Most UNDER-RATED Console of all time...

[J T]

I have never owned or spent much time playing any of Sega's consoles, so those are all underrated by me.

Of what I have played though, I think the GameCube is rather underrated. I remember it feeling like Nintendo was on the way out with the GameCube when it was released. It seemed crazy to not have DVD/CD drives, the controller was weird, the box design of the system looked like no thought went into it. Now that I own one though, I find that it really is a great system and I feel bad for not giving it a chance back in its heyday. What really makes it shine are the system exclusives. Windwaker, Eternal Darkness, Chibi-Robo, Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX, Super Smash Bros. Melee, etc. And though not an exclusive, it also has Ikaruga, which is the main reason I bought the GameCube. I have a collection of about 25 games that are almost all exclusive to the GameCube and there isn't a bad one in the bunch. It's a great system that shouldn't be overlooked.

[Rocketman]

the controller was weird

It looked weird, but the controller was great! The title of weirdest looking controller probably goes to the N64 though...

[Original_Name]

the controller was weird

It looked weird, but the controller was great! The title of weirdest looking controller probably goes to the N64 though...

I've actually never been partial to the Gamecube controller, yet I always hear people go on about it. To me, the tiny and awkward D-Pad, octagonal notches restricting analog movement, and unnecessarily deep shoulder buttons (as well as a few other nit-picks not worth mentioning) render it unworthy of the praise it garners.

Anyway, as previously mentioned, the definition of underrated seems to be confusing some people - to underate something means "to rate or evaluate too low" -- so basically, people should have to know of its existence and rate it lower than it logically deserves based around certain criteria. Some people are backing systems like the Virtual Boy and 3DO citing the fact that the systems were "never fully utilized". Now, unlike saying a system like the Sega Saturn or Turbo-Grafx were underrated because you can list a large quantity of worthwhile games unique to the console, yet the status quo rates those consoles in ways that seem to contradict the prevalence of such titles is valid because "a large quanitity of worthwhile games unique to the console" is a very valid criteria - to regard a console like the Virtual Boy as a great system because of the great games which could have been isn't really a valid criteria, because you're citing a criteria which doesn't exist. How can an element of an entity which does not exist possibly be underrated? It shouldn't be rated at all because it doesn't exist! I promise you, no one here who's upping the Saturn is doing so because of Sonic X-Treme, Air NiGHTS, or Shenmue. Additionally, I'm not sure if the Xbox is really a valid point in all this... I heard a ton of PlayStation 2 vs. Xbox debates a few years back -- to say that the Xbox is underrated feels like saying that the Genesis is underrated - they ultimately had higher-selling contemporaries and some mislead naysayers (is there really any difference between those who say "Xbox only has Halo" and those who said and continue to say "Sega only has Sonic"?) but outside of the stupid fanboyism which plagues every generation, the console wasn't judged unfairly.

For me it's hard to say precisely which console is the most underrated... the Sega Saturn is a good contender for reasons eloquently stated by other posters, but at the same time, the cult following it currently enjoys seems to contradict that notion. Also, while the TurboGrafx was a great console with tons of worthwhile games, the American audience hardly ever paid it any mind, so it's hard to call it underrated... it was hardly rated at all - same goes for the Sega Master System. Additionally, there's the Sega CD which has always been lambasted for a few bad FMV apples in the bunch and a too-high price point both by video game fans and media for nearly two decades (look up a few YouTube lists of worst consoles ever and I'm sure you'll find the Sega CD cluster-fucked [see what I did there?] in with the 32X under the moniker of "Sega Genesis Add-Ons" more times than not) in lieu of a host of games which actually used the system's strengths very effectively (Lunar: Eternal Blue, Snatcher, Sonic CD, Soul Star, Popful Mail, and hell, even Panic! was an enjoyable title impossible on weaker consoles). The Gamecube is a valid point, but here's the thing: I've heard tell of alot of guys who had a Sega CD or Sega Saturn in the day and just weren't feeling it - I've never heard of anyone who didn't like their Gamecube. The problems with the Sega CD, Saturn, TurboGrafx, and Master System weren't weak game libraries, it was weak marketing preventing gamers from knowing about what games were good (or, in the case of the Sega CD, pointing consumers to the bad titles) - and bare in mind that being a bad console and being a poorly-marketed console are not related in any way outside of sales. People who had a Gamecube KNEW that The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Mario Kart Double Dash were out and they rated their console accordingly -- I'll agree that people tied to their PlayStation 2's and Xbox's made alot of derogatory statements about the console, but like I said, there weren't too many 'Cube owners who spoke ill of it like there were CD and Saturn owners who felt jipped by their purchase because of poor marketing.

Really, I put it as a toss-up between the Saturn and the Sega CD... both of them had poor reputations in spite of stellar entries in their line-ups. I want to lean towards the Sega CD because unlike the Sega Saturn, it doesn't really have much of a cult following, but then the Saturn has ALOT more quality titles than the Sega CD, but still has an overwhelmingly poor reputation. So, eh... it's a tie for me - either the Sega CD or the Saturn. If it was a discussion of "great systems that didn't get enough attention" though, I think that the Turbografx would have it for me.

[CRTGAMER]

I have never owned or spent much time playing any of Sega's consoles, so those are all underrated by me.

Of what I have played though, I think the GameCube is rather underrated. I remember it feeling like Nintendo was on the way out with the GameCube when it was released. It seemed crazy to not have DVD/CD drives, the controller was weird, the box design of the system looked like no thought went into it. Now that I own one though, I find that it really is a great system and I feel bad for not giving it a chance back in its heyday. What really makes it shine are the system exclusives. Windwaker, Eternal Darkness, Chibi-Robo, Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX, Super Smash Bros. Melee, etc. And though not an exclusive, it also has Ikaruga, which is the main reason I bought the GameCube. I have a collection of about 25 games that are almost all exclusive to the GameCube and there isn't a bad one in the bunch. It's a great system that shouldn't be overlooked.

The sell point of the gamecube to me is the Gameboy Player. Whenever I saw the store kios of the Gameboy attached to a regular screen, I would contemplate modding my GBA with video out. Work has already been done with the GB player! All the exclusives JT mentioned in addition to a great one; PacmanVS. Game kinda reminds of the great lan game Midi Maze from the Atari ST. If only Faceball 2000 was upgraded with PacmanVS concept on the Cube. That would have been a killer game! The shining moment for under-rated Atari ST.

Sorry went on a tangent again, started leading to an under-rated game not console. Other console I think is highly under-rated is the Turbo Grafx. Great games including Bomberman 93, Bonk series and Galaga 90.

Midi Maze Lan for the Atari ST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_Maze



A Midi Maze remake for the PC.
http://www.sharewarebay.com/Games_&_Ent ... ever!.html

[TheyCallMeTheSwede]

I decide to list the ones I think is underrated, because I am too lazy to explain anything.

1. Sega Saturn
2. GameCube
3. 3DO
4. Sega Master System
5. Neo Geo Pocket

[pepharytheworm]

@ Original_Name
Correct me if I am wrong but underrated means to rate too low; underestimate. Sells have nothing to do with it it. You can judge a console by what it could have achieved, hence underestimate its capabilities. Anyone who said Virtualboy has a valid point, whether I agree or not. Just because it didn't sell a lot doesn't mean people didn't know about it. You know what a lamborghini is right? I think a good portion of people do also, Yet how do the sales compare to other cars?

Now if we want to be nitpicky. No system is underrated because almost every system was overrated before release. And when first released you know you thought the 3DO, Neo-Geo, and Jaguar were only for the rich and you dreamed of playing them; owning them. Only years later might they be deemed underrated because people abandoned them.

You could even argue the Wii is underrated even with its large sells. The games are rated low a lot of time and the system is quite frequently underestimated for its abilities.

There is no need to state others are confused because you are confused about the meaning of underrated. We are retro gamers this question is being asked to not the average joe and we know about retro systems for the most part.

[SplashChick]

Too much Sega in this thread. Sega actually made money during all their console making years save the very last one, so their consoles almost all had some level of success. Now for an ACTUAL underrated console I would think of things like the TG-16 and the Neo Geo Pocket, systems that had awesome gameplay value in their libraries but had little market success.

[Original_Name]

@ Original_Name
Correct me if I am wrong but underrated means to rate too low; underestimate. Sells have nothing to do with it it. You can judge a console by what it could have achieved, hence underestimate its capabilities. Anyone who said Virtualboy has a valid point, whether I agree or not. Just because it didn't sell a lot doesn't mean people didn't know about it. You know what a lamborghini is right? I think a good portion of people do also, Yet how do the sales compare to other cars?

Now if we want to be nitpicky. No system is underrated because almost every system was overrated before release. And when first released you know you thought the 3DO, Neo-Geo, and Jaguar were only for the rich and you dreamed of playing them; owning them. Only years later might they be deemed underrated because people abandoned them.

You could even argue the Wii is underrated even with its large sells. The games are rated low a lot of time and the system is quite frequently underestimated for its abilities.

There is no need to state others are confused because you are confused about the meaning of underrated. We are retro gamers this question is being asked to not the average joe and we know about retro systems for the most part.

I was trying to capitalize on crux's post which tried to set up an actual criteria for "underrated", since we have people debating over different interpretations of what underrated means. And yes, the definition of underrated you gave is almost exactly like the one I gave.

Your Lamborghini example seems to argue against a point I never made - I never, ever said that a console has to have a high installed user-base in order, I said that people have to HAVE an opinion on something in order for it to be underrated. Everyone's heard of Lamborghini despite the fact that very few people have owned one and it is highly-rated due to many legitimate factors. The Turbografx... there aren't many opinions of it at all -- the general gaming public has totally forgotten about it. I mean, even though I've never owned a Neo Geo, I have a general idea of what it is and have given it a high-rating in my mind to match and that's fair. I can't really overrate or underrate the SG-1000 though because there's no way for me to formulate a real opinion one way or the other without any personal or second-hand knowledge about the system. I never said anything about sales, just that it's hard to call a system underrated when the system isn't really rated one way or the other by the majority of gamers. Alot of people are confusing underrated with under-recognized.

Let me put it this way, if you give average people a survey to rate consoles, if they see "Sega Saturn" they'll probably toss a "2" on there because they feel that they have an understanding of the console -- if you disagree with their judgment you might refute their rating with a certain criteria. If they see TurboGrafx, they'll probably put an "N/A" next to it because they don't really know what it is -- that's not underrated, that's not rated at all. And yeah, in this thread people are going to have to use their personal discretion to give an estimate of what general opinion and recognition of a console, which is a bit arbitrary, but it's better for discussion than alot of guys arguing over different interpretations of what it means to underrate something.

I see what you're saying about systems like the 3DO and Jaguar being underestimated by developers, though. I was just under the impression that we were talking about the consoles as products rather than hardware.

[CRTGAMER]

@ Original_Name
Correct me if I am wrong but underrated means to rate too low; underestimate. Sells have nothing to do with it it. You can judge a console by what it could have achieved, hence underestimate its capabilities. Anyone who said Virtualboy has a valid point, whether I agree or not. Just because it didn't sell a lot doesn't mean people didn't know about it. You know what a lamborghini is right? I think a good portion of people do also, Yet how do the sales compare to other cars?

Now if we want to be nitpicky. No system is underrated because almost every system was overrated before release. And when first released you know you thought the 3DO, Neo-Geo, and Jaguar were only for the rich and you dreamed of playing them; owning them. Only years later might they be deemed underrated because people abandoned them.

You could even argue the Wii is underrated even with its large sells. The games are rated low a lot of time and the system is quite frequently underestimated for its abilities.

There is no need to state others are confused because you are confused about the meaning of underrated. We are retro gamers this question is being asked to not the average joe and we know about retro systems for the most part.

I was trying to capitalize on crux's post which tried to set up an actual criteria for "underrated", since we have people debating over different interpretations of what underrated means. And yes, the definition of underrated you gave is almost exactly like the one I gave.

Your Lamborghini example seems to argue against a point I never made - I never, ever said that a console has to have a high installed user-base in order, I said that people have to HAVE an opinion on something in order for it to be underrated. Everyone's heard of Lamborghini despite the fact that very few people have owned one and it is highly-rated due to many legitimate factors. The Turbografx... there aren't many opinions of it at all -- the general gaming public has totally forgotten about it. I mean, even though I've never owned a Neo Geo, I have a general idea of what it is and have given it a high-rating in my mind to match and that's fair. I can't really overrate or underrate the SG-1000 though because there's no way for me to formulate a real opinion one way or the other without any personal or second-hand knowledge about the system. I never said anything about sales, just that it's hard to call a system underrated when the system isn't really rated one way or the other by the majority of gamers. Alot of people are confusing underrated with under-recognized.

Let me put it this way, if you give average people a survey to rate consoles, if they see "Sega Saturn" they'll probably toss a "2" on there because they feel that they have an understanding of the console -- if you disagree with their judgment you might refute their rating with a certain criteria. If they see TurboGrafx, they'll probably put an "N/A" next to it because they don't really know what it is -- that's not underrated, that's not rated at all. And yeah, in this thread people are going to have to use their personal discretion to give an estimate of what general opinion and recognition of a console, which is a bit arbitrary, but it's better for discussion than alot of guys arguing over different interpretations of what it means to underrate something.

I see what you're saying about systems like the 3DO and Jaguar being underestimated by developers, though. I was just under the impression that we were talking about the consoles as products rather than hardware.

Where are you two going with this .....................

[pepharytheworm]

The system I personally underrated was the Sega Saturn, next would be the Dreamcast. of course my views have changed now and I love both.

Systems I personally overrated were the 3DO, Jaguar, Neo-Geo, and N64 all of them I hailed in a higher regard then they truely are. Now noone jump on me because I do like all four systems.

@CRTGAMER
Read all of Original_Name's and my post in this thread and if you still don't get it I will try to explain it to you.