Atari introduced the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial video game in 1982, trying to capitalize on the success of the Stephen Spielberg hit film. Unfortunately, that left them with only five weeks of development instead of the typical months or even years spent on other games. E.T. quickly got a reputation as being impossibly difficult and its sales were terrible.
The company spent $21 million just to buy the rights for the franchise and another $5 million in promotions. Atari created 4 million copies, however, only 1.5 million were ever sold. The rest were buried in a landfill, which is a pretty apt place for this spectacular video game fail.
Amazon Fire Phone
Amazon had some success with its affordable and high-quality Fire tablets, so the logical next step was for them to release a smartphone. They came up with the Amazon Fire Phone, which was produced and released in a rush in 2014 and it showed. The first thing that surprised consumers was the high price and the second was its limited functionality.
The phone had a hefty price tag of $650, which is pretty much the same price as a new iPhone, but many apps wouldn’t work on it. Users complained that they couldn’t even use basic things like Google Maps. The phone’s main selling point, 3D face scanning technology, was dismissed by users as a gimmick and it only took Amazon one year to see that the phone was a major fail, and have it discontinued. They have since stayed out of the smartphone game, at least for now... This product flamed hot and went out with a bang.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone is infamous all over the world for catching on fire and exploding. They were launched in July 2016 and were recalled twice, and only one day after the second recall the phones were scrapped for good. At first, it was believed, or at least claimed, that bad batteries were to blame for the overheating and that they simply needed to be replaced.
Things went from bad to worse, when the FAA banned the phones from being used on flights because they were a fire hazard. By November 2016, Samsung recalled the phones for good. The company has not given up on making smartphones. Their current model is the Galaxy Note 8 and there is no news that has any similar combustible issues.
Satisfries
Who wouldn’t want fries that tasted just as good, but were healthier and had less fat than regular fries? No wonder Burger King thought they had a winning idea when they released Satisfries in 2013. The secret was the use of a different , less porous batter which absorbed less oil while frying. The fries were actually healthier, the problem was that BK didn’t get the message to consumers.
In addition to their marketing problem, the fries also cost more than regular fries, which made consumers unlikely to try them. In the end, Satisfries were a flop and Burger King took them off them menu in 2014, less than a year after they were released.
Cheetos Lip Balm
Lip balm has been a popular item for decades, especially in the drier winter months, with veteran companies like Chapstick offering their costumers different and enticing flavors like cherry or vanilla. It seems like not every flavor is appropriate for lip balm, however, as snack maker Frito-Lay discovered in 2005.
They launched Cheetos flavored lip balm and were somehow surprised that although customers like to snack on cheese puffs, they were not interested in slathering their lips with their taste and smell. Despite the chance to enjoy Cheetos with virtually no calories, this product received countless bad reviews and was a major fail.