The mythical market for tech geeks is here again! Starting way back in 1967, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been the launchpad where companies try to let their boldest offerings fly.
But like anything else in life, some soar, while others crash and burn. Here’s a quick trip of CES’s biggest successes and most notable flops.
The Game-Changers
Philips N1500 VCR (1970)
When we think of CES now, sleek smartphones and spectral virtual/augmented realities come to mind. But half a century ago, things were a lot more solid and tactile. In 1970, Philips introduced the first video cassette recorder targeted for the mass market: the N1500 VCR. The device only had one selling point: it could record your favorite programs so you could watch them later. It wasn’t cheap, and it was big and bulky, but it did give us a peek at a tantalizing prospect: a future where content wasn’t dictated by TV schedules.
Atari Home Pong (1975)
Even the simplest things can make the biggest waves. At CES 1975, Atari gave us the Home Pong console, and nothing was ever the same. The game was so simple it’s almost weird by today’s standards: two paddles, one ball, and nothing else. Nobody knew it then, but Pong ultimately became the cultural phenomenon that would kickstart the video game industry. While it wasn’t the first, Pong’s success made home gaming consoles a viable business. Without Pong, there’d be no PlayStation, no Xbox, no gaming marathons with friends.
CD (1981)
The lovechild of Philips and Sony, the compact disc (CD) was the great next step in audio format evolution. I could still remember the first time I’ve heard a CD album (Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits) – it was playing in the living room of my tito while he assembled my first PC. It was a visceral experience: I could feel the music all the way to my bones. Apparently, multitudes shared the feeling – as early as 1991, the CD has outsold all other audio formats in the US. The technology also birthed variants that pushed the boundaries of their respective industries: a whole set of encyclopedia on a single disc, impossibly large game installation files on disc sets. For a time, we even had our own libraries with cheap CD-R technology.
Nintendo Entertainment System (1985)
Who would have thought that a Japanese card company and a pixelated Italian plumber would be the saviors of the gaming industry? After the video game crash of 1983, many thought it was game over. But the NES wasn’t just a console – it was a Phoenix Down, the Revivify spell, the resurrection key. Even more impressive, the NES didn’t just save gaming, it turned it into a cultural juggernaut. If you grew up stomping on Goombas, debating over your favorite weapons on Contra, or unintentionally hearing Twinbee’s earworm background music in your head, you’ve got this CES debut to thank.
DVD (1996)
CES 1996 showed the world the DVD – a sleek disc that promised sharper video, better audio, and extra features like director commentaries. Compared to bulky VHS tapes, DVDs felt like a miracle. Movie nights got an upgrade, and by the early 2000s, DVDs had completely replaced VHS as the dominant home video format. They were the stepping-stone to Blu-rays and, eventually, video streaming.
HTC Thunderbolt (2011)
HTC’s Thunderbolt, the first smartphone to harness the power of Verizon’s 4G LTE, seemed like a marvel. Sure, fast internet is common now, but back then it seemed like a miracle. Consider: the max download rate of 3G is around 21Mbps; 4G can go up to 1Gbps. Suddenly, streaming videos, downloading apps, and browsing the web on your phone didn’t make you want to bang your head on the wall. And while competitors quickly outshone the Thunderbolt as it suffered fundamental issues like overheating and poor battery, it would be unfair not to acknowledge how it paved the way for the smartphones and apps we rely on today.
Oculus Rift (2013)
What’s always coming but never arrives? Tomorrow… and Virtual Reality. VR has been “the next big thing” for decades, but it wasn’t until CES 2013 that the hype felt it could all be real. When Oculus showcased its Rift, people – and other manufacturers – took notice. Gamers imagined immersive worlds; filmmakers saw new ways of telling stories. And while VR is still more of a dream than a reality even today, Oculus’s CES debut put VR back on the map and inspired competitors like PlayStation VR and HTC Vive.
The Misfires
Apple Pippin (1996)
Before the availability of mobile games on the iPhone, Apple’s relationship with gaming was awkward, to say the least. Take the Apple Pippin, which was featured at CES 1996 with optimistic reception. A joint venture with Japanese brand Bandai, this game console with a network browser was bold, albeit clunky and underpowered. A paltry 14.4kbps connection, after all, makes it hard to enjoy an online game. Add the $600 price tag (twice the price of its competitors) and it’s goodbye for the Pippin.
Microsoft SPOT Watches (2004)
Long before the Apple Watch (launched 11 years later), Microsoft took a crack at the smart wearables market with its SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) watches. Unveiled at CES 2004, these watches could deliver news, weather, stock quotes, even sports updates via FM radio signals. It felt like science-fiction made real… but was also clunky, expensive, and relied on a subscription service. SPOT was ahead of its time, but not in a good way. By 2008, Microsoft quietly shelved the project.
HD-DVD (2006)
Industry standards usually get settled before consumers are asked to make a choice, but that was not the case between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. For a few years, there was uncertainty when consumers needed to buy the next-gen DVD player for their homes. People had to ruminate between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, not knowing which format future films would be in. The standoff culminated when major studio Warner Brothers announced exclusive support of the Blu-Ray standard just before CES 2008. For HD-DVD, that was end credits.
Windows Vista (2007)
A major problem with Windows Vista was its predecessor – Win XP. Arguably one of the most beloved Windows versions, XP was consumer-friendly and reliable. Its incredibly long 13-year run was a testament to its utility. Vista, on the other hand, was riddled with bugs, felt slower than it should have been, and (for security) burdened the user with hundreds of requests for app permissions. The contrast between XP and Vista was so stark that a lot of users chose to skip Vista altogether and just waited for the next operating system, which was Windows 7.
Palm Pre (2009)
At CES 2009, prospects for the Palm Pre was high, even being branded as the “iPhone killer.” It had a slick design, featuring a slider keyboard AND a 3.1inch touchscreen. Tech journalists were smitten. But once it hit the market, the Pre struggled with hardware issues, limited apps, and lackluster marketing. Its exclusivity deal with Sprint didn’t help either. But its biggest kryptonite was timing. When it launched, the iPhone and BlackBerry already had a lock on the market. If it had been released even just a year earlier, the Palm Pre could have fought on a more even footing.
3D TVs (2010)
The 3D TV hype was all over CES 2010. Every major manufacturer had a 3D model, promising a cinema-like, coming-straight-at-you experience in your living room. The concept was nice on paper, but reality proved to be more complicated. The lack of 3D content (and the variation in quality), high price points, and the added impediment of needing goofy 3D glasses at home was just one too many obstacle to hurdle. Today, 3D TVs are remembered as more of a punchline than a product that had a future.
In a way, CES is like university – just because you do well in school doesn’t guarantee success in the real world. For every product that changed the game, there were countless others that missed the mark. That’s the thrill of the tech frontier – products could thrive or fall off at the razor’s edge.