Best. Game Console. Ever

[digitalpress]

To those of you trying to squeeze PC GAMES and SYSTEMS into the mix, might I remind you of a statement I made in my original post up there:

If someone wants to put up a poll of computer-style game systems, import system, or handhelds, be my guest.

PC-based platforms like C64, Amiga, Apple, etc were intentionally left out. Game consoles only, folks.

[ubersaurus]

I was gonna vote for the 7800 (it being my favorite console), but NES really had a large impact on the gaming world, and I can't ignore that. The 2600 did too, and I grew up playing them both, but I have to say the NES is just slightly better in my eyes.

[MankeyMan]

I voted for the N64. I don't really have a special reason like the Atari brought videogaming into the mainstream and bla bla bla.
In my opinion, it should be about the one you had the most fun on, not the one that had the most games, or something like that.
The N64 gave me the most fun.

[Nature Boy]

Probably the most significant and important two systems, and perhaps therefore the "best", would be the Atari 2600 and the NES. Sniderman and Yoshi pretty much captured the essence of the systems in each of their arguments respectively. I would go so far as to label each of them as being the dominant paradigm of their respective eras. They transcended their own identity and became symbols of videogaming in general.

This is why I like K8Track so much. He does all my thinking and typing for me. I was going to post the same thing...

But I'll add some of my own thoughts anyway.

"BEST" and not "FAVOURITE" is the key. What do I think qualifies as the best system? Processors and graphics weren't important I decided. What was was importance. So best to me means most important system. Today anyway.

In the end I sided with NES. As I've alluded to, Yoshi and Sniderman hit the high points. It was a matter of deciding which I'd rather side with. The crash was the deciding factor in my eyes.

[k8track]

@Sniderman and Natureboy--Thanks, I feel validated by that. I'm currently in a Pedagogical Theory class for ESL and the lingo is really rubbing off on me (even though I loathe the class itself... I'm NOT a theory person).

In terms of cultural and historical significance, I still stand by my answer (2600, NES). The 2600 really ushered in the home video game era, being the first really wildly successful console, creating and riding the wave of excitement that followed. Then the crash occurred, and for a brief period, the future of video games appeared a bit uncertain. Thankfully, the NES arrived on the scene, establishing a firm beachhead and a solid foundation for the resurrection of the industry, a stability which still exists to this day. Those two systems were cultural touchstones and spring to the mind of most people when you mention video games. I would also say that the Sony Playstation (I) is another such symbol of its era, the current one, but it lacks the trailblazing quality of the 2600 and NES, arriving on the scene in an already well-established industry.

[theaveng]

PC-based platforms like C64, Amiga, Apple, etc were intentionally left out. Game consoles only, folks.

When you turn on your PS1 it says "Sony Computer Entertainment"... i.e. it's a computer. Guess we need to exclude it from the poll.

[k8track]

Good point! We should also exclude the Atari Video COMPUTER System (a.k.a. the Atari 2600).

[NE146]

Geezus It always happens whenever these types of polls get put out you always got the one guy who thinks he's the first to say "THE PC!! because it plays all the console games and so much more!" as if it's some enlightening angle we haven't had the insight to see

We've all got pc's. We've all played emu'd games and more. Of course we all know how good it is for games, but come on, what he's obviously trying to get at is easy... BEST DEDICATED GAMES CONSOLE (U.S.)

[NvrMore]

*Waits for imminent rules quote and ill-founded maturity remark*

C'mon, this thread was a good one, it had / still has potential..

When you turn on your PS1 it says "Sony Computer Entertainment"... i.e. it's a computer. Guess we need to exclude it from the poll.

That doesn't refer to the type of hardware which the Playstation is, thats the Division of Sony which produces the Playstation, they were originally set up to produce computer hardware for PC based platforms, hence the name.

The thread specifically says Game Console.

A game console is a dedicated games machine whose intended main purpose is to play games and whose hardware is specifically optimized for such.

Platforms such as the C64, Amiga, PC and Spectrum are computing platforms, meaning that they were designed to function as personal computer systems for a multitude of tasks, gaming being just a side-feature and not their main focus.


back onto the topic.. I voted SNES / SFC, good coverage of all Genre's, genuine gaming breakthroughs and revolutionary games and a very good ratio of good to bad games.

*Thinks of way to draw people back to original discussion.. misdirected indignance towards other machines*

Nintendo NES.. Pffft!
Dreamcast... Hah!
Atari 2600.. nyeh!..

That is all.. probably... perhaps.... well, maybe..

[Stark]

This was not as easy to pick as it sounds. It was a toss up for me between the 2600 and the Super NES. I had to pick the Mother of them all and the start of this great hobby the 2600. I still can play a lot of those classics today 20+ years later.

[Ascending Wordsmith]

Of all these consoles listed in the poll, which one can you take with you on ships, planes, trains, and automobiles?

The answer; the PSOne. With only two attachments (LCD screen + battery pack), it's ready for the one hour drive to your in-laws' house, or the seven hour flight to the other side of the country. Examine the benefits of the Playstation...

-Excellent graphics
-One of the best sound chips ever made
-Quality titles from the best companies and developers
-Every gaming genre is thoroughly represented
-Immense library consisting of over 1,000 games
-Plays audio CD's

... and then, take them with you! I voted for the Playstation because the PSOne is basically the same system, only portable. There is no other portable console unless you count the PC Engine LT, but good luck playing any kind of CD's on that one! The PSOne's ability to be played at home and on the move is, to me, the best feature of any console.



The PSOne; go ahead, take it with ya'!

[kainemaxwell]

I voted for the NES myself, but I also belive the Atari 2600, NES and PSX are the most important consoles in gaming history.

Atari 2600 basically started the video game craze and created the early gaming genres we now play and love, along with having the first console titles of famous gaming francises such as pac-Man (as sucky as it was) and Mario Bros. Sure, the glutton of horrid titles caused the crash, but Atari did break from the norn to bring gaming home.

The NES. Wow. nintendo had the balls to bring video gaming back after the crash with their trojin horse, R.O.B. and by marketing it as the Nintendo Entertainment System. It caught on and continued and expanded game francises and created all new ones as well as creating the first gamepad 9noy joystick), light guns and other perihirials.

PSX I mentioned because thanks to Sony's power and the large quanitiy of games out there from racing to arcade to sports, the PSX ended up turning everyone into a "gamer", so to speak.

[The Clonus Horror]

I would have to say it's a tie between NES and Playstation. I religiously played the NES from around 1986-1989, then briefly owned a Genesis and Turbografx around the time I was 16, but sold them shortly thereafter. Believe it or not, I went through 5 years of college without owning, renting, or playing a console, although I played a Star Wars game once on my roomies PC. I bought a Playstation in December of 1999 after I rented one from a video store and played WWF Smackdown. I never really got into RPG's, but I loved the fact that you could buy all of these collections of old arcade games, especially the Arcade Party Pack. This was before I had any idea about emulation on the PC. I must have played the Smackdown Series for thousands of hours, both solo and with friends, beating each other up and yelling ridiculous things like: "I REGRET NOTHIIIIIIIIIING!" as we'd go flying over the top rope. The NES was more of a great one-player system for me, but the Playstation is great as a multi-player system. I've since bought a N64 (for WWF No Mercy), an Atari 7800 (out of curiosity), and a SNES (for the whip-ass Super Star Wars Trilogy), and found a good deal on a boxed Intellivision with Demon Attack. However, if I'm playing anything at all, it's usually my Playstation.

Just adding my two cents worth...

[portnoyd]

There's little to be said at this point. (Damn you heavy drinking!) So I'll just post my top 5, or something.

1. NES (Yep!)
2. SNES (Being a 2D nut, this system had some of the best ever)
3. Genesis (Being a 2D nut, this system had some of the best ever)
4. Gameboy Family (GB/GBC/GBA... )
5. Atari 5200 (First system and sweet too...)

Yeah yeah, Gameboy ain't console, but I wub it just the same.

dave

[Raedon]

I actually did a lot of reflection before coming to a conclusion that my favorate system is the NES. Though the snes, and genesis are close. I love the pre-nes systems, but I've really needed a greater depth of gameplay sense I got my c64 and the NES really did it for me.

[spoon]

The NES! Hands down, no arguments.

[IntelliSteve]

Of course, I'm constitutionally incapable of voting for anything else. So, why Intellivision?

Well, one reason is actually over on another MB here on the DP - the top 20 Inty games list. It's easy for people familiar w/ the console to come up with pretty different top 25 lists. And out of a library of 125 games, that's damn good.

And do NOT gimme that crap about the controllers. Anyone here ever play NES or anything later? Well, guess what? The Inty disk is the grandpappy of your lovable joypad. So there! :P

There were a good number of excellent arcade adaptations - Pac-Man was superb, and the less common games like Lock 'n' Chase and Loco-Motion were actually BETTER than the arcade versions! BurgerTime and Bump 'n' Jump were also outstanding in that realm.

Of course, the bread and butter games were the sports titles. They really pushed the envelope at the time and made people realize you could put out great sports games on home consoles. The later INTV versions were even better - and had elements that are in your console sports games to this day!

Too bad the expansion hardware came so late. The IntelliVoice, System Changer (Atari Adapter), Entertainment Computer System, and Music Synthesizer added interesting new features and were lots of fun. The fatal mistake they made was never offerering more types of controllers, like the VCS (2600 for you latecomers ) and Colecovision did.

[cerex]

In my opinion, it should be about the one you had the most fun on, not the one that had the most games, or something like that.

i agree

[Sniderman]

Great thread thus far. It reminds me of the old schoolyard "my Atari can whup your Colecovision/Odyssey/Intellivision" debates of my youth.

Here's what I see as being interesting. The 2600 and the NES are in the lead, hands-down. Obviously, this is a vote along generation lines. You had the Atari generation, followed by the Nintendo generation on a videogame timeline. I would've been stunned if these were not the front-runners.

No, what I find interesting is numbers 3 and 4 in terms of votes - the Super Nintendo and the Dreamcast. These were not (to my knowledge) the best sellers of their generations, although the SNES gave the Genesis a run for the money in its time. The Dreamcast though got it's ass handed to it by the PSX/N64 juggernaut.

These votes are a "vote of confidence," if you will. The 2600 and NES got the "I grew up with this" vote. But the SNES and Dramcast got the "these systems ROCK" vote. I know what I'll start collecting for soon.

[Tick]

1. NES - This was the system I grew up with and it gets the most play in my house to this day. So many different genres and series' got their start on this platform.
2. 2600 - As good as the NES in many respects, it didn't get my vote for #1 however because it wasn't the system I grew up with and towards the end there was a lot of crap titles.
3. SNES - This was the system that really impressed me when I was younger. Even technologically superior systems like XBox haven't impressed me in the way that the SNES did back in the day. Before Square made Playstation the RPG king of consoles, SNES was unbeatable (FF2, FF3, Chrono Trigger, Zelda, Breath of Fire series, Secret of Mana, etc.)
4. Playstation - Although there's a lot of crap for it, there's also a lot of really good games out there too. This one gets my vote for the sheer number of titles it had.
5. Genesis - While I thought SNES kicked it's ass back in the 16-bit heyday, looking back I realize that this system had a lot to offer and is, in my opinion, still the undiputed king of action games.