Which do you believe has been the best game console ever?

Sega Dreamcast
Sony PlayStation 2
Nuon
Microsoft Xbox
Nintendo GameCube
Apple Pippin (1996) (never marketed)
Atari Jaguar (1993) (marketed as "64-bit")
Playdia (1994)
3DO (1993)
Sega Saturn (1994-1998)
Sony PlayStation (1994)
Nintendo 64 (1996-2002) (marketed as "64-bit")
TurboGrafx 16 or PC-Engine (1989)
TurboGrafx-16 CD
TurboDuo
Sega Genesis or [Sega MegaDrive] (1989-1998)
Sega CD or [Sega Mega CD] (1991)
Sega 32X or [Sega Mega 32X] or [Sega Super 32X] (1993)
Neo-Geo (1989)
Neo-Geo CD (1994-1999)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Famicom (1991-1998)
Philips CD-i
PC-FX
NES or Famicom (1985-1995)
Sega Master System (1986)
Atari 7800 (1986)
Intellivision (1980)
Colecovision (1982)
Philips_G7400 (1983) (This was to be released in the USA as the Odyssey3; changing market conditions prevented its release.)
Arcadia 2001 (1982)
Vectrex (1982)
Atari 5200 (1982)
Atari 2600 VCS
Odyssey2 (1978) (Known in Europe as the Philips_G7000)
Channel F (1976)
Astrocade (1977)

The thought of future systems excites me with the ever growing potential of Sony PlayStation 3 (Sony has plans to release such a system around 2005), Nintendo GameCube 2 (Nintendo plans to release such a system around 2005. The official name may or may not be 'GameCube 2'.), Microsoft Xbox 2 (Microsoft has plans to release such a gaming system in the future. Xbox 2 is not the official name for it; it has been rumored that the name will be Xbox Next).

Got to be Colecovision (though the Atari 2600 has a special place in my heart).

Sony PlayStation 2 Best Console
It has Everything a Hardcore gamer would need

On the other hand XBOX is good for its lighting and graphics.

But thats just my opinion.

Except a hard drive, real time 5.1 support, progressive scan output, fast dedicated network for multiplay, and a little game called Halo.

Guess which is my favorite?

The dreamcast was a sweet little machine and Combat for the Atari 2600 was the OG Deathmatch machine.:grinthumb

Lol, i love the way you phrased that. And yup I agree with you, XBOX is the way forward...........but it's hard to say which console WAS the best because it's 2004 and not before. However you can say which was the most enjoyable AT the time, and i have to say that Multiplayer on Goldeneye N64 couldn't be beaten......but i was younger.




PS: Dont forget that PC Gaming has been there all along!! and technically it is the best console of CAPABILITY but hell not RELIABILITY.

I guess the reliability factor should be one of the most important considerations for this thread. So many of the replies so far have been more about games, that we forget the Raison detre for consoles originally was their simplicity and robustness.

Add to this the 'wow" factor that state of the art hardware can induce and I think I have a new answer- I rented a Neo Geo in 1989 and the golf sim was fantastic. I never felt the same about my Sega Genisis again...

Xbox Is really good but the games are bad accept for some like HALO

PS2 all the way !!!!
has the best games

Edited because of language
--Mictlantecuhtli

A Vectrex if any of you even know what that is?

I cried like a baby when my mommy wouldn't buy me a Vetrex from the Gold Circle store when they were going out of business. I just got over it a few years ago- thanks for tearing the scab off. Where's my credit card? Im going to Ebay...

How can anyone say a hard drive is a good thing in a console? I bet M$ will get smart next gen and NOT include a hard drive. HDs add too much to the cost and take too much away from reliability.

The best console ever was the Famicon/NES, IMO (with the Super Famicon a close second).

Oh-lemme count the ways-

1- modding should you so choose (linux for the xbox anyone?- gust one of the many uses the hard drive facilitates)
2- faster load times for games
3- Not forced to provide for sony exec's retirement fund by buying expensive memory cards
4- Custom game sound tracks
5- turns the console into a music server- I have a buch of cd ripped to mine
6- Downloadable game content and such goodies


As for the reliability factor, - HD's are coming with 3 year FACTORY warranties which is just about the adverage lifespan of today's consoles. I think their robustness is unquestionable- I have never heard of a xbox hd failing. If MS chooses to not include one in the next xbox it will be a cost descision not reliability issue and I will shed a tear when Im forced to bend over and buy a memory card like the sony faithful have for years.

1, 4, 5, 6 can be solved by OWNING A COMPUTER.
2, 3 are not a real problem--I never experience load times larger than 2-3 seconds and my collection of 15 games is not large enough to need more than one mem card.

I'm sorry, I thought the thread was titled "Best Console"

I fail to see how owning a computer makes your PS2 any better. :rolleyes:

Papa I cant believe you think the Satern is the best console.. I got it shortly after my PSX (playstation) and it was just... aweful. I was such a sega fan so I made my parents get me a Satern.

Sony PlayStation (1994) - Hands down

I can understand why people might be saying PS2, but the Playstation is what really started it all, and for its time, I think it was even better then the PS2 is for its time.

Maybe in your time.

True, well, maybe the SNES did or whatever, but I think the PSX is what really stepped it up, and made it what it is now.

its what made it jump to the next level, the next generation, console and more importantly gameplay wise.

the market also expanded greatly.