There are many instances where certain events or inventions were hyped up and given mass media coverage but just did not hit the mark. The hype sometimes led to revenue gains but total dissatisfaction when compared with the experience. The prediction that the world will end in the year 2012 was only one of the many major hyped events of history. Here are some failed things that were hugely hyped up.

1 Segway

Segway, a super scooter, was expected to change the world as much as personal computers changed the world. Jeff Bezos and even Steve Jobs backed the invention saying it is revolutionary. When it was finally revealed in December 2001 on Good Morning America, a bulky two-wheeled scooter, it ended up as a joke and flopped so badly that it was only accepted by mall cops and security personnel. 

The Segway was the most talked-about invention in history that turned out to be a huge bust. It was ahead of its time. Dean Kamen, the inventor, figured 2002 will be the year when human transportation will see this revolution.

The postal department and police across the nation overwhelmed the company with orders. He believed Segway was not just a faster way but a solution to urban congestion, dependency on fuels, and pollution. 

On release, a bunch of government agencies and corporates asked to check out the scooter, but no bulk orders came in. The manufacturing unit Kamen set up sat idle for more than a year. Segway is still pushing itself in the marketplace. (Source)

2 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao

A professional boxing match between five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, both undefeated, took place on May 2, 2015. The show was expected to be the most awaited professional boxing match in history. But the event, despite the hype around it, was considered a total letdown by audiences and critics alike, mostly due to the strategies and drug controversies. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhC5PtMWNVo

On May 2, 2015, in the MGM Grand Arena in Nevada, one of the most hyped battles of history took place. Two undefeated boxing champions, after years of speculations, announced the “Fight of the Century.” Although the negotiations for this fight had been going on for years, coming to terms with two different professional boxing camps took time. 

The pay-per-view on television was jointly produced by HBO and Showtime. The initial estimate was $ 4..4 million purchases, but the PPV alone sold for $410 million in revenue. In the Philippines, nearly half the country watched the show.

Pacquiao revealed that he had a shoulder injury before the fight and he was denied a painkiller injection for this partially healed wound. The show generated revenue, but overall was a disappointment to the viewership due to the unfairness. (Source)

3 3D television

The invention of 3D TV did not take off as expected due to very limited viewership. BBC reported that there was a “lack of public appetite.” The major drawback was that viewers required a special 3D TV set to view the 3D content. Many manufacturers were reluctant to fund the development of such a TV for a format that was not yet universally supported. 

ESPN was one of the major broadcasts that jumped into 3D sports broadcasting. It was available for 3D viewers who had compatible TV sets.

The channel was shut down three years later because of the limited adoption of technology by the consumers. It was hard to make consumers pay for something which was not widespread. 

Most people also reported having eye strain while watching in 3D. The 3D film industry was also ignored as the companies charged more for it. By 2013, speculations that 4K, 8K, and OLED TVs were becoming a hit in the market came to be true, and there was a global drop in 3D viewing by 2018. (Source)

4 The Opening of Al Capone’s Vault 

The mysterious opening of a secret vault which was once owned by crime lord Al Capone was greatly hyped and was broadcasted as a two-hour live segment on American television hosted by Geraldo Rivera aired on April 21, 1986. The program had an audience of 30 million. But when the vault opened it revealed only some empty bottles and dirt. 

The live opening of Al Capone’s vault, which was at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, was an event that was majorly hyped in April of 1986. Geraldo Rivera even launched a news form where only possible and hypothetical news about the vault’s treasures were discussed.

The live telecast was the “highest-rated syndicated special” in history. Other news channels were counting down and hyping the event. 

The special was greatly hyped as everyone was expecting the revealing of riches or even dead bodies on live television. The Lexington Hotel planned a renovation in the 1980s when the discovery of a shooting range and series of tunnels were found which led to the event.

The vault was finally opened only to reveal empty bottles and dirt. Rivera finally admitted defeat after several more attempts to dig deeper. (Source)

5 No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky was a survival game initially released in 2016. Despite the hype, the game did not quite hit the mark. It was widely promoted over the Internet, but the game turned out to be a disappointment after the ambitious, science-fiction game did not have all the expected features and had a lovely tone to it, which critics, as well as the audience, found unappealing. 

No Man’s Sky was a space exploration game that was the brainchild and was an ambitious project. Some features that were promised during the development of the game were not present when the game was released. Critics were quick to praise the lonely tone of the game, but many reviewers found the emptiness quite unappealing. 

The Hello Studio not living up to the mark has led to them getting death threats on the company. They were criticized even for the small changes in the animations of the game being different from the demo.

The threats went up to a level where the employees were threatened personally and bomb threats were sent to the office. All this led to the company being in contact with the police throughout. They decided to work on the game and re-release it again n the near future. (Source)