What's your favorite console for each generation that you've been a part of?
If you don't have a favorite and you just think that all consoles are created equal, decide on a favorite just for the hell of it.
When listing your favorite console in relation to each generation, do so based on your preference during the relevancy of each generation. In other words, the console that was your favorite at the time they were cutting edge, when they were current. For example, I preferred the Nintendo 64 back in the day, but now in hindsight, I prefer the PS1 because I realized I missed out on a ton of great games. Looking back, I realize that the PS1 was the better overall console IMO, when I didn't feel that way during their relevancy.
I started gaming in the third generation on the NES, so I'm going to start with that. I'm going to list the generation, list all of the consoles I had for that generation, and bold the console that was my favorite. Then, I'll proceed to name a few games which solidify that console as my favorite.
Third Generation
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
This was the only console I owned this generation. There's not much controversy here from me, as there's nothing really to compare it to. Didn't have a Sega Master System, Commodore 64, or any of that. Some of my favorite games for the NES were the Super Mario Bros. Trilogy, Super C, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Kirby's Adventure, Double Dragon II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, and many more. This was a great console.
Fourth Generation
Super Nintendo
Sega Genesis
Game Boy
Sega Game Gear
This is a tough one. It's really a toss up between the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. If you asked my opinion today, Super Nintendo would win easily, but back in the day it wasn't such a landslide. I remember when I bought the Genesis. I had an SNES first, and Mortal Kombat had blood on the Genesis version and no blood on the Super Nintendo version, and that was enough to get me to bite on the Genesis. I later found that the Genesis had many greats like Toejam and Earl, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Sonic, Vectorman, and many others. That said, I had the SNES first, and I always sort of preferred it, and looking back, it did have the superior game library. Games like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World, Super Mario RPG, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy III (VI), Fire Emblem, Super Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, Star Ocean, Mega Man X, Star Fox and many more. The depth and quality of the SNES library is astounding.
Fifth Generation
PlayStation
Nintendo 64
Game Boy Color
I actually have never owned a Sega Saturn in my life. I've never even played one outside of a kiosk for 5 minutes from when I was a kid. I plan on getting that console some day and trying out the exclusives. I had the Nintendo 64 first this gen, and the PlayStation soon after. I was always playing Resident Evil and Cool Boarders over at a friend's house, and I thought this disc based console was amazing. I'll never forget the day 1080 Snowboarding came out, and I showed it to my friend. The graphics on it blew Cool Boarders away, and he was speechless. I'll admit, at the time, I missed out on a lot of great PS1 ****cs, because I was way too caught up enjoying my Nintendo 64. I'm not sure if I've ever enjoyed a console before as much as this one. I spent countless amounts of hours playing multiplayer with Goldeneye 007 and Mario Kart 64. I have still never seen a first party developer, not even Naughty Dog, release so much quantity of quality. Rare was arguably better than 1st party Nintendo during this era. I loved the first party Nintendo games like Super Mario 64, Waverace 64, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, Star Fox 64 and such. But make no mistake about it, Rare was no slouch at all, releasing games like Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Blast Corps, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64 etc. A heavy hitting combo like Nintendo 1st party and Rare in their prime is extremely rare. I'd also like to give a shout out to the Turok series, it's what got me to buy a Nintendo 64 in the first place.
Sixth Generation
Dreamcast
PlayStation 2
Xbox
Gamecube
Game Boy Advance
I want to give this to the Gamecube solely for Resident Evil REmake, but overall, I have to give this to the Xbox. I spent a lot of this generation playing World of Warcraft, so I missed out on practically all the good PS2 games and even many of the Xbox and Gamecube games. The Xbox was my favorite because of what it introduced to console gaming. It came in with a bang, having arguably the best launch lineup in the history of gaming, courtesy of Halo Combat Evolved. The graphics on this thing were beast, and having a built in ethernet port, built in harddrive, it just felt like the real deal Holyfield. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, and the best part about it, it made LAN sessions so accessible. No more lugging around your desktop PC, everyone just brought their Xbox around and LAN sessions for Halo were not only some of the best LAN sessions of all time, but so easy to put together. Xbox Live was also the ultimate online console gaming experience at the time. I had already been real big into Counter Strike and Battlefield 1942, but Xbox Live with games like Halo 2 and Rainbow Six 3 were great competition. Back then, Live fees were worth it, there was no other console experience like it. Some of my favorite games for Xbox were Knights of the Old Republic, Halo CE, Halo 2, Jade Empire, Ninja Gaiden Black, Splinter Cell, Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Elder Scrolls III Morrowind, Crimson Skies, Rallisport Challenge, but mainly Rainbow Six 3. It's also worth mentioning that the multiplats on Xbox were far superior to the competition. PS2 and Gamecube just couldn't hang with the Xbox, they relied solely on their exclusives.
Seventh Generation
Wii
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Nintendo DS
Sony PSP
Nintendo 3DS
iPhone/iPod Touch
The Wii and the PS3 are about tied for me, but I give the PS3 the edge simply because the Wii missed out on way too many multi-platform games, just way too many. I could never consider it as a stand alone console, whereas I could easily picture myself using a PS3 as a standalone. I really feel like Xbox dropped the ball this generation. People brush things like RROD under the rug, but that kind of stuff bugs me, I do not like buying faulty products. I didn't even buy an Xbox 360 until the Slim SKU was released, because I refused to ever spend money on that ticking time bomb original Xbox 360 that had a laundry list of technical design issues. I have since bought a couple 360 consoles (both work none died both SLIM), and bought around 40 games for it, and I have enjoyed the Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and even some other games, but Xbox just doesn't have that advantage like they had last gen with hardware. The hardware really impressed me last gen, and I'm a big hardware guy, I love hardware, and you just can't pay me to invest in something that is just flat out bad like the original Xbox 360. The PS3 has treated me well over the years, offering me a ton of enjoyment. It has a large variety of different exclusive games spanning many different genres, and they've even managed to close the gap in the online department without resorting to online fees. The online similarity between Xbox and PlayStation is nothing like it was last gen, last gen there was a real difference, now there's not. Overall, I'm just really disappointed with Xbox and Microsoft this generation, everything from this ridiculous Kinect focus, to the insanely overpriced proprietary hardware (harddrives etc.), to the underhanded business tactics (hurting gaming more than helping it), it all just adds up to a bad taste in my mouth. Enough about the Xbox though, some of my favorite games for the PS3 have been Uncharted series, LittleBigPlanet series, Demon's Souls, Resistance series, Killzone series, Metal Gear Solid 4, Disgaea series, God of War 3, Heavy Rain and many more. The Playstation 3 has totally delivered for me this generation in every department. It has great online functionality for free, so many great games where I'm always left with a massive backlog, really nice hardware in terms of both design, functionality and reliability, the complete package.
Log in to comment