VideoGame/TheTownWithNoName''''' was released on Amiga's CDTV platform as well as the Amiga [=CD32=] and has been described by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd as "like ''Plumbers Don't Wear Ties'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfnNrISCFfk but worse]]." While the hideous graphics and animation that resemble a particularly crappy early-2000s Flash cartoon combined with the similarly wretched (and sometimes drowned out by hilariously tinny-sounding music) voice acting qualify as SoBadItsGood, the gameplay itself consists of little more than navigating menus and clicking on points of interest at intermittent points (with most of the things you can do in those buildings being completely inconsequential, since you need only enter and exit buildings to progress the [[ExcusePlot minimalist and craptastic story]]). Plot progression is based on winning duels against bandits, with one bandit requiring you to [[GuideDangIt play cards against him, beat him, then shoot him before he can shoot you, none of which is made readily apparent.]] There are no save points or checkpoints at all; if you die, you have to start over from the very beginning, making the game an absolute nightmare to play through, and is frankly not worth enduring [[JustHereForGodzilla even for the hilariously awful cutscenes.]] Delta 4 Interactive folded not long after this game's release, and the game's developers [[CreatorBacklash regret making it]]. You can watch how messed up it is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8hubG7IUbM#t=153s right here.]] [=Retsupurae=] also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8QzQp57oI tore the game apart.]] Interestingly, WebVideo/BrutalMoose would have considered this SoBadItsGood instead if it weren't for the fact that it can be very tedious as well with one-hit kills that make you start over at the very start of the game, as displayed in his review [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3qVbbzElJI here]].
** '''''VideoGame/PsychoKiller''''' (not to be confused with the Music/TalkingHeads song of the same name) is a point-and-click horror adventure where you "move" by clicking on three arrow keys on the bottom-left side of the screen. While ''The Town With No Name'' had comedy to lessen the horrible effect, this takes itself seriously with a boring and annoying British monologuer, terrible sounds, gameplay that has you wandering aimlessly until something happens, and poor-quality filtered pictures and scenes (which, admittedly, isn't ''as'' insane as ''VisualNovel/PlumbersDontWearTies'') that don't even take up the entire disk memory. [[note]](''Psycho Killer'' takes up about 74 MB of space. ''The Town With No Name'' in comparison takes up 422 MB.)[[/note]] Sure, there might not have been enough memory needed in 1992 for some companies to truly take advantage of CD technology, but other companies at least ''tried'' to fill the disc up to at least 100 MB of content. It especially doesn't help that in the review WebVideo/BrutalMoose did for the DOS version, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hCI7J0Hsek he completed the game in nine minutes and nine seconds, 5:23 of which involved him being stuck on loading screens.]] It fails as a horror game because there's no atmosphere to keep gameplay tense (and the aforementioned load times certainly do not help), the player character monologues everything in a [[DullSurprise flat, uninterested voice]], and the killer just flat out isn't scary. Indeed, death scenes either involve him running towards you like a cartoon character or him spouting a terrible one-liner in his faux-[[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] voice as he has you cornered. A sequel was planned but never materialized due to Delta 4 Interactive closing its doors. Like ''VideoGame/TheTownWithNoName'', ''Psycho Killer'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4XZXJE20-k also received the Retsupurae treatment.]]
** '''''Chaos in Andromeda: Eyes of the Eagle''''' is an even more obscure game by the same publisher (though unlike the previous two, [=D4i=] had nothing to do with this one). While it's a "full blown" cRPG unlike the two aforementioned games, it suffers a lot from poor development foresight with unintuitive mechanics, GuideDangIt moments galore, a party system which is useless since all the party members you can acquire are {{Action Bomb}}s which you have to control ''manually'' even out of combat (meaning you will move four times slower with a full party), and a ton of ways to make the game [[UnwinnableByDesign impossible]], including a fascinatingly bad ''reverse'' BeefGate that prevents you from backtracking and getting items you would need to proceed but left in a previous area. See a review by the cRPG Addict [[http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2017/10/chaos-in-andromeda-summary-and-rating.html here]].
* '''Digital Homicide Studios''' [[note]](also known by aliases Imminent Uprising, ECC Games {for "Every Click Counts"}, Game Portal Publishing, Micro Strategic Game Design, and Loot Toot Games)[[/note]] was an indie studio run by two brothers, James and Robert Romine, notorious for flooding the Steam store with low-quality games containing assets that were either cobbled together from a Unity template or plagiarized from other games. The studio also had [[CantTakeCriticism a hostile attitude toward any sort of criticism]], attempting to sue [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] [[http://www.destructoid.com/indie-developer-digital-homicide-sues-jim-sterling-349283.phtml for almost $11 million]] over their highly-negative video of ''The Slaughtering Grounds''. They later tried to sue about 100 other Steam users critical of their products for ''$18 million'' (evidence [[https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/19146067/Romine_v_Unknown_Party_et_al here]]), [[https://www.vg247.com/2016/09/16/digital-homicide-suing-steam-users-and-subpoenaes-valve-for-their-personal-details/ even attempting to subpoena Valve for the defendants' personal details]], which [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor resulted in]] [[http://www.pcinvasion.com/valve-removes-every-digital-homicide-title-steam Valve cutting ties with them and delisting all of their games]]. Jim Sterling [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS-LXvhy1Do described the entire legal debacle]] in a February 2017 ''Jimquisition'' video. They would return on Itch in 2020 as Digital Homicide Uncensored, leading to Sterling putting out [[https://youtu.be/O7hy44PZZX4 yet another video]].
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6s0Wpn1zmU The Slaughtering Grounds]]''''', the game that drew Sterling's attention in the first place, was an abysmal 2014 zombie FPS with numerous bugs such as a plane flying ''sideways'' (with sound desynced, to boot), a hugely inconsistent and ugly ([[http://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/2l2yww/the_slaughtering_grounds_using_stolen_art_and/ and sometimes stolen]]) art style with both mummies ''and'' zombies in the same vicinity for no adequately explained reason, intensely irritating looped music, and inexplicable design decisions like picking up ammo only replenishing your currently equipped gun. The game's provision of ammo is also stingy at best, which can leave you helpless against a conga line of zombies that you can't outrun. When the game was first released, the first official screenshot on the Steam page was of Digital Homicide's release page for the game on Steam, with an arrow pointing to a resubmission reason that one of them had filled in, revealing that they knowingly released the game in an unfinished state without the Early Access program.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt_WOMUYaoc Temper Tantrum]]''''' was a game in which [[ExcusePlot Little Johnny destroys the interior of his house]] over [[DisproportionateRetribution being sent to bed]]. The graphics are eye-searing, the enemies don't belong in the same universe as Johnny or the interiors (because, predictably, the assets are stolen), the controls are terrible, the camera swings around and clips through walls because you can't control it, the music sounds like something out of a Popcorn Arcade game, and destroying multiple objects results in the [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound same annoying sound effect over and over again]]. The duo went on to release ''Temper Tantrum 2'', which is the same thing but with one or two new levels at most, with none of the flaws corrected.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_SqRRcoco Paranormal Psychosis]]''''': For starters, the graphics look terrible, the text in the controls list and the mission information have typos, and walking speed is tremendously slow with no sprint option. No ammo counter or even a proper HUD is supplied, so there is no way to know how many bullets are left unless the player counted the total bullets in a previous playthrough and are counting the bullets used in the current playthrough. Upon each death, the player is sent back to the start, with no ability to save the game; this allows the werewolf that spawns nearby to spawncamp the player if they are unlucky enough to attract the werewolf to the spawn point. The game is rife with clipping issues. Finally, the game has annoying critters that jump on the player's screen many times during play.
%%** Using the label '''ECC Games''' (for "Every Click Counts"), they created '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x4NWJgBuyQ Devil's Share]]''''' and '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvXTV5F8DTA Galactic Hitman]]''''' to a similar standard of "quality" as their prior releases. They eventually [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160408213728/https://www.thejimquisition.com/digital-homicide-and-the-case-of-the-sockpuppet-developers/ got sued]] by a Polish mobile developer with the same name, which was understandably peeved that their name was being tarnished by a shovelware developer that they had nothing to do with.
* '''disfact''''s early ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fangames (which were actually sold for money, unlike most fangames) were not up to snuff:
** '''''Resurrection of Heaven's Liquor'''''. Enemy fire is an afterthought at best--a damning flaw for a BulletHell shooter, let alone one based on the franchise most famous for them. The music (especially Stage 1) isn't up to anybody's standards, much less [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Zun's]]. Its characters are broken and have worse artwork than even the first few games; one of them (Aya, if you're wondering) is both a playable character ''and'' the final boss. And you originally had to pay ¥300 for it, when much better fangames were available for free (disfact did later release it for free on [[http://disfact.com/freetoho.html the developer's site]]). Its lone saving grace is the inclusion of the original games' Extra Bosses as player characters and including [[spoiler:the vengeful spirit Mima]][[note]]Spoiler-tagged due to being a surprise character in the main games[[/note]] as an Extra Boss. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsBbvq31gdU Here's]] a complete LetsPlay, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsBbvq31gdU here's]] a member of the Maidens of the Kaleidoscope forum suffering through it.
** '''''Astronomical Few Minute''''' is a slight improvement -- the characters are no long broken. But most of its predecessor's flaws are still there, like the bad music and questionable firing patterns. On top of that, the two playable characters (Eirin and Utsuho) only get three stages each. While they do have different routes, only the bosses differ -- the stages themselves are the same. And for some reason, in the final stage you'll face Aya (again) and whichever playable character you didn't choose. This one cost ¥500 before being RereleasedForFree.
* '''Dragon Co.''' was a Chinese developer who mostly developed games for hire from the Famicom and Mega Drive, and most of their games fit this trope quite well:
** Starting with their Famicom titles, their '''''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat game''''' was a PortingDisaster of the Hudson Soft game of the same name, which was released on the same console six years earlier. The physics are shoddily programmed, the controls are poor and choppy, the story makes no sense, and the music is a beepy mess. It's also worth noting that all of their Famicom games use the same engine.
%%** One of their games '''''Wait and See!''''' appears to be based on the Russian cartoon ''[[Animation/NuPogodi Nu, Pogodi!]]'' but features Bugs Bunny on the title screen for no discernible reason. The levels are badly designed, with the second one being nearly impossible without save states.
%%** '''''[[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry Tom & Jerry 3]]''''' is yet another awful platformer based on a cartoon. The only notable feature about this one is that it features Tom smoking weed on the title screen.
%%** They made '''''two games based off WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}''''', marketed as the third and fifth installments in the series. While the former is standard Dragon Co. rubbish, the latter is notable for having a soundtrack that qualifies for SugarWiki/SoCoolItsAwesome while at the same time having [[NightmareFuel Simba commit suicide on the game over screen]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuSgevd1EwY Watch here.]]
%%** As stated above, they also made games for the Mega Drive. One of them is '''''Iraq War 2003''''', which is a really boring lightgun shooter without the lightgun. One of the sound effects is stolen from Powerpoint, and there's no way to avoid enemy fire.

[[folder:H-L]]
* In the late 90s, Creator/{{Activision}} had a subsidiary called '''Head Games'''. They released several games under the "Extreme" label (including two sequels to ''Extreme Paintbrawl'') that were simply horrible.
** According to a letter to the editors of ''PC Gamer''-- (which gave it 6%, the worst score up to that time), '''the original ''Extreme Paintbrawl''''' was produced in two weeks on a rushed schedule. Among many other mistakes, it has one of the worst examples of TheComputerIsACheatingBastard that one could ever find. What's funny about this is that it was originally shipped '''[[ObviousBeta without any AI at all.]]''' If you wanted to play against any bots that would do anything more than run into a wall, then you had to download the patch when it came out a month later. As for [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL28mNz0JaMv5HAcMwJJoUApP-Pug8lR6G the music]]--specifically and particularly the complete chaos that is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li5mXnHyg9w Track 6]]--Website/YouTube commenters have described it roughly as power metal for people with ADHD, or a better fit for a game called "EXTREME BARNYARD BRUTALITY 3000" — though, that particular track may come across as SoBadItsGood to some.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjMSegm4r0 Extreme Boards & Blades]]''''' is considered by WebVideo/LazyGameReviews to be the worst game he has ever played, worse than ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. It has unusable controls, awful graphics, an annoying soundtrack laughably described as {{ska}} and a few barebones game modes. It gets nothing right, not even the cover which misspells its sponsor (Mountain Dew) in the description while the logo is ''right above it''.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRGbCknq8Y Extreme Wintersports]]''''' is a truly unplayable mess. It suffers from most of the same flaws as ''Boards and Blades'', except replace the boards and blades with skis, snowmobiles and snowboards, add in bland voiceovers, in conjunction with terrible framerate that WebVideo/LazyGameReviews (who [[{{Corpsing}} broke into a laughing fit]] when he first played the game and noticed the abysmal framerate before cranking down the graphics options to make it somewhat more playable) described as "being measured in seconds per frame", even on high-end hardware of the time. To top it all off, most, if not all of the game's assets were plagiarized from ''Snow Wave Avalanche'', which came out a year prior. Despite coming out a year after that game and adding in snowmobiles and skiing, the game runs far worse than its "predecessor" and feels like an ObviousBeta.
%%** The games are so bad that IGN poked fun at them with their reviews, like these ones for '''''[[http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/27/extreme-tennis Extreme Tennis]]''''' and '''''[[http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/05/05/extreme-rodeo Extreme Rodeo]]'''''.
* '''Killjoy Games''' is a developer of only two of the worst games Steam ever had to offer. As WebVideo/DarkLordJadow1 put it, “There has never existed a more accurate name for a company!”
** '''''VideoGame/AirControl''''' (the Steam one, not the [=iOS=] one) was supposedly a flight simulator where the player switches between the pilot and the flight attendant. It's easily one of the most buggy, unstable, and unfinished pieces of software on this ''entire site''. Instructions overlap each other, buttons often have to be clicked multiple times to register, the mouse cursor and first-person camera are both run at the same time (resulting in your character waving his head around as you try and close out of dialogue boxes)... the list goes on. It's so lazily programmed that at one point the game tells you how to work around a bug, ''in-game''. The game somehow forgets to clear global variables when you exit to the main menu, which means if you try and switch from "casual" to "realistic" mid-session ''the game will crash and you have to force quit from the task manager!'' The developers responded to negative reviews pointing out how often the game crashes with single-sentence [[NeverMyFault rebuttals]] like "Your computer isn't strong enough." And to top it all off, almost all the art assets are stolen without credit, up to and including a safety instruction video from a real-life airline company! It's so bad, it was "rewarded" with Gamespot's [[http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/air-control-review/1900-6415776/ third-ever 1/10 score]]. ''Air Control'' was considered so abysmal that many believed its existence to be a satirical joke, a deliberately unplayable trainwreck created to demonstrate how easy it can be to deceive people foolish enough to not preview video games via video before making the decision to buy them. WebVideo/{{Markiplier}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7UwKGWc7gI suffered through it]], WebVideo/DarkLordJadow1 had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAio9PltTO0 more than a few things to say about it]], and [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] also talks about it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7i2TgdFXsg here.]]
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqXwGBjMs Zen Fish Sim]]''''' follows in the footsteps of the aforementioned ''Air Control'' by being irredeemably broken in all aspects. The "gameplay" merely consists of advancing through extremely linear levels (which have no collision detection with the scenery), and getting booted back to the main menu at the end. Said main menu also doubles as the main way of experiencing the game's {{narm}}-filled and poorly-written story (one scene shows fish ''[[WaterIsAir burning]]'' to death). Add to this copyrighted music used without permission, [[ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology tons of factual innacuracies]] when one of the game's selling points is "you can learn about the wide variety of the creatures of the ocean" (one level is a gallery of different marine creatures, and clicking on the "sperm whale" button brings up a sea urchin), and a $10 asking price, and you have one of the worst things to come to Steam ever... well, "had", since [[http://steamcommunity.com/app/321310/discussions/0/613936673556689499/ the publisher yanked the game from the service]] almost as quickly as it spawned.
* '''Lightning Games Studios''' is a Brazilian indie studio disguised as a Japanese indie studio. It makes games using stolen assets and with no attention to gameplay at all. Much of their library is prominently credited to a mysterious man called '''Gilson B. Pontes'''; it is currently unknown if he is real or a pseudonym, but it's fairly telling when one game's opening sequence has ''[[CopiouslyCreditedCreator over ten individual credits for him]].'' The flaws are so consistent between games that [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] eventually coined the term "Gilsonlike" to describe them.
** '''''Solbrain: Knight of Darkness''''' (no relation to the CultClassic tokusatsu series ''Series/TokkyuuShireiSolbrain'') is a horrible third-person hack-and-slash game made by Lightning Games Studios ''before'' Gilson B. Pontes splattered his name everywhere on their games where you can only wander aimlessly around a barren landscape and fight waves of enemies, with no dialogue or character interaction whatsoever. If you can bear the pain of playing through it, you have to go through the whole game in one sitting, as there's no save function. [[https://kotaku.com/sony-promotes-indie-game-full-of-seemingly-ripped-off-a-1785750140 This Kotaku article]] notes that not only does ''Solbrain'' consist of enough asset thievery to rival ''VideoGame/LimboOfTheLost'', but the same developer had previously released multiple shovelware games on the short-lived [=PlayStation=] Mobile platform (for PS Vita and Android), with all of the same problems as the [=PS4=] release. Cornshaq was one of the very few people who were unfortunate enough to play this game before its removal, and he without question thought it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAbrgSMEfJQ 2016's worst video game.]]
** '''''Spear of Destiny: The Kaiseki''''' (not to be confused with the [[VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein3D}} Wolfenstein game]]), the first Lightning Games Studios release to (copiously) credit Gilson B. Pontes, is even worse, consisting of trudging through a faux WideOpenSandbox to gather a series of relics in search of the titular Spear of Destiny. The game's interface and mechanics are very reminiscent of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', but poorly balanced - blocking doesn't work as intended, and the basic enemies take out large chunks of health with a single hit. You also have no way to heal, so eventually the combat will whittle down your health to nothing, and the lack of mid-level checkpoints has you losing a lot of progress with each death. Gameplay boils down to a cycle of traveling to the next MacGuffin and getting thrust into forced combat with the next enemy. Going off the beaten path gives no benefit except the discovery that [[WalkOnWater Pontes forgot to program the water to behave differently from solid ground]]. If you somehow manage to beat the game, there's NoEnding; it just goes straight to the credits. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqBf2yKa0E Here's a playthrough from Jim Sterling]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCCg8xUTXgc a full playthrough]].
** '''''Sword of Fortress: The Onomuzim''''' and '''''Samael: The Legacy of Ophiuchus''''', the latter released as far as 2019, shows that Lightning Game Studios "isn't giving up" making such crap, which suffers the same problems as the Kaiseki above, and both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIuCGXpxIiI also respectively]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eVvvpvKV1I reviewed by]] Jim Sterling. WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} covers these and ''Spear of Destiny: The Kaiseki'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVpxhiujPFs here,]] noting they were the most expensive games of the collection of games he covered there, and calling Pontes "the Creator/TommyWiseau of video games," as much for his myriad credits for the games as it is for his utter incompetence as a game developer.
** '''''Shadow the Ronin: The Revenge to the Samurai''''' and '''''Taishogun: Rise of Emperor''''', both released in TheNewTwenties for the Playstation 4, continue to be more of the same garbage that first started from the Spear of Destiny. Any sort of improvements given to these two games are really minor by comparison, and even then, they show some similar problems from previous games can always come back anyway for some unknown, God-forsaken reason. However, these games also showed how Gilson can be rather vindictive as a person if he's angered enough by someone's reviews, as Jim Sterling went from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTaOWW-uNr8 sheer bewilderment from what Gilson's done]] to [[https://youtu.be/v48igE1uKSQ?t=564 almost praising Gilson's efforts of improvement]] to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1meTV3FDW4E accepting the madness that Gilson provided]] to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trIn90HTqKs being genuinely pissed off at Gilson for trying to remove their channel with an almost clever method of copyright takedowns against Sterling's YouTube channel]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnFioJIjauc to the point of having a second video talking about it]]) to [[https://youtu.be/rWLE6bHhFs8?t=560 calling Gilson a pathetic coward for their actions in 2021.]]
** '''''[[GratuitousJapanese Ashigaru]]: The Last Shogun'''''[[note]]which, by the way, is an egregious WordSaladTitle that betrays a total lack of research; it's like calling a game set in the UsefulNotes/GermanEmpire ''[[GratuitousGerman Einjährig-Freiwilliger]]: The Last Kaiser''. Or, in this case, ''The Last Fuhrer'', as the heroic faction is led by UsefulNotes/TakedaShingen and the villainous faction is led by UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu; Shingen died years before the Tokugawa Shogunate was founded.[[/note]] has all the flaws of previous "Gilsonlikes", but has one extra that makes the combat shallower while amplifying the FakeDifficulty: '''no dodge or block buttons'''. It was in Jim Sterling's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T9cUZFGas4 video on this game]] that they coined the word "Gilsonlike", as it sufficiently demonstrates that each of Pontes' offerings is just as inept as past and likely future offerings, and the one change ''Ashigaru'' offered from previous games was detrimental to the gameplay. Pontes once again filed a copyright claim against them, but with significantly less catastrophic results and with the video soon restored.
--->'''Jim Sterling''': How do you take a game that's already threadbare and bereft of content or features and somehow scale it back? How did Gilson find corners in his game to cut?! You can't cut corners on a fucking sphere!
* '''Ludia''' is a Canadian game developer formerly owned by Creator/FremantleMedia, whose goal was to make video games on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} based on every popular American game show (except ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' and ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', both of which have their games made by parent company Creator/{{Sony}}). They distribute through Ubisoft, which also ports the games to other consoles and [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS devices]]. One problem: they don't know anything about the game shows they're trying to emulate. These games also use their own proprietary avatar system, not Miis; had they taken advantage of the existing infrastructure, maybe the rest of the games would've been better. They also have a serious case of bad timing, releasing their ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' game the week before the actual show changed formats. Notably, every single one of the following games in this section have all been subject to a "Quick Look" video by Website/GiantBomb, in which the guys more or less tear each one apart; links are listed with each game.
** '''''The $1,000,000 Series/{{Pyramid}}''''' uses the classic (1982-91) logo, but the game itself is an adaptation of the 2002-04 revival. The opponent AI is almost nonexistent, ''maybe'' scoring more than one point per subject. Gameplay is slow, which is bad since on-air ''Pyramid'' is traditionally very fast-paced. The Winner's Circle has no shots of the big pyramid while you're playing, and gives you $1,000,000 '''every time you clear it'''. Game show fan Tim "Loogaroo" Connolly tears it a new one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPu7KQQsZNE here,]] the Wiiviewer expresses his disappointment [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqS6hB1bwys here,]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gSdogd0Q3k here's the Giant Bomb Quick Look.]]
** '''''Series/FamilyFeud 2012''''', unlike the others, is an UsefulNotes/Xbox360 game and uses the console's avatars rather than its own, but still manages to be equally bad. The fictional host, "Sparky Whitmore", is dreadful to say the least; the onscreen keyboard practically gives you the correct answers with its predictive text (if it doesn't show up in the choices after two letters, it's not going to be correct); there's long gaps between every action; the avatar animations look wooden; and the parser is worse than the broken one in the SNES version (it somehow interprets "Bike" as "Horseback"). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya24jxwLQV8 Here's the Giant Bomb Quick Look.]]
** '''''Series/TheHollywoodSquares''''' was another victim. There are only four actual celebrities in the grid (Martin Mull, Kathy Griffin, Brad Garrett, and Jeffrey Tambor), and they all take center square which means you only play with one at a time. This leaves the rest of the squares filled with generic people, which removes half the point of the original game show. But most of the magic of the original show was in the celebrities giving joke answers, aka "Zingers", and then responding with their actual answer. In the video game, you're only given straight answers; no Zingers at all (aside from the four aforementioned celebs, whose Zingers are seen with their actual answers in video clips from the series taken from at least ''seven years prior''). With neither celebs nor Zingers, you're simply crossing trivia with TabletopGame/TicTacToe and might as well play ''Series/TicTacDough'' at that rate. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CyEbofnzlA Here's the Quick Look by Giant Bomb,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1KtaHZk3w and here's the Wiiviewer's review.]] WebVideo/GameGrumps also inadvertently showcased another massive flaw in the game when they ended up playing it twice (the second time having forgotten that they'd already played the game): A viewer was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I-cPsiTf9E quick to point out]] that they got the ''exact same questions in the exact same order'' both times.
** '''''Series/PressYourLuck 2010'''''. The avatars move in [[UnintentionalUncannyValley a rather uncanny way]]; the Big Board cycles between three static formats, one of which has no Whammies; there's no prizes but a generic "trip" that Big Bucks will direct to in Round 1 and massively breaks Move One Space; the AI routinely answers questions ''wrong''; and both the music and sound effects are inaccurate. What makes this game ''truly'' belong here is that a Ludia representative asked the fans for input and "[[Creator/FremantleMedia Dismantle]]" (as some call it) forced C&D orders on superior fan games. The DS version was ''worse'', with unskippable Whammy animations and a Big Board that was horrendous in layout (all over the place) and appearance (the cash values were plain white text on ever-changing colors). Fremantle, it seems, has no clean copy of the original ''PYL'' theme music in their archives, as evidenced by this game and the more recent Website/{{Facebook}} app. Their solution was "Flash", a piece of stock music otherwise known as the show's ''1983 pilot theme'', which sounds ''vaguely'' similar to that used on the series. The [=PS3=] version fixed the sounds and had its own version of the series' theme music, plus added a bunch of actual prizes, but still managed to be lackluster overall. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y4mmJ3Swm8 Here's the Giant Bomb Quick Look]], and Loogaroo points out nearly every way it did disservice to the classic show [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwq4d_HQQaU here.]]
** '''''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' (2008 and 2010)''' has a simple GameBreaker - a limited prize pool, about 50 Showcases, and a bad randomizer, along with a rather poor Showcase Showdown wheel that seems to favor the AI frequently. It turns the game show game into "Memory": play it for a few hours, write down every prize's price, and memorize the list (or Google for said list) and remember when that prize or Showcase comes up in any game. Other ''Price'' video games at least randomize prizes so they don't appear in one sole game every time with some digit randomization to throw off memorizers. The games can't even be arsed to use the then-current set, with the first game giving the overwhelming impression of having been delayed for two years. One major problem with the 2010 version is that Three Strikes Mode no longer gives a Strike for losing at the Showcase Showdown (which had been a big criticism with the 2008 game), which means that you can go on forever by having a price list. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2IP4JlNlw Here's Giant Bomb's Quick Look at the 2010 version.]]
* '''Micro Genius''' has three known games under their belts:
** '''''Aladdin II''''', which is worse than [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik9XyRG3w6U the official NES port of]] ''Aladdin'', which was already bad to begin with. (Thankfully, there was a half-decent, if cut-down, port by Super Game.) The [[NightmareFuel Game Over screen]] makes this game look even worse. ''[[http://www.vizzed.com/vizzedboard/retro/user_screenshots/saves11/114713/NES--Aladdin%202_Nov25%2012_14_15.png Just take a look at it.]]'' Kakeyo Silverton provided some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVrJAd1iY2U commentary on this horrible trainwreck of a game.]]
** '''''Thunder Warrior'''''. Repetitive level design, low enemy variety, clunky controls, and a difficult-to-aim projectile attack don't help with the large amount of GoddamnedBats and DemonicSpiders you face. It seems to pirate some of its content from other games, such as the map screen from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaI'' and the HUD from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''. Catchy music, though.
%%** '''''Super Contra X''''', an abysmal bootleg of ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}''.
* '''Mystique''', an offshoot of porn studio Caballero Home Video specializing in, well, you guessed it, pornographic video games for the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}}. They were pure FetishRetardant - making porn on a system that [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AdventureDragon_8968.png can't even make dragons]] [[VideoGame/{{Adventure}} not look like blocky, green ducks]] isn't a great idea, and the games themselves featured scenarios that ranged from absurd to decidedly unsexy. It doesn't help that they all had bare-bones, repetitive gameplay. The company went bankrupt following UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, but their library was bought by Playaround (see below). Here's a complete list of their games -- they're all horribly exploitative and have all been hugely controversial. Mystique's raunchy antics have mostly accounted for why Atari tightened up security on their 7800 by requiring all licensed developers to have their games digitally signed by Atari, as they were concerned about pornographers exploiting the 7800's more advanced graphical capabilities.
** The plot of '''''Custer's Revenge''''' is as follows - General George Armstrong Custer, depicted as a man wearing nothing but a cavalry hat, boots, and a bandanna while sporting [[BiggerIsBetterInBed a visible erection]], must dodge falling arrows and randomly appearing cacti in order to reach the other side of the screen, where he intends to rape [[note]](the game's designer insists she's a "willing participant")[[/note]] a naked, well-endowed Native American woman bound to a post. The only "noteworthy" part of the game (its early use of nudity) is [[FetishRetardant done in by its extremely low resolution and color depth]], and the publishers picked ''this'' game to use the real graphics on the packaging. There's also the offensive premise of General Custer raping a Native American woman, or that you shouldn't bother with graphics this blocky for this purpose. The AVGN played all of these games mentioned above as a part of a video he did on [[https://odysee.com/@Cinemassacre:b/atari-porn-avgn:5 Atari Porn Games]], with Custer's Revenge talked about first. However, as Creator/{{Seanbaby}} best put it:
--->'''Custer:''' Gentlemen, today's operation will be a unique one. We will go deep into injun territory with a full entourage of cavalry, establish a tight perimeter, have the infantry remove my pants and underpants, and then I will attempt to force sex on an Indian girl under heavy enemy fire. Are there any objections?\\
'''Custer's Military Adviser:''' Yes, general. ''[[ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels Several.]]''
%%** '''''Bachelor Party''''' is a bizarre ''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}'' clone in which the ball is replaced with a nude man, and the "bricks" are replaced with inexplicably nude women.
** '''''Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em''''', a game where you control two nude women who move back and forth across the bottom of a building on screen, catching semen from a masturbating man who is hiding on top for points. Every time you get [[LOL69 69 points]], you will get an extra life.
%%** '''''Philly Flasher''''' is ''Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em'' [-[[RecycledINSPACE WITH THE GENDERS REVERSED!]]-] The only thing different about it is that besides playing two nude men moving across the building, instead of catching semen, the player will catch breast milk from ''an old witch'' - not even a HotWitch. Once the breast milk is caught, the two men will then ''engage in masturbation''.
%%* '''Mythicon''', an English company that dealt in budget-priced UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} games. While most other publishers set price points of $40-$50 per cart, Mythicon's games were priced at just $10... and the results show all too well. Their catalog consists of only three games - ''VideoGame/{{Star Fox|1983}}'' (no relation to [[VideoGame/StarFox the Nintendo game]]), ''Sorcerer'', and ''Fire Fly''. While ''Sorcerer'' is decent in its own right, the other two are considered to be horrible, to the point that there is an internet rumor circulating that all of them share the same code minus a few tweaks and turns.

[[folder:N-T]]
%%* '''Nice Code Software''' are another notorious Chinese unlicensed/bootleg company with many of their early staff coming from the aforementioned Dragon Co., whose games regularly appear on [[ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping drugstore plug-'n'-play Famiclones]] (such as the [[https://youtu.be/3kPfCEo5Wgw Dreamgear Retroplay]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GtGRDvPm98 played]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zoo5Wnx4yc by]] WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} and reviewed by WebVideo/{{Rerez}}). Their game library consists mainly of either lazy hacks of Intellivision, Atari, and occasionally NES games, substandard knockoffs of classic arcade and 8-bit console games coded from scratch, or a small set of boring original games cloned repeatedly with different graphics.
* '''Ninja Pig Studios''' ''would'' have been just another bog-standard UsefulNotes/{{Wii U}} [=eShop=] UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} developer - one with a considerable fanbase, at that - if not for its rampant and continuous plagiarism. While unoriginal shovelware is nothing new, Ninja Pig takes it one step farther by using copyrighted assets without permission in their ''paid'' games. The fans of their games tend to be young and, thus, not know and/or care about this, but from those who ''do'' know they have received a large amount of scathing criticism. The games themselves aren't very good either.
** '''''IQ Test''''': A $5 game that completely ripped off a ''free'' mobile game called ''The Moron Test'', right down to its lined-paper background and rubber ducky motif, as [=GameTrailers=]' Kyle Bosman found out in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5J9oT4Fal0t9m45m this video]].
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpIu6OaLkh8 Meme Run]]''''', which is an endless runner game with scores of "[[CatchPhrase dank]]" {{meme|ticMutation}}s (including copyrighted assets ripped right from sources like Google Images and Website/{{Reddit}}) bombarding the player. Most of them are outright obnoxious (the screen shakes a lot, and there are power-ups that clutter the screen with nonsense and may trigger annoying sound effects like a loud "wombo combo" shout) and get repeated a lot - for a game titled ''Meme Run'', there's actually very little variety in the memes. The gameplay itself is unpolished and gets repetitive fast. ''Meme Run'' eventually became [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/03/meme_run_disappears_from_the_wii_u_eshop one of the few games to ever be removed from the eShop for its aforementioned unauthorized use of copyrighted assets]]. Making its case all the more complicated, Carlos Ramirez, creator of the "Trollface" image (one of the stolen assets) politely asked Ninja Pig to give him credit, but Ninja Pig flat-out ignored him.
%%** '''''Jumpy Cat''''', which [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/01/ninja_pig_studios_accused_of_stealing_pixel_art_for_forthcoming_wii_u_release_jumpy_cat flat-out stole someone's custom sprite work and then, when confronted by the original creator of the stolen sprites, lied to his face about where they found them]]. That one was cancelled at the demands of the sprite artist before release.
** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character (an inside joke that was killed once Ridley ''did'' become playable in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''), specifically a version of the meme from Website/{{Miiverse}} known as [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bigley Bigley]])[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.
* Taiwanese company '''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTDEC NTDEC]]''', short for the '''N'''in'''T'''en'''D'''o '''E'''lectronic '''C'''ompany, which got them sued by Creator/{{Nintendo}}.
** One of their works was '''''Fighting Hero''''', a [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct horrible knockoff]] of the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness already dubious]] ''VideoGame/StreetFighterI''. The game has some of the worst controls in any fighting game, as they're incredibly unresponsive and button mashing is rendered useless because the player will constantly interrupt his attacks while doing so. The computer opponents are also ridiculously hard as they'll block most of your attacks.
** They also ended up making the games on the '''[[http://bootleggames.wikia.com/wiki/Caltron_6-in-1 Caltron 6-in-1 cartridge]]''' (Caltron being an alias for NTDEC) and while the games on it aren't awful, they're mostly just mediocre clones of other games. [[CreatorKiller After Caltron released the game, it became defunct]] and sold the game to Myriad. And it, as well, suffered the same fate. The AVGN examined the cartridge in his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz0TOQ1BF-M third Bible Games video]] and concluded that one of the games in particular, supposedly based off of Adam and Eve, was a direct clone of ''Balloon Fight'' (and by extension, ''Joust'').
* '''Panzer Gaming Studios''' has built up a reputation as one of Steam’s most offensive scammers. Despite founder Jason Welge having a B.A. in Video Game Art & Design from Westwood College Online and at one point earning a $10,000 grant from the state of Wisconsin, Panzer’s entire library consists of recycled Unreal Engine 4 assets poorly optimized to have nothing but lackluster framerates and excessive motion blur. Liam Lambert of Gizorama calls Welge [[http://www.gizorama.com/2015/feature/opinion/meet-panzer-gaming-studios-steams-weirdest-scam-artists "Steam's Weirdest Scam Artist"]], given his [[InformedAttribute supposed enthusiasm and love of gaming]] despite repeated [[https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/2qwk5e/creator_of_4_failed_kickstarter_campaigns_starts/ denials]], failed Kickstarters, and other offenses such as the following:
** '''''[[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/7547109/left-to-rot Left To Rot]]''''' was a zombie-apocalypse game which, even with [[VideoGame/Left4Dead the title]],[[{{Mockbuster}} made the developer's intentions clear.]] The project was an ambitious[[note]](supposedly going to be an FPS-RPG hybrid)[[/note]] failed Kickstarter Campaign complete with an awkward pitch of Welge expressing his love for games [[RatedMForManly in front of Gears of War and Megan Fox posters.]] The trailer also included the project’s alpha build, complete with a framerate of '''3 FPS.''' WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} riffed on this pitch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05e7KXQBxDI here.]]
** Built from recycled assets from ''Left To Rot'', '''''Time Ramesside''''' (also known as '''''A New Reckoning''''') is plagued with {{Game Breaking Bug}}s from ''the very first level'', including but not limited to absurdly overpowered enemies [[note]](enemies seemingly cannot be killed by any number of bullets and randomly teleport ''directly to the player character's location'')[[/note]], clipping issues, and many crashes. The graphics are dated, highly inconsistent, and at worst incomplete and buggy, and slowdowns are frequent. Level design and general gameplay are equally patchwork, and misspellings abound, even in the trailer itself. Even worse, the game is full of stolen material: Unchanged store-bought Unreal Engine assets make up much of the environment, causing the inconsistent graphics, the intro video is lifted from an Unreal 4 tech demo (logo and all), and at one point music ripped from the ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' trailer used without permission. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze_HnOjiYRw This video]] shows off some of the [[ObviousBeta bugs]] of this game. [[Creator/RoosterTeeth Funhaus]] have also played this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzWQtkFrmUI here]], as has [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqFSNEKOlwg here]], the latter saying that it has somehow become worse'' after coming out of Early Access.
** The supposed sequel to ''Time Ramesside''. '''''[[http://store.steampowered.com/app/448060/ X-17]]''''', received even more attention due to being declared worse. Complete with the same stolen assets, low framerates, and blur, the game was seen as an ugly, chugging, confusing mess involving an [[AlienInvasion invasion]] by a [[FetishRetardant race of nude aliens]], a different race of aliens (i.e. more stolen Unreal assets) [[ArtificialStupidity most likely stuck to level geometry]], and [[UnintentionalUncannyValley random civilian models with eyes and jaws freakishly poking out of their faces.]] The game itself says in its credits that it’s a [[ObviousBeta “Pre-Early Access” build, despite it being sold for $17 on Steam as of this writing]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WhKuaAheA4 Many]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_uqljbhxNw players]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oafr99P-y1g effectively]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJ1uIYD3LQ came]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djZRZA2z5UI to]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkbta2HhpVM the]] same conclusion around its release, including Jim Sterling, whose video rightfully asks [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd79XN2sxps “What In The Absolute Fuck?”]] [=AllShamNoWow=]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQCvvrkPDJc playthrough]] shows even more cringeworthy anomalies: a level spending two minutes in unexplained slow-motion (with stolen music from Music/JamesBlunt), baby dolls with M-16's on their back as enemies, a lead character voiced through text-to-speech, and several dance sequences set to copyrighted music, like the leads doing the Twist and Chicken Dance, and random Nazi Zombies doing ''Thriller''.
%%* '''Phenomedia Publishing [=GmbH=]''' is a German company specialising in (often rather bizarre) low-budget games. While their ''Moorhuhn'' (''Crazy Chicken'' in the US) games are generally well-liked in their country, they are also responsible for such obscure titles as ''[[http://www.chip.de/ii/184846268_edb446684d.jpg Lederzwerge XXL]]'' (''[[{{Leatherman}} Leather Dwarfs]]''), a game about homosexual dwarfs engaging in all sorts of nasty practices. Even though the cover promises an uncensored version, the actual sex acts always take place behind mattes. Germany's biggest video gaming magazine, ''Game Star'', gave ''Lederzwerge'' 3/100, the lowest rating in the 15 years of the magazine's existence. The fact that the game's third and final level was shrouded in complete darkness and therefore unplayable was cited as a positive.
* '''Creator/PhoenixGames''' (no relation to the {{tabletop game|s}} publisher with the same name) released a few {{Minigame Game}}s from Aqua Pacific that were not based around Dingo's movies, as with those ones, they were bad in their own right. On top of being horrendously buggy and badly performing like the Dingo-based games and doing absolutely nothing to improve them, they also included movies that do nothing to improve the experience beyond [[{{Narm}} a good laugh]]. On top of having mediocre animation for the time that they were released, they are poorly written, horribly voiced (many simply having a single (very bored) man doing all of the voices), and full of awkwardly-written dialogue and dull characters. Like Dingo's games they were also presented as video game adaptations of Disney movies (via covers featuring [[UnintentionalUncannyValley hideously malformed CGI versions]] of the Disney versions of the included story). Some of the most notorious examples include:
** '''''[[http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/935396-snow-white-and-the-7-clever-boys/images/box-79596 Snow White and the 7 Clever Boys]]'''''. Here we have a [[TheMockbuster shameless rip-off]] of ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'', and it doesn't even do that right; the dwarves are replaced with generic boys, one of them having '''{{Blackface}}'''. Aside from that, the story itself is very dull, with little conflict aside from the inevitable poison apple (a problem that's resolved in the span of a minute). Tennings has ripped this movie apart in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaOAD2C2oVQ this review]], as has Caddicarus, with the latter review saying in terms of overall effort put onto a [=PS2=] disc in 2007[[note]]the game for the disc uses only 300Mb out of 4.7Gb of data, or around 6.4% of data that could have been used for something better[[/note]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BGwjvlQmfI it's the worst "game" he's ever seen for it.]] Moreover, it is actually a bad [=PS2=] port of an obscure early 2000s educational Polish PC game (you could tell by the animated cursor is still present in the [=PS2=] port) called "Królewna Śnieżka" made by Longsoft Multimedia as part of their Familijny CD-Romek series [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYOG8FP2bSY whose original PC version made it to the Czech Republic as well.]]
** Their take on '''''Peter Pan''''' is one of their most effortless. The obligatory cartoon is a complete mess. The narration and all the voice-overs (including the girls) are done by only ''one'' man who narrates in [[DullSurprise the most monotone voice imaginable]] and makes no effort to make anyone sound distinct from each other. Additionally, the voice-over is horribly dubbed in, leading to multiple instances of characters moving their mouths without actually saying anything. The plot introduces multiple elements [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse that go nowhere]], skips from one plot point to the other like it's on a sugar rush, the moral of the story is tacked-on and [[CluelessAesop makes no sense in relation to the story]], and the showdown with Captain Hook [[{{Narm}} is an absolute joke]]. WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} also reviewed this short, alongside Alex of ''WebVideo/IHateEverything'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rtiZ7_y2Sk here]].
** '''''Pinocchio''''' is their take on...well, [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio the title should make it obvious]]. Much like their take on ''Peter Pan'', the obligatory cartoon is almost hilarious in its ineptness. The stilted dialogue is once again all done by one man who sounds just as bored as the one in ''Peter Pan'' (his voice for the Blue Fairy has to be seen (or rather heard) to be believed). The dialogue is often hokey, with such gems as "Ooohkay, giiiirls and boooooiis!", "Here you little dibble, give my wig back!", and "Now I'm turning donkey!" The opening and closing narration is pretentious and makes no sense. The songs are awful and often have unintelligible lyrics (especially the opening songs sung by the toys). Pinocchio himself [[DesignatedHero isn't a sympathetic character in the slightest]], behaving like a SpoiledBrat almost the entire time outside of occasional and very forced acts of kindness. Most glaring is that in the end, [[spoiler: ''[[NotHisSled he doesn't even stay a real boy]]''; the Blue Fairy turns Pinocchio into a real boy, but then he voluntarily chooses to stay a puppet for no explained reason (the only explanation that is given is that "puppet's just the most").]] To top it all off, the cartoon ends very abruptly as though it ran out of time to tell the story: After Pinocchio leaves the Blue Fairy, the rest of Pinocchio's story [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofKsgMCyIXc is simply summarized in a song that lasts less than a minute]]. In the end, the entire game, cartoon included, is a horrible mess if it isn't just considered a [[SoBadItsGood hilariously awful romp]]. As with most of the other of these "games" on this list, Caddicarus [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niea8lX_254 has also reviewed this one]].
%%* After the aforementioned Mystique went out of business, their library of terrible pornographic games was bought by a company called '''Playaround''', which followed in their footsteps. They're responsible for:
%%** Re-releases of Mystique's ''Custer's Revenge'' titled ''Westward Ho'' and ''General Retreat'', with the latter being gender-swapped (you play the Native American girl, while Custer/"General Retreat" is tied to the cactus).
%%** '''A re-release of Mystique's ''Bachelor Party'' and a gender-swapped version titled ''Bachelorette Party''.''' The AVGN noted of its unoriginal existence [[https://odysee.com/@Cinemassacre:b/atari-porn-avgn:5 briefly in his Atari Porn Games video.]]
%%** Three original pornographic games ('''''Burning Desire''''', '''''Knight on the Town''''', and '''''Cathouse Blues'''''), each with an equally-terrible gender-swapped variant ('''''Jungle Fever''''', '''''Lady in Waiting''''', and '''''Gigolo'''''). Again, as mentioned with Bachelorette Party, some of their games were mentioned in his Atari Porn Games video, though he felt the Cathouse Blues game got the wrong title for itself.
* '''Rainmaker Software''' (no relation to Creator/RainmakerEntertainment, thankfully) is a fairly infamous developer, probably because they only ever made two '90s FPS games for DOS that definitely belong here.
** '''''Isle of the Dead''''' is a strong contender for the worst FPS of all time. For starters, it's filled with flat and uninteresting levels and horrendously drawn 2D enemy sprites even by the standards of early first-person shooters. Right from the start, the game bombards you with enemies which can tear you to pieces in seconds and respawn right after you leave the room. From there, you've got maze-like stages, enemies that are ridiculously annoying to kill, PixelHunt sections where huge chunks of interesting scenery (like a crashed plane with multiple crushed bodies scattered about) are deemed "irrelevant", as well as a complete lack of mercy invincibility or damage indicators (meaning you'll die at seemingly random). The graphics and sound are horrible - with nothing to tell parts of the map apart, navigation becomes far too difficult. There are some static screens where you interact (similar to adventure games), but in these you are often clueless about what you are supposed to do and can easily miss crucial items. To top it all off, quitting the game is referred to as "the coward's way out" and punishes you with a graphic depiction of a [[AteHisGun shotgun suicide]]. The sad part is that the game is supposed to have point-and-click adventure elements as well, which sounds like a great idea in theory. But the game could not decide which genre to pick, thus making a complete mess of a game. And the ending is a "Main/TheEndOrIsIt"-style SequelHook that will never come to [[{{Pun}} life]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZnC0-S0w_4 Brutalmoose says more about it here.]]
** '''''Nerves of Steel''''', is an even worse FPS with less interesting levels (mostly square grey rooms and corridors with no discernable details), even worse graphics (the textures are so dark and blurry you can't begin to make out what they're meant to represent), and a complete inability to do doors in-engine. In other words... you just have to walk into the wall and hope for the best, since door effects were beyond the engine's capabilities. The main menu is a laggy, frustrating slog; enemies can teleport, often through walls, as they shoot at you; the graphics are an ugly mess, consisting of muddy textures; level design is lazy and confusing due to the fact that the "doors" are little more than walls with no collision detection (which often resemble all the other walls); and the story is a rather childish and brain-dead "kill the leader of North Korea for 'MURICA" affair.
* Even if we don't go into its ties to the Neo-Nazi group National Alliance, there's no denying that '''Resistance Records''' ''cannot make a game to save its life.'' Its entire output (all FPS games) has been compared unfavorably to ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}''. None of its games seem to have [[ObviousBeta ever passed the beta phase at best]].
** '''''VideoGame/EthnicCleansing''''', where you play one of three generic white nationalists (including a CaptainErsatz of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh Timothy McVeigh]]) slaughtering his way through hordes of racist caricatures in order to stop a Jewish plot to TakeOverTheWorld. The game's untextured graphics look worse than ''[[VideoGame/{{Quake}} games made six years prior]]'', its unconfigurable controls map [[DamnYouMuscleMemory SZXC as the move buttons instead of WASD]], its setup was discredited when ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' came out, and its draw distance is ridiculously short. The collision detection is very off, and the AI is only slightly above shooting-gallery level. The one weapon (an assault rifle that looks like a drunk carved an M-16 out of concrete) has no recoil, and there's only one non-boss enemy type, [[UndergroundMonkey which is reskinned three times]]. There's only two levels, only one of which actually works, and the game ends on an AWinnerIsYou note. The game crashes often, several functions (including the save system and the options) do ''nothing'', and the sound is very poorly coded.
** They then made a couple of {{spiritual successor}}s: '''''White Law''''' and the two-part '''''ZOG's Nightmare'''''. They're not much better than the original - some basic touchups (more weapons, graphics that take less squinting to deem passable) in exchange for [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading a load time of nearly two minutes (sometimes more) between levels]], unbelievably pitiful framerates, and various {{game breaking bug}}s.
* '''Sabec LTD''' is a regular on the Nintendo Switch, making mostly basic instrument simulators or board games, like Piano, Chess, and a calculator. Their action games often perform poorly, like Neverlast, yet most of them cost 10 dollars when they aren't on sale, even the calculator. Some people, like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qmt34JkjM Mini Nindie Review]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G-psYjCbTA Ant Dude]] would even say that paying 2 dollars is too much for them.
** When it comes to their actual games, Sabec was hired to create a remake of the classic 1982 '''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}''' [[VideoGame/{{Popeye}} arcade game]], which upon release was widely regarded as an absolute joke. Gameplay is much like the original arcade game, only [[VideoGame3DLeap on a 3D plane]], but the similarities, and the fun, stop there. The objects Olive Oyl throws spawn infinitely and there is no penalty for missing any, [[ArtificialStupidity you have to go out of your way to avoid being one-shoted by Bluto/Brutus and other enemies and obstacles]], and spinach constantly respawns, draining much of the challenge from the original game. The only real challenge comes from [[DifficultyByAcceleration Bluto and the vulture steadily getting faster]] and [[OffscreenTeleportation teleporting next to you whenever the camera isn't on them]], which will eventually combine to end your game - not helped by you having only three lives, [[CheckpointStarvation no checkpoints or save options]], and no way to earn more lives. The presentation is very barebones and bland, and there are only three maps in the whole game[[note]](the most done to make them seem distinct from each other is adding different weather conditions, which cause the framerate to curl into a ball and cry)[[/note]], all of which are derived from a pre-built Unity asset pack. The seesaw level from the original game is also completely excluded, and no other ''Popeye'' characters appear aside from some of Olive's relatives and a completely generic "witch" character that's ''supposed'' to be the Sea Hag. Lastly, the graphics look on par with a late UsefulNotes/PlayStation1 game at best (it bears mentioning that this game came out in '''''2021'''''), there are strange glitches[[note]]For example, swimming in the water or even just suspending and then re-entering the game can inexplicably cause Popeye to instantly lose a life[[/note]] and it costs a whopping $12.99 (in NTSC regions) for what amounts to just three levels of Popeye monotonously plodding around grabbing things over and over again. Lacking the spirit and fun of either the original arcade game or the ''Popeye'' series itself, the game sank like a pirate ship; its [[MemeticMutation only lasting legacy]] being [[MegatonPunch its absolutely ludicrous death animations]] and being "from the creators of such classics as ''Calculator''". Creator/JimSterling [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6lHyFhyRFM took a look at the game]] and found it so awful and joyless that they thought it was either an AshcanCopy or was simply made by people with no passion for ''Popeye''. [=JohnRiggs=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l_3NqFhc8U also played the game]] and afterward could do nothing but lament the fifteen bucks he sank into it, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vElVubRnHn8 one of the game's developers threatened legal action against him for "slander"]]. The game was also one of several that [=AntDude=] discovered on his second round of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfriHy8rzLU exploring eShop shovelware]] and he is baffled that Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate was okay with how the game turned out. WebVideo/AngryJoe listed it as [[https://youtu.be/3GsXQyyAdqs?t=2094 one of his worst games of 2021,]] as did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWLE6bHhFs8 Jim Sterling.]] Lastly, WebVideo/{{Rerez}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW0d4k1JlSI gave it a spotlight]] as part of their "Just Bad Games" series.
** '''''Zomb''''' may well be the worst game Sabec ever created. It's a first-person shooter with simplistic graphics and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''-like character designs. But the presentation is nothing compared to the god-awful controls. If you use a Pro Controller, you use the left stick to move back and forth... and turn! Meaning you need to use the right stick to strafe, and you can't even look up or down, which is a death sentence in a game where frequent headshots are needed and the zombies can climb up walls. X changes your weapons, and ZR shoots your current weapon, and that's fine, but then you find out that B throws bombs, and instead of being set to the plus button like the vast majority of games, pausing is set to the '''Y Button!''' And while you question who in their right mind would program such controls, you just follow the arrow leading to the next ammo crate and collect more survival assets. It's impossible to win because the game only ends when you die, and you're most likely to die very quickly because the turning speed is terrible. A player tested to see how long it took to make a full rotation, and it took 8 seconds... at the start of the game. The more zombies that are in the world, the slower you turn, further adding to the unfair odds against you. In the end, you'll be swarmed, and there's nothing you can do to avoid death. So if the coins you get from killing zombies do anything, you're not likely to find out what it is. In the end, players are better off trying to survive a real zombie pandemic. It truly needs to be played to be believed, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qmt34JkjM Mini Nindie Review]] can tell you more about it, if you're curious.
* '''Sintax''', a pirate GBC/GBA developer, had games that varied from pretty good to awful on GBC and awful to soul-crushing on GBA. Their historical interest is largely due to the fact that they have extremely professional and nasty encryption that resists dumping, so they couldn't be emulated until ''years'' after their release. The problem with that is that occasionally it fails to run on original hardware.
** '''''VideoGame/DonkeyKong5TheJourneyOfOverTimeAndSpace''''' ([[BlindIdiotTranslation that the actual title]]) is one of their worst GBC games, being a recreation of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' in a worse platforming engine, with music ripped from ''VideoGame/PokemonPinball''. There's about half a second of lag to every player movement, and they forgot to make blocks breakable (one of the key components of a Mario-like), leading to [[UnwinnableByMistake softlocks because you need to make yourself small to pass but no enemies are visible]]. As if that weren't bad enough, they released a title screen hack as '''''Super Marrio Sunshine''''' (sic), with an added bug that touching the flagpole anywhere above the bottom is an instant Game Over!
** '''''Pokémon Platinum''''', and its engine-mates '''''Super II Sonik''''' and '''''The Incredibles''''', are somehow cursed with a worse platforming engine than the above. Add to that a character select which is pointless as all characters play identically, level design based on fumbling through identical mazes, and an energy meter which doesn't actually do anything, and you get an [[ObviousBeta Obvious Alpha]].
** '''''Digimon Adventure''''', is a port of the SNES game which was hacked from VideoGame/PocketMonster, but clearly shoved out in a pre-alpha state. It's clogged with bugs and collision errors, and game mechanics from the original like transformation and bosses taking any damage don't exist. They then proceeded to reskin the game again and again, with different characters and environments, level order switched, and all the same bugs, using titles like '''''Crash Advance IV''''', '''''Sonic 3 Fighter Sonic''''', or '''''Super Mario DX'''''.
%%* '''Strategy First''' used to publish good games, most notably co-publishing ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance''. Today, however, they act as a [[LoopholeAbuse loophole]] on Steam [[VanityPublishing helping talentless amateurs and shovelware games circumvent the Steam Greenlight process simply by virtue of being a publisher.]] They are credited with publishing ''hundreds'' of Steam games, with more games every few days, making it clear they don't actually look at the software they're "helping" to publish. Creator/JimSterling [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikCRQneQxIY takes a look at them here.]]
* '''Team 6 Game Studios''' has such a poor track record that you could put almost any of their games on here. They seem to mostly work on racing games, and almost none of them are even passable let alone good. Some particularly atrocious examples include:
** '''''European Street Racing''''' fails in many ways - blocky-looking cars that neither drive nor sound like high-powered vehicles, laughably stupid computer driver AI, and a physics engine that causes cars and other objects to bounce off walls like pinballs. Someone went so far as to explain the "ESR" acronym as '''E'''xtremely '''S'''hitty '''R'''acing. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEAs6134U4g See it in action.]]
** '''''VideoGame/FlatOut 3: Chaos and Destruction'''''. Not helmed by series creator Bugbear Entertainment, it was stealthily released during the 2011 holiday season and the few that played it were treated to a mess of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIzGfIRK8IU broken physics]], missing features, overdone bloom effects (later toned down in a patch), and other inept oversights, such as an online mode that wouldn't end a game if one of the players got disconnected (which happens often) or a reset function which would make the car face the wrong way. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3kjrDFXY9Q This video on the game]] by LetsPlay/LewisBrindley, LetsPlay/SimonLane, and Tinman of the LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} should give you an idea. Rev from ''WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}}'' looked into the game himself, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdfIektJO_4 noting that it's considered the worst game that's on Steam]] (at the time of his video; has since been replaced with fellow awful contender ''eFootball 2022'' found in the ninth generation and then ''War of the Three Kingdoms'' for broken cash exploitation), and it shows. WebVideo/{{Rerez}} also tears it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF6QaE69Dus apart in their Just Bad Games series here]], eventually discovering that ''[=FlatOut=] 3'' not only made their game with ''[=FlatOut=]'' for the Nintendo Wii as their main base, but utilized modified assets from their other Wii racing games like ''Speed'', ''Glacier 3: The Meltdown'', and ''Monster Trucks Mayhem'' as parts of their modes for their PC game. Not only that, but they recycled those same assets ''yet again'' for an Android mobile phone game called ''[=FlatOut=] Stuntman'', as Rerez [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7dSKTi8B6g&t=9260s later discovered in the 10 worst games they played (that no one else realistically would) under their Just Bad Games series.]]
** '''''Super Street: The Game''''' was released in September 2018 after a slight delay. This game tries to be a modern homage to many beloved arcade racers of the 90s and 2000s, but fails in almost every single aspect possible and comes off as more of an insult rather than a homage. Right off the bat, you are only allowed to pick from '''eight''' fictional cars. And if that wasn't enough, there are cars that appear in official artwork for the game that you never actually get to drive or even see in the actual gameplay, [[CoversAlwaysLie including the car seen on the cover of the game!]] You can't even buy another car to add to your garage: you are only allowed to keep that one car you chose for the entirety of the game. You can't even change your transmission to manual. The driving mechanics are horrible: you can barely even drift at all, and sometimes you can't even take a turn before crashing into an obstacle. Your car feels like it was made out of glass: even bumping into a guardrail can cause your car to crash as if you hit a brick wall at high speed. [[ArtificialStupidity The opponents constantly wreck taking corners and pose no challenge whatsoever]], making racing gameplay a repetitive breeze. As you progress through the game, women will join your team, and are completely useless as they're really only there to attract players for looks, as they don't really do anything to help you and your team. The races have no life to them. They all feel repetitive no matter what the mode is. Even the ''environment'' feels worn out. Really, the only good aspect of the entire game is the customization: with a whopping '''500''' car parts to choose from, you can customize almost everything from the interior and exterior to the performance of your car. And to top it all off, this game is sold for '''$50''', which is daylight robbery considering its quality and content. It got a 2/10 from [[https://www.gamespew.com/2018/09/super-street-the-game-review/ GameSpew]] and [[https://www.pcinvasion.com/super-street-the-game-review-a-super-disappointment/ PCInvasion]], the latter calling it shovelware to the fullest degree.
* '''Tec Toy''' was responsible for importing the Sega consoles and games to Brazil, and became a well-known name in that region. Unfortunately, when tasked with making a game themselves, it usually didn't end well.
** '''''20 em 1''''' (20 in 1), a pack-in game for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem III Compact, is a collection of simple minigames, none of them good. Some are recycled (Games 15 and 20 are the same ball-bouncing game with different graphics), [[LimitedSoundEffects the same simple repetitive tune plays throughout all the games]], the Start button on the console is to go back to the title screen, the graphics are simplistic for the Master System, [[AWinnerIsYou winning just starts the game again but with less time]], the side-scrolling games and collecting games can be beaten by just holding Right and pressing the 1 button, Game 4 has ''very'' unresponsive and confusing controls, and getting hit too much does nothing but make you lose points. Some have considered it the Brazilian ''VideoGame/Action52'' (above). [[WebVideo/LazyGameReviews LGR]] reviews it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7PgsNdZykI here.]]
** '''''VideoGame/FeriasFrustradasDoPicaPau''''' (translates into ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker's Vexing Vacation''), for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, is infamous both for its sloppy design and for being extremely hard [[FakeDifficulty for all the wrong reasons]]. The levels are poorly designed (sometimes blatantly [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments copy-pasted]]) and absolutely relentless in enemy placement, but the real issue is the very stiff controls combined with some of the [[HitBoxDissonance worst hit detection you'll ever find in a game]] - nine times out of ten, you'll get hurt by the enemies and boss fights more than you can dish it out on them with your near-useless short-range peck attack. The graphics are abysmal and look like they were drawn in MS Paint, and the sound work is lazy and annoying (for example, the sound of Woody's laugh plays ''every'' time he grabs ''any'' item). Also, playing on Hard Mode makes the game's experience even more miserable since Woody has no MercyInvincibility in it.
* The Taiwanese company '''Thin Chen Enterprises''' (aka [[IHaveManyNames Sachen, Joy Van, and Commin]], but mostly known as '''Sachen''' nevertheless) was one of the biggest unlicensed UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} developers of the time. They also made many bootleg {{Porting Disaster}}s of arcade and 16-bit console games, and created [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct their own NES hardware clone]], the [[http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/q-boy.htm Q-Boy]] (considered by some to be much better than their games). Several of their games were published in America by Color Dreams, Bunch Games (both of which were already mentioned above), or occasionally American Video Entertainment. Their works include:
%%** '''''Jurassic Boy 2''''', a ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' wannabe with slow, clunky controls and terrible level layouts [[FakeDifficulty designed to hurt you every which way]]. The only good point of this game is the funny intro. [[PortingDisaster It got an even more brain-evaporating Game Boy port.]]
** '''''VideoGame/LittleRedHood''''', an unlicensed NES game whose only notable contribution was its inspiration for an [[https://cinemassacre.com/little-red-hood-nes-angry-video-game-nerd-avgn-episode-83/ AVGN episode.]] Right from the get-go, this game takes GuideDangIt and LuckBasedMission to ridiculous levels: In order to complete most levels, you have to roam around kicking trees and collecting fruit until a staircase appears, then go down into the secret room and collect a randomly appearing key, ''then'' go back out and find a different staircase which also appears at random. The requirements to get the staircases and keys to appear vary from level to level, with no attempt on the game's part to explain them - for instance, Level 8 requires the player to first purchase a specific set of items before the staircase will even appear. All the while, you have to deal with finicky jumping controls, a bland and repetitive presentation, [[FakeDifficulty enemies who respawn immediately after being defeated,]] and eventually an ending barely more interesting than a [[AWinnerIsYou generic "congratulations!" ending.]] The one review for this game on Website/GameFAQs [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/567299-little-red-hood/reviews/review-63157 gave it a 1.0/10]], and it's not hard to see why.
** '''''VideoGame/MasterChuAndTheDrunkardHu''''', a side-scrolling action platformer which rivals ''[[VideoGame/Action52 Cheetahmen II]]'' in glitchy awfulness. The game received a [[http://www.somethingawful.com/d/rom-pit/master-chu-drunkard.php -50 score]] from Website/SomethingAwful, with the reviewer bitterly regretting that the rating system didn't allow anything lower (their scale goes from 0 to -50), and was the subject of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sayp5lieKuU an AVGN episode]].
** '''''Rocman X''''' was a ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' knockoff complete with stolen title-screen art. It featured a superhero with a boomerang who could also fly for short distances by charging the fire button (which is used to charge the Mega Buster in real ''MM'' games). It's nearly unplayable because of clunky controls, a lack of special weapons, and shoddy programming. You can ''sometimes'' walk on the BottomlessPits in Stage 3. ''Rocman X'' was ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor as ''Thunder Blast Man'', where the first boss fight was {{Unwinnable}} due to a GameBreakingBug. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_o3W7iRYM Here's some footage, courtesy of]] [[LetsPlay/{{Raocow}} some poor, unfortunate Canadian.]]
** '''''Silent Assault''''' is a poor-man's ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}''/''VideoGame/RushNAttack'' clone where you could shoot vertically and horizontally, but [[DenialOfDiagonalAttack not diagonally]]. It had near-useless weapon upgrades. It was also buggy and included a bug that prevented you from precision-jumping in the otherwise [[AnticlimaxBoss piss-easy boss fights]], making some of them nearly impossible. What makes it even worse is that the multicart version (included on Super Cartridge Version 3) is UnintentionallyUnwinnable due to a bug on Level 7 where a moving platform needed to cross a river doesn't spawn.
%%** '''''Challenge of the Dragon''''' (not to be confused with the just-as-bad Color Dreams game), a nearly-unplayable and possibly-{{Unwinnable}} ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' clone.
* The Chinese company '''Waixing''', who mainly developed bootleg Famicom games.
** '''''Super Contra 7'''''. It's likely a hack of either ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' or ''Super C'', as the engine and sound effects seem to be directly taken from the latter, but features ear-bleedingly bad music. It also features stolen graphics from other games, such as taking the background for the first stage from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFight Mighty Final Fight]]'', as well as a later stage featuring an enemy taken from ''VideoGame/{{Shatterhand}}''. The game is very short, being 5 stages long and can be beaten within 15 minutes. The boss [[HitboxDissonance hitboxes are messed up]] [[note]](for example, the first boss can only be damaged in a specific spot ''while he's moving horizontally'', except when he moves along the ground level)[[/note]], and there are other glitches throughout. The score counter is broken for both players and stays at zero, and some powerups are inconsistent from the other ''Contra'' games [[note]](for example, the R powerup gives the player an extra life instead of increasing the firing rate of the player's weapon while the SmartBomb powerup is a P instead of an Eagle)[[/note]]. [[http://tasvideos.org/2094M.html Watch this 2-player TAS destroy the game here.]] James Rolfe and Mike Matei [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UclnDxMe19M also take a look into this game here.]]
* Speaking of pirate game companies, '''Yong Yong''' (aka Makon Soft) is probably the least competent of the lot. Their games library consists entirely of horribly-made adaptations of popular franchises for the Game Boy/Game Boy Color, including ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'', ''Franchise/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}'', and ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. All of their games suffer from poor controls, frequent glitches, and music that borders on SensoryAbuse.
** '''''VideoGame/Sonic3DBlast5''''' somehow manages to be worse than the ''VideoGame/{{Somari}}'' hack of the same name, with poor level design and having almost nothing to do with the official Sonic games. WebVideo/SpaceHamster [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Fiy8DY63A notes further]] that the volume on the game is ear-shatteringly loud without proper software to help lower the volume down to a respectable level and claims it's even worse than their re-release mentioned below. A year or two later, Yong Yong re-released it as '''''Sonic Adventure 7''''' on the Game Boy Color. The soundtrack and intro stills were changed, the levels were switched around to look original, and an [[SensoryAbuse eye-bleedingly-bad color palette]] was added. This was recycled ''again'' as '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4nbxtR2fRA Pokémon Jade]]''''', which added stills from characters from the anime that never appear in the game itself, a horrendous title screen in ''Comic Sans MS'', and [[Horrible/{{Music}} even worse ear-bleeding music]], if you could believe it. Worst of all, completing the first level crashes the game, making it UnintentionallyUnwinnable.
** '''''Rockman 8''''' is a PortingDisaster of the [[VideoGame/MegaMan8 game it's named after]]. The bosses are completely screwed up (e.g. selecting Grenade Man on the menu actually picks "Tengv Man" with Spark Man's sprite, and the boss itself is actually a car), the stages are mismatched (Clown Man's alleged level has the looks of Frost Man's stage, for example), [[ObviousBeta Rockman/Megaman often falls through moving platforms, one of the bosses constantly resets the game, and shooting too many enemies in a level causes all of the enemies and moving platforms to disappear]]. The last point alone makes the game almost unplayable without save states, so combining all of that with NoEnding makes one of the most infuriating games ever made. Demonstrated in all its weirdness [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_iXqcKppm0 here]].
** '''''Super Mario 3 Special''''', Yong Yong's paltry attempt to port ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' to the Game Boy Color. The result was similar to their other games: [[PortingDisaster an almost unplayable mess that made the original game look like a complete joke]]. Only 5 levels were ported from the original game, the powerups did nothing other than give you extra hit points, and the fourth level is impossible to complete. To counter this, the map screen can be used to skip straight to Level 5. To add insult to injury, this particular game was rereleased as ''[[ItsTheSameNowItSucks Pokémon Diamond]]''. Like ''Pokémon Jade'', it added completely pointless intro stills from the anime, removed the map screen... and started the game on Level 4. In other words, you get about 3 minutes worth of terrible platforming, if that. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPZQEI-jk4 Yes, they really were this incompetent.]]
** They also made '''''Pokémon Adventure''''', a supposedly original platformer starring Pikachu just like so many other pirate games based off the franchise. It has an intro which features seemingly random Pokédex entries for no discernible reason. Several of the enemies were reused from their other games despite being from completely different franchises, some of the graphics were stolen from ''VideoGame/{{Bonk}}'s Adventure'', and most of Level 4 could be skipped by running across the top of the level.
** Their '''''Franchise/{{Digimon}}''''' games are an improvement, but barely. The graphics are no longer eye-bleedingly bad and the games themselves were actually playable to a certain extent. That said, they still fit this trope because they still have all of the other problems that the rest of their games have.
%%* As a general rule, a section of video game app developers for the iOS and Android devices tend to emphasize quantity over quality, and the less scrupulous ones (such as Adventure Time Pocket Free, mentioned in the Smartphone Games section above) have no problems taking advantage of unaware or ignorant gamers. However, considering the tendency for the [=iOS=] App Store to have lax standards over apps, you get developers like the Chinese producers '''zhenhe xue''' and '''shao zheng''' (yes, these guys don't capitalize their names on their products) who blatantly use copyrighted material, don't pay attention to basic details (such as having descriptions that didn't sound like they were Google-translated), and have endless app ads pop up in paid games. Regardless, even these bad games get bought and played to a high score. One notable example on discussing the matter was a [=PeanutButterGamer=] review [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm_Y2t51tUE on these types of games]], including the legendary '''''Baby Stomach Surgery''''' and '''''Baby Makeover'''''.

!!Consoles and other Hardware

%% Please do not add consoles with a cult following, such as the Virtual Boy or Atari Jaguar, as they would be inherently disqualified for this list by that very following. If, however, there is an add-on for one of those consoles that even the fans of the base hardware won't defend (see Accessories below), then it's fair game.
Even the most snobbish member of the Glorious PC Master Race knows not to use these to [[FanHater mock filthy console peasants]], for they would be preaching to the choir.

[[folder:Repeat Offenders]]
* '''Commodore''':
** If you ever wondered what the worst-selling video game console of all-time was, look no further than the '''Commodore [=C64GS=]'''. What was intended to be Commodore's original answer for competing against the likes of Nintendo and Sega turned out to be the [[CreatorKiller beginning of the end for the Commodore brand altogether]]. The long design of the system was the molding of a typical Commodore keyboard without the actual keys needed for some of these games to activate properly. It didn't help that the game they first bundled the system with, ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', included the goof of requiring that the user press a certain key on a system that didn't have any keyboard buttons at all. [[https://youtu.be/-8p1a46F-yU?t=420 Commodore later changed the game to a 4-in-1 cartridge of old Commodore 64 games,]] [[{{Irony}} while the Terminator 2 cartridges that weren't put out were later bundled into the regular Commodore 64 system instead.]] Combine that with the fact that it was only £50 less than the actual Commodore 64 ''computer'' and that [[NoExportForYou it had a limited release in only the United Kingdom and Germany]], and you got yourself a console that, what originally shipped in 20,000 copies at the time of its launch, ultimately sold only a tenth of its meager launch sales; remaining stock were converted back into regular Commodore 64 units to be sold as normal home computers. Guru Larry talked about it in more detail on his [[https://youtu.be/zc-QAbIgQRc?t=14m13s Top 10 ACTUAL Worst Selling Consoles]] video in his ''Fact Hunt'' series.
** The next console they created was the '''Commodore [=CDTV=]'''. Their goal with this console was mainly to be a multimedia system similar to the Philips CD-i. Long story short, when you decide to compete against the ''Philips CD-i'' over bigger competition like Nintendo and Sega, you're bound to set yourself up for failure there. Being released for only the United Kingdom and Germany and promoting it as the "Commodore Dynamic Total Vision"[[note]]technically making it [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Commodore Commodore Dynamic Total Vision]][[/note]], Commodore decided to [[ChristmasRushed rush their release into Europe first]] by using the computing system of the already-outdated Amiga 500 as the base of its functionality, removing the keyboard (though allowing it as an extra for £70), having a weird controller that's a mix between a proper controller and what looks like a remote controller in the middle of it, and allowing it to run [=CD-ROMs=] instead of the typical floppy disc drive at the time. What also didn't help matters was the fact that it was sold for an even more exorbitant £600, which translates to around ''£1,300'' as of 2020, combined with the fact that Commodore was so desperate to get people to buy it that they demanded the [=CDTV=] be sold on the opposite side from Amiga computers in stores. Despite Commodore's drastic measures and threats, people weren't thrilled about what the [=CDTV=] was doing, with reviewers exposing this console's dark truth not long after it was released to the public. Even more pathetic is that despite it lasting longer than the [=CD32=], the console only sold around 55,000 total units in both countries (nearly 30,000 in the UK and 25,800 total in Germany) [[note]](the Amiga [=CD32=] meanwhile sold around 100,000 copies all around Europe, at the very least)[[/note]], [[CreatorKiller which sealed Commodore's fate by that point,]] and the [=CD32=] could just play [=CDTV=] games just fine without it being necessary. Guru Larry reviews it on on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc-QAbIgQRc&t=139s Top 10 ACTUAL Worst Selling Consoles]] video in his ''Fact Hunt'' series.
** Once a staple of the home computer market, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} was [[CreatorKiller brought down]] by its one foray into the home console market: the '''Amiga [=CD32=]''', which was released in September 1993 and discontinued in less than a year (for a mercy, [[NoExportForYou it was never released outside of Europe and Canada]]). The console is a hodgepodge of questionable design choices seemingly made to spite console gamers, including the power button being on the back of the unit instead of on top or up front, and the controller ports being on the side instead of in front. The CD unit was also notably faulty -- the lid had no safety lock and, depending on how old the system is, the discs may not spin unless a weight (like a paint can, for an extreme example) was on it to help keep it closed. The controller's design was similarly questionable: in addition to being designed in an upside-down way in comparison to the more user-friendly controllers of its competitors, the face buttons are labeled with odd media player symbols[[note]]Comparing the [=CD32=]'s button symbols to the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]]'s: the SNES has A, B, X, Y, L, R, Start and Select; the [=CD32=] has Stop, Eject, Loop, Chapters, Rewind, Fast Forward and Pause/Play[[/note]] instead of simple letters, numbers, or basic shapes[[note]]Not that it particularly mattered since most of the games that were ported from Amiga [=PCs=] (which were intended for a joystick with two buttons) didn't get the control scheme rearranged for a [=SNES=]-style gamepad, meaning you'd get weird, console-unsuited stuff like having to press up to jump in platform games, instead of one of the face buttons. In other words, even if [=CD32=] shipped with a really good controller, the games still would have played like garbage because they weren't optimized or programmed to properly utilize it[[/note]]. The MSRP was another slap in the face: $400 (adjusted for inflation, almost ''$700'' as of 2018) on its own, for which you could've bought a Mega Drive or SNES with a second controller and multiple games to go with either choice. And for all of its boasts of being the first 32-bit console[[note]]Which was a lie, the Japan-only FM Towns Marty beat it to the market by 7 months[[/note]], it was more of a low-end Amiga computer in a console shell than a true home console like the Saturn or [=Playstation=]. The [=CD32=]'s library does little to justify a purchase: for every one halfway-decent game (most of which were already available on older Amiga systems or other [=PCs=] or consoles), there were at least five shovelware titles such as the infamous video game adaptation of ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}''. Furthermore, the console was also based off of software from the Amiga 1200 instead of something else that was original or exclusive to itself. All that meant the [=CD32=] being banned in the United States over a patent dispute before it was even released there (though a handful of [=NTSC=] consoles were sold in Canada) was seen, in hindsight, as a ''mercy'' to hardcore gamers, and today the console is ignored by both collectors and the retro gaming community. The WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKqRz64eQD4 pulled no punches in his criticisms of this console]] before [[https://youtu.be/HfnNrISCFfk?t=871 destroying it with a flamethrower.]] What's probably worse as a kicker to it was that [[HistoryRepeats it was a repeat of what happened]] to the parent company's aforementioned Commodore [=CDTV=].
* '''[=JungleTac=]''':
** The '''Wireless 60''' is a Wii ripoff with poor and stolen graphics, dull gameplay, and fake motion controls. Shane Luis of Rerez takes a look at it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eBwHq144_M here]] as the very first episode of "The Worst Ever" series, where he calls it the worst game system he has ever played.
** '''Wireless: Hunting Video Game System''' aka the '''Wireless'''. The console tries to act like a home console version of the ''Big Buck Hunter'' arcade game found in certain establishments (with 20 total games on it), but none of them really work out so well at all. Games there range from the typical military shooters and gallery shooters to games that feel out of place for this type of console like ''Darts'' and whatever ''Be Careful'' could be classified as, and all of them (including their ripoff of ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'') hold major problems that ruin whatever fun might have been had with them, some of which including game-breaking bugs and games that are either too short, too long, or could even be played without doing anything at all. Combine that with a broken set-up for even playing the console properly, including a lesser pointing system when compared to the Wii, plus the fact that this actually rips off a different light gun system done by Hamy, and you got quite a system that you'd be better off forgetting about completely. However, if you want to see it in action, Shane Luis from Rerez [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoEFTg9iRzU has a video where he has his friend/co-host Adam also look at the system alongside him.]][[note]]At the time of review, Shane wrongly assumed that the Wireless was the first console in the Wireless line due to the name of this particular console, as the Wireless 60 came out in 2009, 2 whole years before the Wireless, meaning the Wireless is the actual predecessor at hand, not the Wireless 60.[[/note]]
** '''Wireless Air 60''', the sequel to the aforementioned Wireless 60, is a console that knocks off Microsoft's Usefulnotes/Xbox360 or UsefulNotes/XboxOne with the UsefulNotes/{{Kinect}} functionality but managed to make the knockoff Kinect become ''a lot less functional'' by comparison. The problems from its predecessor still remain here, only in addition to fake motion controls, it also features a completely broken method to move various things from one way to the next in many different ways. Rerez considers this sequel to be even worse by comparison, so much so he destroyed it at the end of his review. You can watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qiRCU0SCTs here]].
* Music/SouljaBoy has released several terrible consoles in a thoroughly misguided attempt to cash in on the retro video game console trend that was made popular by the NES Classic, SNES Classic, Sega Genesis Mini, and (to a much lesser extent) [=PlayStation=] Classic. Creator/YongYea covered the entire history of Soulja Boy's failed console releases [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhENlZ0dioA here]], as has Izzzyzzz [[https://youtu.be/KfOSOv_8tDk here]], while iiluminaughtii covered it as part of her chronicle of Soulja Boy's numerous scams starting at [[https://youtu.be/-ckwOSqxhwo?t=731 12:11 of this video]]:
** The '''[=SouljaGame=] Console''' and the '''[=SouljaGame=] Handheld''' both boasted hundreds of built-in games and capabilities that sounded too good to be true (the Handheld [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181205184902/https://souljawatch.com/products/souljagame-handheld was advertised]] to emulate the Switch, 3DS, and [=PlayStation=] Vita [[note]]{not only do stable emulators not exist for those handhelds, with only the 3DS having a ''usable'' emulator, it doesn't have all the inputs needed to emulate a PSP or an old 3DS sans Circle Pad Pro, let alone a Switch}[[/note]] and the Console's advertising [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181205184841/https://souljawatch.com/products/souljagame-console had a screenshot]] implying that it could play ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' at 4K resolution). As it turns out, they were nothing more than cheap Chinese consoles sold at inflated prices that could barely do half of the things that were advertised. The games that could be played were emulated with terrible video settings that were meant to fill widescreen displays but led to the video being slightly cropped. Not even the metadata were spared by the creators' incompetence and laziness; a significant number of games on the Console have art from other games, fan-made covers, or materials that aren't from a video game at all[[note]]including [[SweetSeal Mamegoma]] images -- apparently the creators tried to get generic art by Googling "mamegame" but misspelt it as either "mamegome" or "mamegama" and failed to realise the admittedly adorable picture they ended up with had nothing to do with anything[[/note]]. The Console was bundled with games that Soulja Boy or the console designers couldn't possibly have the rights to, which eventually [[ScrewedByTheLawyers forced him to pull the SouljaGame from his online store to avoid legal action from Nintendo.]] Despite all that, many people never even got their consoles despite paying extra for three-day shipping. Madlittlepixel [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo-qNU7Qu3k gives a breakdown]] of the [=SouljaGame=] Console, [[DropTheHammer literally]] and figuratively, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEKgujlj_KM later showcases]] what it [[note]](or rather, the '''[=TsingChu=] X Pro''', the original Chinese console the [=SouljaGame=] is based off)[[/note]] is actually capable of. WebVideo/JonTron riffs on it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f5nIq9qL6Mh here,]] but he was forced to review the original Chinese console because his copy of the [=SouljaGame=] never showed up. Rerez also showcased the actual consoles (in their original forms and not with the Soulja Boy brand on them), as well as a couple more consoles he released before being sued by Nintendo in the '''Retro [=SouljaBoy=] Mini''' and '''[=SouljaGame=] Fuze''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqXuAuTFXpA here.]]
** After canning most of those consoles by force from his Soulja Watch website, he came back later in January 2019 with three different consoles on sale: a different version of the '''[=SouljaGame=] Handheld''' that was released (which looked like a UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, but has since later been "remodeled" a bit to look like a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch after the Vita was discontinued), the '''[=SouljaGame=] Portable Screen''' (which was a portable [=DVD=] player (that might also play the rare [=EVD=]), though it includes a small disc of 300 [=NES=] games inside of it with bootlegged stuff included there), and a ''third'' [=SouljaGame=] Handheld (though this one was properly named the '''PVP 3000 (Game Console Suit)''', with it sometimes going under different names and retailers properly like the '''PXP 3 Slim Station''' instead) that tries to ripoff the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable. All three of these consoles hold significant issues that make them completely unplayable for one reason or another.
** The third [=SouljaGame=] Handheld (or PVP 3000 or PXP 3 or whatever it might be found under) gained some extra notoriety initially for not only having a various amount of exclusive cartridges of said many-in-one games alongside having one within the console that could be activated on its own right (assuming you actually have one of those many-in-one cartridges around the first time around), but also bootlegged Genesis games like ''Angry Birds'' and ''Super Mario World'', none of which perform well. Most egregious is a ROM of ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'' locked onto an ''incompatible cartridge'', resulting in ''VideoGame/BlueSphere'' masquerading as ''Sonic & Knuckles''. And as an added bonus, the video output cables that came with the system are also prone to failure if they're ever used long enough. Rerez covers that console in better detail [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAbscJU72XU here]], with the note that during its production the [=souljawatch.com=] website the consoles were sold at shut down, stating that maybe it should stay that way.
** He then [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crOLkqfAiTs eventually found a proper SouljaGame Portable Screen]] (though it went under the name '''Buyee''' (not to be confused with the proxy shopping service with the same name that lets you bid and purchase Japanese products online) as a portable DVD/EVD player with the same Super Game 300 disc included), and with a controller being cheap and easy to break (the buttons feel like marshmallows or chewed up chewing gum and often require moving your fingers around to get them back into their proper molding) combined with the disc player potentially breaking its optical disc drive randomly, never mind the faults involved with game emulation, it's almost no wonder why he finds it to be the worst of not just the Soulja Boy based knock-off consoles, but potentially other consoles he reviewed like the Wireless Air 60 and SX-86 above.
** By March 2020, Rerez accidentally found the second [=SouljaGame=] Handheld in the '''X-7 Plus''' (and a more recently updated version of it named the '''X-12''') when covering the worst [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3LGlkTpVCQ Nintendo Switch knock-off(s) yet.]] The X-7 Plus specifically was modified to look like a Switch, only it doesn't have the split Joy-Con abilities like the Switch would; the X-12 was a little bigger, but not by much. However, they both hold similar designs to the Vita, including a right thumb stick that alternates as ''buttons'' for some reason, a poor camera that significantly delays audio and makes things fuzzy, and custom composite video output cables that are ridiculously short and easy to glitch out either system, especially the X-7 Plus. Weirdly enough, the X-7 Plus doesn't have their default SD cards working properly on the system, yet the X-12 can, and it somehow does it worse by comparison. Add all that with more emulation problems from both systems, including one game on the X-12 that somehow showed its debug screen ''upside-down,'' and you can see how absolutely worthless Soulja Boy's second gaming endeavors were.
* '''Tiger Electronics''':
** The '''UsefulNotes/RZone''', which manages the impressive feat of being a ShoddyKnockoffProduct of the UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy. The one thing it did have in its favor that the Virtual Boy didn't was that you could wear it on your head rather than having to use a stand. However, when you did put it on, you were treated to graphics ''worse than a UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch or even their prior handheld games'' (mostly due to the eye-searing "red on slightly darker red" color scheme) rendered about three inches in front of your right eye. Needless to say, this didn't produce anything even vaguely resembling virtual reality. Making this whole system even more ridiculous, there were no less than four different versions: the standard "headgear" version, a much larger tabletop variant, a traditional handheld version, and one which also incorporated an electronic organizer, all of which crashed and burned equally. Creator/StuartAshen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09so0ghPYG4 gives his take]] on the handheld version while WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u5dtBtG9yU&t=15m23s briefly analyzed]] the headgear version. Mark Bussler of WebVideo/ClassicGameRoom [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY_kGWMjJW8 also took a look at the system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_dN8ZwASXk the handheld version]], the former being so bad [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext it warped him to an alternate dimension.]] Poor WebVideo/Octav1usKitten [[https://youtu.be/fCnRupdj2RE had to play the headgear version upside-down]] due to being blind in their right eye, which the headgear was specifically molded for. They also covered the handheld version and the [[https://youtu.be/6HbJe3pv2S0 tabletop]] version. The commercials were [[Horrible/{{Advertising}} horrible in their own way]], since [[VeryFalseAdvertising they showed footage from the]] ''[[VeryFalseAdvertising arcade]]'' [[VeryFalseAdvertising versions of the R-Zone titles rather than the crude monochromatic blobs that passed for the system's graphics.]] When the AVGN [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5RzMmBaLOI released his video of the top ten worst video game consoles he had reviewed thus far]], he really did consider it the absolute worst console he had ever reviewed, and that console ended up beating some video game consoles that are also on this list. It also had the misfortune of spoiling a [[TheReveal dramatic reveal]] for ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' by revealing that Tommy was the White Ranger ''at least a month'' before "The White Light" aired via a freebie card in magazines.
** The '''UsefulNotes/GameCom'''[[note]]The dot is silent[[/note]] (The console's advertising is horrible in its own right; see its entry on [[Horrible/{{Advertising}} the Advertising subpage]] for more on it). It introduced the touch screen, Internet browsing, and the potential for online multiplayer (no game for this system used it for gameplay) a full seven years before the big names. [[AwesomeButImpractical Unfortunately, it just wasn't possible to do that well with 1997 technology.]] The device had to be tethered to a bulky modem and two expensive add-on cartridges if you wanted to use the Internet (text only, for fairly obvious reasons). Its Game Boy-grade CPU was crippled (by multiple culprits, one being the OS-mandated processing overhead) to the point of barely surpassing the UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch. The touchscreen didn't have a full percent of modern touchscreens' sensitivity, and suffered so much ghosting and smearing [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable that faster-paced games were virtually unplayable.]] You can actually see the touchscreen electrodes when you pick the thing up, [[ObviousBeta all 108 of them]]. Add a library of under 20 games, and you have an example of great idea, '''lousy''' execution. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbD2SP37s3o Here it is in action]], specifically the game ''Sonic Jam'' (which is not an actual port of [[VideoGame/SonicJam the Saturn game]] but merely a compilation of levels loosely based on some from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''). For some reason, there was a port of ''Franchise/MortalKombat Trilogy'', a sluggish and stripped-down version of the game that only included 13 of the characters of the console versions (and neither Scorpion nor Sub-Zero are one of them), and a limited pool of special attacks and [[FinishingMove finishers]] for each. [[Creator/StuartAshen Ashens]] reviewed this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tIBIny4L6E game system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWKfNqjjd2g several of its games]]. He was not merciful, nor was AVGN when he tore the thing to shreds in the [[https://youtu.be/_u5dtBtG9yU?t=777 Tiger Electronic Games episode]]. WebVideo/Octav1usKitten also reviewed the ''entire'' library in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jb631kam8Q this video]]. Rerez also reviewed the console and all of its games for their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F14pBxcu6yY "Worst Ever Series,"]] adding that several games on the console performed worse than comparable ports released around the same time on hardware that was made much earlier.
** Tiger made a last-ditch attempt to save the console with the '''Pocket Pro''' revision in 1999, which was somewhat smaller and had a ''much'' better backlit screen... but cut out the original model's internet connectivity and unique second cartridge slot. Unsurprisingly, it again flopped at retail, having been overshadowed by the technically superior UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor released a year earlier. Tiger would discontinue the Game.com line in 2000 and [[CreatorKiller never make another cartridge-based handheld system again.]]

[[folder:Other Video Game Consoles]]
* The '''Action Max''' [[VHSGame VHS Video Game Console]], created by Worlds of Wonder (the people behind the beloved Teddy Ruxpin as well as another game of gunning, Lazer Tag, as well as distribution for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem during its first year in the US) was a game system that used VHS tapes as the medium to play games - except that the system itself was not what played the tapes, but rather the user needed their own VCR to play them, while the system was used for recording scores and playing gun sound effects through its speaker. Using a light gun (or two for 2-player games), players would shoot at the screen. The gaming was strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy - players could not truly "lose" or "win" a game. This, along with the fact that the library of the system was composed entirely of light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, greatly limited the system's appeal and led to its quick downfall with a measly 5 games to its library. Ben Minnotte of the WebVideo/OddityArchive provides further history on the Action Max and attempts to play it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMHa49VbHU here]]. When [=TripleJump=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI-JPlKROUk ranked every home console (and accessory relating to said home console) from worst to best,]] the Action Max was ranked the third worst console released, with its console being considered the worst in terms of games held. [[note]]The only two "systems" that were ranked worst than that were the APF Imagination Machine for being very expensive for even 1979's standards, and the entire first generation of video gaming systems, which were hundreds of systems playing only Pong and noting only two consoles from that generation truly stood out in that era.[[/note]] The system's failure would also serve as one of the contributing factors for Creator/{{Nintendo}} canceling their partnership with Worlds of Wonder.
* The '''Advanced Game Player''' and '''Advanced Game Player 2''', whose names were obviously patterned on that of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. And never has there been anything more unworthy of such a title. Both had the same eight games, all of which were stored internally but required a different game card to access; the system came with four such cards, two games to a card, although these didn't even always work since you wouldn't always get the game you were ''trying'' to play (sometimes the console would load up a pair of games from ''another'' game card for some reason - this meant that as long as you were fine with whatever randomly came up you didn't really need the cards anyways). Of the four face buttons, only ''one'' actually gives the games any input, making it a bizarre nod to the Atari 2600 controller (the other three control volume, brightness, and the power switch which you could accidentally hit and shut off your game). The only good thing is that it's backlit, but the backlight works independently of the system itself so you can turn this on and use it as an ordinary handheld light. It's one of those systems that promises thousands of different games when it has only eight and the "different" games are merely variations on the difficulty and speed. To ''really'' ice this rancid cake, however, ''the control interface would flip over at random times.'' You can't make this stuff up - the directional buttons would randomly remap to the face buttons and vice versa. The games themselves were utter crap, including such gems as "Hit Brick" and "Fill Brick" and two "Car Racing" games [[UnInstallment which for some reason are both sequels with no original installment]]. This is the kind of thing grandparents who don't know anything about gaming buy for their grandkids, especially since the [=AGP2=] sort of looks like a [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] so it ''obviously'' must be one.
* The '''UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar CD'''. Its very existence is preposterous, given the Jaguar's low sales. The toilet bowl-shaped design was the least of its troubles - few machines even worked, and were nigh irreparable to boot. Only 15 games were made for it, none of which could outperform Music/DireStraits' "Money For Nothing" music video in terms of graphics. One of the developers of the ''Highlander'' tie-in game for the Jaguar CD revealed why: when they were making the game for it, they found out the hard way that the add-on was [[ObviousBeta clearly rushed out the door and was too buggy and resource-constrained]], to the extent that everything for it had to be coded ''by hand from scratch'' just to make a game on it. The massive failure of the Jaguar [[CreatorKiller permanently ended Atari's involvement in the video game console industry]] and relegated the company to a third-party software developer. America would not have a dedicated home-grown gaming console system for years to come until Microsoft debuted with the Xbox in 2001, finally putting America back onto the game console map again.
** [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Dr. Insano]], after struggling to get one to work, said:
--->[N]ot only is it prone to hardware failures, it's prone to about five different ways it can fail. It can fail if the CD device isn't perfectly set on the machine. It can fail if the contacts aren't clean. It can fail if the [=MemoryTrack=] cart isn't perfectly set, and it can easily fail because the laser itself or the motor mechanism are defective, and they often are, and in ''this'' case, it failed because the lid is so poorly designed that, when closed, it actually closes too tightly and mashes the CD against the inside of the drive, preventing it from spinning, and that could easily cause additional internal damage [...] And even when I did get it to work the Jaguar still froze all the time, and I do mean ''all the damn time''!
** Spoony himself later remarked that after spending three days getting the thing to work "the motor on the CD drive completely crapped out."
** It took [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe]] (in tandem with Richard Daluz, his repairman) ''three tries'' to get a salvageable, let alone working, unit. [[note]]([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fezuYstS0Q8 The third was presented as a DVD extra.]])[[/note]]
* The '''Game Master''' by German company Hartung, which was also released in the UK as the '''Systema 2000''', was a horrid knockoff of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy [[note]](three others were Watara's UsefulNotes/{{Supervision}}, Welback's Mega Duck {also known as the Cougar Boy}, and Bit Corporation's Gamate, which are the lesser of the four evils)[[/note]]. Of the two dozen or so games made for it, all of them are just poor-quality knockoffs of Game Boy games. The screen also had a very low framerate and was very blurry. Even though it had a dot matrix display, it has nowhere near the resolution as that of the Game Boy and only had a single color. The controls for most of the games are slippery and unresponsive (not helped by the lopsided D-Pad and buttons positioned at the bottom of the system, forcing the user to stretch their thumbs down there or pinch the system by the bottom and causing it to fall out of their hands) and the music in most games sounds like a random mess of beeps, or distorted classical tunes in some games. The packages for every game (at least the UK versions) were no better as they not only featured very cheesy art, but poorly-translated Chinese text describing every game's features and the carts merely crammed in plastic baggies together with said manuals. Here is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIl-g0ZVkA Ashens' look at the system]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ekQFAVkb0 a handful of games for it.]]
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Gizmondo}}''' was only sold for just under a year in 2005-06, and it's not hard to see why. The system came in two variations, one costing $229 and the other $400. The difference? The cheaper model had ''commercials'' that would be downloaded onto the console and randomly played when accessing the home screen; mercifully, the ad servers never went online during the system's lifespan. For the cost of either model, you could've just bought a UsefulNotes/NintendoDS or UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and a few games. You would get a hell of a lot more value with either, since the Gizmondo only saw 14 games released -- only '''eight''' of which got released in North America -- none of which were really worth owning as they were either ports of games you could get on consoles or lackluster exclusive titles. Worse still, one of the most heavily-touted features of the Gizmondo, its built-in GPS, ''didn't work at all'' in the United States of America[[note]]Though it did work in the United Kingdom... for all of a few weeks before going down for good as well[[/note]]. All this before getting into the controversy surrounding Gizmondo Europe's links to the Swedish mafia, a wrecked Ferrari, the subsequent arrest of the company's director, and [[CreatorKiller the subsequent dissolution of manufacturer Tiger Telematics]] [[note]](not to be confused with Tiger Electronics of the aforementioned [=Game.com=] and R-Zone)[[/note]]. And as one last kicker to it, besides not just being the worst selling handheld system of all-time (at least until the debatable, [=IndieGogo=]-existent ZX Spectrum Vega+ came out), the Gizmondo is completely made out of a rubbery plastic to make it look more luxurious at the time than it really was, which makes the console feel more like a strange, sticky goo after a certain point of time, as Guru Larry notes [[https://youtu.be/41rivol-cxQ?t=450 here.]] Creator/JoshScorcher placed it not only as his third worst console of all-time (behind only the multimedia-focused consoles known as the Philips CD-i and the Pioneer [=LaserActive=] for how they both failed spectacularly), but also saw it as his worst handheld console ever [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V5h3wUlOP8 here.]]
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{HyperScan}}''' from Creator/{{Mattel}}, a small console released in late 2006 and discontinued only months later the next year. Similar to the likes of the later ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'', ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' and Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s Toys/{{Amiibo}}, the console has a scanner where you use cards to scan in power-ups for the character you want to play in the game. However, unlike the aforementioned games with figures and amiibo, the scanning refuses to work properly, leaving one to constantly either swipe or hold the card in place on the scanner to get it to read. Moreover, the system is incredibly light with no rubber pads to keep the console on the table. The games (all '''five''' of them) have abysmal loading times and unimpressive graphics for its time, which explains why they only cost $20 at the time of release. Despite retailing at only $70, the [=HyperScan=] failed to please its children demographic and Mattel had to sink to '''$10''' to push its product ($2 for their video games) before folding it in 2007. The final results for it lead to only 10,000 total units sold, meaning only the Casio PV-1000 (which was in the Japanese market for only two months before being discontinued) and the above mentioned Commodore [=C64GS=] sold worse as stand-alone consoles by comparison. Even worse, most units had to be returned due to said issues with its scanner, as Jamie from [=AllTimeGaming=] mentions in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc-QAbIgQRc Guru Larry's Worst Selling Consoles video.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv2-M78m_qI Classic Game Room takes a better look at it here.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ODebhGtiHs The Angry Video Game Nerd also reviewed the console]] as a part of his 2014 Twelve Days of Shitsmas series, as well as looked in-depth at four of the games that were released there (the fifth, a ''Spider-Man'' game, was not reviewed because he couldn't get a hold of it) and notes that it had fewer titles released for it than the Virtual Boy, which he reviewed earlier and whose ShoddyKnockoffProduct, the R-Zone (which he also previously reviewed), is described below. Rerez also reviewed the console and all five of its games for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7DbE6UemM their "Worst Ever Series"]], adding that the console's disc drive and AV cables (which are ''hard-wired'' into the console) are prone to failure as well as the scanning component; taking ''four tries'' to get a working console, a personal record for the show.[[note]]A comment on the video adds that, due to the console's failure, all five games are functionally ''[[StillbornFranchise incomplete]]'' due to Mattel never releasing all of the cards, meaning that you could only get a 'complete' HyperScan experience if you were to hack the console, or even ''get an emulator''.[[/note]]
* The '''Interact'''[[note]]Also [=MyQi=], [=WiWi=], [=MiWi=], [=MiWi=] Xtra, [=MiWi=] 2, [=MiWi=] 360 Deluxe, Digitron, and [=iSport=][[/note]], the only gaming system ever put out by Intec, a company that specializes in accessories for most gaming systems. This system is not advertised on Intec's official website at all, and for good reason. It's a [[ShoddyKnockoff flimsy ripoff]] of the Wii with a suspiciously similar-looking console and controllers. Unlike the Wii, this system only sports graphics that would look bad on the SNES and only mono audio support. The games for it are all soulless copycats of other better games, and some of them even steal graphics from well-respected franchises like ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', and ''VideoGame/MetalSlug''. Whereas the Wii had plenty of games with poorly implemented motion controls, the Interact, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0-NdIcjmCE as ProJared explains,]] has "faked motion controls" - using certain peripherals are the same as pushing the A button.
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}}''' set Website/{{Kickstarter}} records at $8 million in a month, with promise of a developer-friendly, hackable gaming system where players could try ''any'' game for free before buying. It was expected to revolutionise gaming, until backers actually received it, revealing it to be a flop.[[note]]Though, in hindsight, the fact that the Ouya's E3 2013 booth was in a parking lot across the street should have been a bad omen.[[/note]] The system struggled to play ''smartphone games'', despite being an Android system in a console shell, and the Ouya Store was filled with shovelware from the start (with one game even being '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGvZ8tUKxts animated rain]]'''). The controller (which cost $50, half the system's price) had poor build quality, with the analog sticks wearing down after just weeks and buttons sticking down, along with a bad design choice in no dedicated Start button. The promise of all games having free demos was dropped a year in, and having a registered account and credit card info was required for use. In the end it flopped so hard that Ouya, Inc. had to sell itself to Razer to escape its massive debts, and was discontinued in 2015, barely two years after launch. When the servers were finally shut down in 2019, all consoles turned into paperweights because of [[UsefulNotes/DigitalRightsManagement always-online DRM]] attached to every single game. Thus, the Ouya, on top of everything else, became a cautionary tale in the history of UsefulNotes/DigitalDistribution. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTqhyHuKVKA CrowbCat chronicles everything that went horribly wrong with the console in this video.]] WebVideo/{{Rerez}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rNpkZa-vI4 also made a video covering the Ouya story as part of their "Worst Ever" series.]]
* If you thought the Playstation Classic was bad, you'll feel thankful that was what Sony did when compared to the '''P1 Mini Game Console'''. With this system, they only did the bare minimum to try and make it look like a Playstation Classic knockoff on the surface, and the controller that's given can break on you very easily with the cheap molding looking like it can crack apart at any time! Not that you would want to play it for very long, considering its instructions imply it can malfunction and melt on you if it's played for more than 5 hours at a time, with its games library only featuring '''8-bit NES quality games for what's supposed to be a Playstation Classic knockoff!''' And even though it does feature hundreds of games, you wouldn't want to play any of them on there, bootleg games or otherwise. Combine that with it being around in either 2019 or 2020 and ''still requiring old, standard definition quality'' to make it work, and you got something that makes Sony's blunder not feel so bad there by comparison. Rerez looked at the quality of this device properly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGG_Rtyrv-Y here.]]
* Released during their AudienceAlienatingEra in the mid-90s, the '''Apple UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}''' was Apple's attempt at entering the video game console market in collaboration with Bandai to hilariously bad results. It was a video game console that ran off of Mac OS 7 and was supposed to be a sort of hybrid between a video game console and a computer. Despite having superior CPU and memory to rivaling contemporary consoles, the Pippin lacked a dedicated graphics and sound processor. In addition, Mac OS 7 didn't actually come preloaded onto the system: In what was possibly a poorly thought-out attempt to future-proof the platform, the OS had to be included in the game CD and loaded into the system's memory at startup, thus leaving little memory for the actual game. These factors would prove to be the Pippin's own undoing. As a result, games ran slowly, often with [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading drawn-out load times]] to even [[ExaggeratedTrope load a new menu]] and inferior graphics to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation released the previous year or even the UsefulNotes/ThreeDO released ''three years earlier''. Only 13 games were released in America, with ''even less'' in Japan and Europe. Highlights include ''Racing Days'', which is best described as a watered-down ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' with poorer graphics, and ''Super VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' from Bungie (yes, the same Bungie of ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' fame), which is a port of ''Marathon'' and ''Marathon 2'' from the Apple Macintosh [[PortingDisaster except with worse graphics and a poorer framerate]], both succeeding in showcasing the technical shortcomings of the system. It retailed for $599, which was ridiculous considering the power of the system. What really killed it however, is that any game written for the Pippin can also run on the Macintosh, rendering the Pippin absolutely unnecessary. Despite high expectations from Bandai and $93 million spent in marketing, the Pippin flopped, selling only 48,000 units, making it the worst-selling video game console of the fifth generation, as well as the third worst-selling console of the 90s, behind the previously mentioned Commodore CDTV and the Pioneer [=LaserActive=]. Unsurprisingly, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he put the kibosh on the Pippin only a year after its release, and Apple stayed out of the video game industry until [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames the iPhone and its App Store were released]], something that took over a decade. PC World named it the 22nd worst tech product of all time in [[https://www.pcworld.com/article/125772/worst_products_ever.html?page=6 a 2006 article]].
* There are a number of [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct shoddy knockoff]] game systems regularly churned out by an unnamed company affectionately dubbed as simply '''"POP Station"'''. Why are they so bad? They're glorified UsefulNotes/{{Game And Watch}}es [[note]](specifically, they're clones of Casio handhelds from [[TheEighties the mid-1980s]], which were themselves knockoffs of the Game & Watch, making the POP Station a ripoff of a ripoff)[[/note]] masquerading as high-end electronics. The only good thing out of them have been the reviews by Creator/StuartAshen. Worse, they in themselves have their own knockoffs - and true to form, they're still [[SerialEscalation worse than the original]].
** Every "knockoff" system ever made, such as the '''Zone 40''' (a Wii knockoff) and '''Guitar Star''' (a ''Guitar Hero'' knockoff that you plug straight into your TV set). It plays horridly with fragile and often unresponsive or delayed controls, the charts don't match the songs at all, and the songs themselves are poor-quality MIDI files with ear-grating guitar soundfonts. Watch Clone Hero streamer Acai as he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eGfpaVGf_k rips through one of these systems]] and laughs at how utterly bad it is. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhHOaMXYXU4 Ashens reviewed a similar piece of hardware called "Guitar Fever"]], but no matter which name you call it, it still sucks.
** Special note goes to the infamous ''Laden Vs. USA'' made by the same people who make POP Stations. Yes, they (in this specific case, a company named Gao Ming [or the Panyu Gaoming Electronic Co.]) made a terrible UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch knockoff game based on one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in history. Watch [[Creator/StuartAshen Ashens]] review it and see the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNJM_Kamyg sheer disgust he has with its very existence become all but visible on video]].
* At a time when LCD games were being phased out and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor was about to be released, the ill-conceived '''Pro 200''', made by a company under the name [=ProTech=], was sold via mail order, and claimed to be a cheap alternative to all the other systems out on the market. The system was marketed as having 200 games, being a full-function calculator and featuring "state-of-the-art" computer chip technology. In reality, the system had only ''15'' games (the marketers got the 200 figure by counting each difficulty level as an individual game), most of which were ''Tetris'' ripoffs. The ones that weren't ''Tetris'' ripoffs were just as bad (for example; Frog-a-Long is just a poor man's ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'') due to the system's ridiculously small screen which had a tendency to fade when not looked at straight on, much like those cheap electronic toys one could find at a bargain bin. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4Zn5u4NQA The commercial advertising is even worse]], going as so far as to drop an SNES ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' cartridge into a trash can at the halfway point. Inexplicably, the Pro 200 continued to be advertised through newspaper ads with the same ad they made in ''1998'', and it's been bootlegged and cloned by even cheaper companies since its release.
* The '''RCA Studio II''' was a poorly-designed console even for its day. Released in January 1977 before the [[UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} Atari Video Computer System]] and shortly after the Fairchild Channel F, the RCA Studio II had some major flaws, likely due in part to being rushed through development in an attempt to beat the aforementioned competitors to the market. Despite having five built-in games, the console could only play games in black and white; it had internal speakers whose only sounds you could hear were repetitive beeps; the numeric keypad controllers were built directly into the console, forcing you to huddle up close to the screen just to use them; and the RF switch box was of a faulty design that supplied the signal to your TV set which, at the same time, gave you both video and ''DC power to the system''. [[https://youtu.be/FvT8jG1OVdI?t=270 Not even the AVGN could understand how that worked, having its only viable comparison being the Atari 5200 in terms of setting itself up.]] Only 15 games were released on the RCA Studio II, the five built-in games plus 10 cartridge-based games, despite that it was one of the first systems to use interchangeable cartridges. It only sold 53,000 to 64,000 copies per RCA's estimations and was discontinued in February 1978 due to poor Christmas sales. Watch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiBLeYE8tU this]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CB-JOzsUCw this review]]. Incidentally, Joyce Weisbacker, the daughter of the console's designer Joseph Weisbacker, wrote a couple of games for the Studio II, making her the first woman to develop a commercial video game.
-->'''Angry Video Game Nerd:''' Man, if there was ever an RCA Studio I, I'd hate to see it.
* Before the critically-acclaimed UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mini, there was the '''Sega Genesis Flashback'''. Created by [=AtGames=], it boasted 80 games installed right out of the box; in addition to a cartridge slot that accepts regular Genesis games. This ''sounds'' great on paper, but half of them were not legitimate Genesis titles; and were actually filler games made by [=AtGames=] themselves (or an outside contractor), which included generic math/puzzle games, shoddy knockoffs of arcade staples like ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'', or original ideas that were hastily thrown together. None of them are particularly fun to play, but what about the actual Genesis games? Games with any kind of unusual cartridge -- such as ''VideoGame/VirtuaRacing'', ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' and ''[[VideoGame/MicroMachines Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament]]'' -- flat-out [[GameBreakingBug don't work in the slot]], and even on the pre-loaded games, the emulation quality is horrid; especially the sound. The music for ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' alone sounds so depressing due to the botched music emulation, it makes the game feel like Dr. Eggman already won long before you even pressed Start. That might as well be the case, given that the console shipped with two tiny 6-button controllers that are extremely unresponsive -- due to being infrared, rather than the Bluetooth used by most modern wireless controllers -- and make playing even simple puzzle games more akin to pulling teeth. The controllers also interfere with each other when used simultaneously due to the aforementioned infrared setup[[note]]Since only one button input can be registered at a time, one controller will always end up taking priority over the other; when that happens, inputs on the other stay held down momentarily, rendering it nigh-on impossible to put in multiple inputs -- such as a special move in a fighting game -- quickly[[/note]], which basically makes co-op play on the system a fool's errand. Yes, there is the option to plug standard Genesis controllers into the unit, but not everybody has one lying around, especially in 2017. The console itself barely even looks like an actual Genesis console[[note]]If you squint your eyes, it ''almost'' looks like a Genesis 3[[/note]], and inexplicably, only supports mono composite to keep it as inexpensive as possible. With the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES Classic Edition]] being out a year before, the overall level of quality is inexcusable. Thankfully, Sega dropped [=AtGames=] after the poor reception of the Genesis Flashback and partnered with Creator/{{M2}} to develop both the Genesis Mini and its eventual sequel.
* The '''[[https://www.amazon.com/s?k=super+mini+sn-02&crid=3D2Z2DQ832ATY&sprefix=Super+SN-02%2Caps%2C166&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_11&tag=timeextension-20 Super Mini SN-02]]''' looks to be a ShoddyKnockoffProduct of the SNES Classic with "821 games", but it isn't even that. The console only has 8-bit NES games, and many of said "821 games" are just duplicates of each other, Chinese bootleg hacks, or stolen ROM hacks that were never made for a commercial use. And it is being sold in stores such as Amazon and Walmart. What gets even worse is that the console has '''''inappropriate nudity and racist content''''', [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids in a console ostensibly aimed at families]]. [[https://youtu.be/bjbvY6fKn3w Here]] is NBC News reporting on the bootleg and [[https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/03/nbc-reports-on-shocking-x-rated-snes-classic-mini-clone-available-on-amazon Time Extension]]'s article on the matter.
* The '''SX-86 Mini Games Console Entertainment System''', an obvious knock-off of the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES Classic]] but containing controllers modelled after those of the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}, has the usual suspects for a cheap bootleg game console (pirated games, poor controller design, bad sound emulation, etc.), but the emulator in use is problematic [[FromBadToWorse enough to increase the console's issues]] ''[[FromBadToWorse tenfold]]''. Containing numerous games for the UsefulNotes/NeoGeo (misspelled as the "Neo Ngo" in the system; also includes some of Capcom's arcade games for some reason), UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, the aforementioned SNES and [=PlayStation=] [[note]](only ''four'' [=PlayStation=] games are included, most of them [[NoExportForYou Japan-exclusive]]; of those, two of them run horrifically even by this system's standards (with one of those games originally being released for the Neo Geo anyway); the third, ''VideoGame/{{Romance of the Three Kingdoms|Koei}} VII'', is a Simplified Chinese FanTranslation; and the fourth, ''Ugetsu Kitan'', is an extremely niche and obscure horror AdventureGame about a terminally ill man being DrivenToSuicide and ending up having a pre-mortem fever dream involving Japanese ghost stories and a mysterious girl who warned him that he would die in discomfort {not that you'd know that unless you understand Japanese, preferably to the point where you can read all the jōyō kanji, or have an Android tablet or [=iPad=] with the Google Translate app handy})[[/note]], UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES/Famicom]], '''none of them''' work properly, bogged down with such issues like input lag, slower framerate, and graphical issues (worst of all is ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobin'' which is ''missing the background'', making the game near-impossible to play). And that's not all - the emulator itself lacks a proper "Start Game" function, a few of the functions are ultimately worthless (to specify, "Game Guide" brings up an error message and it has "Load Progress" despite the lack of a '''save''' function), and one must ''restart'' in order to play a game. Whereas most cheap knock-off consoles have the games built into the internal hardware, the SX-86 has the games on a ''[[NoBudget micro SD chip inside an adapter]]'', and the console itself faces errors even when starting up for the first time (including with the SD card reader), requiring one to shut off and restart multiple times until it works. It even manages to fail from a presentation standpoint, as while the NES, Genesis, and Neo Geo games are at least represented with mascots from their respective first-party franchises like Mario, Sonic, and Iori, the GBA option decides to use VideoGame/CrashBandicoot as its representative, while the combined SNES and [=PS1=] option bizarrely decides to steal promotional artwork from ''VideoGame/BlazblueCentralFiction'', a game from a series that came out ''generations'' after these systems were on the market. Shane Luis of ''WebVideo/{{Rerez}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH8JNqNrTHk takes a look at it]] and you can practically ''feel'' the confused anger he expresses. And just for an extra kicker, the refusal to reliably boot up continues past the initial setup, with the system oftentimes ''not even sending a signal to the TV''.
* The '''Creator/{{LJN|Toys}} UsefulNotes/VideoArt''' is widely considered by console collectors to be the worst console ever made. Whether it even falls within the traditional definition of a video game console is questionable, because it's just a drawing program. You can load in "activity cartridges" with "pages" of line art, but that was it. Even as a coloring software, it's horrible because of its stiff (borderline unresponsive), yet really squeaky controls and lack of a save function; a 50-cent coloring book and a set of crayons could provide a better experience. The console lacks a soundtrack of any sort, instead outputting white noise. See [=Gamester81=]'s review of it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4NsRAZy1MM here]], as well as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-zEhhTqdvg the AVGN's evisceration of it during the finale of his 2014 Twelve Days of Shitsmas series here]], with him not only agreeing that it's the worst video game console ever made, but found that ''the styrofoam that came with it gave him more interest than the actual console did.'' He even went so far as to say the boring NES coloring game ''Color a Dinosaur'' was better in comparison.
* The '''VIS''' (Video Information System) was released by Tandy at [=RadioShack=] stores in 1992. It was built in the footsteps of the Philips CD-I and Commodore's CDTV as yet another CD-ROM based "multimedia" device, and had PC-like hardware[[labelnote:Fun Fact]]It was the first home console to be based on the x86 architecture which would go onto be the standard for game consoles beginning with the [=PS4=] and Xbox One[[/labelnote]] with an already-outdated Intel 286 processor, and a "modular" version of Windows 3.1. The reason why the system flopped can be summed up as such: it was marketed as primarily being an edutainment device, and its lineup was mainly cheap interactive storybooks and ports of existing Windows and DOS software, such as the Compton's [=MultiMedia=] Encyclopedia (which was promoted in the console's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y73XriwHJxQ extremely cheesy promo video]] as being a KillerApp, as it was for multimedia [=PCs=] in general). The closest thing to a legitimate video game was ''Links'' golf - but it was already available on PC and Amiga too. With a launch price of $699 (around the same price as the similarly unsuccessful 3DO, which was a far more decent platform and had an above-average gaming library), it was too expensive for a game console, and one could spend a few hundred dollars more to get a ''real'' PC that could do everything the VIS could ''and then some''; thanks to poor customer reception, some [=RadioShack=] employees jokingly declared that the VIS was [[FunWithAcronyms "Virtually Impossible to Sell"]]. In early 1993, Tandy attempted to sell the VIS through mail-order catalogs at a lower price of $399, and re-branded it as a Memorex product. Eventually, Tandy gave up after only being able to sell 11,000 units. Chadtronic riffed on the video that Tandy advertised the VIS on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-F5zQz7RE0 here]] while also briefly looking into some of the console's faults along the way.
* The '''Zeebo''' was launched by [=TecToy=] in 2009 in Brazil, a country where legitimate console gaming was historically reserved only for the wealthy classes. It was created to try and capitalize on the country's growing middle class as an alternative to expensive consoles and the large bootlegging/piracy scene, but botched the attempt at every possible turn. Despite its marketing as a cheaper alternative, the console's launch-day price was still more expensive than ''one month's'' worth of salary for the average Brazilian family. The game library did little to justify this price, as most of it was simply ports of mobile games, stripped-down versions of games that gamers could find elsewhere, or just plain shovelware-quality titles.[[note]]The major culprit was Qualcomm's Brew OS, which was built for cell phones and not gaming systems. It turned out to be incredibly difficult and time-consuming to develop for, with even basic features like two simultaneous players requiring some serious programmming workarounds to achieve.[[/note]] Add other problems like a flimsy controller and [=TecToy=]'s financial issues, and it's not hard to see why the Zeebo only lasted for two years on the shelf before being discontinued, despite attempts to push into other markets as an edutainment system. Derek and Grace of ''WebVideo/StopSkeletonsFromFighting'' made an in-depth video on how the Zeebo was doomed from the start [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOSpJp4GCXk here.]]
* The '''ZX Spectrum Vega+''' surpassed the Ouya by some distance in terms of disastrous crowdfunded consoles. Based on being a handheld version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_Vega an earlier and fairly successful microconsole]] that came pre-loaded with 1,000 UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum titles and was [[ApprovalOfGod officially approved by Sinclair themselves]], it quickly ran into more-or-less constant TroubledProduction; to the point that by the time the console shipped out, the creators no longer had the rights to the vast majority of those games and lost their previous endorsements thanks to the sheer DevelopmentHell that went on behind the scenes. When the handheld finally showed up, at significantly under even the intended 400 units, it was in as barebones of a state as possible. Several of its most egregious problems were knockoff-grade build quality, no charging cord, faulty batteries, multiple ports that didn't work,[[note]]Most notoriously, the SD card slot was completely non-functional; meaning you couldn't add anything to it even if you wanted to, and in turn [[AllForNothing defeated the entire purpose of the system]] as an easy, portable way to play classic ZX Spectrum games.[[/note]] and the original 1,000 games cut down to 14 homebrew titles, which weren't even mapped correctly to the thing's controls at the base settings. Even the boxes they came in were plain cardboard haphazardly stuffed with crumpled paper, rather than actual packaging material. WebVideo/{{Guru Larry|AndWez}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9jOjlJXB0 declared,]] after tooling around with a few, that it was more useful as a ''knife'' than a gaming device; given its oddly sharp edges that could cut through things [[MyLittlePanzer frighteningly well]]. Daniel Ibbertson of ''[=KickScammers=]'' also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkvOlE8qDB0 made a monstrous 82-minute video]] that discussed in-depth the complete insanity that went on behind the scenes of this console's confirmation and long-awaited existence... and even ''that'' isn’t the end of the story.

[[folder:Accessories and other Hardware]]
!!Accessories
From controllers that cost you fights against [[ZeroEffortBoss Zero-Effort Bosses]] to unusable alternative displays to potential console brickers, some accessories are best avoided.
* The '''Creator/{{Sega}} Activator''' was created during the first big push by video game companies to make virtual reality games (at least a full decade before the UsefulNotes/OculusRift and [=PlayStation=] VR made VR gaming viable). Designed as an octagon set on the floor, this special controller could let players play games with their body, ostensibly letting you enter the game you're playing. In practice, it was awkward and exhausting: each side of the octagon correlated with D-Pad directions and the Genesis controller's face buttons, and the game was controlled by moving one's arms and legs over the infrared sensors on the octagon, and much like the Power Glove described below, only a small handful of games were made to support the Activator: ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', ''VideoGame/EternalChampions'', and ''VideoGame/ComixZone'' (and even then, they didn't support it very well). Trying to play other games with it was an exercise in exhaustion and futility. All this, combined with the need for perfectly level ceilings (ceiling fans and vaulted ceilings would interfere with the sensors), the need for its own power supply, and an $80 asking price, made it a very hard sell. The one upside is that the technology for the Activator was later used and improved by Sega for a Japan-exclusive arcade game: the deluxe version of ''Anime/DragonBallZ: V.R.V.S.''
* The '''[=AirStrike=] Drum Kit''' was created for use with VideoGame/PowerGigRiseOfTheSixString (see the [[Horrible/VideoGameGenerationsSeventhOnwards 7th gen folder]] for details on that game), with the main gimmick being that instead of drum kits for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, it instead uses sensors placed where the pads would be and you drum over them, which makes it quieter compared to a standard one. However, during the actual game, it barely worked at all, with the sensors being incredibly spotty at actually picking up any drum hits, making it nearly impossible to play it like a regular drum kit. It could be alleviated by adding a stand to it, but it actually decreases the range of the sensors according to the game itself, so it's not much help there either way. On top of that, the drum sticks have to be held in a specific position so that the sensors on the bottom can be picked up by the sensors on the "pads", which makes it hard to pull off any somewhat complex patterns and drum rolls. The whole contraption also requires ''6'' AA batteries (two for each drum stick and two for the pads themselves), and an Xbox Dashboard update in 2012 broke the functionality of the pads, making an achievement requiring the use of it [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable unachievable.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUU2itPSZ6M This video]] goes into more detail on the pads and how they (barely) work in-game.
* Around 1992, Camerica "released"[[note]]It is unclear if it was ever officially released at all, as no advertisements of the device exist in any known store catalogues around the period. If it was released, it was likely in very small quantities as many retailers were unwilling to stock Camerica products at this point in time due to the company's rocky relationship with retailers. Most stock you see today came from liquidation sales of Camerica's then-unsold inventory that started around 1996.[[/note]] the '''Aladdin Deck Enhancer''' on the world. This device was intended as an add-on to the venerable NES, but failed to add any positives. In what was likely an attempt to sell the device to parents who refused to upgrade to the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo, it was advertised on the box as a memory expansion (similar to the later Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak), claiming to add 64KB of RAM to the machine. In reality it only added 8KB of VRAM that served the same purpose as the CHR-ROM chip[[note]]The ROM chip on an NES cartridge that contains graphics data for the graphics chip to directly access[[/note]] found on many mainstream commercial NES titles so it didn't make any meaningful difference. What this really served as was a dongle for lower-cost proprietary cartridges by Camerica, only eight of which were released and the only one that was any good having been released as a standard cartridge prior (most of the others were, too). Its method to circumvent the 10NES lockout chip is known to fry top-loader NES systems, and only works on the original front-loader as a result (though not even that is guaranteed), being very hard for clone systems to replicate. The system was never given a full release and rapidly faded into obscurity until the likes of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eG-PSZU5MI the Gaming Historian]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnnf42BQTfo&t= Angry Video Game Nerd picked it up.]]
* The '''dance pads''' bundled with ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution DVD Game'' are unique: they don't register your inputs ''at all'' because the game has the players voting on each others' performances instead of actually scoring them. They also tend to slide around during gameplay, so they're not even good for very casual players. kkclue talks about it briefly in [[https://youtu.be/AttTFpKn0zQ?t=651 his rundown of various DDR controllers]].
* Creator/{{Mattel}} and PAX's '''Power Glove''', an NES accessory made famous by its appearance in ''Film/TheWizard'' and hyped by no less than ''Magazine/NintendoPower'', would theoretically allow the player to control the game using one hand. It was meant to be a big thing, but ended up a barely-functional piece of garbage. It cost more than an NES console and was nearly unusable. There were only two games released with programming ''specifically'' for the Power Glove, although three others were planned - the infamous ''VideoGame/BadStreetBrawler'' and ''Super Glove Ball''. There was a method intended to make the Power Glove work with other games via a keypad and punched-in combination, but even then it controlled at best like a drunk on a unicycle. These days, it's best known as a recurring {{motif}} in WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, being famously eviscerated in [[http://cinemassacre.com/2006/11/22/the-power-glove/ his 14th video]] back in 2006 and featuring in later videos, as well as being frequently associated with the character in FanArt and Fan Games.
* The [=VictorMaxx=] '''Virtual Reality Stuntmaster''', a large set of goggles that can plug into an SNES or Genesis and play games in front of the user's eyes. The box also boasted a "motion sensor", which supposedly reacts when the user turns his/her head. Whilst having a slightly better design with a headband rather than the Virtual Boy's stand, the thing's size and weight put serious discomfort on the user's nose. However, getting it to work presents the biggest problem: there were no instructions in the box (though it did have a bizarre joke résumé) and the wiring system was a complete mess. When you finally get it working, you are treated to a horribly muddy Game Gear-like display that seriously hurts the eyes. And the "motion sensor" promised on the box? It was a ripcord-like stick you clip onto your shirt and plug into the device, that shifts the display a little when the ripcord runs along a sensor. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy373DpKGAE James Rolfe and Mike Matei]] take a look at it and they both agree that it makes the Virtual Boy look good by comparison.

!!Miscellaneous
The stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else, but is still awful enough to note.

* The large '''long box jewel cases''' for US Sega CD games are ''reviled'' among collectors and retro gamers for being extremely fragile, often cracking or breaking with very little use, and shattering outright if not stored ''very'' carefully. The depth of the case was problematic as well, as discs would not stay held in their slots, necessitating a packed-in foam sponge to hold the disc in place and keep it from rattling around inside the case, and since this sponge was held in place by the case lid, that was even more stress on an already fragile piece of plastic. American Sega Saturn collectors don't get off any easier, as those same cases were reused for Saturn games. [[AuthorsSavingThrow Sony, on the other hand quickly abandoned their own badly designed long box casing]] (either long-box jewel cases like for CD-based Sega console games or black plastic cases with cardboard or paper box art simply glued on, which was prone to falling off) after the [=PS1's=] first year in favor of standard-size jewel cases with many early hits for the system being re-issued in this format while Sega stuck with long boxes until the Dreamcast era. It's common to see lots of unbroken Sega CD/Saturn cases go for big bucks, and one of the most demanded aftermarket products by collectors is replacement Sega CD jewel cases. Even more insulting is that Japan and Europe got the superior flat square jewel cases while [[BadExportForYou the Americas got the long box cases.]]

!!Others

[[folder:Covers]]
While video game box art [[CoversAlwaysLie isn't always indicative of the game itself]], the truth is that first impressions in marketing ''do'' matter, and if a terrible cover doesn't turn potential players away outright, then it will certainly linger in their minds as they play the game.
* The ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Bust-A-Move]]'' series (known as ''Puzzle Bobble'' in Japan) has had a long run with AmericanKirbyIsHardcore, right down to the NonIndicativeTitle used for international releases. While the games themselves are untouched, being just as [[{{Kawaiiko}} cutesy]] as the original Japanese games, the cover art was not reflective of the game, with disastrous results:
** [[https://twitter.com/boxartscrewup/status/784934349732847616 The North American cover art]] for UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and UsefulNotes/PlayStation ports of '''''Bust-A-Move 2''''' shows human faces trapped in bubbles yawning widely, with their eyelids propped open using matchsticks. The tagline on the bottom of the cover art reads "So addictive, it should be illegal!" Only, the picture in the layout is more suggestive of [[AndIMustScream inhumane torture]] than the extreme tiredness. The entire image was copied directly from adverts used to hawk this game in magazines, with no further adjustments. As a cover meant to sell the game to children, it failed horribly. Unsurprisingly, Acclaim wised up and used the same cover art for all international releases of ''Bust-A-Move '99'' and ''4'', but would nonetheless repeat this mistake with...
** [[https://www.theraffon.net/~spookcentral/scblog/tcp/2003/07/04/super-bust-a-move-video-game-review The North American cover art]] for '''''Super Bust-A-Move'''''. While not as unintentionally disturbing as the above, it's much more obnoxious, with an ExtremeCloseUp of a baby in sunglasses blowing a bubble and the title of the game scribbled on their head. Even with the more surreal direction of the game's art style, the cover [[CoversAlwaysLie doesn't reflect the nature of the game]], and the only connection to the game it has is through the reflection in the baby's glasses. Both of these covers rank #7 on [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110626053745/http://archive.gamespy.com/top10/january03/covers/index2.shtml Gamespy.com's "Top 10 Worst Covers"]].[[note]]The other covers are closer to SoBadItsGood or NarmCharm.[[/note]]
* The [[https://cdn.mobygames.com/covers/6213731-chuckie-egg-ii-front-cover.jpg home computer port cover]] of '''''[[VideoGame/ChuckieEgg Chuckie Egg 2]]''''' has gained notoriety in recent years for the ''incredibly'' gross-looking character on it, which can best be described as if VideoGame/{{Dizzy}} took a deep dive into the UnintentionalUncannyValley. The {{Cephalothorax}} egg character has overly-long limbs, strangely-placed facial features that are needlessly organic-looking (especially the lips, hairy eyebrows and stretched, overly-shadowed eyes), and an overly-detailed skin tone (particularly on the limbs/forehead) that makes it look like [[FanDisservice it's jumping around naked]]. Creator/StuartAshen talks about it at length in his Norwich Games Festival [[https://youtu.be/wFF9O73iwko?t=1007 Gallery Of Shame,]] reserving special criticism for its [[CoversAlwaysLie inaccuracy]][[note]]Since you don't actually play as an egg of any sort in this game; you're actually a little hat-clad man named Henhouse Harry, who's gathering the ingredients to make chocolate eggs.[[/note]] and the [[AccidentalNightmareFuel disturbing layout and amount of detail]] on the egg character.
-->'''Ashens:''' The game's not quite as good as ''Chuckie Egg 1'', but it did '''not''' deserve whatever the hell this is!
* [[http://stevenpayneuca.blogspot.com/2011/11/environment-inspiration-behind-icos.html The North American cover art]] for '''''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'''''. In contrast to the [[MinimalisticCoverArt Giorgio de Chirico-inspired box art]] of the Japanese and European versions, the North American box art uses a more generic layout: the [[RaceLift race-lifted]] Ico brandishing his wooden sword in the foreground; a faded head shot of Yorda staring off blankly in the intermediate space behind Ico; and the windmill standing inconspicuously in the background, making awkward use of negative space. It failed to incite emotion, reflect the [[ArtGame artistic]], [[{{Minimalism}} minimalistic]] style of the game, or [[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/last-guardian-game-named-for-us-europe-kobayashi give American players a reason to play the game]]. While it was assumed to be [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore a misguided attempt to appeal to the tastes of American audiences]], it was actually the result of a fixed deadline for the North American release, as the cover used for the other versions wasn't available in time for the game's release. Thankfully, the UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 (bundled with ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'') used the original art across all regions.
* [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--zO5tXm8W--/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18j4h07j5si6njpg.jpg The European cover art for]] '''''[[Film/{{Juon}} Ju-on: The Grudge Haunted House Simulator]]''''', which doesn't show what the game's about, but rather [[ThisLoserIsYou how the player is expected to react]]: a woman crouching behind a chair, with eyes wide in fear. Not only does this scene have no relation to the ''Ju-on'' franchise, but it doesn't convey the game's atmosphere at all, being brightly lit in contrast to the dark, derelict environments within the game. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20191022211511/https://youchew.net/forum/73-hall-of-fame/38611-cornybadunintentionally-hilarious-box-art/15.html One comment]] on the now-defunct [=YouChew=] forums compares this to a ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' installment using "a greasy 12 year old screaming at a TV, surrounded by empty cans of energy drinks" for its cover. As if the cover wasn't bad enough on its own merits to warrant being listed on this page, Creator/JimSterling [[https://www.destructoid.com/ju-on-s-sh-tty-european-box-art-147625.phtml brought up]] another [[FridgeHorror disturbing possibility]]: that parents would have likely bought this for their children expecting DefangedHorrors from the playful cover, when in fact they were going to expose them to ghoulish scares intended for adults.
* The [[https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/megamanbox.jpg North American cover art]] for '''''VideoGame/MegaMan1''''' is one of the most oft-cited examples of the worst cover art in the history of video games. Here, Mega Man is depicted as a dopey-looking middle-aged man in [[WTHCostumingDepartment an atrocious blue-and-yellow costume]] that only vaguely resembles the character in the games, and he is set against a hilariously bad 80's-tastic backdrop. Even the [[http://ringsandcoins.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mega-Man-EU-Art.jpg European box art]] is more faithful (if [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore considerably more actionized]]). In the decades since, Capcom would develop a self-depricating sense of humor regarding the box art, creating intentionally cheesy homages to it for the release of ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', as well as including the "Bad Box Art" version of Mega Man as a playable character in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', where he is depicted as a ButtMonkey[[note]]The timing of Mega Man's inclusion in the game, which followed the simultaneous cancellation of multiple ''Mega Man'' games such as the highly anticipated and demanded ''Mega Man Legends 3'', wound up coming off as an insult to many fans, even though his inclusion was decided well in advance of the cancellations that precipitated the beginning of Capcom's AudienceAlienatingEra[[/note]]. In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', the "Bad Box Art" version appears again as a line of action figures in a toy store.
* While Creator/PhoenixGames are known for their awful movies put in video games and other awful video games of their own accord, no box art of theirs is more infamous than that of '''''[[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmU1ZGU3YmYtYTcyNS00ODRjLWJjZDgtM2JkZjczOWJlODE5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc5NzE0MzE@._V1_.jpg Snow White and the Seven Clever Boys]].''''' Instead of using the better-looking models from their "movie" (who, by the way, look nothing like the characters on the cover), Phoenix Games created custom 3D models of Snow White, Queen Grimhilde's witch disguise, and four of the seven dwarfs as they appear in [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs the Disney classic]], to [[{{Mockbuster}} trick unknowing consumers]]. What makes it stand out, however, is the fact that the designs for every character suffer from one of the most horrific cases of [[UnintentionalUncannyValley Uncanny Valley]] ever, with most of the characters looking directly at the camera and the models being extremely low quality. The designs combined with the atmosphere of the box art showcases a weird MoodDissonance on display. When WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} covered this game, he noted that there was so much wrong with the box art that it was more interesting than the game itself. Meanwhile, the WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdfFiUM10FU talks about how much of a nightmare this cover really is,]] joking that the game's rating means it needs only three more souls to consume.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Presentations]]
Sometimes, the first impression was so bad the game or console is doomed no matter how well-received it turns out to be. Regardless of the product, first impressions count. And when the first impressions of a product give consumers at large no confidence that it will be worth their money, that's going to affect consumer perceptions of a product even if there's time for a course correction.

Do not add any examples to this folder without discussion over whether the presentation you want to add actually qualifies first. There is a big difference between a botched presentation that is a technical trainwreck and/or kills all hype for a game/system and a presentation that was simply boring, lacked any heavy hitting announcements, or received HypeBacklash afterward because it lacked an announcement the VocalMinority heavily expected.

* Nowadays, it's common for [=E3=] presentations to include at least one game that is released during the presentation itself, but '''Sega's surprise launch of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn''' in 1995 proved to be a bit too ahead of its time, resulting in one of the most infamous misfires in [=E3=] history. The console was intended to launch in September of that year, but Sega suddenly decided to move the release date ahead by 4 months and launch it during the presentation instead. Intended as a chance to gain a head start, it instead backfired spectacularly and [[CreatorKiller served a major role in the downfall of Sega as a console developer]], for the following reasons:
** Most retailers, including Walmart, were caught off guard, and were pissed that Sega had circumvented them for their rivals. This gave them little incentive to sell the Saturn, and they teamed up with their rivals instead.
** As a consequence of their lack of planning, only six games were available at launch, and the intended console seller ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' ended up being a [[ObviousBeta buggy mess]] as a result of the early launch. Furthermore, not only were retailers out of the know about the surprise launch until it happened, ''so were the third-party developers''. Since none of said developers were even remotely ready to put out their games yet, the console effectively began with a four month drought of releases, souring trust both in developers and in consumers right out the gate.
** Its '''$400''' pricetag, combined with the above problems, ensured that there was little interest among consumers in picking one up. Add in Sony [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExaAYIKsDBI upstaging Sega]] with a lower $300 for their hyped UsefulNotes/PlayStation, and the fate of the Saturn was all but sealed. All Steve Race did was walk up to the podium, say "299", and walk away. The audience responded with rapturous applause.
** The aftermath: The failure of the Saturn thanks to Sega's abysmal marketing decisions kickstarted their downfall[[note]]Really the UsefulNotes/Sega32X (or even the UsefulNotes/SegaCD) kickstarted the downfall, the Saturn was supposed to pull them back out. It instead sent them full speed off a cliff[[/note]]. Sega was eventually forced to release a successor, the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, in ''1998 (Japan) and 1999 (overseas)'', just four years after the Saturn's release in the respective regions. On its own, the Saturn failure may have been survivable in the long term, but the nature of its failure, combined with the numerous other mistakes Sega made before and after (including, most infamously, transpacific ExecutiveMeddling from Japan in response to an IPO from the originally planned chip supplier for the Dreamcast that led to not just an acrimonious lawsuit but also Electronic Arts cutting ties with Sega), ensured that despite the Dreamcast's strong launch it was likely doomed from the beginning. To be successful, it required ludicrous sales that the wait-and-see approach gamers took made impossible to achieve, and all it took to kill any hope of its success was the announcement of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, [[CreatorKiller ultimately leading to Sega withdrawing from the console market.]] The Dreamcast's lifespan was so short that it was discontinued before two of its would-be competitors (the UsefulNotes/XBox and the UsefulNotes/GameCube) hit the stores--in fact, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', a first-party title, was ported to the latter after ''less than a year'', even being a '''launch title''' in PAL regions. [[https://youtu.be/rEmYBWCDUJg This video]] sums up the entire fiasco quite nicely.
* The '''Nokia E3 2003 Presentation''' where they unveiled their handheld gaming device, the [[UsefulNotes/NGage Nokia N-Gage]]. While a smaller affair than Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony's conferences, the press felt welcomed by Nokia's floor display. Then the presentation started, which was less than impressive. Four hip hop breakdancers went up on stage to bust some moves and play on their own N-Gages to showcase the multiplayer and mobile functionality, which came off as dated. After that, the presenters showed up to talk about the N-Gage while showing gameplay footage. However, not only was the lineup not wowing the press since it was mostly ports of older games[[note]]''VideoGame/TombRaiderI'', ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'', ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall'', etc.[[/note]], the ultimate killer was the frame rate being shown, which was reflected on the demo N-Gages as well. The 3D games were running with a lower FPS than the final product, giving off the impression that the N-Gage was far less powerful than it was. To top things off, the price was announced by a model taking her shirt off to reveal "$299" drawn on her abdomen - which was three times the price of the N-Gage’s primary competition, the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. Like Sony's E3 over the [=PS3=] in 2006, the crowd gawked at the price and what potential momentum Nokia could've drawn for their handheld was effectively killed. You can read more about the E3 coverage from Eurogamer [[https://www.eurogamer.net/news140503nokiae3 here]] and WebVideo/{{Rerez}} talks about the presentation on their video over the N-Gage [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKjR71VSTMU here]].
* The '''Sony E3 2006 Presentation''', despite having some highlights such as the ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' trailers, was considered a disaster by most everyone. Mainly intended to drum up hype for their then-upcoming UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, it instead left people unenthused about it. This presentation helped ensure that the [=PS3=] stayed in dead last among their competition in the 7th console generation for a long time, despite dominating the industry for the past two generations and their solid recovery efforts that barely put its sales ahead of the Xbox 360 years later. Creator/JoshScorcher [[https://youtu.be/9riKo4qLRAU?t=956 declared it as Sony's second-biggest failure]], putting it behind only their [[SmallNameBigEgo notorious penchant for arrogance]] and previously cited Sony's early mishandling of the [=PS3=] in general, implicitly including this presentation, as the only reason the Red Ring of Death[[note]]a nickname for the Xbox 360's extremely frequent hardware failure, referring to a circular set of red lights around the power button used to inform the user about hardware problems[[/note]] wasn't a FranchiseKiller for the Xbox brand. Or watch the presentation in its entirety [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtB4pbojEfk here]]. Among the lowlights were:
** The presentation of ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' (or "[[MemeticMutation Riiiiiidge Racer]]") to advertise their [=PlayStation=] Network Service offering [=PlayStation=] games on the [[UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable PSP]]. That the audience was completely silent during this part shows just how little anybody cared.
** The ''[[VideoGame/{{Genji}} Genji: Days of the Blade]]'' presentation, where Sony was billing how it was [[BlatantLies based off of real Japanese historical events]], only to [[ImmediateSelfContradiction instantly disprove this]] by showing a BossBattle with the TropeNamer for GiantEnemyCrab. While certainly a SoBadItsGood moment that instantly went [[MemeticMutation Memetic]], it wasn't persuasive to most people that the launch library of the [=PlayStation=] 3 was worth their time.
** Then there's the Sixaxis demonstration, where they show off its capabilities and brag about how innovative it is, trying to convince people it was more than a last-second effort to [[FollowTheLeader upstage the Wii's more impressive motion controls]]. Nobody was fooled, and it didn't help that it came at the expense of Rumble, which had otherwise been an industry standard since the Nintendo 64 (scuttlebug was the Sixaxis only happened because of legal issues Sony had with the Rumble feature of prior controllers at the time).
** The final nail in the coffin came with the announcement of the [=PlayStation=] 3's "[[MemeticMutation 599 US Dollars]]" launch price. With this being the most expensive launch price of a console in almost a decade, few would end up rushing to pick one up, and Sony's arrogant statements making clear how justified they thought the pricetag was did no favors. Not even being a comparatively cheap UsefulNotes/BluRay player at the time was enough to convince people, and what ''certainly'' didn't help was the 2008 Great Recession that was just around the corner, which stunted the adoption of HD home media as many people during that era could not afford [=HDTVs=] which were required to truly take advantage of Blu-Ray's improved picture quality. It also allowed Nintendo to effortlessly upstage Sony with the Wii's $250 launch price, and for Microsoft to regain their footing after the [=RROD=] debacle. The disastrous launch of the [=PlayStation=] 3 that was in no small part a result of the conference left Sony with little choice but to drop its price, several times, in order to get people to start buying the system.
* Around the time E3 was getting mainstream publicity equal to major tech conferences, ''Creator/{{Disney}}'' chose to try and host a presentation at the conference. '''Disney's E3 2007 presentation''' was only an hour long, had very little revealed besides [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames licensed games]], the presenters were all exceptionally wooden (including "volunteers" who were obviously paid actors) and it concluded on one of the most cringeworthy events in the history of the conference: a full team of cheerleaders came in and begun a fully choreographed music number in the style of ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', an event which left what little remaining audience there was in a state of, to quote a journalist who attended, "incredulity, despair, and extreme embarrassment." Needless to say, Disney didn't hold a show the following year.
* The '''Creator/{{Nintendo}} E3 2008 Presentation''' is considered an all-time low for a variety of reasons. WebVideo/{{Arlo}} recounts the entire sorry presentation [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huoy0OiOEsc here]], you can watch it yourself [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4DOn9465xo here]], or, if you want real-time reactions, you can read Nintendo Life's [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2008/07/e3_2008_nintendo_conference_live_text_commentary live text commentary]] from the time, which borders on ApocalypticLog. In short:
** The entire show consisted of a long series of segments that were largely dedicated to market research and unfunny jokes that would be more at home at an office meeting than at a big show dedicated to fun and games.
** The scant few actual game reveals were mostly third-party titles and/or lacking information, most infamously the ''Shawn White's Snowboarding'' segment. The reveal of the GuestStar drew a bit of applause and cheering, but once that faded viewers were left with the sight of a grown man badly playing a video game in front of a quiet audience while emitting forced laughs, which is exactly as cringe-inducing as it sounds.
** The few first party announcements were either real bare-bones (new ''Mario'' and ''Zelda'' games, with no information other than that they're in development) or for more casual games: ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingCityFolk'', ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'', and ''VideoGame/WiiMusic'' (see below). ''Animal Crossing'' alone wasn't enough to save the show, and ''Wii Sports Resort'' had the misfortune of being attached to the reveal of the Wii [=MotionPlus=], which was another flop, as Reggie was clearly expecting applause, only to get nothing.
** Finally, the most infamous part of the presentation: the ''VideoGame/WiiMusic'' reveal, which Nintendo [[MagnumOpusDissonance was banking on as the big "hype generator" of the presentation]], a mark they missed by a wide margin. Even worse were the gameplay demonstrations, featuring drums being banged randomly with no sense of rhythm and a very bad performance of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' theme.
** While the aftermath wasn't immediate, it's likely their setback from 2008 (alongside technical difficulties from 2010 and widely criticized 2012 presentation) ultimately led to Nintendo stopping the previously traditional E3 showcase live in front of crowds to their newer, E3 Nintendo Direct tradition that started in 2013[[note]]though Nintendo first started their Nintendo Direct segments in late 2011[[/note]] and for the most part, they continue under positive reception to this day.
* The '''Microsoft E3 2010 Presentations''' (yes, plural) may well have been the nadir of [=E3=] 2010, even keeping in mind Nintendo's catastrophically botched presentation of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. This was the year where Microsoft launched the Kinect, and they made a huge effort promoting it. Neither of their events did much good for publicity of the peripheral, but for more specific details:
** The exclusive Sunday Kinect presentation. They were clearly trying to put on a show for those invited, even paying for Creator/CirqueDuSoleil. Among those who attended, however, it became infamous for having everybody wear white ponchos and be uncomfortably crammed together with everybody else in the venue, a bunch of bizarre performances, and very few details about the Kinect itself with only some brief game footage (details were saved for the main E3 presentation). Most of the game journalists who attended and reported on it were not impressed.
** Even more infamous was the main E3 presentation. While they briefly gave airtime to titles most fans were interested in, such as ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', they devoted the vast majority of time to the Kinect, showing off the upcoming games in more detail, almost all of which were [[FollowTheLeader blatant rip-offs of games already available on the Wii]]. They also showed off many features with unconvincing actors, a Music/JustinBieber song when his hatedom was still going strong, and how you could use it to control watching movies, a passive activity that gels poorly with a peripheral requiring you to stand up to function properly. It's telling that the main highlight was the unveiling of a new Xbox 360 model and giving a bunch out for free, seemingly as an apology for the conference. [[https://mobile.twitter.com/Doctor_Cupcakes/status/1143262886246133765 An image with a visibly unimpressed audience]] that included Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto is considered emblematic of Microsoft's E3 that year. These conferences irreparably tainted the Kinect brand, making it dreaded anytime Microsoft talked about it in future conferences and forcing Microsoft to drop support for all versions of it by the end of 2017.
* While not as bad as the Microsoft presentation in terms of PR, '''Konami E3 2010''' is infamous for being perhaps the most uncomfortable presentation in the history of the event. While the games showcased were fine (including ''VideoGame/MetalGearRising'', ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'', and two ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games), the issue came in that virtually none of the people involved had much in the way of stage experience, and the Japanese devs had no translators and thus spoke in very stilted and accented English. This combined with a large number of poorly-done skits (including one infamous part involving a trio of luchadors, done to promote the company's licensed wrestling game based on the Mexican Wrestling/{{AAA}} lucha-libre promotion) turned the presentation into the world's most awkward variety show as the presenters went through each poorly-handled reveal and discussion after the next, leaving the entire audience uncomfortable in the process. To this day, it's shorthand for how a presentation can go terribly wrong from a design standpoint.
* The '''UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}} presentation at SXSW 2013''' killed a lot of the initial hype generated the console's highly successful Kickstarter campaign, and left it facing an uphill struggle for the rest of its short life. The presentation got off to a bad start when Ouya's CEO, Julie Uhrman, took a prototype console out of a small paper bag, which was intended to demonstrate how compact the system was, but immediately gave both the console and company an unprofessional image that stuck with it for the rest of its existence. Things then got worse when Uhrman openly stated that there was "nothing special" about the Ouya's hardware or software, as if it was somehow a selling point (even though it meant that ''anyone'' could duplicate their business model), and also behaved in a dismissive manner towards the AAA game model and claimed that mobile-style games was the future, only to then admit that she had no idea how many launch titles or exclusives the system had lined up. The presentation was so disastrous that ''half of the attendees'' had walked out by the end, and it proved just the first in a catalog of missteps that ended up burying the Ouya.
* The '''reveal of the UsefulNotes/XboxOne''' was a disaster on par with the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn [=E3=] '95 presentation, caused by [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism complacency on Microsoft's part]] due to the success of the UsefulNotes/Xbox360. Instead of getting gamers even more hyped for its new system, the presentation was marred by two fatal mistakes that caused the [[TaintedByThePreview mother of all backlashes]] against the Xbox One (or "Xbone", as it was eventually nicknamed) and prevented the system from establishing early momentum, ultimately resulting in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 dominating UsefulNotes/{{the eighth generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}}.
** '''Mistake the first: [[SkewedPriorities Excessive focus on secondary functionality]].''' The presentation focused on multimedia features - in particular DVR functionality and Skype calling - at the expense of games. The few games that Microsoft did show largely consisted of AAA blockbuster titles not exclusive to the Xbone. Microsoft's vision was an all-in-one entertainment device but gamers, the people who were most likely to watch the presentation, were obviously more interested in video games, with everything else being a secondary concern.
** '''Mistake the second: Needless, unacceptable restrictions.''' The same presentation also confirmed some rumors that were floating around and causing suspicion and worries among gamers:
*** The Xbone would require an online check-in every 24 hours, or else it wouldn't work. This was a particularly bad and unpopular idea, considering the [[DemandOverload server meltdowns]] that ''VideoGame/SimCity2013'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' had with this sort of DRM, preventing people from playing them due to the single points of failure online requirements inherently introduce.
*** The Xbone would have unprecedented restrictions on used games, charging players money just to be able to play a copy of a game someone else had purchased. This would have made borrowing games a hassle and potentially made it too expensive for some gamers to buy games for the Xbone.
*** Every Xbone would come with a Kinect, a camera peripheral that was always on for the purposes of the "Xbox On" command, and would be required to be plugged in for the console to function. At the time, Edward Snowden had just recently exposed underhanded surveillance by the NSA and caused Americans to become concerned about privacy which earned the Kinect [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJB80Xsj5BY mockery]]. Obviously, the NSA was a political issue beyond Microsoft's control, but they could've considered people's new privacy concerns.[[note]]Not helped by the outside reveal that Microsoft had filed a patent for a technology that would use the Kinect for DRM, counting the number of people watching a DRM'd movie.[[/note]] Interest in motion controls had also been waning over the years, partly ''because'' of the original Kinect; this, combined with the aforementioned terrible showing at [=E3=] 2010, meant the Kinect name was tainted no matter how much of an improvement functionality-wise this new Kinect was. The final issue was that it added $100 to the Xbone's price, making the console, already marred by the used game fee, seem ''even less economical''.
** Then there was the '''Microsoft E3 2013 presentation'''. While it did have some games to show off to garner some hype, the botched reveal hung over their heads. This was their best chance to turn things around in their favor. Instead, when pressed Microsoft at best dismissed concerns and at worst showed outright contempt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEOuKH-W8yM with Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, recommending non-online users stick with the Xbox 360]]. This went over like a lead balloon and allowed Sony to effortlessly upstage Microsoft by revealing that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSBaviQwdTo the PS4 would not restrict offline play]] [[TakeThat or used games in any way]] such as with this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA "instructional video" on game sharing]]. As [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} Jim Sterling]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdK3XNKbe2A pointed out]], Sony was applauded for doing ''[[WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing nothing different from normal]]'', almost entirely because what Microsoft was doing different was so consumer-hostile.\\
The positive reaction to Sony's presentation [[OhCrap brought Microsoft to their senses]]. Soon afterwards, Microsoft announced they would [[AuthorsSavingThrow give the Xbone a day-one patch to remove the 24-hour check-in and the used game policy]] and just six months after release came out with a cheaper Xbone SKU without the Kinect. Still, this course correction came too late for Microsoft to fully recover from the botched reveal, and the Xbox One's lackluster sales (estimated [[note]]{out of seeming embarrassment, Microsoft stopped publicizing the Xbox One's sales after a year of its release}[[/note]] 41 million units sold vs. the [=PS4=]'s 92 million, as of April 2019) are at least partially attributable to the terrible first impression. Watch an extremely tired WebVideo/AngryJoe rant semi-coherently about the reveal (yet somehow manage to sum it up best) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ekOtn7L1N0 here]]. Creator/JoshScorcher [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxBdVuwd_vk would later declare it, and the Xbox One launch in general, to be Microsoft's second-biggest failure]], behind only the Red Ring of Death. Stop Skeletons From Fighting did [[https://youtu.be/GcZD__XquCk an in depth retrospective of the launch]].
--->'''Angry Joe:''' You fucking idiots. I... I... no... ''this''... I just... I can't even start! This is... This is literally the worst reveal event I-I've ever seen. This, literally... if you can't bring the big guns, if you can't bring the good stuff to your reveal, '''[[SuddenlyShouting DON'T DO THE REVEAL!]]''' Wait until [=E3=]!
** If one good thing came out of the presentation, it's that it was the kick Microsoft needed to stop taking their gaming division for granted. The presentation was a CreatorKiller for Don Mattrick, as he left Microsoft to become CEO of Zynga just two months after the Xbox One's announcement. His replacement as Head of Xbox was Phil Spencer, previously the head manager of Xbox's game studios, who was told upon accepting the role that Microsoft was seriously considering pulling out of the console market thanks to Mattrick's failure. Under Phil Spencer, Xbox abandoned most of the One's initial controversial features, began a spending spree on studios to build up the portfolio of Creator/XboxGameStudios, and initiated a shift to less console-dependent services such as Xbox Game Pass and improved support for PC gaming. While many of these initiatives were slow to get going and the Xbox One-era as a whole was definitely a tumultuous period for the brand, by the time of its successor in the UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS Phil Spencer's work had paid off in bringing Xbox back into the gaming limelight and finally shedding the legacy of the Xbox One's announcement, which remains a regrettable moment for the division.
--->'''Phil Spencer:''' If you were an employee in team Xbox, then you were [a part of a team of] thousands of people that work on the Xbox. But there's like a handful of people that stand in front of cameras, on the stage and talk about things. There can be a divide between, 'Why is that person saying that? That's not the product I'm building,' or, 'Why are we doing that? That's not what I think we should be doing.' The feedback we got from the employees, maybe said and unsaid, was, 'We've been working really hard for two years to ship this product. You stand on stage at this event and blow up all the good work that we've done by talking about the product in a way that's not really matching what the soul of an Xbox console is about and what our customers are looking for from us.'
* Very few moments in gaming presentation history live up to the infamy that was the '''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal unveil at [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzcon]] 2018'''. The tone-deafness on the part of those who put together the announcement cannot be overstated:
** It had been six years since the release of the [[VideoGame/DiabloIII latest installment]], and people were expecting ''VideoGame/DiabloIV''. The presentation had all the weight of a new mainline game announcement, but as soon as the presenter started talking about mobile devices, you could hear the crowd's hype train grind to a halt. In what came off as a blissfully unaware BaitAndSwitch, this "new ''Diablo'' game" turned out to be a mobile-only release, presented to an audience mostly made of hardcore PC gamers. Not helping matters, they spent a long time talking about how the game was being co-developed with [=NetEase=], a Chinese developer known for making mobile ''Diablo'' clones, which made Blizzard come off as cheap. To make things more awkward, the presentation was clearly rehearsed expecting cheers from the audience, with long pauses after every sentence. As it dragged on, the cheering just got quieter and quieter until the very end when the audience fell into ''total silence.'' You could see the look on the presenter's face slowly change as he realized this wasn't going as planned.
** Things only got worse at the Q&A panel, which took place directly after the reveal. One of the attendees came up and asked "Is this an out of season April Fools' joke?". Not missing a beat, the audience ''immediately'' reacted with thunderous applause, which was the first time they showed that kind of excitement since before the game was revealed. In another infamous misstep, an attendee asked if there were any plans for a PC release. After being firmly told no, the crowd loudly booed, to which their response was "[[DiggingYourselfDeeper Do you guys not have phones?]]". It was probably meant to lighten the mood, but came off as ''extremely'' dismissive and out-of-touch, as if the devs didn't understand why their audience would want to use their expensive gaming machines. Following this disaster, both "out of season April Fools' joke" and "Do you guys not have phones" became MemeticMutation shorthand for terrible gaming announcements.
** The backlash in the aftermath of the announcement was immediately apparent. Blizzard's stock fell over 7%, and the [=YouTube=] trailers for the game have dislikes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Blizzard, to their credit, called for reworking of the game in response to the negative reception and has since released an actual ''Diablo IV'' and a remake of ''Diablo II''. The backlash was so intense that updates on the game were rare up until it finally got a June 2, 2022 release, where it was playable on PC via cross-play through Battle.net.
%%Do not add references to the 2021 Blizzard lawsuit. It is unrelated to this presentation. Cleanup thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15574101790A64005900&page=134#3338 Also, do not add references to the 2022 Microsoft buyout until at least July 2023 when it's official. Reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15574101790A64005900&page=160#comment-3982 Furthermore, do not add references to the infamous microtransaction problems the game has, since it more fits a Scrappy Mechanic than anything relating to the presentation at hand. Reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=112808&type=att#comment-336009
* The digital-only '''E3 2021''' was an abysmal event for the conference all around due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting game development and Sony, a platform holder, skipping E3 entirely for the second time in a row, leading to a shortage of exciting video game news. [[WebVideo/ScottTheWoz Scott the Woz]] runs down the whole event [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPv-mcEZyHc here.]] It wasn't a total wash, with the joint Xbox and Bethesda Showcase (the first since their merger), the Nintendo Direct, the Ubisoft presentation, and the parody presentations by Devolver Digital and Limited Run Games all being considered good to great, but one must wonder why these companies even bothered to show up:
** '''Creator/{{Capcom}}'s E3 2021''' tried to set expectations by detailing exactly what would be discussed ahead of time, but that didn't prevent it for earning its own share of backlash. The announcement that ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' would be receiving DLC was just that, coming with no footage of gameplay or any other kind of preview for it. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'''s DLC announcements and ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' were thought to have been fine, but incapable of carrying a presentation all by themselves. The most derided part of the presentation, however, was the ten-minute segment on Esports that happened at the end of a presentation that was only thirty minutes long. All of this left many feeling that it was unnecessary for Capcom to have held a separate event for themselves that year.
** '''Creator/GearboxSoftware's E3 2021''' presentation had little to nothing of interest. Aside from ''VideoGame/TinyTinasWonderlands'', all Gearbox had to present was a trailer for ''VideoGame/Homeworld3'' that showed no gameplay, in-game footage, or even cinematics, a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 port for ''VideoGame/{{Godfall}}'', already considered to be an unremarkable game in its own right, and a behind-the-scenes look at the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' movie that could only be described as being painfully awkward at best and tenuous at worst, especially in regards to the interactions between Randy Pitchford and Creator/KevinHart, with the presentation as a whole becoming the source of online mockery.
** '''Creator/SquareEnix's 2021 E3 presentation''' was near-universally panned by everyone who watched it. It began by showing off ''VideoGame/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2021'' for twenty minutes of its sixty-minute airtime, and the footage used showed numerous frame drops during combat portions of the game. While the game itself was fine, the fact that so much time was devoted to it saw people quickly getting bored. Then came the long-awaited announcement of the first six ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games being rereleased... onto Steam and mobile phones only, which made many a ''Final Fantasy'' fan mad, especially those who owned a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch [[note]]Switch and [=PS4=] ports of the ''Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster'' games would eventually be announced a year and a half later, after much nagging from fans[[/note]]. After that was DLC for ''VideoGame/MarvelsAvengers'', an already divisive game by itself, which did no favors to people already burned out by what was being shown. Followed by that was a sizzle reel for a number of mobile titles like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyBraveExvius'' and ''VideoGame/NierReincarnation'', and only after that did they get to ''VideoGame/BabylonsFall'', the highly-anticipated StylishAction title by Creator/PlatinumGames... which was immediately followed by the reveal that what was teased as a single-player HackAndSlash became a co-op "live service" ActionRPG akin to ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Anthem}}'', and Square Enix's own ''Marvel's Avengers'', [[note]]Or so it was thought- it turned out ''Babylon's Fall'' was intended to be a live service game from the ''very beginning''. To no one's surprise, the game bombed spectacularly on release, had all future plans cancelled 6 months in, and its servers shut down just 11 months after launch.[[/note]] which was met with immediate backlash from nearly everyone for taking what was a promising action game and turning it into another game following the "games as a service" model that people derided ''Avengers'' for using. Only after that was more information given on ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeTrueColors'' and the reveal of ''VideoGame/StrangerOfParadiseFinalFantasyOrigin'', the latter of which became incredibly divisive for its bizarre presentation and having stilted and awkward dialogue throughout its reveal trailer. The presentations was finished then, but the troubles weren't, as ''Final Fantasy Origin'' was given a demo on UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 immediately after... only for the demo to be inaccessible for the first three days because the files were corrupted. Overall, Square Enix's E3 2021 presentation left many disappointed by the tone-deaf announcements and the lack of highly-anticipated games like ''Final Fantasy XVI'' and ''Forspoken''.
** '''Koch Media's E3 2021 presentation''' seemed more oriented towards ''advertising Koch to indie developers'' than advertising games to gamers. Less than a quarter of the two hours airtime actually showed the games (and even less showed actual gameplay footage), the rest being dedicated to interviews of the devs with the same scripted questions on why the dev choose Koch Media as publisher and how good Koch Media is. And even those interviews were marred by a cramped stage that made it look like the interviewer was lying on her back on the floor. The presentation closed on the highly-anticipated "''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'' teaser"... which turned out to be a single artwork shown for all of three seconds.
** '''Creator/TakeTwoInteractive's E3 2021 presentation''' had the company stress the importance of representing minorities in video games. That's all fine and dandy... if it weren't for the fact that Take-Two had [[ShowDontTell no games to show for it]]. The entire conference was them talking about representation and inclusivity in video games... and that's it. No trailers, no gameplay footage, no screenshots, no concept art, no talk about upcoming projects like Rockstar's remastering of the VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto trilogy from the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.[[note]]In hindsight, this was probably a smart decision, as the remastered ''Grand Theft Auto'' trilogy was horrifically bugged and poorly optimized at launch, to the point where Rockstar ''relisted'' the previously removed original versions of the games on PC as a result of the backlash[[/note]] ''Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all!'' Fans were furious that they were presented with a half-hour lecture with no news about upcoming video games, the entire point of E3. As botched as many of the other companies may have been with their presentations, at least those companies showed something from their video game lines. Even people who generally agreed with what Take-Two was trying to say questioned why they thought doing it at the biggest video game show of the year was a good idea, since [[DontShootTheMessage it may have done more harm than good thanks to the tone-deaf timing of the presentation]]. Creator/JoshScorcher listed that as [[https://youtu.be/WhkHF3PmTgc one of the biggest failures of 2021]] in his video to end that particular year.
** Finally, '''Creator/BandaiNamco's E3 2021 presentation''' closed out the event, as if to serve as the straw that broke the camel's back. While most of these presentations were bad, the ones that showed stuff at least showed multiple games and DLC, which warranted some sort of existence at hand for the event. But Namco only showed '''''one''''' game, ''VideoGame/TheDarkPicturesAnthology: VideoGame/HouseOfAshes'', which not only had little hype surrounding it, but had already been announced the year before. This is especially baffling since they not only had ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' set to launch that September, but were also publishing ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' the following year. But the worst part was that Namco didn't reveal that they would be showing only one game until the day of the presentation, causing anyone who didn't see this announcement to get their hopes up for nothing. The Internet was absolutely livid when they realized that Namco had almost nothing to show that year, and began declaring E3 2021 the worst E3 in history.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Smartphone Games]]
%% If the app you want to mention isn't a game, please put it in the Horrible/Apps page, not this folder.
%% Please do not delete any review links from these pages without either consensus or if the link is dead and there are no alternate links to use.

The [=iOS=] App Store and Android's Google Play market are so rife with shovelware that it's difficult for games on either platform to be terrible enough to stand out. That being said, some smartphone games, and not just ones from shovelware developers, cross the threshold for one reason or another.
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* '''''3D Cartoon Land: Safari''''', released in 2012 (and since removed from the App store). Ignoring the fact that this game was blatantly trying to capitalize on [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand another popular and successful game that features a character in a red hat and blue overalls who jumps across platforms and stomps on brown monstrous mushrooms]], the game just wasn't that good. The graphics were elementary-school-level cardboard collages at best with serious draw distance/pop-up problems, there was no sound save for a warbling out-of-place music loop, and the play control was utterly crippled.
* '''''Bob Bros. Legend of Time''''' starts out as an utterly shameless ripoff of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and goes downhill from there. The game only has one level which consists of a barebones Bob-omb Battlefield with no Cannons, Hazards, Warps, Physics, or [=NPCs=]. Bob (or Bruno, as he's strangely renamed in-game) is pretty barebones himself, being only able to jump and having only two (directly stolen) voice clips. The game's sole enemies are Goomba clones, which seem kind of pointless to include considering it's impossible to take damage or die. On top of all this, it's ridiculously easy to glitch through the walls and floor and fall right out of the level, which (due to the aforementioned inability to die) will result in Bob falling endlessly through an empty void.
* '''''Castle Master 3D''''' looks like a passable game at first, but a variety of issues elevate it to being on this list. For one, the goal of the game is to conquer all the enemy castles, but the AI is near impossible to beat, as they can upgrade their castles just as fast as you. The AI can also, with no warning whatsoever, launch attacks to retake castles at any time, making any sort of progress outright impossible, and if they retake all the castles, the game will be restarted. But what might be the icing on the cake is the game's RomanceSidequest. The player is offered two choices, and it's completely random which one is right or wrong, meaning the hints the game gives mean nothing. Furthermore, upon reaching the final stage, the game forces the player to pay with premium currency to reach the end, and even if the player perseveres, the weapon they get is impossible to use because of the level required to use it. And the reward if they somehow do win the game? ''The game starts again anyway.'' Fortunately, this app is no longer playable on today's devices, so you'll be spared of any frustration.
* '''''Chess Puzzles''''' by Natalie London isn't even worth the free download. It's completely useless to learners because it throws you into puzzles without giving you any idea what you're supposed to do. The goal could be anything from "checkmate your opponent" to "pin a pawn" or "set up a stalemate trap", and the hint button just gives you the next move with zero explanation (unless it's one of the puzzles that always give you mid-puzzle hints that make the next move too obvious). There's no attempt to teach you how motifs and mating patterns actually work. Even if you're good enough to figure out the goal on your own, the game is still far from enjoyable due to its numerous other problems: It's extremely short at only 20 puzzles, it bombards you with ads (sometimes ''in the middle of a puzzle''), it doesn't keep track of which puzzles you've solved, you have to click a pointless "Continue" button before you're allowed to respond to your opponent's moves, and the chessboard ''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking isn't even square]]''. Thankfully, the app was eventually removed... but the equally bad ''Chess Puzzles. Checkmate. Improved Touch.'' popped up to replace it.
* The very first game that Vinny from WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksueH37_i78 played in his Android Trash series]] was '''''Cup Hand Adventure''''', an endless runner that [[TheMockbuster attempts to cash-in on]] ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' in the laziest way possible. The graphics are completely generic, and the characters are blatant {{Captain Ersatz}}es of Cuphead and Mugman that have a drinking glass and bowl for a head, respectively. The gameplay is no better: you just walk forwards and jump to collect coins and avoid tree stumps (that kill you for some reason). The thing that pushes this game from "boring ripoff" into "horrible" is the presence of airplane powerups. They randomly appear, and touching one makes your character fly over the obstacles for a few seconds, but once it ends there's a good chance it'll drop you off right on top of a tree stump, ending the game instantly with nothing you could have done, effectively meaning any given airplane could be a PoisonMushroom that can't be distinguished from a safe powerup. Your jumps aren't high enough to avoid the airplanes, so not dying is completely a LuckBasedMission. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaSARsQPQSY This video shows off a bit more of the game if you're still curious.]]
-->'''[[WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Vinny]]''': This is just fucking blasphemy. Think about all the work that went into ''Cuphead''... think about the years of animation, the years of coloring, drawing, and this is what we get on the Google Play store. [...] What else can I say? Really, what else can I say, this is ''Cup Hand Adventure''. And I already wanna die... I already wanna die.
* Reimagining a classic PC strategy game such as ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' for the smartphone generation is a tricky proposition since most of its target audience has never played the original. Unfortunately, Creator/ElectronicArts decided to do so in the worst way possible with '''''Dungeon Keeper Mobile''''', a lame ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'' clone in ''Dungeon Keeper''[='s=] clothing with art assets inexplicably lifted from ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''. Among the game's numerous sins are constantly goading the player into spending money on overpriced in-app purchases to get around the long wait times for performing simple actions as building a single room (clearing a single map square, an action that took only a second or two in the original games, can take up to ''24 hours'' here), throwing mean-spirited insults at fans of the original game (by using the old Bullfrog logo as an indicator of a destroyed room), and deliberately inflating the game's rating on the App Store by making it so that writing a 1-4 star review will redirect you to a service page rather than actually publishing the review. The backlash from players was immediate and fierce. LetsPlay/NerdCubed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpdoBwezFVA makes his disdain for the game clear in this video]], and Pete Davison [[http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dungeon-keeper-a-symptom-of-a-wider-problem wrote a lengthy article on USGamer.net]] sharply criticizing the game. The United Kingdom [[https://kotaku.com/ea-can-no-longer-call-dungeon-keeper-free-in-the-uk-1599021270 even banned EA from calling it a]] “[[AllegedlyFreeGame free]]” game. It also [[CreatorKiller led to the death of Mythic Games]], but the game was maintained by the remnants of employees leftover from the companies EA destroyed until August 2022, when it was finally and quietly shut down.
* '''''Fantasy Night of [=TouHou=] Project''''' by [=PoQoP=] is described as "based on ''VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight''", which is an understatement. It's so full of UsefulNotes/{{plagiarism}} [[note]](the sprites, music, characters, story, and sound effects are taken from the original and used without permission; on top of that, there's fanart used without permission)[[/note]] that it amounts to an unauthorized port, and it still [[PortingDisaster fails to capture what made the original enjoyable]]. For some reason, it ''does'' change many of the original (good) bullet patterns... for the worse. The new ones tend to be bizarre, not fit the characters using them, [[SchizophrenicDifficulty be much easier or harder than you'd expect from the stage they appear in]], have poor design that leads to cheap deaths, be plain ''boring'', or some combination of the above. To make matters worse, several attacks have the boss moving around a lot for no reason other than to make her difficult to hit, and the playable characters are too weak, which drags out the crappy patterns for longer than necessary - ''especially'' if you're using the weak Border Team, which is the only one that doesn't [[BribingYourWayToVictory cost $1 to unlock]] (and it's a paid app to begin with). On top of this, the game displays ads that are easy to click by accident during gameplay. Other inexcusable flaws include a laggy engine, Engrishy instructions [[note]](when they didn't just copy the text from some other source)[[/note]], the omission of Reimu's and Eirin's battles [[note]](in the original, two of the teams fight Reimu instead of Marisa. In this "port", all of them fight Marisa... ''even the team with Marisa on it''. Eirin is one of the two possible final bosses, which makes one of the original Stage 6 routes unavailable)[[/note]], dialogue bubbles pointing at the wrong characters, Kaguya's battle somehow having the wrong {{leitmotif}}, and [[NoEnding the story losing its ending]] [[note]](if you somehow find the patience to beat the game, your reward is... watching a collection of bland screenshots from the game you just played. Yay.)[[/note]]. Predictably, the creator of ''Touhou'' got the app taken down, to the cheers of ''Touhou'' fans. A completely free version (still with ads, though) was later released on the App Store, but that one ended up disappearing too. Needless to say, it wasn't missed.
* '''''Geometry Blast''''', which is such a blatant ripoff of ''VideoGame/GeometryDash'' it's not even funny. For starters, it only has three icons and no way to change your icon's color, and the forms (like the ball) are also stolen. The music is royalty-free, likely torn from a free website, and the only three levels are ''exact copies'' of the first three levels in ''Geometry Dash'', as not even a single spike is placed differently. [[CreatorBacklash Even the creator himself publicly admitted how ashamed he was for making it.]]
* '''''Gwisal-ui Geom''''', a Korean smartphone game, was critically lambasted both domestically and internationally for blatantly copying the aesthetic and narrative of ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', plus ripping off the mechanics from another Korean smartphone game. Add to that the developer's defensive attitude and vehemently denying charges of [[TheMockbuster mockbustering]] despite obvious evidence otherwise, this game received little to no defense. The game earned an abysmal ''1.5'' rating on App Store, before being pulled ''5 days'' after release. The only redeeming feature this game has is competent artwork.
* '''''VideoGame/RockmanXover''''', released in 2012 following the controversial cancellations of ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends 3'' and ''Mega Man Universe'', was seen as a major "fuck you" to [[Franchise/MegaMan the franchise]]'s fans by Creator/{{Capcom}}, especially considering that it fell around the [[MilestoneCelebration 25th Anniversary]] of the Blue Bomber's [[VideoGame/MegaMan1 first adventure]]. Most levels consisted of running forward automatically while jumping and/or shooting incoming waves of enemies, all of which went down in one hit. Your Buster even charged automatically, eliminating any sense of strategy from what someone might stretch to call "gameplay". Boss battles, often the highlight of ''Mega Man'' games, were no better, and simply boiled down to [[TurnBasedCombat repetitive turn-based battles]] where the player and boss traded shots until one of them (usually the boss) died. To add insult to injury, the graphics and sound all came from the [[PortingDisaster disastrous]] [=iOS=] port of ''VideoGame/MegaManX1'', resulting in a game that not only played horribly but looked and sounded horrible on top of it. Even the most staunch defenders of the franchise had extreme difficulty finding anything good to say about this trainwreck, and for most fans it was proof positive that Capcom had given up on the franchise. The backlash from fans overseas was so intense that [[NoExportForYou Capcom USA abandoned its plans to localize it]] (and for once, nobody minded). The game got multiple updates after release, which added original boss characters that were received well enough on their own that many fans wish [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter they could just see them in a]] '''[[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter real]]''' ''[[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter Mega Man]]'' [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter game]]. Aside from a series of compilations, ''Xover'' was a FranchiseKiller until ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' in 2018. The game was finally pulled from the market in 2015.
* '''''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon 4''''' was the supposed mobile follow-up to the popular ''Rollercoaster Tycoon 3'', except it combines the worst aspects of the aforementioned ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper Mobile'' with the worst aspects of free-to-play smartphone games. The game not only used to require money to buy alone, it also runs on a freemium system that's designed to rip off the player with the usual "pay real-life money to speed thing up" and cool features actually requiring real money to buy. To add insult to injury, when Atari tried to pacify the fans by saying there would be a more AAA-like experience on the PC, they ended up botching ''that'' up beyond all belief too, though for [[DevelopmentHell different reasons]].
* '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtMZ_YoyzO4 SkullGirls 2: Deadly Airport]]''''' is a shoddy excuse for a FightingGame and the video game equivalent of ''Film/Alien2OnEarth''. [[{{Mockbuster}} Luring in players with a false promise]] of a ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' sequel, the game does little more than allow the player to select a character and display ads. Despite the title, the three characters available [[note]](Hugo, Poison, and Alex)[[/note]] are from ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', and the selection screen misleads the player by showing a lot of fake characters that cannot be selected. Once you've selected your character, another full-screen ad is displayed, and the game crashes and returns to the menu two seconds later, making the game completely unplayable. Even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0bhFsrYZQ when the game runs for more than 5 seconds]], it barely works.
* '''''Super Monster Bros''''' from Adventure Time Pocket Free (aka Mario Games Casas Team; not to be confused with ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''). The gameplay is an obvious carbon copy of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' (Level 2-1 is a nearly exact copy of ''SMB''[='s=] World 1-1), the playable characters and enemies are ripped off from ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' and ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'', and the sound effects are stolen from various other games, such as ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros''. The physics are occasionally inconsistent, you have a limited amount of jumps (not good especially for a platforming game) and projectiles are too limited (not helped by the presence of boss enemies - blatant ripoffs of Mewtwo - that ''require'' multiple shots to pass). What makes this game truly monstrous, though, is the microtransactions that it constantly thrusts upon players; most of these purchases are ridiculously expensive, with the very first one a new player could be tricked into buying ("Role NO.1 and Unlock All", a blatant ripoff of Charizard) costing a whopping $99.99, on top of the game itself having a pricetag of $1.99. The game features loads of FakeDifficulty to make the player die as much as possible (which displays an ad and prompts the player to buy powerups). It is even almost identical to the related game ''Super Squirrel Bros.'' Even though the game has since been removed from the App Store, its notoriety remains a warning to parents who didn't supervise their children browsing the App Store, indicated in [[https://www.cnet.com.au/super-monster-bros-is-the-worst-mobile-game-cash-grab-weve-seen-339344090.htm this article]]. Watch gameplay and commentary [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAGf2FRRE5Q here]].
* The 2014 '''[=iOS=] port of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia''''' was one of the most infamous {{Allegedly Free Game}}s on the App Store prior to its removal that same year. What was a pretty good RPG on the SNES and UsefulNotes/PlayStation and a less-so-but-still-playable RPG on the Game Boy Advance and PSP was butchered into nothing short of a blatantly cynical cash grab for [=iOS=]. Difficulty settings were cut entirely, locking the players into the [[HarderThanHard hardest difficulty setting]] and item prices in stores are '''doubled''', resulting in a game that was [[BribingYourWayToVictory nigh-unwinnable without the use of microtransactions]]. Worst of all, a constant internet connection was required to play, despite it being a single-player game without any social elements, meaning the game was unplayable after being pulled and all the money anyone spent on it went down the drain.
* For a short time in 2011, '''a [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct bootleg]] app bearing the name ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''''' shuffled onto the App Store, and it was one of the sleaziest attempts at sapping money off of unaware consumers on record. Website/HardcoreGaming101's [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-ios-bootleg/ "Your Weekly Kusoge" article]] on the game is quick to mention that it had [[NeverTrustATitle absolutely nothing to do with]] ''TMNT'': it was actually a poorly-coded and poorly-drawn ''VideoGame/{{Cabal}}'' clone with a background stolen from the first stage of ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'', with two spots very badly filtered over to mask the source material. The screen was filled to the brim with numbers with indecipherable meaning, and the score failed to reset when the player died.
* ''TIGG'', short for '''''WebVideo/TheIrateGamer Game''''', is a blatant reskin of ''Commander Cool'' which fails on the merits of even that, thanks to horrid controls, unintuitive gameplay (including misleading backgrounds), paucity of individual enemy types, [[CheckpointStarvation absence of checkpoints]], tendency to hemorrhage health powerups, and its story, composed wholly of constant, unfunny references and told exclusively via cutscenes. On top of all that, the plug for the full version in the demo is riddled with misspellings of simple words ("enimies" and "Eveil Gamer"). The only thing it has in its favor is good art direction, and even that can't make it worth the $4. It has completely disappeared from the App Store. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGkAylZ2Ljs 8-Bit Eric's review on this game.]] [[CreatorBacklash Even Chris Bores has admitted that he isn't happy with how the game turned out, and hopes it won't come back]].
* '''''Wave: Naminori Boys''''' was a gacha RhythmGame based on a GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga franchise about surfing. Unfortunately, in spite of the game having decent artwork, everything else was [[ObviousBeta virtually unplayable from the very start]]: the UI was extremely clunky, and the English translation was blatantly unfinished, with much of the game's text (including the tutorial) being replaced with placeholders if your phone was set to English. Even worse, in spite of being a score-based rhythm gacha game, using the skills associated with the characters would show an obtrusive animation that would get in the way of seeing what's actually going on. After its March 1st, 2021 launch, the game went into "emergency maintenance" on March 4th after it was found that its voice actors had their names [[TyopOnTheCover misspelled in the credits]], and this "emergency maintenance" never ended, the game shutting down for good on April 6th. This means that the game was only playable for ''3 days'' before the end of its life, and there's very little evidence of its existence as a result: this [[https://noisypixel.net/wave-naminori-boys-shutting-down/ news article]] that covered the game's end of service is one of the few sources that exist.
* '''''Zanda: Linked Swords''''' (later known as "Zenda"), released by "Top Best Adult Entertainment", was advertised as an adventure game on the [=iTunes=] App Store before it was pulled. Even ignoring its [[SerialNumbersFiledOff visual similarities]] to ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, it was even worse than that, having no plot, repetitive stock music, and gameplay that was both barebones and broken (even if the player's health reaches zero, there's no way to die). It also sells itself as an original game when it's actually a hastily edited and unfinished [=GameSalad=] template. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPyiOWzzts Justin Davis from IGN]] took a peek at this game while it was still available.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Games]]
From the days of UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash with child friendly websites like Creator/CartoonNetwork's or Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s (or the days of Website/{{Newgrounds}}' highs if you were older), to the era of dedicated game websites such as Website/{{Kongregate}}, web games have the goal of fulfilling entertainment under a limited amount of space fitting an entire web page. The best ones manage to hold your attention well and have you playing for a good, long time like any other video game would. However, the worst ones make you wish you never went online for them in the first place, especially if they were in a website dedicated to these games. These games almost make us regret spending our time online with them.

'''''Important Note:''''' With the end of Adobe Flash on December 31, 2020, most of these games are no longer in a playable state with a current mainstream browser. This can be alleviated by using either an older version of a browser (such as a portable build of Chrome version 87 or earlier), an alternative browser specifically meant to view Flash content after the cutoff (such as the Firefox-based Waterfox or the Chromium-based Cent), or an emulator such as the Flashpoint project, Ruffle, or Adobe's standalone projector

* '''''Arise 4''''' is the worst installment of the ''Arise'' series, a collection of bland {{Point and Click Game}}s with bland aesthetics, abrupt and random {{Jump Scare}}s, and {{Moon Logic Puzzle}}s. Most of them are SoBadItsGood, but ''Arise 4'' doesn't rise to even that level. It forces you to navigate a confusing hedge maze with [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments screens that look very similar]], so you don't even know if you're facing the right direction. It's got bizarre design idiosyncrasies like drawers embedded in hedges. Its music is stolen from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil''. The puzzles either pose zero challenge or are infuriatingly cheap {{Pixel Hunt}}s. The final boss is essentially a JumpScare JPEG that's technically weaker than the normal enemies, because those kill you in one hit. But the [[ScrappyMechanic most frustrating gameplay feature]] is a set of intermittently appearing monster faces which, if you don't shoot them fast enough, will send you back to the very start of the game -- requiring you to distinguish them from the regular {{Jump Scare}}s, and switch from normal clicking to the gun (which, given the way the game is designed, itself can cause you to accidentally click out of the game). Watch [[WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} Slowbeef and Diabetus]] suffer through it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFPCEY_gURs here]].
-->'''Game Intro:''' I see you are surviving quite well. My next installment will make you want to DIE.\\
'''Slowbeef:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck It's about as accurate as it can get]].
* From the Cartoon Network website:
** '''''[[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines Dastardly and Muttley: Catch the Pigeon]]'''''. The only objective is to stay in pursuit of the pigeon for as long as possible, while catching medals strapped to balloons, collecting fuel inside of bridges and barns (while avoiding colliding with their roofs), and dodging the overhanging storm clouds. But you're flying so fast that you outrun the screen, meaning that you're essentially flying blind and have no way of knowing when an obstacle will suddenly pop up. And you [[EndlessGame can't actually catch the pigeon]] (but that's how it goes in the show). As if to drive home the game's overall quality, the Game Over screen displays Dick Dastardly standing beside Muttley -- with what appears to be a vector graphics error where his face is supposed to be, while a voice clip plays of him saying ''[[{{Narm}} "Mutt-ley, it's medal time!!"]]'' A [=YouTuber=] has compiled a compilation of several of Cartoon Network’s old Flash games, and he attempts to play this one [[https://youtu.be/iKmXrfCCmfU here]]- he only lasts about ''45 seconds''.
** '''''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy in "Kart Attack"'''''. The graphics are rather crudely cobbled together, with various stock images of the characters from the show noticeably [[OffModel out of proportion]] (especially notable in the ending screen, with an incredibly short Jonny among the other kids). The actual gameplay revolves around driving a kart up a road, and your aim is to increase your "street cred" by running ''into'' certain obstacles, while avoiding others such as oil slicks. The problem is that the kart goes so fast that the gameplay is reduced to blindly moving around while constantly bumping into things in hopes that you'll hit enough "good" obstacles to raise your score. The audio just consists of the (otherwise catchy) ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' theme on repeat, along with [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound Sarah yelling, "Get lost!"]] whenever you run into the grass or splash water on bystanders. The game has even been known to crash the browser on older computers. See it in action [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ7h1W_lTzE here]].
* '''''Death Trap''''' (no relation to the game on Steam or Atari ST) is a point-and-click horror game gone horribly wrong. Aside from the contrived plot, terrible voice acting, and low-budget scares, the game has tons of rookie mistakes. The audio clips can overlap each other if you're playing the game really quickly. The backgrounds often clash with each other and ruin the atmosphere. It's ''extremely'' linear, not as a design choice but because the navigation buttons were [[DarthWiki/IdiotProgramming programmed to use frame jumping commands]]. This explains not only why there are no exploration or puzzles (effectively kiling the point of the game), but also why it takes forever to load; the Flash file is a lot bigger than it needs to be. ''WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}}'' riffs on it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ7_7BfxrFo here]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIJZpgn-Jp0 here]] is a LetsPlay where the author pops up in the video's comments and [[CreatorBacklash apologizes for the game]].
* '''''Dontrel Dolphin''''' is regarded as possibly the worst, but definitely the ''weirdest''. It's a platformer with all-around terrible level design, an art style that resembles ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs on crack]], LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading, and music that's pure NightmareFuel. Undeterred, the creator made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOUHiYo788 a sequel]], which has ''worse'' graphics and music, an intro narration that sounds like it was read from cue cards and on valium, and 3D boss battles which are prone to crashing after a few seconds[[note]]Technically, this isn't the creator's fault; [=GameMaker=] 8 Pro games don't run properly on newer operating systems like Windows 8 and can crash on basic actions like playing sound clips[[/note]]. Then came a third game, which is more bearable to look at and listen to than the first two, but the music cuts in at the most inopportune times, the 3D movement looks really stilted, [[UnintentionalUncannyValley uncanny]], and awkwardly constructed[[note]]The game is played from a first-person perspective, but tries to emulate a third-person perspective by sticking a 2D sprite of Dontrel near the bottom of the screen, which is [[SpecialEffectsFailure not convincing at all]] -- especially since Dontrel is often not even facing the same way as the "camera", collisions are registered with the "camera" and not Dontrel's sprite, and Dontrel often finds himself standing on top of walls[[/note]], and the 2D segments include a particularly cheap attack that makes losing almost impossible. Vinny from ''WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}}'' covers the game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoISrqNGEd0 here]] and ''LetsPlay/GamingGarbage'' by Lowtax tears it apart [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsCF-mz6Y6A here]].
* '''''Literature/JeffTheKiller''''' is a series of {{Jump Scare}}s of Jeff's face, along with a spider for some reason. There is absolutely nothing else that's scary in the game. There's a couple of keys to use on doors, as well as a gun which is used once (on the spider), has terrible aim, and has no place being in a Creepypasta-inspired game. Since you get a weapon, you have to have a health meter, which goes down whenever you look at the monsters, and losing all of your health causes the entire building to take off into space, leaving you behind with Jeff's face. Winning is pretty much AWinnerIsYou, and finding the real ending is hard due to the confusing level design and awful, constantly flashing lighting. And all the music is HellIsThatNoise, just for maximum irritation. Admittedly, Jeff's face is pretty scary, but even that is ruined by its two-dimensional appearance, and that's all the game has going for it, believing that star power is all it really needs.
* The oddly-named '''''JOSH''''', or "Josh.exe", is a video game teaching about [[CluelessAesop the dangers of video game addiction]]. Beyond the bizarre premise, it's got terrible and {{narm}}y voice acting, awkward and even narmier {{Big Lipped Alligator Moment}}s, and [[RougeAnglesOfSatin rampant typos]] (''e.g.'' the word "deadication" in the menu). The graphics are terrible, especially given how they overlap when they shouldn't. The gameplay consists almost entirely of bland side-scrolling sequences with no challenge at all, and top-down sequences where the player character is reduced to a bland oval. The only level with anything approaching ''actual'' gameplay is a rather boring and easy maze. All the while, a rambling voiceover talks about how he got addicted to video games... and never mentions how he stopped. Watch Lowtax riff it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2hiIrv8gjQ here]].
* '''''Kau Korral''''' is notorious for being one of the worst-designed games ever hosted on Website/{{Neopets}} -- a site that hosts hundreds of games and is usually fairly forgiving of weaker titles (as long as they provide decent Neopoints). The premise involves using a Gelert to round up Kau into the barn (given that all the Neopets are sentient, no one knows how that's supposed to work). And it's unforgiving; you have to be right on the mark to get the Kau to move where you want them to go, and they spawn randomly and sometimes halfway off the board, making the game UnintentionallyUnwinnable. Meanwhile, calling the farmer causes you to lose control of the Gelert, which often pushes the Kau off-screen rather than into the barn. The Neopets Team was inundated with so many complaints that they removed it from the site, incorporated it into one of their main plots with the villain [[TakeThat making their victims play it]], and introduced a new game with a similar concept called ''Extreme Herder'', which was ''much'' better received and is one of the site's most popular titles. (But you can still play the old game on the Game Graveyard page.)
[[/folder]]

* Horrible/CompaniesAndDevelopers

* [[Horrible/CompaniesAndDevelopers]]

* '''''Death Trap''''' (no relation to the game on Steam or Atari ST) is a point-and-click horror game gone horribly wrong. Aside from the contrived plot, terrible voice acting, and low-budget scares, the game has tons of rookie mistakes. The audio clips can overlap each other if you're playing the game really quickly. The backgrounds often clash with each other and ruin the atmosphere. It's ''extremely'' linear, not as a design choice but because the navigation buttons were [[DarthWiki/IdiotProgramming programmed to use frame jumping commands]]. This explains not only why there are no exploration or puzzles (effectively kiling the [[JustForPun point]] of the game), but also why it takes forever to load; the Flash file is a lot bigger than it needs to be. ''WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}}'' riffs on it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ7_7BfxrFo here]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIJZpgn-Jp0 here]] is a LetsPlay where the author pops up in the video's comments and [[CreatorBacklash apologizes for the game]].

* The '''VIS''' (Video Information System) was released by Tandy at [=RadioShack=] stores in 1992. It was built in the footsteps of the Philips CD-I and Commodore's CDTV as yet another CD-ROM based "multimedia" device, and had PC-like hardware[[labelnote:Fun Fact]]It was the first home console to be based on the x86 architecture[[/labelnote]] with an already-outdated Intel 286 processor, and a "modular" version of Windows 3.1. The reason why the system flopped can be summed up as such: it was marketed as primarily being an edutainment device, and its lineup was mainly cheap interactive storybooks and ports of existing Windows and DOS software, such as the Compton's [=MultiMedia=] Encyclopedia (which was promoted in the console's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y73XriwHJxQ extremely cheesy promo video]] as being a KillerApp, as it was for multimedia [=PCs=] in general). The closest thing to a legitimate video game was ''Links'' golf - but it was already available on PC and Amiga too. With a launch price of $699 (around the same price as the similarly unsuccessful 3DO, which was a far more decent platform and had an above-average gaming library), it was too expensive for a game console, and one could spend a few hundred dollars more to get a ''real'' PC that could do everything the VIS could ''and then some''; thanks to poor customer reception, some [=RadioShack=] employees jokingly declared that the VIS was [[FunWithAcronyms "Virtually Impossible to Sell"]]. In early 1993, Tandy attempted to sell the VIS through mail-order catalogs at a lower price of $399, and re-branded it as a Memorex product. Eventually, Tandy gave up after only being able to sell 11,000 units. Chadtronic riffed on the video that Tandy advertised the VIS on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-F5zQz7RE0 here]] while also briefly looking into some of the console's faults along the way.

* At a time when LCD games were being phased out and the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor was about to be released, the ill-conceived '''Pro 200''', made by a company under the name [=ProTech=], was sold via mail order, and claimed to be a cheap alternative to all the other systems out on the market. The system was marketed as to having 200 games, being a full-function calculator and featuring "state-of-the-art" computer chip technology. In reality, the system had only ''15'' games (the marketers got the 200 figure by counting each difficulty level as an individual game), most of which were ''Tetris'' ripoffs. The ones that weren't ''Tetris'' ripoffs were just as bad (for example; Frog-a-Long is just a poor man's ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'') due to the system's ridiculously small screen which had a tendency to fade when not looked at straight on, much like those cheap electronic toys one could find at a bargain bin. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4Zn5u4NQA The commercial advertising is even worse]], going as so far as to drop an SNES ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' cartridge into a trash can at the halfway point. Inexplicably, the Pro 200 continued to be advertised through newspaper ads with the same ad they made in ''1998'', and it's been bootlegged and cloned by even cheaper companies since its release.

* '''''Wave: Naminori Boys''''' is a gacha RhythmGame based on a GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga franchise about surfing. Unfortunately, in spite of the game having decent artwork, everything else was [[ObviousBeta virtually unplayable from the very start]]: the UI is extremely clunky, and the English translation was blatantly unfinished, with much of the game's text (including the tutorial) being replaced with placeholders if your phone was set to English. Even worse, in spite of being a score-based rhythm gacha game, using the skills associated with the characters would show an obtrusive animation that would get in the way of seeing what's actually going on. Shortly after launch, the game went into "emergency maintenance" after it was found that its voice actors had their names misspelled in the credits, and it never came back, shutting down for good in April 6th, 2021. This means that the game was only playable for ''3 days'' before the end of its llife, and there's very little evidence of its existence as a result: this [[https://noisypixel.net/wave-naminori-boys-shutting-down/ news article]] that covered the game's end of service is one of the few sources that exist.

* '''''Wave: Naminori Boys''''' is a gacha RhythmGame based off of an GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga franchise around surfing. Unfortunately, in spite of the game having decent artwork, everything else was [[ObviousBeta virtually unplayable from the very start]]: The UI is extremely clunky, some text can sometimes be missing, such as the ones in the tutorial section and infamously, having no text for the English translation... Even though an option to ''switch the game to an English language exists''. What's even worse, that in spite of being a score-based rhythm gacha game, using the skills associated with the characters tends to completely interfere with the screen, resulting in them being an ''active detriment to your score'', which is something that every player doesn't want to happen. The game met its unceremonious end when the game misspelled one of the voice actors, resulting in the game entering "emergency maintenance", before being shut down in April 6th, 2021, with the game being only playable for ''3 days'', and also resulting in very little evidence of the game's existence, and this [[https://noisypixel.net/wave-naminori-boys-shutting-down/ news article]] that covered the game's end of service is one of the few proof of it.

* '''Wave: Naminori Boys''' is a gacha RhythmGame based off of an GamingAndSportsAnimeAndManga franchise around surfing. Unfortunately, in spite of the game having decent artwork, everything else was [[ObviousBeta virtually unplayable from the very start]]: The UI is extremely clunky, some text can sometimes be missing, such as the ones in the tutorial section and infamously, having no text for the English translation... Even though an option to ''switch the game to an English language exists''. What's even worse, that in spite of being a score-based rhythm gacha game, using the skills associated with the characters tends to completely interfere with the screen, resulting in them being an ''active detriment to your score'', which is something that every player doesn't want to happen. The game met its unceremonious end when the game misspelled one of the voice actors, resulting in the game entering "emergency maintenance", before being shut down in April 6th, 2021, with the game being only playable for ''3 days'', and also resulting in very little evidence of the game's existence, and this [[https://noisypixel.net/wave-naminori-boys-shutting-down/ news article]] that covered the game's end of service is one of the few proof of it.

** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character, specifically a version of the meme from Website/{{Miiverse}} known as [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bigley Bigley]])[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.

* '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character, specifically a version of the meme from Website/{{Miiverse}} known as [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bigley Bigley]])[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.

** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character, specifically a version of the meme from Website/{{Miiverse}} known as [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bigley Bigley]])[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.

** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character)[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.

** '''''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXVn25qTdw Bigley's Revenge]]''''' [[note]](based on a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fandom inside joke about how [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]] is too big to be a viable playable character that originated from the now-defunct {{Website/Miiverse}})[[/note]]. The game is a FirstPersonShooter that looks like something an amateur would do in a few hours in UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}, and simply consists of shooting at various characters that attack from different directions. The only map is a small square platform with purchasable guns in the middle, and like ''Meme Run'' there are lots of obnoxious loud sound effects.