Sometimes life just isn't fair. Vincent Van Gogh went completely unappreciated during his lifetime despite his obvious genius; Jesus - a man who could turn water into wine, don't forget - was nailed to a cross and left for dead; while Steve Brookstein has only ever had one number one single, despite winning the very first series of The X Factor. Now what's that about?

Through a combination of bad luck, bad timing or simply being way ahead of their time, these video game consoles were also unappreciated, despite being very obviously amazing....

1. SEGA NOMAD (1995)

Not to be confused with those crap portable Sega consoles you can buy at Argos, the Sega Nomad was an actual handheld Mega Drive that launched at the height of Sega's popularity. But having clearly learned nothing from the Game Gear, the Nomad was a complete flop. It didn't even get a UK release, and would end up being Sega's last venture into a handheld market dominated by the Game Boy.

So why did it flop exactly? Well Sega was kind of busy with the Saturn at the time, plus it went through batteries like a baby goes through nappies, and the only people who could fit it into their pockets were related to the Jolly Green Giant.

It's a real shame, because the thought of being able to take your Mega Drive to school sounds like the stuff of dreams.

2. SEGA DREAMCAST (1999)

The Dreamcast was probably a case of too little too late for Sega, whose bubble well and truly burst by the end of the '90s. Despite a promising start for the console, interest began to wane when Sony started hyping the release of the PS2. It ended up selling about 9 million units, which is an absolute travesty. And here's why...

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The Dreamcast was home to flawless conversions of arcade classics like Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 2, not to mention beloved exclusives like Shenmue, Power Stone and Space Channel 5 (which was later ported to PS2). Even the memory card was innovative, displaying ammo, stats and being used for the occasional mini-game.

Oh, and did we mention that it was the first console to do online gaming? Provided nobody was using the phone, you could play Phantasy Star Online with your mates from school or frag some strangers in Quake. You could even use it to browse the web, spending three hours waiting for a nudey picture to load - or, you know, check the news or something.

3. NEO GEO POCKET (1999)

There really was no stopping the Game Boy. Just ask SNK, whose NEO GEO Pocket was given a ruddy good kicking, despite being arguably superior to Nintendo's handheld juggernaut.

The NEO GEO Pocket pretty much got everything right. It was lightweight, easy on the eye and comfortable to hold, and had what was undoubtedly the finest joystick on a handheld to date. It was also home to some great games, particularly if you enjoy brawlers like King of Fighters, Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown.

It even came with a unique horoscope feature, although you've got to question the accuracy when it couldn't successfully predict its own fate at the hands of the Game Boy.

4. NINTENDO GAMECUBE (2001)

Despite rarely making a bad game, Nintendo doesn't always get it right in the hardware department. But the Gamecube was no migraine-inducing Virtual Boy, it was a ruddy good piece of kit that was simply unable to compete with the PS2 - sound familiar?

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It may have been lightweight in design (seriously, it's tiny), but the Gamecube was home to some heavyweight releases. There was Super Smash Bros Brawl, Pikmin, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Resident Evil 4, Luigi's Mansion, the list goes on.

Also, despite its weird shape, that Gamecube controller simply has to go down as one of the best in history. It's so good that Nintendo brought it back for Smash Bros on the Wii U.

5. ONLIVE (2011)

Being able to buy, store and stream your games directly from the cloud is almost certainly the future of gaming, right? Unfortunately for OnLive that future hadn't happened yet, and the innovative cloud gaming console was doomed from the start.

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Making its commercial debut back in 2011, OnLive was an enticing prospect, letting gamers stream 100-odd games for £6.99 a month, or rent individual titles from a list that included Arkham Asylum, Deus Ex and Saints Row. But the internet hadn't yet caught up, and you would often find yourself playing ugly, laggy games on a chunky knockoff of the Xbox 360 controller.

Considering that Sony is only now rolling out its PlayStation Now streaming service globally - and that's a tech giant like Sony - OnLive was just a little too ahead of its time.

6. WII U (2012)

Remember what we said about the Gamecube? Well the same goes for the Wii U, which despite an abundance of great games, continues to gather dust on the shelves of any shop that can still be bothered to stock it.

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The Wii U's problems began before it even came out. Nobody really knew what it was and it wasn't as powerful as rival hardware like the PS4 and Xbox One. It was game over once the big studios and retailers stopped supporting it.

It's a crying shame, because it's home to a boatload of killer exclusives, including Super Mario 3D World, Splatoon, Super Smash Bros and Bayonetta 2. And nothing beats a game of Mario Kart 8 online.

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