The first new hardware launch I experienced was the Sega CD. Sega ran a large number of magazine ads promoting the release. We received some marketing materials and information but not a ton, we weren't sure what to expect from this new system. Compared to the pomp and circumstance of modern console launches it was nothing.
The customer reaction to the system was mixed. The TG-16 beat Sega to the punch on CD gaming but wasn't successful. The hardware was expensive and game selection average (or at least appealed to a niche market). Potential buyers obviously were concerned that Sega would fall into the same trap. They had a right to be. The pack-in titles weren't exactly blockbusters. Sol-Feace and Sherlock Holmes only re-affirmed the fears that the Sega CD was like the TG-16 CD (which had no shortage of side-scrolling shooters or Sherlock Holmes games). The launch titles didn't help either. Sewer Shark was a below average shooter. They only showed screenshots of the full motion video (FMV) clips so customers had no clue what it was about. A pair of "Make My Video" games and other d-list titles kept the Sega CD lukewarm for a while.
One night a few of us stayed late and took the Sega CD on a test drive. We tried Sewer Shark but had no idea what we were supposed to do. It felt like little more than Sewer Sam for the Intellivision only with gratuitous FMV scenes. The "Make My Video" games had us laughing to no end. After about an hour of game play we packed everything up, feeling completely under whelmed by this new system.
A revamped system that attached to the side would replace the original buggy tray-based design. Along with the hardware redesign, they scrapped the lame pack-ins and replaced them with Sewer Shark. This redesign, alongside an improved library, raised sales of the system. Although it was the eventual controversy around Night Trap that seemed to help the most. There's a saying about any press being good press and that was the case with Night Trap. We actually had to pull the game from the shelves until a new, less offensive version arrived. I've played the original and have no idea who could be offended by it. The commercials for "Hostel" and "Saw" were 1000x worse than anything in Night Trap.
The now-defunct Working Designs brought over a number of successful RPGs from Japan for the Sega CD. These rank among the most popular games for the system. Snatcher would also be a surprise hit. The downside is that these games appealed to a narrow market in the United States and didn't generate many new system sales.
In the end, the Sega CD suffered from the same disease that killed the Atari 2600. A flood of utterly horrible FMV games poured onto the shelves. No one wanted these games but companies kept cranking them out. Many Genesis games were ported to the Sega CD without any noticeable improvement (NHL '94, Pitfall, Bill Walsh College Football, Earthworm Jim, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam). Like the 2600, the complete void of quality turned shoppers away from the system in droves.