What was the best console of all time

[defaultluser]

Another vote for the Dreamcast. It was truly ahead of it's time. It was the first console to add a network adapter (modem) and feature internet access via a addon disc for a web browser and multiplayer games over the internet (Phantasy Star Online). You could even hook up a proprietary keyboard to it. Even the controller was the first of it's kind with the funky memory card with an LCD screen that could be used in certain games designed to take advantage of it.

But outside the VMU, the rest of the controller sucks. It's bulky, the weird threading of the cable brushes against everything, and the d-pad is an abomination.

After playing s friend's Dreamcast, as beautiful as Soul Caliber was, I couldn't bring myself to buy that trainwreck of a console. I would have permanently lost feeling in my hands after a week.

 

[Domingo]

I also hated the Dreamcast controller. For a system that had some A+ fighting games, I couldn't play any of them worth a damn with that controller.
In Japan they released a (pretty good) fight stick but I don't think it ever made it over here. Never saw any good alternative pads either. I'm sure there were some homebrews, but nothing in the normal channels.
IMO it was a pretty cool idea that was ahead of its time, but it was a bit like an old 3DTV, an iPhone 1, or last year's VR set. You could sense something better was on the way immediately.

 

[FrEaKy]

SNES
Sega DreamCast
Sega Genesis
NES
PS3
GameCube
Xbox 360
Wii - Wii-U
Sega Saturn
Xbox
PS4
Xbone

That is it, thank you

 

[relapse808]

PC gaming changed a LOT in 1997. That is when Unreal, Quake 2 and Half-life entered the scenes and solidified the 3D FPS genre. When the N64 launched, it was far superior in 3D processing power, and games like Super Mario 64 were mind-blowing on launch. I remember my dad (an avid PC gamer) watching me play Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and being BLOWN AWAY by the visuals. They visuals got better as carts could hold more data, and personally, I believe the pinnacle of graphics for the system was Perfect Dark, unfortunately it was too little too late as the PS2 was right on the horizon with (at the time) unbelievably realistic visuals.

Perfect Dark in 2000

MGS2 in 2001

I disagree, Voodoo came out at the end of 1996 and was way more impressive than N64.

 

[defaultluser]

I disagree, Voodoo came out at the end of 1996 and was way more impressive than N64.

This is the truth. I saw GL Quake, and was playing Team Fortress on my cheap Rendition card a year before I ever laid eyes on an N64 system at my college (spring 1999).

In 1997-1998, the only words out of people's mouths were "Voodoo."

I was understandably unimpressed by the lack of detail on the early games on N64. The limits of that texture cache combined with the tiny cartridges resulted in some ugly worlds. It took till 2000 with Perfect Dark to find ways around these limitations, and by then you could get a GeForce 2 MX for a hundred bucks that ran *circles* around it.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

As always though, a Nintendo console, plus current gaming PC is the ultimate combo. Still true now, and has been since the C64/Amiga + NES/SNES days.

 

[defaultluser]

As always though, a Nintendo console, plus current gaming PC is the ultimate combo. Still true now, and has been since the C64/Amiga + NES/SNES days.

I agree that the 3DS is worth owning, but there is nothing on the Wii U that entices me. Last console from Nintendo that I loved was the Gamecube, and it's no coincidence that that console got four major games in my favorite categories

Really over the years (NES onward) I've learned that the only franchises that I love from Nintendo are Zelda and Metroid. The rest do nothing for me.

And I hate using motion controls, so the Wii was a hated POS for me. I'm not any better with touch, so the Wii U is a non-go for me.

When my Wii died last month, I only worried about the Gamecube games I couldn't play.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

I like most of their first party stuff. Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Metroid (2D ones anyway), and some of the spinoffs. The Gamecube is great! I still have mine hooked up in my work-room. The kids play it while I'm working on projects. The Wii is in my daughter's room. Wii U is in the guest room. We all have 3DSes. And the whole family has decent PCs. (well my son and I have nice desktops for games, the rest have laptops) We're definitely a PC+N house, but since I'm also kind of insane, I still have working C64s, and we have some other consoles as well kicking around. My son's got a PS4 to play with his friends on. It's kinda the lowest common denominator system that they all own and can play online.

 

[Domingo]

For me, the N64's graphics were never anything special. Like it has been mentioned, 3D acceleration had already hit the PC and it was far and away more impressive.
Mario 64 was cool because of how good of a game it was, but it wasn't the graphical powerhouse many people remember it as. At least not to anyone who was a serious PC gamer.

Yet the N64 was the greatest party console of all time. It isn't even close. The games loaded nearly instantly, it had 4 controller ports, the controllers were versatile, and it had the right library.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

For me, the N64's graphics were never anything special. Like it has been mentioned, 3D acceleration had already hit the PC and it was far and away more impressive.
Mario 64 was cool because of how good of a game it was, but it wasn't the graphical powerhouse many people remember it as. At least not to anyone who was a serious PC gamer.

Yet the N64 was the greatest party console of all time. It isn't even close. The games loaded nearly instantly, it had 4 controller ports, the controllers were versatile, and it had the right library.

I agree completely. I had an M3D (Matrox PowerVR accelerator) at first because I got an insane deal on it when they were still pretty new. So I had some pretty good 3D graphics rolling on my PC already. (I then got tired of all the patches required to make games run on it, and got a Voodoo though. ) The N64 definitely paled in comparison, but I was already used to that from earlier computer/console differences. It was still serviceable though, and as you say, what made it great were the fun games for it. Ocarina, Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Banjo, etc. etc. I may have had GL Quake, Quake 2, Unreal, etc. on my PC, but I still spent hours on the N64.

It's been the same my whole life though. Bally Astrocade / Vic 20. C64 / Master System / NES. Amiga / PC / SNES. PC / PS1 / N64. and on until now. There's always been a computer or computers in my house as well as consoles since I can remember.

 

[jarablue]

I am 41. Was born in 1975. For me when I was 18 in 1993, it was FIRST, Nintendo (original NES) then the Sega Genesis (very fond memories) then PC gaming. I wasn't ever into consoles after the Sega Genesis. It was all pc for me from 93/94 on. BUT, today I love my XB360 and my XB1.

1990's I miss you! Come back!

 

[Scubagon]

I'm a Nintendo guy when it comes to consoles.

1. N64
2. GameCube
3. SNES
4. Wii / Wii U
5. NES

I have a Genesis model 2 but I don't have any games for it, and I don't have an AV cable for it either. It's just gathering dust.

I used to have an original XBOX and it was a decent system.

The Atari 2600 was good too, I had one of those when I was a kid. Midnight Magic was one of my favorite games on that system.

The Sega Saturn was pretty cool too. A friend of mine had it and we'd play Virtua Fighter 2 on it, we'd also play Death Tank on it as well.

Granted, I'm a PC gamer first. For as long as I can remember, there's always been at least one computer in my house. First computer was the Commodore 64 (it's still my favorite computer of all time, and the fact that new games and hardware are still made for it is amazing). My dad got a Mac in the early 90s and I played plenty of games for it... I still have some of those old games on disks and CDs.

My other brother had a PC in the late 80s and early 90s but I didn't get to play with it. In the mid 90s I got to play with PCs and enjoyed it. Plenty of great games back then.

In the late 90s, seeing Quake 2 on a PC with a Voodoo 3 video card was jaw dropping. It was the first time I ever saw 3d acceleration on a PC and I think it was one of the greatest things I had ever seen in my life.

Apologies for going slightly off topic there, but man, I can go on for ages about lots of the games I enjoyed for the systems I've played with over the years.

 

[Ragenrok]

I loved me geneses, nes, and N64 but the top is the original Xbox. The introduction of xbox live was a huge game changer for me and paved the way for many amazing multiplayer moments with halo 2 and mech assault on the console. I loved my PC but the xbox changed multiplayer gaming for me, the fact that at the time everyone seemed to have voice chat and was a great community to play with. It wasn't until later that it started turning into the toxic pre-teen xbox live we have now lol.

 

[GOD'SlittleSERVANT]

Scorpio

 

[zaxour]

For me, it would be a tossup between PS1 and PS2 (though you could argue that since PS2 can play PS1 games, they are one and the same). PS1 was a kind of "coming of age" console for me and I had so many great gaming experiences on it, but the same with PS2. PS1 had FF7, Tekken 1-3, Crash Bandicoot, Gran Turismo, Pepsiman, Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, etc. But PS2 had FFX, Devil May Cry, Shadow Hearts, Okami, Beatmania IIDX, more DDR, etc.

I honestly have a soft spot for every major console (SNES, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube, 64, etc), but those are my top two.