Top ten best consoles

Didn’t find a thread on this subject, strangely enough. So here it is. Now this is mostly a rating for hardware, okay? Just because the games are good, doesn’t mean the console is.

10: Atari 2600 & 7800
The console that revolutionized video games. It’s called a classic for a reason.

9: X-box 360
Microsoft joining the console market was quite a surprise, but the biggest surprise was how successful they were. They popularized online gameplay and in-console hard drives. The only reason the 360 is so low on this list is the endless onslaught of bugs in the system. I’ve had more problems with my X-box then all my other consoles combined.

8: Sega Genesis
Sega’s finest moment and the first real competition Nintendo had to contend with. Some say the Dreamcast is better, but I only played it once and can’t say for sure. Note that I am not including all those stupid add-ons for this.

7: Nintendo 64
Just when you thought Nintendo was down for the count, they pulled this from out of nowhere. The best part was that it had four controller ports and took multiplayer to the extreme. The worst part was the stupid controller.

6: Gameboy (all varieties)
There are so many variations of this thing that I’ll put them all together, from the original classic to the GBA. The first true success of the hand-held console market (though the Game Gear was popular for a while).

5: NES
While Atari revolutionized the home console industry, Nintendo perfected it with this brilliant piece of hardware.

4: Super Nintendo
Just when you thought the NES couldn’t be topped, this plastic piece of awesomeness came out. “Super” is right! It took everything that was great about the NES and made it even better.

3: Nintendo DS
The best selling console ever, and for good reason. The touch screen was a stroke of brilliance, as is WiFi usage. Is there really anything else to say?

2: PS2
Easily Sony’s greatest creation. It’s a DVD play, a CD player, and it popularized backwards compatibility. Not only that, all the bugs that plagued the Playstion aren’t part of the PS2. In fact, the only thing I can find to complain about is the fact that it only has two controller ports.

1: Wii
With the accelerometers in the controller, this is easily the best console out there. The only downside is the fact that most of the games don’t take advantage of it. We can only hope that Sony and Microsoft picking up similar devices and the creation of the Wii-motion Plus will change that.

Is this your opinion or is this a professional critique from another source? Either way it reinforces something that I’ve always believed… N64 is better than the PS (because the PS1 didn’t even make the list! xD)

Thanks for the list btw! :slight_smile:

Question: If the games are good, why does it not mean the console is also good? After all, if none of the games are worth playing, what relevance does the console have?

Also, aren’t you cheating by including two of the three Atarii and all eight devices bearing the name GameBoy (GreyBrick, Super, Pocket, Colour, Advance, SP, Player, and Micro), and yet specifically not include the Sega CD/MegaDrive/32X/MSCardReader/GameGenie/Sonic3&Knuckles Megazord?

If I may answer that; the way I see it, both the console and the games have a pretty even contribution to the overall effectiveness of the entertainment produced. For instance you can have extremely good games with great game-play and hours of fun, but if the console doesn’t properly present the game (graphics and processing) then we have ourselves a problem. Also the controllers have a significant impact in this day and age on how the people engage with the game (obviously) hard controls mean less fun.

On the other hand games itself would also have to be compared separately as all consoles have their ups and downs. Nowadays all consoles have games worth playing… but you do have a point (in a sense.)

I think he’s trying to list the consoles by way of technology and influence. In the former case, the games don’t matter, in the latter case the games are everything. The N64 really didn’t have the best technology, with the “weaker” PS, DC and Saturn vastly out performing it in terms of graphics and sound capabilities, but it had some of the most influential games in the history of the medium. If not for Goldeneye, Zelda Ocarina (and Majora) and Mario 64, the 64 would’ve been died in a couple years.

The PS1 needs to be on there, because of it’s technology and it’s staggering list of classic and genre defining games. Also, wasn’t it the highest selling console of all time before the PS2?

I agree with the Wii being up there, but not so high.

I don’t get why people like the wii.

of units sold, Millions

1 145 Nintendo DS (DS)
2 141 Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2)
3 119 Nintendo GameBoy (GB)
4 102 Sony PlayStation (PS)
5 85 Nintendo Wii (Wii)
6 81 Nintendo GameBoy Advance (GBA)
7 66 Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
8 62 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
9 51 Microsoft Xbox 360 (X360)
10 49 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
11 46 Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)
12 33 Nintendo 64 (N64)
13 29 Sega Genesis
14 25 Microsoft Xbox 360 (X360)
15 22 Nintendo Gamecube

N64’s controller was fantastic. That’s all.

They reverse engineered the N64’s technology from martians.

Sure…If the analog stick hasn’t disintegrate into dust by now. Fucking Mario Party.:thinking:

No.

Even though it is a strange layout, I never really had any problems with it. But then again I only had Shadows of The Empire and Goldgeneye and like mario kart or something.

It’s amazing that everyone here seems to hate the N64 in one way or another!

…everybody here has truly lost their inner child! :frowning:

The N64 had exactly two games that I enjoyed playing; Goldeneye 64 and Super Smash Bros. Everything else was irrelevant.

M64
Starfox
The Wrestling games
Zelda
Thats all.

Hey, it’s my second favorite console.

Oh no, three places to rest my hands! Damn you Miyamoto, what fiendish devilry is this! How could I ever find the right position for the game I’m playing?

Hint, 2nd and 3rd handle for 90% of N64’s catalogue.

I just held the controller the way I do any other. I had a hard time being precise holding it from the middle. TBH, I have a fucking hardtime playing Mario 64 with the classic controller and desperately wish I was using the 64 controller. It was just so ugly.

My favorite system has always been the PC.

Best retrocompatibility;
Also works with the controllers of the more recent systems (I play some games with the wiimote and Sixaxis on it);
Has the greatest variety of games available;
No other system is so customizable and you can tinker and do a lot of DIY with it, for better homebrewing than you could do with other systems

And so on…