30 replies to this topic

[DracIsBack]

The_Laird, on Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:21 PM, said:

I think the lack of releases for the Lynx were the one thing that stopped it selling more, The 7800 sold more with a small library but could also play 2600 games.

That, and it was earlier in the chain. We don't have exact figures but it's likely each Atari system sold worse than the one preceeding it ... with the exception maybe being the XEGS. Atari's reputation kept getting worse.

I found this article from the February 1992 issue of AtariUser.

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Edited by DracIsBack, Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:37 PM.

[The_Laird]

I think that article is pretty spot on as I remember Christmas 1991 being very strong indeed for the Lynx as I mentioned earlier in this thread I think. I would imagine that with the hype surrounding it at the time and games like Warbirds, Batman Returns and Ninja Gaiden the Lynx did particularly well through 1992.

[in the dark]

Atari Smeghead, on Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:30 AM, said:

We could go another way with this. Let's start a count. I have a Lynx. That's one!

Cheers,
Smeg

I have three of the Lynx 2. At one time I had four. Purchased all of mine from Atari at the time for $99 each. I could not find anything Lynx related in my town, had to drive out of town and out of state. So adding that to yours the number comes out to 4.
We are on a roll here.

Edited by in the dark, Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:21 PM.

[chris_lynx1989]

I understood from Lance that several million had been sold before the Atari closing started in Dec. '95/Jan. '96.Also,the strongest years were 1989 (Oct.) through 1992 (Aug.).Then this was followed up by "strong" HSN (Home Shopping Network) sales in 1995/6 with total sell outs on 2 or 3 occasions -- with several thousand selling each time!

[Felyx]

Hi,

somes figures found on the net about handheld consoles sales:


I can't imagine Atari sold less Lynx than NEC GT turbo which was far more expensive.

[danny_galaga]

mattyg, on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:32 AM, said:

The Lynx sold well here in Australia for what its worth. The Oz only packaging with chequered flag pack in is proof of that. I also remember seeing kiosk/display units at the time. Whenever I pull my Lynx out in public I am surprised by the number of people who approach me and say that they either had one or that they knew someone who did. This was in spite of the fact that Sega was King here through eighties and early nineties. I still have some suppliers that have original accessories for sale! Unfortunately Atari lost most of its distributors here by '95 due to cost cutting and supply issues so the Jag was doomed to fail. I only ever saw it for sale in a couple of independant retailers whereas only 18 months before the Lynx was everywhere including mainstream dept stores.

Yeah, I remember seeing the Lynx in K-mart around 1990 or so, and thinking 'gee, why would you buy a gameboy when this one has full colour?" I hadn't reckoned on the huge price putting people off

Tickled_Pink, on Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:56 AM, said:

Darran@Retro Gamer, on Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:19 PM, said:

The_Laird, on Tue Apr 20, 2010 2:18 PM, said:

I have heard so many different figures ranging from 500,000 to 5 million. I am really not sure who knows for sure.

The 500,000 figure on Wiki sounds like it might be for the UK or Europe and not worldwide, I know for a fact that the Lynx sold very well in the UK and was more popular than the Gamegear.

Have you got proof of that? I've never known anyone with a Lynx, I know loads of UK gamers who had Game Gear. Not conclusive I know, but I find it hard to believe it was more popular. Would love to be proven wrong though as I love the Lynx

That's odd. I've known a few people with the Lynx but nobody with a Game Gear.

Don't think I ever saw a Game Gear outside one of the stores. I suppose it depends on your gaming circle.

All of this is known as 'an argument by selected instance' and perfectly shows why it's not a really valid one