I think they're just mostly talking about from a development perspective. It 'didn't work at all' meaning fitting their model of trying to appeal to all kinds of markets and gamers. True, they were trying to jump into 3D games full force with the SNES ventures (Super FX chip and failed Playstation team up), but instead their next system became a system that was ENTIRELY about 3D gaming. I mean, even the GameCube and Wii weren't that limited.
Of course, that limitation eventually led to some amazing games, from Mario and Zelda innovating 3D gaming to Star Fox 64 and Goldeneye. But if you think back...how many '2D' games were on the system? How many games didn't take an entirely new process and system of programs to create?
Part of the reason Playstation probably 'won' was not only its CD based software and all that, but its ability to adapt to nearly all types of gaming. You couldn't really put a game like Symphony of the Night or Capcom vs SNK on the N64. At least not very well.
I find it funny that now its the Nintendo systems which have become the more open-ended systems with a wide variety of games, especially 2D. While its the other systems that focus on mostly 3D and graphics. Perhaps they aren't learning from systems like the N64.
Six upcoming games you should look into:
