Rumors are swirling around that Microsoft is going to be exiting the video game console making business soon. While Phil Spencer has tried to reassure Xbox employees and, indirectly, fans that this isn’t true during an internal town hall meeting, I don’t think the rumors will stop until there’s a proper announcement, like Microsoft revealing a “slimmer” version of the current Xbox Series X/S, at the very least.

Even though I am a Sony fanboy, I still would be sad to see Microsoft’s console line vanish as, even if I did have problems with the original Xbox system, it wasn’t the worst video game console I’ve tried out. And believe me, there are a lot more terrible consoles that have been made throughout history. It’s easy to say something like Nintendo’s Virtua Boy, Apple Bandai’s Pippin or Mattel’s Hyperscan are the worst. But how many of us have really tried playing on them to say that? With that in mind, here are the five worst video game consoles, in no particular order, I’ve actually tried.

Philips CD-I

A part of me feels sorry for Philips. If you know your video game history, the Philips CD-I was developed and created thanks to a deal they brokered with Nintendo to make a CD drive for the Super Nintendo. Well, that irked Sony as they originally had a deal with Nintendo, leading to the creation of the original Sony PlayStation. After that, Nintendo balked at creating a CD system for the Super Nintendo to focus on the Nintendo 64. Well, at least the deal led to Philips getting the license to develop games with Nintendo characters for their CD-I system. Games like Hotel Mario, Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda’s Adventure. Wait, maybe this wasn’t a good deal, after all.

Now, I did try playing on a Philips CD-I way back in the early ’90s, when the system was brand new. And even then, I could see there were a ton of problems with it. I guess it didn’t help that the game I played was Burn Cycle, which plays a whole lot like Lethal Enforcers. But since the CD-I didn’t have a light gun peripheral, shooting was handled by moving the crosshairs using the direction pad on the controller. That wouldn’t be a problem if the darned aiming reticle moved as a decent clip but it was slow as molasses! Couple that with a slow CD drive, leading to the game pausing to load the next animation whenever you shoot down an enemy, you get a really choppy gaming experience.

Another big downside with the CD-I I played on was the controller. I played the one that looked like a giant spoon and it was just awkward to handle. As the directional pad was in-between the two face buttons, it was difficult finding a comfortable way to hold it without having to cross your hands to get access to one of the other buttons. If I played the CD-I with the more standard controller, maybe I would have a better impression of it. Then again, it has the worst Legend of Zelda games out there, so perhaps not.

Sega 32X

While we’re talking about add-ons to existing consoles, let’s go talk about the Sega 32X. Now, the basis of the 32X kind of made sense during its development. Let’s say you’re an existing Sega Genesis owner. You see the upcoming Sega Saturn and you want it. But you can’t afford the hefty price tag or find a way to convince your parents it’s worth it even though you do own a Sega Genesis. Well, it may be possible to sway them into getting the cheaper 32X, which you could plug into your current Sega console. But, at the time, you wouldn’t know how much it sucked, though.

I got to try out the Sega 32X because the gaming center near my school actually had one. You have to understand that video gaming was already a relatively expensive hobby, especially in a third world country like the Philippines. Luckily, at the time, you could go to a nearby game center and “rent” a console and game for half an hour or so.

The experience of playing the 32X wasn’t all that terrible. You were, after all, still using the Sega Genesis controller, one of the better controller out then. The problem came when you compared 32X games with their Saturn counterparts. The game I played was Virtua Fighter and, by this time, I have already played the arcade and the Sega Saturn versions. So, when I tried playing Virtua Fighter on the 32X, I couldn’t help but be surprised at how slow it felt and how small the characters looked. As both the 32X and Sega Saturn were touted to have “32-bit” processing power, it was unforgivable to me to see Virtua Fighter in this state.

Also, the 32X is ugly. Why did Sega of America think plugging in a black mushroom into the Sega Genesis game slot would look pleasing to the eye?

Atari Jaguar

The very first video game console I ever had was the Atari 2600. While very primitive, especially by today’s standards, it still holds a special place in my heart for all the good memories I have from playing those simple games. I cannot say the same thing for Atari’s final foray into the gaming console world, the Atari Jaguar.

I don’t remember how I got my hands on an Atari Jaguar, if I’m being honest. However, I have vivid memories of holding the controller in my hand. If I’m being honest (which I am), the Atari Jaguar’s controller, despite it being a horrible looking piece of plastic, actually felt good in my hands. Using it, however, wasn’t a good experience. Then again, that just might be because the game I played was Kasumi Ninja. This was the time when fighting games were all the craze so I get why Atari wanted something like Kasumi Ninja as one of their flagship games. Too bad it’s a crappy game! I even remember while playing it how egregious in controlled!

I also did try Zool 2, which was actually fun but felt kind of pointless. Sure, the graphics looked good but I’ve played much better platformers like Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo. When do I get to see the performance jump from 16-bits to 32-bits, Atari? Guess the answer was “never,” huh?

3DO

The 3DO immediately hamstrung itself during launch because, when it was released, it costed a whopping $699 in 1993. For that money, you could get a Sony PlayStation and a Nintendo 64 and still have $200 left over to buy games. Speaking of games, the 3DO never had an exclusive “killer app” in its library, so there was never a reason to plunk down almost $700 to get it.

To me, the closest thing the 3DO came when you talk about a “killer app” was their port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo. At the time, this version was the closest you can get to the arcade. But there was one big problem: the 3DO’s controller. The 3DO’s default controller only had five buttons! This was during the Fifth Console Generation and other systems, like Sony’s PlayStation, Sega’s Saturn and even Nintendo’s N64, had their default controllers come out with six buttons. Why? Because gamers demanded it as this was the only way you could play Street Fighter II! Also, the Super Nintendo, which was a last generation system, already had six buttons!

In order to get around this limitation, the Pause button was used as an extra attack button. I actually did try playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo on a 3DO way back then and it was a terrible experience as I was constantly fighting against the weird button scheme. I guess I could’ve gotten a third party controller with the correct number of buttons. But that seems like a colossal waste of money. Once again, not a bad console but it just has a controller that’s lacking buttons.

However, I haven’t mentioned the biggest reason why I think the 3DO is a terrible console is because of my experience playing it for the first time. I tried a demo unit in some mall; I forget which one but that’s not important. Anyway, I started playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo and I could distinctly hear a buzzing sound coming from the 3DO. I asked the clerk about the sound and, get this, she said that’s normal. That doesn’t sound normal at all! Now, I can’t blame the clerk for saying that as she probably doesn’t know anything about the console and she was probably told this disturbing sound was natural. But, no. I’m not going to consider paying almost $700 for something I think could explode if I play on it for too long!

Nokia N-Gage

Even play a fighting game on your smartphone and wish it had buttons so you can “feel” the game better? Well, then maybe the Nokia N-Gage may have been for you. Then again, no. Sure, all of the other video game consoles I’ve mentioned in this list had their problems. But at least you could play the games. The Nokia N-Gage was a different kind of awful for a plethora of reasons.

For one thing, swapping out games is a pain as you would have to turn off the N-Gage and remove the battery in order to get to the cartridge slot. So, you better hope you like that copy of King of Fighters: Extreme you stuck in your N-Gage back home. Because you’re not going to be swapping it out anytime soon! The direction pad and buttons felt mushy and unresponsive, especially for playing games like King of Fighters: Extreme, which relies on doing swift motions for special moves and combos. Oh, and despite holding the phone in Landscape mode, the screen is set in Portrait mode, which is just dumb for console gaming in general.

I will say, as a phone, it was okay for its time. However, you are mainly buying the Nokia N-Gage for its gaming capability, right? So, why not just get a separate Nokia phone and a Game Boy Advance? Sure, you’ll need to use both pockets but at least the gaming experience would make it worth it.

What’s the worst video game console you’ve ever played on? Let me know in the comments section below!