For every handheld gaming system smash hit like the Nintendo DS or Game Boy there are a trail of broken dreams and bankrupt companies left in the dust.  While some systems do things well despite never becoming an industry darling, most crash and burn in the most disappointing ways.  Over at GameLife, Chris Kohler takes a stroll through the graveyard to visit the remains of dead systems that few mourn today outside of intense fan circles (plus one system that's only there to spark controversy).  All of your "favorites" are here such as the Gizmondo, N-Gage, and, er, the upcoming Jungle.

Gizmondo (2005)

Man, what didn't go wrong with Gizmondo? The sole product of Tiger Telematics (not to be confused with the maker of game.com), this all-in-one handheld is the quintessential failed video game system.

Tiger blew exorbitant amounts of money to launch Gizmondo, which featured a GPS system and mobile data service. A massive flagship store in London, star-studded launch parties and otherwise huge marketing budgets couldn't obscure the fact that Gizmondo was crap at productivity apps and worse at games.

Add to that the personal foibles of Gizmondo's executive staff -- ending in a massive car crash chronicled in the pages of Wired magazine-- and it's no surprise Gizmondo was dead within a year. If it was ever born.

Nobody misses the Gizmondo or N-Gage, and looking back on this list it's obvious that just about every company that produced one of these gizmos was in way over its head.  If you're going to take on the 800 lb. tie-wearing gorilla of the handheld industry, you have to bring more to the table than sidetalking or a game about mowing a lawn.