Which System Has the Overall Best % of Quality Titles?

[digitalpress]

One to ponder.

I flip and flop on this one, and I'll share my current floppery with you shortly, but what's your opinion. What system has the highest quality library... or you could look at it the other way around, what system has the least JUNK?

[SoulBlazer]

This IS a really tough question.

I have to answer this by looking at all my games for everything and then figuring out which system I have the LEAST ammount of games for. This is because, in my logic, if the game is there that means it's something I want to play for years to come. I'm a gamer, not a collector. :-D So if I don't see myself playing something, I sell it. Then I have to divide the number of games I own for that system by how many are on the market.

Right now, the winner for that is the Game Cube.

In the past, it's been other systems....but that's what it has been for me for over a year now. (I only have eight games for the system -- both Zeldas, Pikmin, Mario, Metroid, Star Wars, Eternal Darkness, Skies of Arcadia Legend)

[Gunstarhero]

Well, this is the easiest question ever! j/k. Easy for me anyway, lets discuss the Atari 5200 shall we?

With its relatively small library of games I think its safe to say that this machine has the highest percentage of good games. Not only are MOST of the games straight arcade ports of undeniably classic arcade favorites, this is where Atari made an effort to preserve not only the graphics of the arcade, but the gameplay as well, and bring us a true arcade experience in our living rooms. The 5200 has always been about quality( I know, throw your 5200 controller tomatoes at me), and game quality is its strong point. I think the worst game in my 5200 library is Star Trek:SOS, and its not horrible, but it just didn't capture the graphics of the arcade version, or the feel for that matter.

Activision was the suprise bummer on this machine, and even though their games were almost exact ports from the 2600, they are still good games regardless. I mean, just because Pitfall and Megamania look almost exactly like the 2600 originals, doesn't mean the game sucks.

Throw all the 5200 titles in a big pile and randomly pick one, you will get a good game %95 of the time. The other %5 will be Tennis, Star Trek, and..well thats all I can think of right now. See what I mean, I could bring up a huge laundry list or garbage for about any other system out there, except the 5200.

[zektor]

Well, I have been on a Turbografx 16 kick lately. I've been collecting both the USA and Japanese games, and I have found very few duds. I pretty much enjoy all of the games I currently own so far, with the exception of Altered Beast (Jap PCE Hucard) because it just seems to be stupidly hard. I have about 60 USA Hucards and 30 or so PC Engine games, and it's all good!

[Raedon]

If we are talking % of good to crap (Madden 90-98) then it would be a Neo Geo home console.

[Captain Wrong]

Actually I was going to say Dreamcast, but Raedon brings up a good contender too. I guess I'll have to go with the Neo, Dreamcast, 5200, and the Colecovision in that order.

[BenT]

I'd say Dreamcast or (especially) NGPC. 'Course, the problem with that second choice is its library has very little diversity.

[RetroYoungen]

When I first read the name of this topic, two consoles instantly entered my mind: the NeoGeo and the NGPC. I have yet to hear anything bad about ANY of the games on either, and I've been addicted to me NGPC (although I only have a few games for it, my cousin bought a few and I loved them too).

[Gunstarhero]

Well I'll help you out RetroYoungen, don't be fooled, there is some crap on the NEO GEO. Legend of Success Joe for one. Alot of the early releases just weren't great games either, I mean they were graphically superior to the competition at the time, but games like Eightman, Ninja Combat, Super Spy are just a big gigantic zit on the Neo Geo game list. With that said though, I would probably have picked Neo Geo second in my choices, as it is a killer system overall.

[Raedon]

even eightman isn't as bad as Dirty Harry or ET. :-D

[udisi]

I'd have to second the TG-16, although not all the games are must have great, the ones that fall short are still good, and there are very few non- playable pieces of crap in the library

[scooterb23]

VIRTUAL BOY

hehehe...with only 14 games in the U.S. it has 13 good games, and Waterworld

Feel free to ignore my vote.

[orrimarrko]

I'm sure that I will take sure heat for this post, but...

a. I don't care, and

b. My nuts are huge - I can take it.


If we are talking % of good to crap (Madden 90-98) then it would be a Neo Geo home console.

You clearly have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. There are about 10-20 titles that are less than mediocre to complete dogshit for the Neo Geo AES. That's 10-20 out of 300+ titles. By my paltry math, I'd say that that's a pretty damn good percentage.

I'm not one of those Neo-elitists, but without looking at the neo-geo.com master list, can you even name more than 50 games? I realize this is an opinion-driven thread (as most are), but if you haven't played 50% or more of the titles (and not roms on some shitty emulator), you really shouldn't make bold statements.

If you want to talk crap as a percentage, look no further than the 2600 or the NES. Out of 500+ titles for the 2600, there are at least 100 or so that you wouldn't even fire up on the console. As for the NES (one of my favorite systems) - out of 750+, I promise you that at least 150 fall into the crap category.

Every system has shitty titles, even today, but before you make a bold statement regarding a particular system having the largest percentage of dogshit in it's library - do the math first.

My opinion of the system with the best % of quality titles:

SNES. It's got it all.

My opinion of the system with the biggest % of shit titles:

Playstation. For every 2 games that were really good, there were at least 5 that were average, and 8 that totally blew. Out of 1200+ games, that's a lot of shit.

[wcmiker]

I'd have to go with Neo Geo, although not very many of my favorite games are on it.

[Griking]

I have to second (or is it third) the Dreamcast. That console had IMHO a large percentage of good titles dispite having a decent sized library.

[IntvGene]

Well for me, it's a toss up between 5200, Colecovision and Intellivision. All of them had a fairly small amount of titles and a high percentage of quality titles.

Don't forget that if you add in imports for SNES, and DC, you're going to have different ratios. I can't tell you how many mahjongg games have come out for both of them!

[NoahsMyBro]

I have to second the 5200. The only other system that even comes to my mind for this question is the Dreamcast, and it had such a larger library that I'd guess it's good-to-bad percentage is likely lower than the 5200.

This brings to mind another question for me: My all-time favorite system was always the 5200, until the DC came out, and since then the 2 have pretty much tied for me. I seem to frequently see other people online that appear to also strongly like and appreciate that pair of systems in particular. I wonder what it is about those 2 consoles that attracts devotees?

[dave2236]

I also would put my main vote for the DC...lots of good titles and I enjoyed playing the sports games..

My second vote would go for the 3DO, not alot of games, but some very fun titles. I enjoyed playing most of the 3DO games.

[ShinobiMan]

Dreamcast for me... such classics as Draconus and Sword of the Berserk can not mislead. This system is full of "A" titles.

[kobunheatforum]

Awww. I was gonna say Virtual Boy, but somebody already did.

On a simple numeric basis, it's probably the right answer.

Popular systems will always have a crapload of crap games, but unpopular systems from a worthless game company (game.com, etc.) aren't the answer - you need an unpopular system from a crackerjack game company.

Which is why the 5200 or the Dreamcast work too, although I still don't think, numerically, the percentages would work out higher than the VB's.

[hydr0x]

mh don't know, dreamcast, gamecube or neo geo

as for dreamcast, a lot of people seem to "ignore" the junk titles it had when talking of it, like "Soul Fighter"

[ubersaurus]

I gotta say DC. Neo Geo has a number of good games, but then you have large numbers of mediocre to bad fighters. And Super Spy does not suck >:(

DC has good system diversity and tons of high quality games, and a good number more of mediocre titles. If you add in imports, maybe it skews a little for worse, but on the other hand, you can add in 3 more KOFs, Ikaruga, and a few other import only titles who's names escape me because I'm tired.

[dreamcaster]

Dreamcast easily has the best range of quality titles. Almost every game has some sort of appeal to it.

[HaggarCodyGuy123]

I got to say that I think that the Vectrex has a lot more good games than bad games. I also think that the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast had tons of good games.

[DigitalSoapbox]

By far, the Dreamcast. I can't think of many games that I was unhappy with. Plus, out of any of the "next gen" systems, I'd say the DC has more original titles, and by original, I don't necessarily mean "not sequels." I mean games that are just original ideas, even if they're just being presented in a novel new way. Rez, for example, in addition to the fact that the DC version was first and graphically superior IMO than the PS2 version, was a pretty darn original take on the rail shooter. So were games in the Panzer series, which I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) started on the Saturn, which is another highly underrated console. Despite it's problems w/ 3D, the Saturn's 2D games blew away (and still blow away) anything 2D on a non-Sega platform. Just a quick look at the Capcom fighting games proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

As has been mentioned, the Neo Geo also has a lot of great games, but the genres are pretty limited. Most of the really great games on this platform are fighting games, like the King of Fighters series and the Fatal Fury series. While the first game wasn't all that great, the later Art of Fighting titles also kicked some serious ass. And do I even need to mention the sidescrolling greatness known as Metal Slug?

Someone on here mentioned the Turbo Grafx16 as well. Have you really LOOKED at this library? I mean, there are a LOT of crap sidescrollers here. I will say, though, that the TG16 has some GREAT RPG titles, though a lot of them were imports.

The SNES is definitely not in the running, and although it had a lot of really great, really innovative and original games, at the height of its popularity - and this is the same for the Genesis as well - anyone who could get a license (and some who couldn't) to produce SNES games put out just a TON of complete and utter crap. Shaq Fu anyone? The Spawn sidescroller? Blech. And though it used the 2nd version of Nintendo's 2D/3D accelerator chip, which is cool (and makes for one HEAVY cartridge), there's VORTEX, which was a poor ripoff of StarFox. I bought it for $14 new, and I think I was ripped off - I was never interested enough to play past the first level, which was bogged down by slowdown due to like THREE textured objects being on the screen, even though DOOM, which used the same technology (though admittedly wasn't REALLY 3D) was full of wall textures and object sprites and didn't have such problems (well, a LITTLE slowdown in certain areas, but nowhere near as bad as VORTEX).

So, IMO, the order goes: Dreamcast, Saturn, Neo Geo, Turbo Grafx16.

If you take into consideration handhelds, I say this: Neo Geo Pocket, Game Gear, Wonderswan. The GB has too many shit titles, as does the GBC. Don't even get me started on the GBA, an underpowered machine that seems to be the home of 99.9% ports of old SNES games. It's pathetic.

<rant>

The forthcoming Sony handheld, even though I am far from a Sony fan, is going to blow the GBA away in terms of graphics, gameplay and original titles. It will take over the last market Nintendo controls, and I wouldn't be surprised if we hear the Big N is downsizing after it's been out for a few months. Nintendo is already a shadow of its former self, due to the fault of no one but themselves. They sat on their laurels, force their developers to pay outrageous fees to use proprietary technology, and discourage "adult" content. I'm sorry, but $300 is too much for a machine to play kiddie games on.

There's no reason for the GC to be using proprietary technology for games. It's basically a mini-DVD (that can hold less than half as much content as the full-size DVDs on the XBox and PS2 machines) that spins backwards. Then, of course, is the fact that the machine is - and I've been told this by developer freinds of mine - horriby underpowered compared to its competition. So, let's see: the GC isn't as fast, its games can't be as big, and developers are forced to deal with a proprietary, already out-of-date technology. Sounds a lot like the N64 to me. And, like the N64, the software library of original titles is tiny compared to that of the competition. Like the N64, the GC will die a slow, painful death, and Nintendo will milk parents for tons of cash at the end, same as the N64 - and overpriced "Pokemon" version, Pokemon games that cost $100, Pokemon controllers, etc. Right at the end, when the regular N64 was selling for $40, the Pokemon version was $150! And the last N64 Pokemon game was selling for over $100! Ridiculous!

</rant>

[Keir]

Feel free to ignore my vote.
Actually, if I had more experience with the system I might also say VB. However, as it is my vote goes to Atari 5200.

[liquidmetal]

atari 5200 hands down. With its great arcade translations i think it has a 2 good game to 1 bad game ratio. Just get a 3rd party joystick :)

[Gunstarhero]

atari 5200 hands down. With its great arcade translations i think it has a 2 good game to 1 bad game ratio. Just get a 3rd party joystick :)

2:1 ratio? No way thats horrible, its more like a 20:1 ratio IMHO, all though, even a 2:1 ratio would still be better than most other systems out there LOL

I'll bet the PSX has the same ratio of good to bad that the Atari 2600 ended up with, about 90% crap. Also, I don't own a DC, but I'm a bit skeptical about this machine having a good to bad ratio equal to or even better than the 5200. If all the games on the machine are so damn good how did it possibly fail when the DC was in a league all by itself for 2 years??? That just doesn't make sense. The 5200 didn't die because of its games, it died because the 2600 brought IT, and everyone else down with the ship. But with the DC, if every game is just great, and the DC basically owned the 128-bit market for 2 years, there's absolutely no reason this machine should have failed. Which is why I'm not believing that the DC has a higher ratio of good to bad games over the 5200.

[Arcade Antics]

I'll share my current floppery with you shortly

Uh, no thanks. LOL LOL LOL :D

But seriously folks, my vote goes to the Dreamcast.

[toddst]

I would say the Vectrex. The library is small and there are only a few games that are pretty bad. Most are good or, at the least, entertaining.

-Todd

[Keir]

I don't own a DC, but I'm a bit skeptical about this machine having a good to bad ratio equal to or even better than the 5200. If all the games on the machine are so damn good how did it possibly fail when the DC was in a league all by itself for 2 years??? That just doesn't make sense. The 5200 didn't die because of its games, it died because the 2600 brought IT, and everyone else down with the ship. But with the DC, if every game is just great, and the DC basically owned the 128-bit market for 2 years, there's absolutely no reason this machine should have failed. Which is why I'm not believing that the DC has a higher ratio of good to bad games over the 5200.
It's a different sort of crowd that visits these forums than the mainstream which determines a system's success. That's about all there is to it.

[Arcade Antics]

The 5200 didn't die because of its games, it died because the 2600 brought IT, and everyone else down with the ship. But with the DC, if every game is just great, and the DC basically owned the 128-bit market for 2 years, there's absolutely no reason this machine should have failed. Which is why I'm not believing that the DC has a higher ratio of good to bad games over the 5200.

Some gamers often use the same argument regarding the DC that you used to defend the 5200. That is, that the Sega CD / 32X (and to a lesser extent, limited Saturn support) killed the DC before it ever had a chance, not a lack of good DC games.

One thing's for sure: you're really, REALLY missing out on some incredible action if you don't have a DC. 8-)

[k8track]

Yep, it's been said at least a dozen times, but when I saw the thread title, only one jumped to mind: The Atari 5200. I'm biased, though, because it's my favorite system. And with two Competition Pro Joysticks, a Wico joystick, and a Masterplay Interface, I'm set. (I just need a Wico keypad.) I've got the latest Multicart, and not counting prototypes and homebrews, I'm only three carts away from a complete collection. (It might stay that way forever.)

I love, love, love this system. I disagree with Gunstarhero in that Activision was the surprise bummer for this system, but I do agree in that games such as Pitfall, HERO, and Megamania were still great even though they weren't too different from their 2600 counterparts. But then you had gems like River Raid (basically the same as the Atari 800 version), Keystone Kapers (great music), and the phenomenal Pitfall II, complete with a second quest.

Duds? Let's see, there's Congo Bongo (the biggest one), Space Invaders and Super Breakout; that could be it. You could throw Miniature Golf and Microgammon (both prototypes) in there if you wanted to be snarky. But oh, the gems. Rescue on Fractalus and Ballblazer are superb. And so many prototypes, many of which are complete and excellent--Super Pac Man, Xari Arena, Millipede, to name a few.

No sir, can't beat the 5200, in my opinion.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'd say Dreamcast or (especially) NGPC. 'Course, the problem with that second choice is its library has very little diversity.

Falselei! Hmm, that and SNK vs. Capcom MotM...good stuff.

I'd say Neo Geo myself; there IS some great stuff from the early days (ever heard of 8-Man?)

I'm a great fan of the N64 but eh...too many sports titles, and those wretched wrestling games (and somehow, I've got a bunch of em from when I traded for a second N64 o_O).

[RangerG]

If you have a third-part controller (like a Wico or Comp. Pro), the trackball and you make yourself a paddle, then I think the 5200 wins this one. Honestly,with these three controllers there are almost no games on the 5200 library that really stink. With a paddle even Gorf and Super Breakout are fun and Kaboom keeps all the magic of the 2600 version. I have heard people say many times to just get the Atari XEGS or an Atari 800XL because you can play pretty much all the same 5200 games and many many more. You can, but the percentage of bad games to good game also rises rapidly. I vote 5200.

[Ed Oscuro]

I have heard people say many times to just get the Atari XEGS or an Atari 800XL because you can play pretty much all the same 5200 games and many many more. You can, but the percentage of bad games to good game also rises rapidly. I vote 5200.

There's a new one: Don't buy a system because while you can play all your old favorites on it, the ratio of bad games to good games increases! I can't really say I can think of any parallels that I'm sure about (i.e. GameCube with GBP, or PS2 and PSOne, Commodore systems) but that's pretty funny.

k8track: wasn't Linus trying to do something strange with math? I remember that comic, though I forget what the problem was he's trying to solve.

[Captain Wrong]

The 5200 didn't die because of its games, it died because the 2600 brought IT, and everyone else down with the ship. But with the DC, if every game is just great, and the DC basically owned the 128-bit market for 2 years, there's absolutely no reason this machine should have failed. Which is why I'm not believing that the DC has a higher ratio of good to bad games over the 5200.

Some gamers often use the same argument regarding the DC that you used to defend the 5200. That is, that the Sega CD / 32X (and to a lesser extent, limited Saturn support) killed the DC before it ever had a chance, not a lack of good DC games.

One thing's for sure: you're really, REALLY missing out on some incredible action if you don't have a DC. 8-)

Yeah, AA nailed it I think. The DC really is that good and in fact it did pretty well for itself until you contrast it's numbers to the Sony juggernaut. The reason the DC failed? It couldn't caputre the hearts (and wallets) of the mainstream. If anything, the DC showed that it's truly hype and not quality that runs this industry these days.

As for the Neo, well, there are some shit titles on it and I would never claim that it has a diverse libary, but I still think the overall ratio is pretty damn good. Certaintly better than that of it's contemporaries.

[Ed Oscuro]

If anything, the DC showed that it's truly hype and not quality that runs this industry these days.

As for the Neo, well, there are some shit titles on it and I would never claim that it has a diverse libary, but I still think the overall ratio is pretty damn good. Certaintly better than that of it's contemporaries.

Yes...I still don't own a DC or any games for it, but I'm looking forward to getting one. It certainly did have good games...that's why we're only getting them now on other systems, where they're considered "must buys."

The Neo certainly does have some shit titles, and I really don't like most of the KoF games -- especially the early ones. Fatal Fury? Only really like stuff starting with 3 (FF2 looks goofier than hell on a TV). I hear that the new Power Instinct game isn't great, and there's even a couple very lackluster (everything's recycled, for example) Metal Slug games (hopefully MS5 won't be like that). I also have to wonder what sort of numbers we're using for "best ratio" -- is everybody thinking of fairly obscure titles along with those numbers?

[AB Positive]

I'm a great fan of the N64 but eh...too many sports titles, and those wretched wrestling games (and somehow, I've got a bunch of em from when I traded for a second N64 o_O).

*cough* ...I like those wretched wrestling games...

My vote will have to go to (shock surprise amazement).... the TG-16! However when I get the switchbox for my 5200 up and running, we may have a damn close Second.

-AG

[k8track]

k8track: wasn't Linus trying to do something strange with math? I remember that comic, though I forget what the problem was he's trying to solve.
He was asking Lucy how to subtract six from four, and Lucy replied that it couldn't be done. Linus replied... (see avatar).