I still have my Sony MZ-R30 and a case full of Minidiscs. In the 90s I used to DJ from minidiscs. I had two Sony MDS-DRE1 (DJ MD players [1]) and looking back I think it was really more than a gimmick since they were really impractical to carry around.

[1] https://www.minidisc.wiki/equipment/sony/pro/mds-dre1