The Top 10 Consoles of All-Time According to You

[Jmustang1968]

Very tough for me to rank... Do I list the systems most endearing to me? The most advanced for their time? Had the best games? Tough... So I may just mix them together for my list.

1. PS1 - As an avid RPG gamer, this system has arguably my favorite batch of RPG games. Other gems such as the Resident Evils and Twisted Metals sucked up a lot of my time in middle and high school.

2. PC - It isnt quite fair to put PC here as it continually adds to its library as consoles have their typical 4-6 year lifespans... But I have spent more hours PC gaming than any other I'd imagine...

3. PS2 - My main gaming machine (along with PC) throughout college. Ah to have the free time again to play all those great PS2 games. Has one of the best gaming libraries around.

4. SNES - Another amazing library of great games. The first console to really get an impressive RPG selection. Some of my all time favorite games can be found on this system. I had this #5, but after I typed that, I realized it should be above the next one...

5. Xbox 360 - I have been fortunate to not have a system die on me. I might rank it lower had one done so... My other gaming love besides RPGs is sports games. The current gen era has some great online sports games options. Xbox Live kicks ass as well.

6. Sega Genesis - This was my console as a kid in the early 90s. I eventually picked up a SNES as well, but I had this for a few years before. Some fond memories here. Has great titles like Shining Force games, Phantasy Star, Pirates, and many others. I used to like it more than the SNES, but came to realize the SNES just has a better game library.

7. Nintendo DS - Close with the GBA, but I never owned a GBA until recently. I also was never a handheld gamer until the DS Lite came around. Since then, most of the must have RPGs of the last several years can be found here or on the PSP. However, that is basically all I use my DS or PSP for, is RPGs. I would rather play the more action oriented games on the big screen.

8. PSP - See DS above. Great system for Strat RPGs and to me is a very comfortable hand held to hold while laying in bed. They have had some nice remakes and great games on the currently best looking handheld screen imo.

9. NES - Oh the classic... My first console to call my own (though my dad and uncle had a 2600, it wasnt really mine). What else can be said here? The hours I spent on this system as a little kid set me on the path to life long gaming.

10. Saturn - Tough choice between this or the PS3. I never owned a Saturn until the last year or so. I had access to one, and played it through some friends growing up, but the system from that generation for me was the PS1. They are some definite good games, and I wish it had more success. I have always had a soft spot for Sega.

11. PS3 - Ok had to cheat this one on there... Has some nice games and a sleek and advanced system. However, for this gen, I prefer the 360 most of the time as I love Xbox Live and my established friend base there. There are some unique titles that are must plays and hey a Blu Ray player!

[o.pwuaioc]

PC's really don't count. I mean, at this point, it's not the hardware, but the software. People should view it in terms of Windows (or Mac or Linux). I mean, if you have to switch compatibility settings to Windows 95 so it can play on Windows 7, is it really any different than just emulating it?

[G-Darius]

Ps3
Ps1
Megadrive
Snes
Pc Engine/T16
Nes
Master System
Dreamcast
Atari 2600
Xbox 360

[lisalover1]

You said the Sega Mark III, but did you know that the Master System was actually released in Japan and called... The Master System? Yes, the Mark III was the first version of it, but all Japanese SMS games that came out after the black console was released had Master System written on them. The Japanese SMS also had a better sound chip than the Mark III (and the SMS in every other region). The Wii VC in Japan also calls it the Master System.

Really? I thought the Master System actually lacked the FM sound chip that was found in the Mark III.

[TheyCallMeTheSwede]

1. Nintendo Entertainment System
2. Sega Dreamcast
3. Super Nintendo
4. Playstation 1/2 ***TIE***
5. Neo Geo
6. Sega Genesis
7. Gameboy Advance
8. Xbox 360
9. Nintendo Gamecube
10. Neo Geo Pocket

My list is no different than everyone else.

[Breetai]

Hm, that's strange. I could've sworn I made some mention about the Mark III being "called the Master System in the west and in later Japanese iterations". I may have originally said something along those lines, but started over without thinking to reinsert the phrase. You're absolutely right, though, it wasn't called Mark III for long or by many people, but I just like using that name 'cause it conjurs up images of that awesome-looking white console with the FM synth add-on.

Haha, and I knew Famicom was a portmanteau of Family and Computer -- I suppose referring to it by its full name would have been more accurate (I'm also realizing that I didn't specify that I was talking about the AES either with the Neo-Geo), but then they officially adopted "Famicom" for the "Super Famicom", so I just called them both that. Plus I just think that Famicom sounds cooler than Family Computer... that barely even sounds like a video game console to me, haha. I didn't mean to look like an elitist when I said I was using the Japanese names for the consoles -- I was just using the names I preferred, which all happened to be Japanese monikers.

Haha, I was just picking on you. I thought it was a cool idea to use the Japanese names!

Is it really more powerful than the Saturn overall in terms of 2D? I hadn't heard that -- I really appreciate the information. Regardless, I think that a massive part of the Neo-Geo's continued relevance (Metal Slug 3, for instance, merited a standalone port on the more modern Xbox) lies just as much if not more in the incredible amount of artistic effort Neo developers put into their games than the Neo's brute strength.

I don't really know any stats, but... considering that the Saturn needed to memory expansion to get King of Fighters '95, not to mention basically every other Neo Geo port, as close as possible to the Neo Geo, I would say that is already a sign that the Neo has a bit more 2D ooomph. It would've been interesting to see how the Saturn would've fared with some of the more advanced 2D fighters, like Mark of the Wolves or Last Blade 2.

By the way, could you tell me why exactly the MegaDrive was so unpopular in Japan? Was it just because of the Nintendo brand-power and stronger focus on RPGs, or was there something else to it?

To be honest, I'm not really sure. Nintendo was already huge, and the PC Engine was as well, when the MD came out. I mean, the PC Engine CD-ROM was out before the base MD console even hit stores. So, there were already two huge game consoles out there. Later, the Super Famicom came out and was absolutely huge. Nobody could compete with it.

Also, look at the MD's library in 1988 and 1989. It was... very lacking. It has next to no 3rd party support, where the Famicom had tons and the PC Engine at least had a few offerings from Capcom and Konami. The ONLY reason to get a MD was for Sega arcade games, and.... guess what? Sega actually licensed their biggest hits for release on their competition; the PC Engine! Fantasy Zone, Altered Beast, Space Harrier, After Burner II, Outrun and Power Drift all showed up on the PC Engine. Heck, Power Drift and the original Space Harrier never even made it to the MD! They shot themselves in the foot.

The MD actually did okay, all things considered. It carved itself out a niche and managed to stick around despite Sega screwing up the first year or so of the MD's life.

One other thing -- the V-Saturn's your favorite? Wow, I'm totally in favor of the JP white and skeleton model 2's!

Not just the V-Saturn, the original model 1 V-Saturn. I'm just not a lover of the round buttons. I like the two-tone grey on the V-Saturn, with the purple highlights.

[o.pwuaioc]

Haha, I was just picking on you. :) I thought it was a cool idea to use the Japanese names!

I'm not sure I get this. The Famicom, for example, is different than the NES. A slight difference, but a difference nonetheless. Since I don't know Japanese, I didn't include any Japanese consoles. I mean, if you really mean the Japanese Family Computer and not the American version - the NES - then it is more accurate to say the former. But I suspect that many here would prefer to have an unmodded NES rather than an unmodded Famicom. And if we're really going for accuracy, wouldn't we just say ファミリーコンピュータ (i.e. Famirī Kompyūta in Roman letters)?

[Breetai]

Haha, I was just picking on you. I thought it was a cool idea to use the Japanese names!

I'm not sure I get this. The Famicom, for example, is different than the NES. A slight difference, but a difference nonetheless. Since I don't know Japanese, I didn't include any Japanese consoles. I mean, if you really mean the Japanese Family Computer and not the American version - the NES - then it is more accurate to say the former. But I suspect that many here would prefer to have an unmodded NES rather than an unmodded Famicom. And if we're really going for accuracy, wouldn't we just say ファミリーコンピュータ (i.e. Famirī Kompyūta in Roman letters)?

I guess if I had to choose, I'd go with the Famicom over the NES. I think it looks awesome, but I do like the look of the NES also. Also, the sound on the Famicom is better (that is the main hardware difference). I really do like the Japanese consoles over the US counterparts, other than being torn on the SNES/SFC. I guess I'm one of those Japanophiles?

If you were going for accuracy, "Family Computer" is correct. It is written like that right on the actual console in English, not in Katakana.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I'll just list 10 as most of the arguments for the ones I've picked have already been explained.

1. Saturn
2. PlayStation 2
3. PlayStation
4. GameBoy Advance SP
5. Genesis
6. NeoGeo Pocket Color
7. GameCube
8. Dreamcast
9. PSP
10. SNES

PC is my favorite though, but thats technically not a console.

[vlame]

10 PC
9 Xbox
8 Saturn
7 DS
6 SNES
5 Genesis
4 Wii
3 Neo Geo AES
2 Dreamcast
1