10 Coolest Game Consoles Ever

[8th lutz]

in order

7800-plays 2600 games and has good arcade ports, along with ball blazer

genesis-great system

snes

nes-memorable system

sms-plays most imports without any problem

Playstation 1-very good system in terms of games

dreamcast-great games

gamecube-gba games can be played on it is a plus!

game boy advance-plays gbc and original game boy games also

Neo geo pocket color

[oldgames]

In order by how much I wanted it before I got it.

1. Atari 2600

2. Intellivision

3. Colecovision

4. Atari 5200

5. Commodore 64

6. NES

7. SNES

8. Atari Jaguar

9. Sega Genesis

10. Commodore Amiga

 

 

In order by how much I loved it after I got it.

 

1. Atari 2600

2. Commodore 64

3. Intellivision

4. Commodore Amiga

5. SNES

6. NES

7. Sega Genesis

8. Atari 5200

9. Atari 7800

10. Playstation 2

[Atarifever]

 

N-Gage (marvelous software range, just started to collect for this platform)

 

Hey, one more for the good guys.

[Flojomojo]

Here's a chicken-or-egg conundrum for you. Are popular game systems (Playstation, VCS) good because they're popular, or popular because they're good?

 

Here's my list! Lots of obvious choices, I'm afraid. In no particular order:

 

Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Great 2D graphics, fits in your pocket, massive software collection including retro hits, can use flash cards for homebrew, no region lockout, excellent battery life. The GBA SP with the improved screen is the best portable game player yet.

 

Sony Playstation. Tons of variety, versatile, something for everyone. Popular enough to get really weird "experimental" titles you wouldn't see on a niche system.

 

Sony Playstation 2. More of the same. Good because it's popular, popular because it's good.

 

Atari VCS (2600). The original 3rd-party platform. Tons of games, arcade ports, crazy innovations, analog paddles, rubberized joysticks, durable, historical icon.

 

Microsoft XBOX. Very powerful for its time, pioneering online service. Sold at a loss for its entire lifespan by the Gates Foundation for Geeks. When hacked, becomes the best Media Center on the market and a pretty good emulation computer.

 

Microsoft XBOX 360. More of the same, except with online purchases that really appeal to me in the form of XBOX Live Arcade: simple, fun, cheap games in the vein of early 90s shareware and early 80s arcade games.

 

Sega Genesis. One of the oldies to which I keep returning. The fact that it's cheap to buy cartridges and is also easily emulated doesn't hurt, but that's only worthwhile because there are so many good games on the system.

 

Nintendo 64. Weird hybrid system that was ahead of its time in some ways (graphical filtering, innovative controls), but behind in others (small ROM cartridges, expensive distribution). Holds up better over time than its peers because of excellent game design in first-party titles.

 

Sony PSP. Amusing cat-and-mouse game between hackers and firmware updaters. Beautiful, solid little system for watching movies and playing games with console-like production values. Impractical as a portable device (awkward/slow optical discs, short battery life) but a respectable alternative system.

 

Nintendo DS Lite. Elegant system with backwards compatibility, diverse library, innovative game designs.

 

Runners-up: Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Nintendo GameCube: all systems I've enjoyed immensely.

 

Runners-to-runners-up: 3DO, Jaguar, Atari 7800, Sega CD: fun, but not quite "best in show" quality!

[chuckwalla]

No order here, I like them all about the same...

 

Atari 5200 (when I broke this big boy out the other day to play Space Dungeon I almost had the urge to do a Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor grunt as the console is so friggin big with so many cool arcade ports, maybe it's the holiday nostalgia - moving on...)

Sega Genesis

Colecovision

Atari 2600

Atari 7800

Atari 800XL/XE

SNES

Edited November 19, 2006 by chuckwalla

[Paranoid]

FloJo makes a valid point that I missed...

 

The entire Gameboy series deserves an honorable mention at least on my list. They're really the *only* pracitcal portable gaming console since their release. I'm not a big fan of Nintendo products and their emphasis on kid-friendly/family friendly gaming, but, the titles by and large work in a portable gaming approach. Add to all of this the wildly backwards compatible nature of this console line (which approaches IA-86 architecture for providing legacy support for ancient code), and how can you go wrong? Beyond all of that, I can't think of another console platform that has ever helped me take my mind off the fact that I am 35,000 feet above the earth being batted around by winds like a badmitton birdie shaped like a flying toothpaste tube. Ok... I think my Virgin flights to England had a SNES built into the back of the seat with free play... but... lets limit that to consoles that you can take along with you once the plane lands safely. They've also saved me from insanity when stuck for a week with my in-laws in their cabin...

 

It doesn't make my top-10, but the more I think of it, it deserves it's own special list all by itself. If there were ANY alternative that did what it does half as well, (all things, price included, considered), I'd have it. But for what it is and what it does, it has remained the perfect choice for what, 20 years now? Perfect size, perfect price, perfect features, perfect durability, perfect battery life, perfect ergonomics, perfect durability. And by that I don't mean it is necessary the BEST at any one of these functions, but it all comes together, across the generations of GB products, in a way that is always superior to the current competition.

 

Which is really the reason why Nintendo even remains a contender.

[gdement]

Atari 2600 - First great game console. Very flexible design gave it a longer life than anyone could have imagined.

 

Atari 7800 - Disappointing at the time, but I love it now from a programming point of view. Interesting system.

 

Nintendo ES, er.. NES - First system IMO with good sound, which added a new dimension to the experience. Has great controllers, and designed/capable of those wonderful scrolling platformers and long adventure titles. I was obsessed with getting this machine, more than any other.

 

Sega Genesis - 16-bit arcade machine in a box.

 

Sega CD - 16-bit arcade machine with large ROM capacity. Final Fight CD showed what is possible, too bad they didn't make more games like that.

 

Nintendo 64 - Most powerful cartridge based system, and I like cartridges.

 

Sony PS2 - 3D gaming hardware matured. This system runs 3D games WELL. I'd probably feel the same way about Dreamcast, if I had any experience with it. The PS2 will age well and be a classic.