History of Nintendo
In 1972, the first commercially available video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, had a light gun accessory, the Shooting Gallery. This was the first involvement of Nintendo in video games. According to Martin Picard in the "International Journal of Computer Game Research": "in 1971, Nintendo had -- even before the marketing of the first home console in the United States -- an alliance with the American pioneer Magnavox to develop and produce optoelectronic guns for the Odyssey (released in 1972), since it was similar to what Nintendo was able to offer in the Japanese toy market in 1970s".
List of commercial failures in video gaming
In 1991, electronics company Philips entered the console gaming business by creating the "Compact Disc Interactive" console, better known as the "CD-i". Like the 3DO, the CD-i was marketed as not only a video game console, but also a multimedia console. Besides CD-i discs, the console was capable of playing Video CDs. The launch price was $700. It was originally intended to be an add-on for the Super NES, but the deal fell through. Nintendo, however, did give Philips the rights and permission to use five Nintendo characters for the CD-i games. In 1993, Philips released two Zelda games, "" and "". A year later, Philips released another Zelda game, "Zelda's Adventure", and a few months later, a Mario game titled "Hotel Mario". All four of these Nintendo-themed games are commonly cited by critics as being among the worst ever made. Much criticism was also aimed at the CD-i's controller. Although it was extensively marketed by Philips, consumer interest remained low. Sales began to slow by 1994, and in 1998, Philips announced that the product had been discontinued. In all, roughly 570,000 units were sold, with 133 games released.