Greatest Console, all time

[Tatsujin]

wow. this is one of the most non-sense discussion we ever had in here. big chapeau.

[DragonmasterDan]

It is fair to say that it will be subjective and that there is no magic formula. I do think that the argument can be summed up to be between 3 or 4 consoles for greatest ever and everything else can be taken on face value as not being in the discussion. Neo Geo, in my mind, doesn't even enter the conversation for the top spot. Too many negatives are attributed to it to make that argument.

The problem is what qualities are considered negatives and how severe those negatives are is entirely  a matter of personal opinion. Thus what "greatness" constitutes in this instance is arbitrary. If it were something like what is the most influential console of all time, you can narrow it down to personal preference. But in this case "greatness" is entirely dependent on what the individual in question values.

[Dicer]

Why is this discussion still going on, I posted the proper list...

[Tatsujin]

no, I did

[synbiosfan]

But in this case "greatness" is entirely dependent on what the individual in question values.

Bingo!

@ OP A simple change of the thread title adding "Your" in front of "Greatest Console, all time" would have promoted more positive posting

Off subject, isn't funny how threads like these affect your impressions of other posters.

[vexcollects]

Reconsidered...... Sega Game gear. Best system eve....r.... Ha ha ha ha ha. I couldn't even get through that sentence. Oh.. Now I've totally offended those who love the game gear.

[slinkyturd]

It is fair to say that it will be subjective and that there is no magic formula. I do think that the argument can be summed up to be between 3 or 4 consoles for greatest ever and everything else can be taken on face value as not being in the discussion. Neo Geo, in my mind, doesn't even enter the conversation for the top spot. Too many negatives are attributed to it to make that argument.

The problem is what qualities are considered negatives and how severe those negatives are is entirely  a matter of personal opinion. Thus what "greatness" constitutes in this instance is arbitrary. If it were something like what is the most influential console of all time, you can narrow it down to personal preference. But in this case "greatness" is entirely dependent on what the individual in question values.

Arbitrary is "What is your favorite system?" I am looking at it as an all encompassing view. Meaning all things about the system are up for consideration i.e. sales(strict numbers, numbers vs manufacturer goals, and also vs competitors in its era or any era for that matter), library size, library quality, hardware, accessibility from launch to present, first and secondary market price vs. value, desirablility, graphical and sound quality during life span and does it stand the test of time?, what was the system's impact on the market, culturally, if any (for example, see the NES revitalizing a near dead gaming market with Atari crashing)?, etc.

It can't be the greatest unless all things are considered. How ever we want to weigh all of those things, listed and unlisted, I'd argue 3-4 systems are in the running.

[esteban]

A: NES/Famicom = greatest console. Anyone who suggests PlayStation (and beyond) is a toollet mignon and knows it.

[slinkyturd]

A: NES/Famicom = greatest console. Anyone who suggests PlayStation (and beyond) is a toollet mignon and knows it.

That is one that I thought should be in the running.

[johnnymad]

All jokes aside, it's NES for me. That's what I grew up on, so there's all kinds of nostalgia tied to it.

[vexcollects]

32X = Ball slappin fun.

[Galder]

Despite the fact that I was a computer fan during my childhood years ( Amiga <3 ) I will also say NES because that white toaster was just amazing. Huge library of games and cool shape ( PAL version ).

[VenomMacbeth]

For me, the 32x would have to take the cake.  I haven't had many add-ons, but of all that I've owned, the 32x trumps the Sega CD, Super Gameboy, Powerbase, master gear...I think that's all I've owned.  Unless you count ram expansions for N64 and Saturn.

I'd like to take a moment & point out that anyone who thinks the Jag is better than the 32x is a bonafide d00fus.  Even the not-so-great 32x games (barring Motocross Championship) are better than anything on the Jaguar, and cheaper too.  Sorry for going OT, but this has been on my mind a lot lately as I keep seeing stuff about the Jaguar everywhere. 

EDIT: wow, second time posting in the wrong forum/topic in the same day.  I really need to stop using my phone.

[MrFulci]

For me, the 32x would have to take the cake.  I haven't had many add-ons, but of all that I've owned, the 32x trumps the Sega CD, Super Gameboy, Powerbase, master gear...I think that's all I've owned.  Unless you count ram expansions for N64 and Saturn.

I'd like to take a moment & point out that anyone who thinks the Jag is better than the 32x is a bonafide d00fus.  Even the not-so-great 32x games (barring Motocross Championship) are better than anything on the Jaguar, and cheaper too.  Sorry for going OT, but this has been on my mind a lot lately as I keep seeing stuff about the Jaguar everywhere. 

EDIT: wow, second time posting in the wrong forum/topic in the same day.  I really need to stop using my phone.

It all depends on your taste, and what you want to get into. At the time, when those consoles were fresh, the 32X was of interest to me, mostly due to the Corpse Killer, Ground Zero Texas (Oops, I meant the Fahrenheit game), Night Trap 32X, etc. The full motion games. It had some fighters, too, but, the full motion stuff was of interest to me, on the 32X. However, it did not interest me much when it was new, and most other people I knew of at the time looked at the system with some interest, but not enough to buy it since the other consoles (PS, etc) were on the way.

Jaguar, it's not a bad system, it just has a different batch of games. I do not recommend a Jaguar for just anyone. I'd tell a person to study the library first. Same goes for 32X, especially since there are less games.

I would have picked up a 32X, if I caught it when it was marked down. However, during the time it was marked down on clearance, I must not have been in a Toys 'r Us. I know that's how I ended up getting a Virtual Boy, it was a no-brainer to get that when it was $20-$30 or so at TRU. I remember going there for something else, seeing the VB really cheap, and figuring, "Hey, why not!?!".

[slinkyturd]

headaches, is why not. lol. I think Nintendo should have partnered with aspirin when they made that monsterosity.

[DragonmasterDan]

Arbitrary is "What is your favorite system?" I am looking at it as an all encompassing view. Meaning all things about the system are up for consideration i.e. sales(strict numbers, numbers vs manufacturer goals, and also vs competitors in its era or any era for that matter), library size, library quality, hardware, accessibility from launch to present, first and secondary market price vs. value, desirablility, graphical and sound quality during life span and does it stand the test of time?, what was the system's impact on the market, culturally, if any (for example, see the NES revitalizing a near dead gaming market with Atari crashing)?, etc.

It can't be the greatest unless all things are considered. How ever we want to weigh all of those things, listed and unlisted, I'd argue 3-4 systems are in the running.

A lot more than 3-4 systems have a legitimate case for being greatest. Among those are

Atari VCS/2600: First commericially successful home game console. Provided the foundation for console video game platforms.

Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom: First globally commercially successful home game console. Was the platform that many big time game developers and publishers first had mainstream success with

GameBoy: While not the first ever handheld with interchangable games was the first successful one. Is almost entirely responsible for the portable game console market.

Playstation: While not the first CD-ROM based game console was the first one to be globally successful. Had success in Western markets by being a mainstream platform that was marketed to adults rather than to children.

Playstation 2: Extremely commercially successful, backwards compatible with the original playstation. The first successful (No, the Nuon doesn't count as successful) console platform to utilize DVD as its media storage. Also helped popularize DVD as a home video format.

Nintendo Wii: Introduced motion control, with the virtual console had a legal means of downloading previous generation software and as a result has an enormous library.

And legitimate arguments could be made for a few other consoles as well. Simply put it's not limited to 3-4 systems.

[esteban]

Arbitrary is "What is your favorite system?" I am looking at it as an all encompassing view. Meaning all things about the system are up for consideration i.e. sales(strict numbers, numbers vs manufacturer goals, and also vs competitors in its era or any era for that matter), library size, library quality, hardware, accessibility from launch to present, first and secondary market price vs. value, desirablility, graphical and sound quality during life span and does it stand the test of time?, what was the system's impact on the market, culturally, if any (for example, see the NES revitalizing a near dead gaming market with Atari crashing)?, etc.

It can't be the greatest unless all things are considered. How ever we want to weigh all of those things, listed and unlisted, I'd argue 3-4 systems are in the running.

A lot more than 3-4 systems have a legitimate case for being greatest. Among those are

Atari VCS/2600: First commericially successful home game console. Provided the foundation for console video game platforms.

Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom: First globally commercially successful home game console. Was the platform that many big time game developers and publishers first had mainstream success with

GameBoy: While not the first ever handheld with interchangable games was the first successful one. Is almost entirely responsible for the portable game console market.

Playstation: While not the first CD-ROM based game console was the first one to be globally successful. Had success in Western markets by being a mainstream platform that was marketed to adults rather than to children.

Playstation 2: Extremely commercially successful, backwards compatible with the original playstation. The first successful (No, the Nuon doesn't count as successful) console platform to utilize DVD as its media storage. Also helped popularize DVD as a home video format.

Nintendo Wii: Introduced motion control, with the virtual console had a legal means of downloading previous generation software and as a result has an enormous library.

And legitimate arguments could be made for a few other consoles as well. Simply put it's not limited to 3-4 systems.

REBUTTAL: nope, I'm pretty sure Xbox is greatest (greatest money pit, putting Microsoft a billion $$$$ in the hole, and for what gain? They were hoping to be a common appliance, in every living room, the center of entertainment for mainstream America....see, if MS established itself as the center of multimedia living room...well the gamble would have paid off brilliantly).

I know Sony has lost a pretty penny, but they've been better at recouping initial overhead costs than MS.

[DragonmasterDan]

REBUTTAL: nope, I'm pretty sure Xbox is greatest (greatest money pit, putting Microsoft a billion $$$$ in the hole, and for what gain? They were hoping to be a common appliance, in every living room, the center of entertainment for mainstream America....see, if MS established itself as the center of multimedia living room...well the gamble would have paid off brilliantly).

With the X-Box at least initially a big part of the plan there was to use it to help keep their Windows monopoly which 13 years ago was far more impactful than it is today with the advent of Android and IOS smart phones and tablets.

They had a genuine fear that home consoles with web and basic application capability could pose a legitimate threat to their PC OS/Office Business and wanted to disrupt the market as much as possible. With Sega clearly on their way out they didn't see Nintendo as a clear threat and felt that if Sony were given the market with only Nintendo as a competitor a Playstation 2 with say the Linux kit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2) might eventually become the standard bundle and provide PC level capabilities to an inexpensive game console that based on the sales of the original unit could easily sell 100 million units.

MS didn't enter the game console market to make money selling game consoles, they entered the market to put more pressure on Sony to be price competitive and be more hesitant about making advanced features that would turn the Playstation 2 into more than just a game console into standard features.

[esteban]

REBUTTAL: nope, I'm pretty sure Xbox is greatest (greatest money pit, putting Microsoft a billion $$$$ in the hole, and for what gain? They were hoping to be a common appliance, in every living room, the center of entertainment for mainstream America....see, if MS established itself as the center of multimedia living room...well the gamble would have paid off brilliantly).

With the X-Box at least initially a big part of the plan there was to use it to help keep their Windows monopoly which 13 years ago was far more impactful than it is today with the advent of Android and IOS smart phones and tablets.

They had a genuine fear that home consoles with web and basic application capability could pose a legitimate threat to their PC OS/Office Business and wanted to disrupt the market as much as possible. With Sega clearly on their way out they didn't see Nintendo as a clear threat and felt that if Sony were given the market with only Nintendo as a competitor a Playstation 2 with say the Linux kit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_PlayStation_2) might eventually become the standard bundle and provide PC level capabilities to an inexpensive game console that based on the sales of the original unit could easily sell 100 million units.

MS didn't enter the game console market to make money selling game consoles, they entered the market to put more pressure on Sony to be price competitive and be more hesitant about making advanced features that would turn the Playstation 2 into more than just a game console into standard features.

Agreed. So....does that mean we can call Xbox the Greatest Console Moneypit?

I think we can.

Like I said, if the gamble paid off for MS, we would be praising them. As it stands, we can mock them for flushing away money faster than a __________ at __________.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Nintendo Wii: Introduced motion control, with the virtual console had a legal means of downloading previous generation software and as a result has an enormous library.

Introduced motion control to the mainstream maybe, but it wasn't at all a new idea or even a unique implementation.

[EvilEvoIX]

I'm going to have to agree with the PS2, even though I never had one it had a massive life span, was affordable, brought DVD Technology to the the everyman, many classic Compilations and basically every genre of game was supported so it would be basically impossible to not like something on the unit.

[DragonmasterDan]

Introduced motion control to the mainstream maybe, but it wasn't at all a new idea or even a unique implementation.

Yes, there were things like the U-Force, Power glove and Sega activator before it. But it was the first competent implementation of it and the first time that I'm aware it was packaged with the hardware by default.

[Tatsujin]

I can't believe all that shit I have to read in here..lol

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Yes, there were things like the U-Force, Power glove and Sega activator before it. But it was the first competent implementation of it and the first time that I'm aware it was packaged with the hardware by default.

You're probably (understandably) forgetting the xavix.  The Wii is essentially the same thing but with a big budget.

[DragonmasterDan]

You're probably (understandably) forgetting the xavix.  The Wii is essentially the same thing but with a big budget.

Not forgotten at all. that's why I used the term "competent implementation"

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Set up correctly, they control just fine.

[DragonmasterDan]

Set up correctly, they control just fine.

I've played Tennis and baseball on it and it's considerably worse than the Wii Sports version of those games.

[esteban]

Set up correctly, they control just fine.

I've played Tennis and baseball on it and it's considerably worse than the Wii Sports version of those games.

If I go to Turbofest, I'll bring XaviX and Jacki Chan, so you can run through streets of Hong Kong using the POWER MAT.

JUMP over hurdles.
DASH down alleys.

KICK AWAY ninja assassins who want to disrupt your morning jog!

[vexcollects]

Samba De Amigo maracas are the only motion sensing accessory you will ever need. Shake shake shake. Shake shake shake.  Best implementation to date. 

[slinkyturd]

I'm going to have to agree with the PS2, even though I never had one it had a massive life span, was affordable, brought DVD Technology to the the everyman, many classic Compilations and basically every genre of game was supported so it would be basically impossible to not like something on the unit.

Thumbs up^

[Medic_wheat]

Samba De Amigo maracas are the only motion sensing accessory you will ever need. Shake shake shake. Shake shake shake.  Best implementation to date. 

Never played the Dream Cast verson...

but I did get the Wii port for .99 cents a few months back as everything Wii (that isn't first party games or Mario) goes for $14 dollars and bellow....


the game was okay and looked nice.....but seriously felt it would have been more entertaining if it had kept the original concept of the controllers being shaped like maracas...much like how the Donkey Kong Jungle Beats game is more fun with the bongos then with the Wii motion port.

[vexcollects]

Samba De Amigo maracas are the only motion sensing accessory you will ever need. Shake shake shake. Shake shake shake.  Best implementation to date. 

Never played the Dream Cast verson...

but I did get the Wii port for .99 cents a few months back as everything Wii (that isn't first party games or Mario) goes for $14 dollars and bellow....


the game was okay and looked nice.....but seriously felt it would have been more entertaining if it had kept the original concept of the controllers being shaped like maracas...much like how the Donkey Kong Jungle Beats game is more fun with the bongos then with the Wii motion port.

I had heard they ported it to the Wii. Then I chose to ignore that fact, forget that I ever heard it,  and picked up a few sets of maracas for the DC (cuz damn they're kewl). Shake shake shake. Shake shake shake. I really miss the Sonic Team of that era. They made some great games for the DC.

[o.pwuaioc]

Dreamcast: home of the gimmicks.

[VestCunt]

Will everyone touting the PS2 please leave and go somewhere else?

"Greatest console of all time? Dur... that Sony thing I bought at Gamestop ten years ago. It had Madden and the FPS = GREATEST CONSOLE EVA!"

[esteban]

Will everyone touting the PS2 please leave and go somewhere else?

"Greatest console of all time? Dur... that Sony thing I bought at Gamestop ten years ago. It had Madden and the FPS = GREATEST CONSOLE EVA!"

Wait for it....

[esteban]

Will everyone touting the PS2 please leave and go somewhere else?

"Greatest console of all time? Dur... that Sony thing I bought at Gamestop ten years ago. It had Madden and the FPS = GREATEST CONSOLE EVA!"

Greatest Console Evva (GCE).

[slinkyturd]

It's not just the FPS (which it had many great ones). How about the third person awesomeness of God of War and Hitman franchises? How about the many unsung RPGs on there aside from the like 10 Final Fantasy games? How about the open worlds of games like the GTA series? you want survival horror, how about several Silent Hill releases and the greatest zombie game ever created in RE4? This system had great games in every genre of games. So much so that if you personally only like just one or two genres of games still made it worth it to own this system. It had the ability to play DVDs, which at the time was a new concept. It took 0 adapting to the controller of the PS2 from the PS1. It may not be the greatest ever (I think it is), but it, at the very least, is in the conversation of the 2-4 systems one could in good conscience make an argument for.

[vexcollects]

Dreamcast: home of the gimmicks.

I don't see it that way. What you describe as "gimmicks" are/is actually "innovation". You have to try new things in order to succeed. If they had not released interesting new products as well as the standard gaming goodies, how would the Dreamcast have differentiated itself from any other system? Yeah, these accessories may not have hit wide spread acceptance, but I can't fault them for trying or fault the many Dreamcast fans who enjoyed the system for this reason. Sony's dominance had a lot to do with the Dreamcast's short life. If the black monolith (PS2) had never reared its head, Dreamcast may have lasted a lot longer. The "gimmicks" are part of what made the Dreamcast interesting as a gaming console. A slight welcome departure from the constant genre repetition the game industry can sometimes produce.

A gimmick would also imply that none of these innovations were ever widely accepted, which is not true of all of them. The Wii profited greatly off of motion control. That is not to say they mimicked Sega's Samba De Amigo as there were many motion control devices in the past, but motion control was not a gimmick...................................just a fad 

[o.pwuaioc]

Dreamcast: home of the gimmicks.

I don't see it that way. What you describe as "gimmicks" are/is actually "innovation". You have to try new things in order to succeed. If they had not released interesting new products as well as the standard gaming goodies, how would the Dreamcast have differentiated itself from any other system? Yeah, these accessories may not have hit wide spread acceptance, but I can't fault them for trying or fault the many Dreamcast fans who enjoyed the system for this reason. Sony's dominance had a lot to do with the Dreamcast's short life. If the black monolith (PS2) had never reared its head, Dreamcast may have lasted a lot longer. The "gimmicks" are part of what made the Dreamcast interesting as a gaming console. A slight welcome departure from the constant genre repetition the game industry can sometimes produce.

They had a crap ton of none gimmicky games, too, though! Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi, Ecco the Dolphin, Jet Set Radio (though it's not my favorite), MvC, freakin' Phantasy Star Online! Top class the Dreamcast is, though fishing reels and maracas were super lame imo.

A gimmick would also imply that none of these innovations were ever widely accepted, which is not true of all of them. The Wii profited greatly off of motion control. That is not to say they mimicked Sega's Samba De Amigo as there were many motion control devices in the past, but motion control was not a gimmick...................................just a fad 

When Wii's motion controls came out, everyone called it a gimmick. I don't disagree.

[Azzurri]

I'm very found of SNES and Dreamcast.

[glazball]

Some friends and I actually had a big discussion about this earlier this year.  I'll list below what I believe are the greatest US home consoles of all time.  However, this list is NOT the same as my 10 favorite of all time.  In fact, after thinking about it for days, I was surprised to find that my #1 pick for greatest console is nowhere near my favorite.  Considering ALL things - hardware and library, I think SNES is the greatest console ever.  (Again, I love SNES but I'd take a Genesis first any day).  You simply can't deny that the SNES nailed it - great hardware, comfy controller with shoulder buttons, great library of truly amazing games.  For all you PS2 lovers (the choice of a few of my friends also), I would have rated it higher but I had too many optical drive problems over the years.

Here's my list: Top 10 US Home Consoles of All Time
10. PS2
9.  TG-16
8.  Dreamcast
7.  Vectrex
6.  PS3
5.  N64
4.  Atari 2600
3.  NES
2.  Genesis
1.  SNES

Those that didn't quite make it: Colecovision, Intellivision, PS1 and GameCube (though the GC controller is my favorite controller of all time)

[esadajr]

(after the almighty PCE off course) I'm most fond of the Dreamcast. I can play MvsC, Powerstone, Vampire, Crazy Taxi, Vanishing Point, etc any day.

[Medic_wheat]

(after the almighty PCE off course) I'm most fond of the Dreamcast. I can play MvsC, Powerstone, Vampire, Crazy Taxi, Vanishing Point, etc any day.

If I have said it once I have said it many many times...


I am shocked...SHOCKED by the number of great Sega only games that I never got to play until the past three years when I put down the Nintendo lust and picked up some Sega stuff...

Dreamcast, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Genesis, Master System...I am constantly finding great great titles.....


I just hope the shift in attention does not happen just yet from Nintendo fandom to Sega in the Retro market.....I still have lots and lots of Sega games to pick up that I want to check off my want list before the prices start to get "Nintendarded"

[vexcollects]

(after the almighty PCE off course) I'm most fond of the Dreamcast. I can play MvsC, Powerstone, Vampire, Crazy Taxi, Vanishing Point, etc any day.

If I have said it once I have said it many many times...


I am shocked...SHOCKED by the number of great Sega only games that I never got to play until the past three years when I put down the Nintendo lust and picked up some Sega stuff...

Dreamcast, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Genesis, Master System...I am constantly finding great great titles.....


I just hope the shift in attention does not happen just yet from Nintendo fandom to Sega in the Retro market.....I still have lots and lots of Sega games to pick up that I want to check off my want list before the prices start to get "Nintendarded"

SEGA! Oh yeah, have you acquired :

Genesis: Shadowrun (different than the snes version), Starflight, Buck Rogers, Musha, Trouble Shooter

Sega Cd: Heart of the Alien, Dark Wizard, Dungeon Explorer, Vay... and on and on.

Although some Sega CD and Saturn stuff can be ridiculously priced already. Very few DC games cost too much, which is good. I rarely see pricey Genesis stuff. One of my collector friends gave me his entire genesis collection for free. 6 or 7 systems and something like 50 or 60 games. He figured they were not worth bothering to sell them. I acquired a lot of good titles from that.

[vexcollects]

Here's my list: Top 10 US Home Consoles of All Time
10. PS2
9.  TG-16
8.  Dreamcast
7.  Vectrex
6.  PS3
5.  N64
4.  Atari 2600
3.  NES
2.  Genesis
1.  SNES

Those that didn't quite make it: Colecovision, Intellivision, PS1 and GameCube (though the GC controller is my favorite controller of all time)

I'm saddened by the low low ranking of the tg16 on  your (your friends and yourself) list. I think somewhere a baby panda dies if the tg16 is not ranked properly at number 1 in any best of ranking. 

[glazball]

I'm saddened by the low low ranking of the tg16 on  your (your friends and yourself) list. I think somewhere a baby panda dies if the tg16 is not ranked properly at number 1 in any best of ranking. 

Considering only US consoles, it does pain me to rank it low-ish, but it's still there!  Trust me, I have nothing but love for the Turbo.  However, it did have some painful flaws, most notably the single controller port and having to buy the TurboBooster for improved a/v quality.

If I made a list of my personal favorite consoles, the TurboDuo would be up there, prob 1 or 2.

[o.pwuaioc]

N64 over PS1 makes that list a joke, anyway.

[glazball]

N64 over PS1 makes that list a joke, anyway.

lol, ok but did you ever have to put something heavy on top of your N64 to get a game to play?  Ever have to sit through a 2 or 3 minute loading screen while playing an N64 game?

[esadajr]

N64 over PS1 makes that list a joke, anyway.

lol, ok but did you ever have to put something heavy on top of your N64 to get a game to play?  Ever have to sit through a 2 or 3 minute loading screen while playing an N64 game?

loading times were not that bad, and, waiting on lets say FFIX to load, was totally worth it.

[slinkyturd]

N64 is clearly a better choice over PS1. PS1 has a hundred terrible ass crap games for every one playable one. N64 was quality over quantity.