Most Important Consoles Of All Time

[MagikMilk]

I know this is off topic but i feel disrespected by the younger generation they don't know what a NES or Famicom is not even a Super Nintendo as earliest as possibly not even oh my the original PSX. There's no respect for the people [us] that were here before them. Sometimes i even disrespectful by the game creators who brought us our classics because they bring them back to this era and sometimes they rise back up after so many years then quickly fall right back down. There are some good titles that were brought back from the past and have caught up with us like the return of Starcraft 1997 or 1995 or Kid Icarus and Kirby and Twisted Metal not to say the least anyone else i've left out. But kids don't know the "origins" of where it came from and when it came into the video game world. They only know it as "Part 4" or the "last trilogy" they don't know the Introduction Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.

[strat]

PC-Engine CD/PC-Engine Duo - First CD-based console and the first to have very few games outside Japan worth buying, but an excellent Japanese-only library, a category it shares with Saturn.

[ctophil]

Hey folks,

Here are my list of the most important video game consoles in history.

1. The Magnavox Odyssey - Most people have forgotten how this is the first video game console that came out in 1972. It was the first home video console that can be played on a TV using your standard graphics. It wasn't the most advance console. But it was the first!

2. Atari 2600 - Nolan Bushnell created a video company called Syzygy that later became Atari. The Atari 2600 was the first system that made video games mainstream.

3. Intellivision - The most advanced game system in the early 1980s. It was the very first console that featured a 16-bit processor, paving the way to future 16-bit consoles like the Sega Genesis and SNES. And no, the Turbo Grafx 16 was not a 16-bit system. It was 8-bit with a 16-bit graphics GPU processor.

4. Nintendo Entertainment System - As you all know, Nintendo single-handedly saved the game industry from crashing. Atari and few other folks made a few mistakes that were devastating, such as the glut of bad games like E.T. Nintendo had more quality control over their developers and released top-tier games even today.

5. Game Boy - Nintendo's little portable unit was the best seller for over 10 years in a row. No one could compete with the black & white wonder. Even when it became slightly colored in the Game Boy Color, the other portable contenders like Turbo Express, Atari Lynx, and later the Neo Geo Pocket still couldn't compete with the robust number of game developers on the console and extra long battery life.

6. Sega Genesis - The original Sega Master System was the underdog compared to the NES at the time. Although a good seller, the NES was hands-down the leader. But when Sega released the Genesis, it was extremely popular. It had the first true 16-bit quality graphics and sound, sometimes even matching the arcades. So developers jumped on the bandwagon left and right to make games for the new leader in the console wars.

7. Super NES - Though released 2 years after the Sega Genesis, it came out by storm with its superior graphics and sound. Japanese developers remembered the success of the NES and made Nintendo the champion the 2nd time. It eventually surpassed Sega Genesis in sales. Also known for some of the best role-playing games ever released on consoles, including but not limited to Final Fantasy II (FF 4), Final Fantasy III (FF 6), Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana.

8. Playstation - There were other 32-bit consoles at the time: 3D0, Sega 32X, and Sega Saturn. But none was as revolutionary in all aspects as the Playstation. It had such great support, and it was the first time Sony made an appearance as a console manufacturer. Sony worked with Nintendo to make a CD-based machine. But Nintendo made a big mistake and turned down Sony's offer to make the SNES become the next beast of a machine. So Sony branched out to make Playstation--a huge turning point in history by making 3D polygonal graphics and true full motion video possible on a home machine. Although the 3D0, Sega CD, Turbo Grafx CD, and even Neo Geo & Neo Geo CD* captured a tiny bit of the future technology, the Playstation put it in a better, nicer package.

*Neo Geo was a 16-bit system with a 8-bit coprocessor.

9. Nintendo DS - Even I scoffed at the idea of a dual screen portable system. I waited in line at E3 to play the fabled system before it came out. Behold, it was another revolution by Nintendo! The PSP was a nice try, but still clearly the Nintendo DS was the more innovative console at its heart.

10. Nintendo Wii - Ah, the Big N is always at it. The Wii Motion Remote was a new tech that people scoffed at. But not anymore, right? In fact, Microsoft and Sony copied it later with the Kinect and Playstation Move, respectively.

The Future - Nintendo continues to innovate with the Wii U's tablet-sized controller. However, it's more of an evolution. Of course, Microsoft and Sony are copying again with their Smart Glass and Playstation Vita connectivity. Nothing I see in the future that are revolutionary nor important to the video game console industry. So we will have to wait and see.

[Retrostage]

@ ctophil: Wonderful post, I can totally agree! If I have to choose one console, I would pick up the NES: It ended the video game crash and brought us Mario, Zelda, Metroid and other great franchises that we still love today.

[bawitback]

Atari VCS (1977) The most successful game machine of the 70s and early 80s kicked off the triumpthant era of progammable cartage consoles.

Apple II (1977)

Sinclair Spectrum (1982) England's most successful home computer.

Sega SG-1000 & Master System (1983 / 1987)

Nintendo Famicom (1983)

[Hekuta]

NES, Genesis,GameBoy, Ps1 and Ps2

[magcollector]

Snuper Nintendo, Nintendo64, Sega Dreamcast and Playstation 3

[magcollector]

Super Nintendo, Nintendo64, Sega Dreamcast and Playstation 3

[Alex1]

Can't have just 1. Atari 2600 was very important. But without the PC's that were still selling games after the crash who knows in Nintendo would have risked releasing the NES.

 

Unfortunately the consoles spelled doom for the arcades...

[giorgaras]

PC-Engine CD/PC-Engine Duo - First CD-based console and the first to have very few games outside Japan worth buying, but an excellent Japanese-only library, a category it shares with Saturn.

I had one of these but the duo broke and I sold it, ive been meaning to buy a new one.

[giorgaras]

Atari VCS (1977) The most successful game machine of the 70s and early 80s kicked off the triumpthant era of progammable cartage consoles.Apple II (1977)Sinclair Spectrum (1982) England's most successful home computer.Sega SG-1000 & Master System (1983 / 1987)Nintendo Famicom (1983)

How is the Japanese Famicom?

[consumer]

Clearly the NES stands out.  The Snes was a great system that lots of people played too, but I feel like the Turbografx-16 and accompanying CD hardware was somewhat more influential, after all, the Turbo predated the SNES, was the first CD based system kick started a decade of market innovation. The Playstation was the huge end result. Hmm. After that, ps3, I guess.

[greenfoot2001]

I think without the NES and Genesis, home consoles would have been obsolete after the VG crash in the early/mid 80s

[danielgfm]

Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive, Game Boy and PSX!

[BigWilly]

The PS2 is the best selling home console for a reason. I think it made the largest jump in performance going from any generation to the next. Plus the games were amazing. GTA, Tombraider, Grand Turismo, etc. I think the SNES holds a place in my heart because I spent so many hours playing on it.

[kitsunebi]

The PS2 is the best selling home console for a reason. I think it made the largest jump in performance going from any generation to the next.

 

The 32-bit generation saw home consoles try to embrace the 3D gaming and polygon graphics that had been the standard on PC for years.  Unfortunately, the hardware wasn't really up to the task, so the games were often downright ugly even when they weren't hampered by draw-in, poor framerate, janky cameras, clipping, etc.  The PS2, while still not able to match the PC, was finally able to depict 3D worlds in an aesthetically pleasing way.  And yet in truth it was only a small jump in performance over the Dreamcast, released 16 months earlier.  Its initial success was due in large part to its ability to play DVDs and the high cost of stand-alone DVD players at the time, although it would eventually amass an impressive library of games.

[BigWilly]

The 32-bit generation saw home consoles try to embrace the 3D gaming and polygon graphics that had been the standard on PC for years.  Unfortunately, the hardware wasn't really up to the task, so the games were often downright ugly even when they weren't hampered by draw-in, poor framerate, janky cameras, clipping, etc.  The PS2, while still not able to match the PC, was finally able to depict 3D worlds in an aesthetically pleasing way.  And yet in truth it was only a small jump in performance over the Dreamcast, released 16 months earlier.  Its initial success was due in large part to its ability to play DVDs and the high cost of stand-alone DVD players at the time, although it would eventually amass an impressive library of games.

The Dreamcast was part of the 6th generation of home consoles which the PS2 is also part of so it would be compared to the Sega Saturn, PS1, and N64 as far as evolution. I think there was a big jump between PS2 and those 5th gen consoles.

[kitsunebi]

The Dreamcast was part of the 6th generation of home consoles which the PS2 is also part of so it would be compared to the Sega Saturn, PS1, and N64 as far as evolution. I think there was a big jump between PS2 and those 5th gen consoles.

 

Agreed, that's exactly what I was saying.  I was just pointing out how much the PS2's initial success had very little to do with gaming.  The Dreamcast had perhaps the best launch game lineup in history, while the PS2, arriving over a year later, had very little worth playing at launch.  But the PS2 could play DVDs, and the Dreamcast (and later Gamecube) could not.  Check and mate.

[Data]

Agreed, that's exactly what I was saying.  I was just pointing out how much the PS2's initial success had very little to do with gaming.  The Dreamcast had perhaps the best launch game lineup in history, while the PS2, arriving over a year later, had very little worth playing at launch.  But the PS2 could play DVDs, and the Dreamcast (and later Gamecube) could not.  Check and mate.

 

This is so true.  Don't forget that O.G. Xbox also succeeded gen 5 consoles but the Xbox was capable of HD native rendering  720 and 1080.  So from that perspective, Xbox is the clear winner.