MiniDisc "ignored by the world" my ass, ignored by the USA you mean.
I just put the latest Jamiroquai album on a minidisc through WebUSB!
My parents got me one in 1999 after years of me asking. It was such a disappointment when mp3 players like iRiver came out soon after (that should have a page on the graveyard) and then iPod came out. The iRiver and similar product used flash memory too.
Also I disagree with the minidisc distribution being an issue. They were less popular but, in the U.K. at least, album releases in minidisc format were available in supermarkets as well as music and electronic retailers.
European there. It was either walkmans or discmans. No one cared about MD's unless you were a poshy kid living in the rich area of the city/town.
Not only I guess. I remember buying a minidisk instead of miniCD __by accident__ in the '00s in Russia. That was literally the only time I saw one in person.