Since the very first handheld console, the Microvision in 1979, there have been tons of them. While classics like the Nintendo Game Boy and Valve Steam Deck stand out, most haven’t been very good. Throughout handheld gaming history, many devices were quickly forgotten – they often didn’t work well, had very few games, and were overpriced. We’ve put together a list of the five worst handheld consoles ever made, ranking them based on sales, game selection, and how much players disliked them.
5) Tiger Game.com
Tiger Electronics, famous for its handheld games, tried something new in 1997 with the Game.com. It looked good on paper, featuring a touchscreen, basic internet access, and the ability to use two game cartridges at once. It was designed to be a personal digital assistant, or PDA, that also played games – a concept similar to what smartphones eventually became. However, the Game.com was a commercial failure. It had very few games available, a black-and-white screen, and several limitations that made it unpopular. Tiger discontinued it in 2000, and fewer than 300,000 units were ever sold.
4) Atari Lynx
In 1990, Atari jumped into the portable gaming market with the Atari Lynx, aiming to outperform competitors like the Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, and NEC TurboExpress. The Lynx was a forward-thinking console, offering features like adaptable controls for both left- and right-handed players and a color screen powered by a 16-bit processor. While not a complete flop, Atari only released 73 games for the system. This was a stark contrast to the Game Boy, which boasted over 1,000 titles. Unfortunately, the Lynx’s bright display drained batteries quickly and caused eye strain for some, preventing it from truly competing with other handheld consoles of the time.
3) Tiger Gizmondo
After the unsuccessful Game.com, Tiger Electronics tried again in 2005 with the Gizmondo. However, it didn’t fare much better. Primarily sold in Europe, the Gizmondo was discontinued after less than a year, with fewer than 25,000 units sold—a clear sign of its failure. Though it included features like a digital camera, GPS, and cellular connectivity for texting, the system only had 13 games, and none of them were particularly good. A mere eight of those games were even released in the U.S., leaving those who owned a Gizmondo with a poor gaming experience.
2) Sega Nomad
For anyone who owned a lot of Sega Genesis games, the Sega Nomad – released in 1995 – was a tempting device. It was essentially a portable Genesis console with a 3.25-inch color screen that played regular Genesis cartridges. However, Sega only sold the Nomad in North America and programmed it to work exclusively with games released in the United States, which limited how many people could buy it. This, along with its high battery consumption, contributed to its commercial failure – only about 1 million units were sold before it was discontinued. Although a promising concept, the Nomad ultimately didn’t succeed due to issues with its execution and power usage.
1) Nokia N-Gage
Before smartphones offered mobile gaming, Nokia led the way with the game Snake in 1998. They then tried to build on that success with the N-Gage, a device that combined a cell phone with a handheld gaming console using interchangeable game cartridges. However, the N-Gage’s design was flawed – it was awkward to hold during phone calls and earned the nickname “Taco.” Changing games was also inconvenient, requiring you to remove the battery. Released in 2003, it only had 64 games, and most were poorly made ports that didn’t look good on the screen, ultimately making the N-Gage one of the worst handheld gaming devices ever created.
Dishonorable Mention – Nintendo Virtual Boy
The Nintendo Virtual Boy was a strange device – not quite a handheld, and not a traditional console either. Unfortunately, it’s widely considered Nintendo’s biggest mistake. Players had to lean over a tabletop to look through goggles to play, using a controller connected by a wire. Only 22 games were ever made for it. Nintendo released it too quickly, and it caused many players eye strain and headaches, even with short play sessions. It was discontinued after just one year, with only 770,000 units sold.
Did we miss any consoles you really dislike? Let us know in the comments and share your thoughts in the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-01-01 20:22