1) Atari 5200 SuperSystem, should have waited a few years and made the device much better specced than the 2600.
2) Sega 32X - super ugly Genesis add-on, especially in combination with the MegaCD add-on. They should just have made a sleek all-in-one new console.
3) XBox 360 - Nomatter how much resources the behemoth Microsoft has, their incompetence shines through with regard to this console. Sure ATi designed a good GPU for its time and there's nothing wrong with IBM's Xenon processor, but it's all put together very badly resulting in the least sturdy and most sensitive (especially bad for kids) console in modern history.
Best choices this generation:
1) Default Wii-mote controller by Nintendo in combination with easy entry cute games. Attracts many new gamers, especially many females. Best toy-like console suitable for younger kids.
2) Cell Processor. Huge performance gains for games and multi-media uses which will increasingly manifest itself in future games, will push developers towards rethinking their inefficient gaming engines which results in better performing PC/360 games as well. Paves the way for future Cell based or Cell-like architecture consoles and devices, good bye sub-linear performance gains, hello exponential processing gains.
3) Blu-Ray drive and default harddrive. Top impressive games are becoming storage wise far more demanding, HDTVs are becoming standard. For the years ahead of us especially the extra storage space will be of crucial benefit in addition to mandatory scratch resistance and constant predictable streaming speeds for developers to optimise for. In addition Blu-Ray (/harddrive) also makes the PS3 more than just the most future proof games console, it's the best value for money future proof Blu-Ray movie player and thus the best HDTV targeted multi-media device.
