7 Of The Biggest Technology Prediction Flops Ever

Take a look at some of the biggest technology predication flops ever! From game consoles to MP3 players come and check them out.

1. Sega Dream Cast

The Sega Dream Cast was supposed to be the world’s next big gaming console, designed to change the way we played games forever. It was released in 1998, and unfortunately was discontinued in 2001 due to extremely poor sales. The Sony Playstation was released at roughly the same time, and the rest is history.

2. The Telephone

The telephone was one of those inventions that was described as being of “no value to us” by Western Union as they said it would never be considered a serious method of communication. How wrong they were.

3. HD DVD

As TV’s and technology really started evolving, with HD TV’s and Plasma screens now becoming more popular, DVD had to evolve too. Two competitors stepped up and did battle in order to create the next generation of home movie viewing. Blu-Ray, and HD DVD. Many predicted HD DVD would win the battle... it didn’t.

4. Mini Disc

As the years went by in the early to mid nineties, experts began looking for alternative means of listening to music as they felt that CD was on its way out. They came up with Mini disc. Mini disc was a disc based device for data storage that was picked up by SONY. Mini disc players were on the market for 21 years, yet sold incredibly poorly, with many people complaining they weren’t practical.

5. Nuclear Energy

Here’s a technology prediction flop made by somebody that nobody would ever expect, none other than Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds to ever walk the earth. In the year 1932, he claimed that nuclear energy would never be obtainable. Nuclear energy is now highly obtainable and is used to generate heat, water, power, electricity, and more.

6. Nokia N-Gage

The N-Gage was a mobile phone/gaming device that was supposed to change the way people used phones forever. Nokia ruled the mobile phone world for many years, particularly the late nineties until the mid to late 2000’s. The N-Gage sold incredibly poorly and received awful reviews, mainly due to the fact that it had to be held on its side vertically if you wanted to make or receive a call. It was released in 2003, received a makeover a year later, but was discontinued 2009.

7. Microsoft Zune

Microsoft released the Zune in late 2006, and claimed that it was far superior to the Apple iPod. They intended to beat the iPod which had already been around for several years. Microsoft predicted that the Zune would beat the iPod in sales and reviews, but unfortunately their sales were appalling for the first year, losing Microsoft millions upon millions of dollars.