We’re talking home consoles here, not handhelds or PCs or other home computers.
Remember, you can only pick one. So, vote and then explain your selection in the comments below. And if more than one of you demand the inclusion of a console I’ve missed, I’ll add it to the poll.
Adam Ruch
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:04 AMSuper NES followed very very closely by PS2. Hands down :P
francis
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 1:19 PMI second that
Arcane Azmadi
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 2:52 AMThirded.
Ben
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 3:15 PMSnes. Then PS2. Totally.
Snacuum
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:09 AMDidn’t vote Dreamcast? You don’t know shit about videogames.
Chuloopa
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:28 AMor you could.. you know… have a personal preference and your own opinion…
but yeah, sure, what you said could work… *ahem*
Tinman
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:39 AMI agree with Snacuum to an extent. The Dreamcast was far ahead of its time and the first console to offer online gaming, something we all take for granted now. It had a plethora of good games that looked and played great, as well as a controller that offered new possibilities in gaming (albeit a wonky design).
My vote is for the Dreamcast, a very misunderstood and badly timed console by a company switching their business stances at the time (hardware->software). I have also never owned a Dreamcast.
Treyzuka
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:47 AMI’d have to say the PSX. In my eyes it probably had one of the more profound influences on the industry, really defining what console gaming would go on to become. The introduction of CDs and Sony’s clever development support made the idea of more is more in the gaming world the concept that would give the edge in all future console wars.
The NES is of course worth noting, but although popular, it’s role in the industry was made a little vague due to the rivalry of Sega and many of the ideas that Nintendo represented at the time have gone on to be undermined [by the DS, lol quality control?] or embraced to the extreme [only inhouse is worth the effort, etc].
I can also see the argument for Dreamcast, but its own internal haphazard architecture is one of the more significant reasons for its downfall.
Steven Bogos
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 1:14 PMDreamcast may have been ahead of it’s time, but it doesn’t make it the ‘best console of all time’.
If it was so great, why did it fail so hard? I’d argue the Dreamcast as the WORST console of all time, because it single-handedly killed Sega
Tinman
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 2:33 PMThe Dreamcast did not kill Sega. Sega decided to change its manufacturing priorities instead of competing against Sony and Nintendo. They changed the chairman of Sega shortly after the Dreamcast’s release. The new chairman decided to focus entirely on software, effective immediately. They did not want to compete with Sony’s PS2. Therefore they discontinued the production of Dreamcasts quite suddenly, thus making people believe the Dreamcast was a flop. The truth is it sold incredibly well, and this whole hiatus was simply a poor business decision for both the company’s income and reputation.
Again, it is a misunderstood console even today.
Braaains
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 3:46 PMI wouldn’t have the DC anywhere near the greatest of all time simply because it didn’t last long enough (obscure japanese shooters and homebrew games notwithstanding) to build up a catalogue of games anywhere near worthy of standing alongside the PS2 or SNES.
It was a potentially great machine that never fulfilled that potential.
Snacuum
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:58 PMDon’t forget this thread isn’t about “the most successful console of all time” but the BEST!
Also for anyone who replied to me in response to my ‘trolling style’ post, sorry, and also sorry for not getting the /v/ joke.
Ashley Leach
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:10 AMN64 – enough said
Alex
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:15 AMEven though I was a diehard Sega fan as a child, probably the SNES. Fantastic library and very good tech.
Joshua Iacobozzi
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:17 AMFor me, N64 followed by 360, Gamecube and PS2.
Harley Graham
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:17 AMit won’t be a popular choice, but I think Gamecube was the best, Had the best games, Great graphics, Great Console.
Chuloopa
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:18 AMI’m with Adam..
Super Nintendo trumps all competition, then Playstation 2, then xbox 360 for me.
Honestly, SNES has provided so many great gaming memories for me, but not only that, the games on the system still hold up to the test fo time for me. Games like Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid, super ghouls n ghosts… man it’s just so… super….
Also with the greatest RPGS of all time (Chrono trigger, secret of mana, the FF series etc)
Then the quirky classics like clay fighter, plok, ghoul patrol and shaq fu… wait.. no.. not shaq fu…
NotoriousR
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:19 AMTo me, the PS2 is. Yes, I’m not like you older gamers who are like blah blah blah cartridges and Commodore 64 and Atari etc. My first console that I actually bought was a PS1, in 96. So yeah, I didn’t get much of an opportunity to play with the older consoles. I remember going around to a friends house to play on a SNES. We also owned a 64 for about a year, but it packed up and died, so we got a PS2.
The PS2 just had such a huge games library, and every one seemed to have one, even my Nintendo-fanboy and Sony-hating friend did. He did sell it after 6 months, but the point is he got it. And it’s just … awesome. Not to mention it houses my favourite game, Jak and Daxter: the Precursor legacy.
Braaains
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:49 AMHey, my first console was a Hanimex back in about 1981/82 (followed by Atari 2600, Commodore 64, etc) and I still agree with you that the PS2 is the king.
Corey Lee
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:21 AMPS2 owns everything. It’s selection of games and longevity is incomparable to anything else.
Jonathan Betten
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:24 AMI can’t believe the NES is being beaten, the voting tweens must be out in force. Im not even a big Nintendo person myself anymore, but in retrospect the NES was magnificent.
Dean
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:24 AMPeople will argue until the cows come home on this and I think it simply relates back to whatever you were playing when you became passionate about gaming. This is what you will hold dear to your heart and believe to be the best. Seeing peoples answers here I reckon I could guess their age by what corresponds with their formative teenage years and a consoles peak period. Much like music what we first get into ussually sticks with us.
Adam Ruch
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:51 AMSage words.
Chuloopa
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:57 AMpffft – if we wanted an INTELLIGENT answer, we would have asked for it :P
lol
Costy
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:49 AMI’m going to have to disagree. My first gaming system was an Amiga 500. Then, I became a “passionate” gamer with my Master System and Mega Drive with long hours of Sonic.
However, I’ll probably vote for the Gamecube, just because I think it was the the greatest system of it’s time with classic gems and AAA games.
I think the greatest console should go beyond the nostalgia factor.
Jeff
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:25 AMVoted Dreamcast only because Game Gear wasn’t up here, that thing had a TV adapter and everything.
The Gremlin
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:27 AMPlaystation, hands down. It changed the game and paved the way to how we play today.
Gobbo
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:27 AMPSX – the first console I was able to afford under my own steam (my folks didn’t like videogames; thought they were antisocial square-eyes machines), which coming from the Amiga also welcomed me nicely into the world of 3D gaming.
I actually remember being at Toys R Us at the counter, paying the final $40 or so of the total in $1 and $2 coins… hehe. Aah the wonders of saving pocket money rather than having a job during high-school…
Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby, Ridge Racer, Final Fantasy VII… life (and gaming) was simpler back then :)
Cypher
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 4:52 PMHere here. PSX was the first console I bought myself, with Abe’s Oddysee. ‘Pfffffthahaha it was easy!’ I loved possessing the Sligs and running them off cliffs of blasting other Sligs. :-D
Akin Goktepe
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:29 AMN64 is where its at
EzyLee
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:32 AMI have owned 47% of these consoles, and I would have to say that the Playstation 2 gets my vote for a number of reasons.
- The amount of quality games it has on the system
- The long life (2000 – Current)
- It really set the platform of what people will now expect from a console
Worst will have to be the N64 (Sorry Ashley!)
Looking back at that console, I could have gone without it. It I remember playing Blast Corps and getting to a point in the game where I couldn’t get beyond a level. I had missed something critical in that level and for some reason I couldn’t go back. The saved data was on the cartridge and that was it. I couldn’t wipe it or re-save it or even start again. The game was not playable anymore. The only good thing about N64 was goldeneye.
Lortarg
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:33 AMVoted SNES. But, if I was japanese, or any of the good games actually made it out here, I probably would have gone for the Saturn.
Braaains
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:48 AMPS2, just for the sheer quantity of top-notch titles across all genres. Everything from your huge blockbusters like Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, to absolutely brilliant niche stuff like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Katamari Damacy, etc.
The huge userbase meant that publishers could afford to risk money on those kinds of niche products because you only had to sell to a very small percentage of that userbase to make your money back.
Endu
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:50 AMPS2 – and I didn’t even own one. It’s had the longest lifespan, most compelling library and it was quality hardware.
bennie
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:09 AMFor me, the console which was the greatest leap forward in the technology, I think was the PS1. I’ve played many many different games, on many many different consoles/pc’s etc, but the first time I saw and played Tomb Raider on the PS1 is a moment that will stay with me forever. It just looked and controlled so much better than anything I had ever played previously, it really felt like the start of a new era in videogaming.
Mr. Sexy Hat
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:26 AMThe Neo Geo is hands down the best console. A pure 2D powerhouse with some of the best games ever made. It had perfect arcade conversions. It was just the expensive price tag that stopped it from compeating with Sega and Nintendo.
veddermandan
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:29 AMNeo Geo has to the the best. Arcade quality games at home. Sure the games cost $300+ new, but i have only ever bought a handful of games at full recommended retail price.
It came with an arcade stick for a controller which was awesome. Very responsive, as good as an arcade machine.
It also had an adapter that let you play actual Neo Geo MVS arcade games. No other console has ever done that.
Isaac Hendry
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:35 AMN64. No Contest. Best Console. Ever.
I believe reasons as per my desicion can be seen in various posts above and soon below.
Daniel Roy
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:36 AMNES. I was bred on this console. Mario 4lyfe.
Drae Thompson
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:40 AMIts a shame you cant pick all of them, I have fond memories of quite a few systems, its too hard to just pick one as the best (^_^)