Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Things Flopped Because They Were Way Ahead Of Their Time

People Break Down Which Things Flopped Because They Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Remember the Dreamcast? If you don't, then you've been missing out. Sit down, sweet summer child, and listen up.

The Dreamcast was a console so ahead of its time that console has been a Dreamcast since there was a Dreamcast. Too advanced to match its competitors, not appealing enough to be considered part of the next generation. I have fond memories of that console. Crazy Taxi was a gem.

Not everything comes out at the right time.


We heard about a few other examples after Redditor rentinghappiness asked the online community:

"In your opinion, what’s something that flopped because it was way ahead of its time?"

"It was vastly overhyped..."

"The original Segway. It was vastly overhyped, but now, we're seeing rental scooters and e-bikes change the way people get around urban areas. If the company had offered a Lime-style rental system from the beginning, the product might've become ubiquitous."

usernameunavailable

The problem with Segway seemed to be that they could not make them cheaply enough to fit into a reasonable personal transportation niche. They were the price of a small, used car. Not great.

"This was before major smartphones..."

"In 2005, two guys tried to create a service called “MyMobileMenu.” The idea was you could order food using a cell phone, similar to DoorDash."

"This was before major smartphones, so When that flopped, they later tried a new adventure and created a company you might’ve heard of: Reddit."

RelationshipHead5349

They actually started Reddit from the same code base and haven't updated the video player since.

"Brilliant show..."

"HBO's Rome."

"Brilliant show that perfectly toed the line between history and fiction. Extremely compelling characters and kick@ss cast. Wasn't very accurate but always authentic."

"Got way too expensive and was canceled after two seasons. If it had been released after GOT or any other epic show in this day and age and it would have been a smash hit."

TJJeffersonsBlackKid

James Purefoy as Mark Antony is one of my favourite performances from any media ever. What a show. We were robbed of so much further glory!

"An airline..."

"An airline called Muse Air failed in 1985 largely in part because it was the first all non-smoking airline. Now everything is nonsmoking. It was purchased by Southwest and dismantled two years later in 1987."

TwistandShout2

And look at airlines now! Poor Muse Air.

"Those poor bastards waited..."

"Apparently Skype. Those poor bastards waited for the TV Guide channel to slowly scroll for years and just when what they were looking for showed up, they got distracted by the infomercial in the top right corner."

dirtywater83

Somehow Microsoft bought it and despite consistently overwhelmingly negative feedback from users, its new director went forward with his own personal vision, and not only put in changes that no one wanted or asked for, but started stripping legitimate preexisting functionality out of the program.

"Sega Channel..."

"Sega Channel was such wizardry for the mid-1990s. It was like Christmas every month when they cycled in new games."

lump77777

I remember this! It was so ahead of its time. It felt like being in the presence of actual magic!

"The movie tanked..."

"Videodrome '83. The movie tanked, but it was so spot on about people being addicted to media, ultraviolence becoming the norm, people adopting online personas, etc."

The68Guns

Truly... David Cronenberg is a twisted genius.

"Disney’s Fantasia."

"It was the first commercial film to be shown in stereo and it used an early precursor to surround sound. WWII, high production costs, and the burden of building the sound equipment for showings prevented it from making any money at the time."

snickerdoodle--

This is true! It's a spectacle that was definitely not appreciated at the time of its release.

"Smirnoff has been the laughing stock of alcohol for years. Now all of sudden everyone and their mother wants to drink fermented sugar drinks."

deft-craftsmen

Funny how people came around – seemingly overnight.

"I distinctly remember..."

"The TV show Arrested Development. I distinctly remember the commercials for it and thought, Jesus that looks moronic. Fox chose the more obvious jokes to highlight and tried to make it seem like a zany hijinks type of comedy. They practically added slide whistles and “boing” sound effects to the commercials for it."

"Once I finally watched it I realized it’s brilliant. It was the first American show to do that style of comedy. Hand-held camera work, flashbacks, cutaways, etc. Which is ironic because later everyone would do it."

JMCrown

They made a huge mistake.

Arrested Development is a cult classic, a show made for streaming years before streaming was a thing.

You don't always realize you have a great thing going – and so much of success comes down to timing.

Have some examples of your own to share? Tell us more in the comments below!

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Dr. Mehmet Oz
Fox News

Dr. Oz Slammed After His 'Credit Card' Health Care Analogy Goes Completely Off The Rails

Snake oil salesman Dr. Mehmet Oz—now the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—was criticized after he tried to discuss U.S. health insurance providers' pledge to speed up the prior authorization process by oddly comparing it to a "credit card," underscoring just how much he doesn't understand the job he currently holds.

Earlier this week, major U.S. health insurers—including Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare—announced a set of reforms aimed at simplifying the often frustrating prior authorization process for patients and providers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jon Ossoff and Russell Vought
@atrupar/X

Jon Ossoff Lays Into Project 2025 Architect For Trying To Gut The CDC In Fiery Takedown

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff criticized Project 2025 architect and current Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought during a Senate appropriations hearing for the Trump administration's austere spending cuts that are currently focused on slashing the budget and workforce of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Ossoff pressed Russell Vought on the administration’s decision to cut the agency’s budget by nearly half and on the loss of roughly 25% of its workforce.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out President Donald Trump's hypocrisy on immigration considering how First Lady Melania Trump's pathway to citizenship was possible because she received an "Einstein visa," which is usually reserved for an individual with "some sort of significant achievement."

Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process,” Crockett noted that “the idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," and harshly criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and visa restrictions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jennifer Griffin and Pete Hegseth
The Hill

Fox Host Comes To Reporter's Defense After Pete Hegseth Berates Her At Pentagon Briefing

Fox News' chief political analyst Brit Hume came to the defense of Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin after their former colleague, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticized Griffin as the reporter "who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says” in a Pentagon news conference.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, had criticized media outlets—including his former network—for what he described as unpatriotic reporting. Hegseth took particular aim at early intelligence assessments suggesting that President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran may not have significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less