IGN has compiled a pretty awesome list of the top 25 gaming consoles. Some of these were before my gaming days but I do have an Atari, and have grown up with a lot of these consoles. Pretty awesome list.
Very entertaining, especially having owned many of those at some point in my life.
Hard to argue with the rankings other than the 3DO getting shafted. That system was way ahead of its time when it came out. I’ll never forget calling my mom from a payphone outside Eastland Mall (circa 1993) and pleading to let me put one on her credit card which she finally caved in to despite it costing over $700.
I saw the sun come up many mornings from staying up all night playing Need For Speed and Alone In The Dark. It’s a shame that that it fizzled out before it even really gained steam because there was so much potential. Even today, I think the graphics are still pretty solid.
Showing my age here but I remember when our local Kmart had Intellivision on display and I used to love going there to play the sports games on there despite terrible graphics (in hindsight).
Ironically, I still have the same system in nearly mint condition in a closet with all the original packaging, controllers and about 20 games. I held on to it thinking it would become a valuable collector’s item at some point but it never did. So now I just keep it for sentimental reasons.
Tough to pick #1 between Atari 2600, NES, and PS2. I’d probably give the nod to the NES.
My first exposure to video game consoles was the NES.
However, I never got to play because my dad was always playing duck hunt and my mom was always playing tetris.
SNES was the cream of the crop. They had the best games, imo.
Dreamcast is the best console of all time.
PS2 has the best library of games of all time.
Atari 2800 is the one that made it all possible.
And the NES is the one that kept it all alive.
And, personally, I think Sega was far and away the greatest console maker of all time. It doomed them in many ways, but they were the only company willing to take chances, not only in accessories and hardware but also in games. Since they have left the market, video gaming has gotten more and more homogenized.
I hope upon hope that one of the new big three steps up and starts taking some chances on video games. Or, that a miracle happens and Sega gets back into the business.
SNES was the cream of the crop. They had the best games, imo.
Yet they lost their generation’s war to the Genesis.
[QUOTE=NovaNiner;429952]Yet they lost their generation’s war to the Genesis.[/QUOTE]
No they didn’t. But they were losing for a large part of that “war.” They won handily in the end. Genesis was a better system though and they had better games in every genre.
And, personally, I think Sega was far and away the greatest console maker of all time. It doomed them in many ways, but they were the only company willing to take chances, not only in accessories and hardware but also in games. Since they have left the market, video gaming has gotten more and more homogenized.I hope upon hope that one of the new big three steps up and starts taking some chances on video games. Or, that a miracle happens and Sega gets back into the business.
Did you realize that it’s been 10 years since Dreamcast’s launch? I loved that system.
I loved my Dreamcast, but I think a big part of its demise was the ease at which games could be pirated. I had 30+ games, but only 2 were purchased. Most of my friends did the same thing.
And, personally, I think Sega was far and away the greatest console maker of all time. It doomed them in many ways, but they were the only company willing to take chances, not only in accessories and hardware but also in games. Since they have left the market, video gaming has gotten more and more homogenized.I hope upon hope that one of the new big three steps up and starts taking some chances on video games. Or, that a miracle happens and Sega gets back into the business.
I absolutely loved the DC. Once video games became big business Sega just couldn’t compete.
[QUOTE=J Felt;429954]Did you realize that it’s been 10 years since Dreamcast’s launch? I loved that system.
I loved my Dreamcast, but I think a big part of its demise was the ease at which games could be pirated. I had 30+ games, but only 2 were purchased. Most of my friends did the same thing.[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, that definitely killed them. The internet made pirating a lot easier and Sega didn’t have the safeguards in place to make it difficult to stop them. It’s proof positive that pirating can kill even a major company. Sega was also terrible at marketing. They had their shining moment with the Genesis and it paid off in a big way. But they bungled through the CD/32x/Saturn. Saturn really did them in. They lost so much money with that system that they couldn’t afford to weather the storm with the Dreamcast. Which is a shame. But hey, the 360 is the spiritual successor to the DC. It’s inferior, but it is still there.
[QUOTE=NovaNiner;429956]I absolutely loved the DC. Once video games became big business Sega just couldn’t compete.[/QUOTE]
Video games were already a big business long before Sega got kicked out of the game. Sega made a lot of business decisions that didn’t make sense and in hindsight made even less sense. They were wasting money churning out consoles instead of focusing on what they already had. Both Sony and Nintendo have shown that long term committment to a console is the way to maintain profits for a system. Sega was quick to ditch their consoles to stay ahead of the curve. They were too innovative at times, evolving faster than their market.
My first exposure to video game consoles was the NES.However, I never got to play because my dad was always playing duck hunt and my mom was always playing tetris.
Well I’ll be damned…are you sure you we don’t have the same parents???
I remember when I got my NES. I got Blaster Master for christmas one year. Such a great game and such a great system.
Ahhhhh, blaster master.
http://nintendo8.com/game/708/blaster_master/
(For those that have a few minutes and wanna enjoy the Java resurrection of a classic).
On the subject of the Dreamcast…Crazy Taxi FTW.
[QUOTE=NovaNiner;429956]I absolutely loved the DC. Once video games became big business Sega just couldn’t compete.[/QUOTE]
clt nominates nova for avatar of the year.
I had the Atari 2600 and 5200. Tha last gaming console I had was the NES. To busy these days for games but maybe my son will get into it later on. I’ll buy the NCAA football game for whatever system is out then and play as the Niners.
[QUOTE=Powerbait;429983]I remember when I got my NES. I got Blaster Master for christmas one year. Such a great game and such a great system.[/QUOTE]
Hated that game. Too hard. It was the one you couldnt save your progress on, right?
I’ve never liked any Sega product all that much. Guess I’m the balance to your love affair. The DC seemed pretty cool, but the other systems weren’t that great.
[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;430009]Hated that game. Too hard. It was the one you couldnt save your progress on, right?
I’ve never liked any Sega product all that much. Guess I’m the balance to your love affair. The DC seemed pretty cool, but the other systems weren’t that great.[/QUOTE]
Genesis and Dreamcast were the only two really fantastic systems they had. Saturn had really great games on it, but as a console it wasn’t anything special. For consoles, it really is about the library support more than anything. Genesis had the best games, but Nintendo has the best brand recognition in video game history. They took a hit from The PS1/2, but the Wii is destroying everything else on the market by a mile. It’s amazing. It has captured casual gaming in a way that was unthinkable.
Dreamcast had the best games and was the coolest console, but PS2 has the greatest library in video game history. Nothing comes close. And, of course, Xbox was the strongest console by a mile.
NES is a rare console that was the best system and it had the best games.
Also, video games in that era had much higher difficulty settings as a rule. If you beat a game back then it was an accomplishment, but they also weren’t very story heavy. You play a game these days and it is a cakewalk. There are very few games that pose any kind of challenge for gamers, but games are also more popular than ever. Just like any other art medium, the more accessible it is, the more popular it is but generally the worse it is.
I've never liked any Sega product all that much. Guess I'm the balance to your love affair. The DC seemed pretty cool, but the other systems weren't that great.
:huh: Getting the Genesis with Sonic? You didn’t like that? Street Fighter with the 6 button controller? Alot easier than on the SNES.
And you didn’t like Ready 2 Rumble boxing? I loved hooking up my DC to a Sony Glasstron and going at it on that game.