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What is your favorite videogame home console ever?


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I as well have been through every console, occasionally owning multiple iterations of each. Upon initial thought, I'd say N64, Dreamcast, or the OG Xbox...

 

... but upon further reflection, it's the original PlayStation. From the games to the progression of hardware, it's the reason the console landscape is what it is today. 

 

Games?

 

FFVII

Resident Evil

Bushido Blade

Tenchu 

Symphony of the Night

Colony Wars

High Heat

Wing Commander III/IV

Cool Boarders 

Gran Turismo 

NBA Shootout 

Syphon Filter

Triple Play Baseball

 

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The OG Xbox. I had an NES, a SNES, an N64, a PS1, then got that OG Xbox when it launched because of the hardware specs and MS brand recognition. Though I enjoyed every console before it and have enjoyed the 360 and Xbone after it no console has had quite the impact of playing Halo via system link, or the sleek sexy cars in Project Gotham Racing, or the soundtrack and sandbox of Amped, or watching a game use shadow like Splinter Cell, or made me love Star Wars again like KOTOR, or the online brilliance of Rainbow Six 3, or the anticipation of Halo 2, etc etc. 

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This is a hard choice and even though the snes was technically the first console I personally got as a gift and not just a system that was bought for a sibling or the family, I think I have to go with the genesis actually. I just have so many fond memories of many of the titles and even the fact I won a copy of Sonic 3 via a McDonalds mail-in contest. Man Castle of Illusion, MJ, Sonic games, Toe Jam & Earl, Shinobi, Shadow Dancer, Mutant League, Desert Strike, etc..... Just so many games I use to put so many hours into.

 

On 7/6/2018 at 8:31 AM, skillzdadirecta said:

Honorable mentions:

Neo Geo C.D.

<3 The fact you picked CD over AES

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2 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Again, are you counting backwards compatible games?

 

I wouldn't say 2d platformers, arcade racers, etc are super-specific or dead subgenres.

 

As for Chrono Trigger, it is one of the best RPGs of all time.  That game is a timeless classic, and it'd be silly to hold that against it because of when it came out.  The game still holds up wonderfully, as many 16-bit games do.

 

I'd say similar things about Radiant Historia actually.  And that game still looked outdated as a DS game on release.  I think you're putting too much emphasis on modern technology, but that's just me.

No -- should I be?

 

I won't get in a debate with you over the benefits of the last 20 years of technology and game design.  And what that has allowed development teams to do.

 

I am also not going to get in a debate with you on what makes a genre.

 

"Holding-Up" is a subjective thing -- I am certainly not being critical of Chrono Trigger -- and it was one of the greatest games of  its time.  But, to illustrate my original point.  If it was released today on PS4 for the first time -- exactly as it was released on SNES in '95 -  fpr $60.  Do you thing it would be widely recognized as one of the best RPGs of all time?  Would it be in the conversation for GOTY in 2018?

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4 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

If it was released today on PS4 for the first time -- exactly as it was released on SNES in '95 -  fpr $60.  Do you thing it would be widely recognized as one of the best RPGs of all time?  Would it be in the conversation for GOTY in 2018?

Considering how well a games like Undertale and Cave Story did in the gaming scene, I'd say yes, it would.

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19 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

No -- should I be?

 

I won't get in a debate with you over the benefits of the last 20 years of technology and game design.  And what that has allowed development teams to do.

 

I am also not going to get in a debate with you on what makes a genre.

 

"Holding-Up" is a subjective thing -- I am certainly not being critical of Chrono Trigger -- and it was one of the greatest games of  its time.  But, to illustrate my original point.  If it was released today on PS4 for the first time -- exactly as it was released on SNES in '95 -  fpr $60.  Do you thing it would be widely recognized as one of the best RPGs of all time?  Would it be in the conversation for GOTY in 2018?

 

Chrono Trigger wouldn't look the same if released today for $60, so the point is moot.  Regardless, it wouldn't need to in order to get attention.  See Undertale.

 

And if backwards compatibility or remasters don't count, there's a whole lot more genres that could be contented: survival horror, FPS, arcade sports, etc.

 

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34 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

The OG Xbox. I had an NES, a SNES, an N64, a PS1, then got that OG Xbox when it launched because of the hardware specs and MS brand recognition. Though I enjoyed every console before it and have enjoyed the 360 and Xbone after it no console has had quite the impact of playing Halo via system link, or the sleek sexy cars in Project Gotham Racing, or the soundtrack and sandbox of Amped, or watching a game use shadow like Splinter Cell, or made me love Star Wars again like KOTOR, or the online brilliance of Rainbow Six 3, or the anticipation of Halo 2, etc etc. 

 

If the OG Xbox had a typical console lifespan it would have been my pick with only my love of PSVR competing with it... I have soo much time into RS3 alone that it puts the Xbox high on my list.

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5 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Chrono Trigger wouldn't look the same if released today for $60, so the point is moot.  Regardless, it wouldn't need to in order to get attention.  See Undertale.

 

And if backwards compatibility or remasters don't count, there's a whole lot more genres that could be contented: survival horror, FPS, arcade sports, etc.

 

Text adventures, LCD handheld games, platformers that feature a blue hedgehog, sides-scrolling beat-'em ups, isometric shooters, arcade hockey games, paddle controlled tennis games, etc.

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11 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

Text adventures, LCD handheld games, platformers that feature a blue hedgehog, sides-scrolling beat-'em ups, isometric shooters, arcade hockey games, paddle controlled tennis games, etc.

 

Sure.  Those, and more popular ones today like FPSs, survival horror, RPGs, platformers, metroidvanias, etc.

 

It's wide open for debate.  Games have gotten graphically prettier this gen and bigger in scope, but that's not always going to be enough to better the previous few gens' highlights.

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27 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:
Just now, Nokt said:

Do you think Undertales success would have been halted if it was $60?

Sure.  Those, and more popular ones today like FPSs, survival horror, RPGs, platformers, metroidvanias, etc.

 

It's wide open for debate.  Games have gotten graphically prettier this gen and bigger in scope, but that's not always going to be enough to better the previous few gens' highlights.

 

Correct.  My original point was clearly that all potential detailed genres were best on PS4, -- I clearly meant that the best trackball-controlled marble game was on PS4/XB1.

 

Games have gotten better in many ways -- UI is getting better as designers learn from other designers, scripts have gotten better as better writters have been hired, voice acting has gotten better as better voice actors have been hired, AI has gotten better as programmers have learned what others have done, etc.

 

Just now, Nokt said:

Do you think Undertales success would have been halted if it was $60?

How successful was it?

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It may end up being the PS4. I've spent more time on it than so many consoles I've owned, I easily own more on it than any prior console, and many of the games have felt far more evolved than previous generations (as things should). Many of the problems with some games last gen, like a brown drabby look or first party games with unstable frame rates, have been improved tremendously, and SharePlay and just sharing in general have been some of my favorite new features of the generation with the latter being something I wanted from a console last gen. Halo 3's Forge mode was an exciting start, but just being able to push a button and upload the last X minutes of my game has been phenomenal.

 

PS2 was my favorite for a while, Genesis growing up in my single digit years, 360 blew me away initially with its Blades UI and online, but PS4 is going to be up there when all is said and done. I guess it's a matter of seeing how the next couple years go and putting everything in perspective later. 

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1 hour ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

I'd easily put Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI on the list of best RPGs of all time. Along with Witcher 3. Those games have held up incredibly well. 

 

Newer doesn't always mean better.

 

God I love Chrono Trigger. 

 

My all-time favorite console is the Playstation One. 

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5 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

It may end up being the PS4. I've spent more time on it than so many consoles I've owned, I easily own more on it than any prior console, and many of the games have felt far more evolved than previous generations (as things should). Many of the problems with some games last gen, like a brown drabby look or first party games with unstable frame rates, have been improved tremendously, and SharePlay and just sharing in general have been some of my favorite new features of the generation with the latter being something I wanted from a console last gen. Halo 3's Forge mode was an exciting start, but just being able to push a button and upload the last X minutes of my game has been phenomenal.

 

PS2 was my favorite for a while, Genesis growing up in my single digit years, 360 blew me away initially with its Blades UI and online, but PS4 is going to be up there when all is said and done. I guess it's a matter of seeing how the next couple years go and putting everything in perspective later. 

I love the PS4 too. But I guess being a younger age the PS1 just has soooooooo many memories that makes it more special. 

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1 minute ago, Biggie said:

I love the PS4 too. But I guess being a younger age the PS1 just has soooooooo many memories that makes it more special. 

I have a theory that everyone has a soft spot in their heart for the games they played between the ages of 10-16 --- for me that was primarily the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga....

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6 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

I have a theory that everyone has a soft spot in their heart for the games they played between the ages of 10-16 --- for me that was primarily the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga....

 

I have soft spots for even OK games I played back in those days, so that sounds about right.

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Home consoles only? It’s either SNES, Dreamcast or Gamecube. 

 

I’m mostly into portable gaming though, so the original Gameboy or the original DS hold higher regard for me than the consoles. 3DS ranks really high as well.

 

But if we’re talking home consoles, I’m going to give it to the ‘Cube. So many great titles, many of which I played during my college days. LAN play with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! was insane, and playing online with Phantasy Star Online was awesome. But the thing that really tips it over the edge? The best peripheral ever made: the Gameboy Player. Having all my Gameboy/Color/Advance games playable on a single system along with all the GCN-exclusive stuff was just too perfect. 

 

Close runner-up is Dreamcast, and then SNES.

 

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11 hours ago, Biggie said:

I love the PS4 too. But I guess being a younger age the PS1 just has soooooooo many memories that makes it more special. 

 

It's funny; I loved that intro for every PS1 game:

 

 

It sounded majestic, like you were getting into a whole world of wonder and it got me psyched.

 

No need anymore with suspend/resume. It's so much more convenient now to just jump into a game or whatever app I'm using, even if that means I'm not getting that awesome startup screen that I remember so positively. :p 

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1 hour ago, mikechorney said:

How successful was it?

1 million as of 2016 there has been no news about sales numbers since then except for 100,000 digital downloads between PS4/Vita in Japan.

 

92/100 on metacritic on both versions.

There are probably other ways of determining success, but yeah.

 

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1 hour ago, Nokt said:

1 million as of 2016 there has been no news about sales numbers since then except for 100,000 digital downloads between PS4/Vita in Japan.

 

92/100 on metacritic on both versions.

There are probably other ways of determining success, but yeah.

 

So $10M in sales?

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4 hours ago, mikechorney said:

 

Correct.  My original point was clearly that all potential detailed genres were best on PS4, -- I clearly meant that the best trackball-controlled marble game was on PS4/XB1.

 

Games have gotten better in many ways -- UI is getting better as designers learn from other designers, scripts have gotten better as better writters have been hired, voice acting has gotten better as better voice actors have been hired, AI has gotten better as programmers have learned what others have done, etc.

 

I think it's relevant to question if there's been a better FPS than Bioshock this gen, a better survival horror game than The Last of Us, a better open world game than Red Dead Redemption, and so on.  And that's just looking back one generation ago.  Since you said backwards compatibility/remakes don't apply, those are fair questions now.  Consequently, this is much bigger than niche or largely dead genres.

As for games getting better on the whole, there are some objective improvements, such as visuals, framerate and AI.  But most everything else will be subjective, and varies title by title.  There's also negatives that can be leveraged against generation's tendency towards open world bloat and questionable microtransactions.

I don't think I'm in a great position to give my verdict about this gen just yet, but those things will definitely be discussed in hindsight.

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8 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I think it's relevant to question if there's been a better FPS than Bioshock this gen, a better survival horror game than The Last of Us, a better open world game than Red Dead Redemption, and so on.  And that's just looking back one generation ago.  Since you said backwards compatibility/remakes don't apply, those are fair questions now.  Consequently, this is much bigger than niche or largely dead genres.

As for games getting better on the whole, there are some objective improvements, such as visuals, framerate and AI.  But most everything else will be subjective, and varies title by title.  There's also negatives that can be leveraged against generation's tendency towards open world bloat and questionable microtransactions.

I don't think I'm in a great position to give my verdict about this gen just yet, but those things will definitely be discussed in hindsight.

 

I didn't even think RDR was the best open-world game last gen, and I put Halo 3 over Bioshock last gen. :p 

 

Open-world isn't really a genre. You can be an open-world FPS, an open-world survival horror, an open-world puzzle game, an open-world action game, an open-world RPG, open-world adventure, etc. etc. Open-world seems to be the natural progression of being able to create a living, breathing world. 

 

I don't put too many games last gen above things like God of War, Bloodborne, or Horizon, I don't put many linear action-adventure games above UC4 or Lost Legacy, or many arcadey games above Resogun, I don't think there was a stealth game I played that felt as good as MGSV, or an open-world RPG as ambitious with the quality of side quests that Witcher 3 had, and I haven't even touched Switch's games yet, which would add some really wonderful looking stuff to the mix. The Last of Us really is one of the best, but it also came eight years after last gen started. It's part of why it'll be harder for me to properly gauge this gen until it's actually over and I've also gotten my Dreams, my Spider-Man, my Ghost of Tsushima, my Death Stranding, my Last of Us Part II, my RDR2, my RE2 Remake, my Cyberpunk, etc..

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2 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

I didn't even think RDR was the best open-world game last gen, and I put Halo 3 over Bioshock last gen. :p 

 

Open-world isn't really a genre. You can be an open-world FPS, an open-world survival horror, an open-world puzzle game, an open-world action game, an open-world RPG, open-world adventure, etc. etc. Open-world seems to be the natural progression of being able to create a living, breathing world. 

 

I don't put too many games last gen above things like God of War, Bloodborne, or Horizon, I don't put many linear action-adventure games above UC4 or Lost Legacy, or many arcadey games above Resogun, I don't think there was a stealth game I played that felt as good as MGSV, or an open-world RPG as ambitious with the quality of side quests that Witcher 3 had, and I haven't even touched Switch's games yet, which would add some really wonderful looking stuff to the mix. The Last of Us really is one of the best, but it also came eight years after last gen started. It's part of why it'll be harder for me to properly gauge this gen until it's actually over and I've also gotten my Dreams, my Spider-Man, my Ghost of Tsushima, my Death Stranding, my Last of Us Part II, my RDR2, my RE2 Remake, my Cyberpunk, etc..

 

There's no doubt in my mind that this gen will end up being one of the greats.  There's a good chance I'll put it over last-gen too, on the whole.  Even with my issues with the microtransactions and how open-world focused certain publishers like Ubisoft have become.

But the way mikechorney framed this, it isn't just about this gen vs the last.  It's if the PS4/XB1's output has resulted in the the best "video games in almost every genre. "  In other words:  What genres have the PS4/XB1 crowned a new king in?  A lot of them, or only a few?

 

He's also excluded the Switch in that, btw.

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13 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

There's no doubt in my mind that this gen will end up being one of the greats.  There's a good chance I'll put it over last-gen too, on the whole.  Even with my concerns about the microtransactions and how open-world focused certain publishers like Ubisoft have become.

But the way mikechorney framed this, it isn't just about this gen vs the last.  It's if new PS4/XB1 games can be considered the best "video games in almost every genre. "  In other words:  what genres have the PS4/XB1 crowned a new king in?  A lot of them?  Only a few?

 

He's also excluded the Switch, btw.

 

Can't say I disagree with you; I think it's definitely worth a nice long conversation about how genres have progressed, how gaming has progressed, etc.

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32 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

There's no doubt in my mind that this gen will end up being one of the greats.  There's a good chance I'll put it over last-gen too, on the whole.  Even with my issues with the microtransactions and how open-world focused certain publishers like Ubisoft have become.

But the way mikechorney framed this, it isn't just about this gen vs the last.  It's if the PS4/XB1's output has resulted in the the best "video games in almost every genre. "  In other words:  What genres have the PS4/XB1 crowned a new king in?  A lot of them, or only a few?

 

He's also excluded the Switch in that, btw.

I excluded "Switch" because it has so few "great games" that I want to play and such a small library.  I don't really like Platforming games, so it is hard for me to justify buying a console just to play Zelda.

 

In my opinion, in most genres, PS4/XB1 has the majority of the "best" games of all time.  I am too lazy to write a long diatribe on what they are and why I think each of them are the best.  I have also been pretty clear in my follow up posts on what "genre" meant in my original post (with a link to the Wikipedia page on video game genres).

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1 hour ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Can't say I disagree with you; I think it's definitely worth a nice long conversation about how genres have progressed, how gaming has progressed, etc.

 

Yup.  To say it now just feels premature to me.  I haven't seen many PS4/XBO games lauded as 'best in class' other than Witcher 3, and maybe Bloodborne and Forza Horizon 3.  At least outside of highly iterative genres (ie: racing sims, sports sims).  Or new ones like Battle Royale and Survival.

 

It's much harder to make the best X type of game ever these days.  Considering there is so much history to compare to.

For example: As much as I enjoy a game like Ori & the Blind Forest, there's still a handful of older Metroidvanias I'd recommend ahead of it.

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1 hour ago, mikechorney said:

In my opinion, in most genres, PS4/XB1 has the majority of the "best" games of all time.  I am too lazy to write a long diatribe on what they are and why I think each of them are the best.

 

I'd disagree, but my own diatribe could be involved as well for how many more generations I'd want to cover.  Wouldn't be worth it either.

 

This gen is not even over yet.  I think this conversation might be better saved for then.

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14 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

It's funny; I loved that intro for every PS1 game:

 

 

It sounded majestic, like you were getting into a whole world of wonder and it got me psyched.

 

No need anymore with suspend/resume. It's so much more convenient now to just jump into a game or whatever app I'm using, even if that means I'm not getting that awesome startup screen that I remember so positively. :p 

I both loved and hated that startup. I loved it for the same reasons you stated...but I also hated it because it took sssssoooo long just to get to the game. You basically wait for a good minute or two before you actually get to start playing what you want, lol. :p 

 

The lightning-quick start up of the N64 often made that system my console of choice during that gen. 

 

Thankfully, the startups of the following generation of consoles were both kind of epic/memorable as well...but didn’t waste as much of your time before letting you start playing! 

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2 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said:

I both loved and hated that startup. I loved it for the same reasons you stated...but I also hated it because it took sssssoooo long just to get to the game. You basically wait for a good minute or two before you actually get to start playing what you want, lol. :p 

 

The lightning-quick start up of the N64 often made that system my console of choice during that gen. 

 

Thankfully, the startups of the following generation of consoles were both kind of epic/memorable as well...but didn’t waste as much of your time before letting you start playing! 

 

YES. I mean even at that time, N64 booted up immediately because it was cartridge-based, whereas you had that long PS1 intro and then the long PS1 loading for so many of the games. The startup felt and sounded great, and suspend/resume has no build-up or anything, but it's so much more convenient now to just boot the game from where you stopped the previous day that I wouldn't go back. :p 

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1 hour ago, mikechorney said:

I excluded "Switch" because it has so few "great games" that I want to play and such a small library.  I don't really like Platforming games, so it is hard for me to justify buying a console just to play Zelda.

 

In my opinion, in most genres, PS4/XB1 has the majority of the "best" games of all time.  I am too lazy to write a long diatribe on what they are and why I think each of them are the best.  I have also been pretty clear in my follow up posts on what "genre" meant in my original post (with a link to the Wikipedia page on video game genres).

 

So as a God of War fan, at the time, was GoWIII on PS3 better than GoWII on PS2?

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