Topic: The Greatest Console Of All Time Poll

@sub12: Believe it or not, the Dreamcast is now HISTORY! I am not letting sentimentality come in the way of accuracy. If the PS3 only lasted 2yrs and was basically the end of the Playstation in terms of consoles, had very little 3rd party support because it was so difficult to programme for and dropped faster than a stone in terms of price, then would you say the PS3 was the greatest console of all time?

It had a short life because it basically nearly destroyed Sega - certainly did from a console perspective and the games had to go to other consoles to try and get some money back into Sega - that is NOT the indication of the best console of all time. I did pick one up from a charity shop for a few quids - wouldn't pay the amount it started at - and did enjoy some of the games. Sega have been great at software but this isn't about Software its about hardware!

@BAMozzy:

In the way of accuracy!? It's an opinion thread, not to be rude, but again, you talk of the platform as more of a historian than an actual user.....so I don't really expect you to understand why people love it.

Dreamcast is definitely a top 10, but yeah, without that five year cycle it drops lower than it should. It should've been an easy top 5, maybe even top 3. If I were to extend my list out it'd be...
1. PS2
1A. SNES
3. PS1
4. Genesis
5. NES
6. Xbox 360
7. PS3
8. N64
9. Dreamcast
10. Saturn

@sub12: The question wasn't 'which was your 'favourite' console of all time' but which was the 'greatest' console of all time. Therefore I am looking at it from an objective point of view and not letting sentimentality cloud my judgement. Had the question been posed differently and inferred that sentimentality could play a factor - such as personal favourite - then I would probably rate the Dreamcast higher but as the question stated the greatest of all time and therefore I am looking at everything from an objective point of view. Just because it may be your favourite or first or have some fond associated memories around that era of your life, doesn't make the console the greatest.

@sub12:
I think every system has its own identity- certain genres that make the platform what it is. For NeoGeo it was fighters, for example. TurboGrafx, Dreamcast, PSone, N64, Vita ... all these systems can be identified by their games. Kinda what you were saying with Dreamcast having a unique arcade library. Some platforms have a narrower focus than others, of course., For 3DS, I actually think the games are pretty diverse. What helps Nintendo platforms, in particular, are the 1st party games, because they make so many different genres. Be it Smash Bros (fighter), Mario Kart (racer), StarFox (space shooter), DKC (technical platformer), Zelda (adventure), Fire Emblem (grid-based SRPG), Xenoblade (JRPG), Kid Icarus (on-rails shooter), etc etc etc. Which, when combined with the spread of 3rd party games like Monster Hunter, the Atlus and Level 5 RPG portfolio, or SE and Capcom like RE, Street Fighter, Kingdom Hearts or Theatrhythm, it makes for a pretty diverse library. Not to say there aren't genres MIA, because there are (FPS and open world come to mind) but still.

I also think the backward compatibility with the entire DS library helps its cause a great deal. Of course, I may be a little biased considering I have full kernal access on my 3DS, so I have all the SNES, BS Satellaview, SegaCD, Genesis, 32X, GBA, NeoGeo, NG Pocket Color, NES, GB/GBC, GameGear and CPS1/2 virtual console imaginable that's worth playing. That's something most people don't have so I may be a little more excited for the platform than most. It's hard to say SNES is the best platform when my 3DS can play the entire SNES library, making no mention of the other 10 platforms, DS and 3DS library, Sega Genesis games in 3D, etc.

@JaxonH: My personal favourites are the PSOne and PS2. I used to like Nintendo consoles as a whole better until very recently, but changes in business practices and lower quality first party titles have quickly made me decide to make the Wii U my last Nintendo home console for the foreseeable future. Honestly Iwata may not have been the ideal president for Nintendo, but Kimishima has single-handedly brought the company to its knees in less than a year after taking over as their active president...

@Rukiafan7:
Play what you like. There's plenty of games out there for whatever a person prefers. And naturally people will like different stuff.

Me, I like games across all platforms. A console is just a means to play the games, and games can't help what platform they're on. I love too many Nintendo games to ever not buy their consoles. I try not to get caught up in all the other stuff. I just know the games I love, and where I can find them. And I could never skip all the Monster Hunters, DKC's, Pikmins, Marios, Zeldas, Fire Emblems, Xenoblade's, StarFox's, Kirby's, etc. I can't imagine not being able to play all those games. That would be too much to bare.

As for Kimishima, Idk if he's done all that. I mean, he has yet to prove himself. The Wii U was always in trouble, even before his time, and 3DS is still chugging along. As for 1st party titles, not all are classics but, I tend to pick the gems and ignore the rest- as with any console. Even with a few duds here and there though, there's still so many games I love and just couldn't see myself going without. Which is what it's all about for me.

We'll see what the future holds, but I don't think any president can stop them from releasing a ton of great games. I actually think that despite a few weak titles, the quality has never been better. The Wii/DS era was straight garbage for quality. Gosh I hated last gen Nintendo games (there were some exceptions like Mario Galaxy and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn). But with Wii U and 3DS there's so many games that are top-shelf (example- Kirby Planet Robobot- I usually hate Kirby games and yet I think this one rivals even Rayman or Mario, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon was excellent, and Pikmin 3, and DKC Tropical Freeze, and so many others that are the best game in their respective series to date). Wii U is by no means my favorite console or even favorite Nintendo console, but it's still a fine platform imo. 3DS though, at least half of my top 10 favorite games are playable on that handheld.

But ya, PSone I never owned because I hated how 3D games look in 32-bit graphics. But I've got a nice collection of PSone on Vita and really love the JRPG's on that console. Muah! Good stuff there. I did own a PS2, but Idk why, I never really fell in love with it. I guess, aside from Shadow of the Colossus, no games really stuck with me. The PS4 is the best Sony platform imo. It's still early but I think by the time this gen is over it will clearly be the best Sony console to date. Especially if they add PSone and PSP virtual console.

@JaxonH:

Fair enough, I agree that the 3DS has its own identity when it comes to the library, which is somewhat of a rarity these days.

@Rukiafan7: Which one are you picking ps1 or ps2. Both great consoles but which do you have a preference for?

Result so far - polling closes on the 12th July when the top 4 go through.

PS1 - 7
PS2 - 5
Dreamcast - 4
Wii - 3
PS3 - 3
N64 - 3
SNES - 3

PS4 - 2
3DS - 1
GameCube - 1
XBox 360 - 1
PS4 - 2
Atari 2600 - 1
Master System - 1

Loving the discussion about the DC. Jet set radio has to be mentioned and that sold hardly any copies. An unfortunate fact and proof that quality does not equal sales.

I really hopes someone will still vote SNES into fourth place. I really believe the PlayStation brand is more of a spiritual successor of the SNES than Nintendo's next consoles ever were. The greatest of JRPG's, more mature experiences, WipeOut as the sequel to F-Zero, Crash Bandicoot as the new Donkey Kong Country. Sony really took a lot of inspiration from that platform and through it took gaming to new levels.
In that same vein I can understand really well why anyone would vote for PlayStation 1, though.

@themcnoisy: Then I'll vote for the PS2.

@themcnoisy: Um...I vote SNES cuz it has so many of my favorite rpgs!

@Kidfried: And now it is thanks to @Epona14:

Result so far - polling closes on the 12th July when the top 4 go through.

PS1 - 7
PS2 - 6
Dreamcast - 4
SNES - 4

Wii - 3
PS3 - 3
N64 - 3
PS4 - 2
3DS - 1
GameCube - 1
XBox 360 - 1
Atari 2600 - 1
Master System - 1

Thanks for voting everyone, we now have a clear top 4! That can still change as we are now in the last 48hours of voting. Anyone new to the thread you can pick your favourite console a single vote can make a huge difference.

Ok so round 1 is finishing early. I've just realised I'm in work for 12 hours tomorrow so get ready for rules for round 2. Round 1 is officially done.

PS1, PS2, Dreamcast and SNES are all through!

Rules For Round 2; voting closes around midnight on the 13th of July 2016.

You have 5 points to dish out amongst the consoles on a variety of subjects to be introduced every couple of days (games, graphics and hardware) and all 5 points have to be distributed. However the maximum amount of points to one console is only 3 points. Your denominations can go like this;

3 / 2
3 / 1 / 1
2 / 2 / 1
2 / 1 / 1 / 1

If there's a mistake your vote will be void. So in summary; 5 points, max of 3 points to any one console.

That's it. In 48hours all points will be counted and the next subject will be introduced altogether there will be 3 subjects.

Consoles in the running;

PS1
PS2
Dreamcast
SNES

The first subject we are putting points down on is.....

Games

My picks to get the ball rolling.

PS1 - 2 points
Snes - 2 points
Dreamcast - 1 point

SNES - 3 points
PS1 - 2 point

First because they're both game-changers and second of all because both of its game catalogues have so much timeless classics.
(Can't decide if I shouldn't also give a point to good ol' PS2, oh well...)

PS2 - 3 Points.
PS1 - 2 Points.

@themcnoisy: Games is so vague. Are we voting on the quality, the amount or something else. Cause it depends on how I vote.