What Was Your Favorite Console Each Generation You Were Gaming?

[burningdoom]

What Was Your Favorite Console Each Generation You Were Gaming?

Mine:

-2nd Generation: Commodore 64 - I actually ended up playing this system well past it's prime. But for me, it was hands-down far beyond anything the Atari 2600 had to offer, in comparison. The only downside being the legendarily long load-times of the 1541 floppy drive. You could literally go make a sandwich and come back and it would still be loading the dang game. But it was worth it, because it had some of the most complex games of the era, rather than the simplistic arcade-style games of the Atari 2600. I especially loved the animated text-adventures like The Swiss Family Robinson. And I played a whole lot of Blue Max.

-3rd Generation: NES - The system I fell in love with gaming on. So many wasted hours in front of a T.V. screen playing Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Zelda 1 & 2, TMNT 1 & 2, Pin-Bot, Bionic Commando, Star Soldier, Contra, Castlevania II, and Mega Man 2 & 5. (And a lot more, but those were my early favorites.) I was addicted when I played this system. We had an Atari 2600 before it, but it would never hold my attention for long.

-4th Generation: SNES - This system took everything great about the NES, and made it all better: Better graphics, better sound, bigger games, better controller, and more reliable hardware (no more freaking screen-blinking and blowing into cartridges). Nintendo, Capcom, and Konami were at their creative peaks, IMO, at this time. And Squaresoft was really starting to hit their stride which would continue on the PS1.

-5th Generation: PS1 - Great era for gaming. So much was happening. So many new genres and experimenting going on with gaming, and the PS1 was at the center of it all. Plus it had great exclusives and RPGs. The King's Field games, Resident Evil games, and Castlevania SotN alone are worth owning the system, IMO.

-6th Generation: XBox (Original) - Had the best action-RPGs that generation, which is my favorite genre, plus it had the stellar Halo games and other great exclusives like MechAssault, Crimson Skies, and Panzer Dragoon: Orta. And it had Morrowind, which was the reason I bought mine.

-Currently: XBox 360 - It's the only modern system I had until a couple years ago when my wife got me a Wii for Christmas. So naturally, I lean towards it. I've never had a PS3, and the Wii does have some fantastic games, but not nearly the variety of the XBox 360. Plus the XBox Live Arcade is a wonderful thing. Great classics, and a lot of great new games as well.

-Handhelds - GBA-SP - The best handheld of all-time, as far as I'm concerned. Great design, beautiful backlit screen, and a fantastic library of games of both original games and re-releases of some of the best classics of all time. Plus it's backwards compatible with all original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games which is a huge plus in my book. Especially since the GBA-SP really makes the games look a whole lot better with the backlit screen. And I love the clamshell design that protects that beautiful screen. The only drawback, IMO, is the low-quality sound. I want it to be louder.

[sin2beta]

2nd - Commodore 64 - This is the very first system we had.

3rd - NES - I grew up a Nintendo kid. I fondly remember staying up to beat games with my friends. I remember me and my friends obsession with castlevania. That was our favorite game by a long shot.

4th - Sega Genesis - I started off with a SNES. But trading games with friends like Comix Zone, X-Men 2, Gunstar Heroes, Streets of Rage, those hooked me forever. And honestly, seeing Sonic 2 was just a 'wow' moment for me.

5th - Sega Saturn - This is actually a tough one for me since I don't really like this generation. But the Saturn had such imagination. Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon, and the Capcom fighters are still favorites.

6th - Dreamcast - Seriously, not even a contest.

7th - Xbox 360 - The console that finally drug me back to gaming after being gone for about 10 years. This console is amazing. The amount of great games is crazy. I am at about 50 games (not huge, but a lot) and I have just started to scratch the surface of good material.

EDIT: I forgot the handheld - Game Boy - The original. I spent so much time with this thing. Absolutely amazing.

[soera]

Hrmm what would you consider first gen? Ill start where you guys did

2nd gen : Atari 2600. Was just simply cool to have 2-300 games as a kid even though they all really sucked.

3rd gen : SMS. Everyone had a Nintendo except me. I had the master system and because of that, I got to experience some games none of my other friends did. Phantasy Star, Golvellius, Miracle Warriors, Rocky, Ys, Basketball Nightmare, R-Type, etc.

4th gen : SNES. Not really any comparison. Genesis was cool but had no chance vs Chrono Trigger and FF III.

5th gen : PS1. Still the best system in my opinion. First real disk system (in my opinion) and such a massive library that there were dozens of games to fit any personality imaginable. Some of the most amazing games were on this system.

6th gen : PS2. Picked up right where the PS1 left off and continued to grow. Almost 2000 games on this system. Who couldnt love it?

7th gen : PS3. Sense a trend? Sony has owned the console market since the moment they entered it. This gen is no exception.

Handheld : DS. I have spent time on almost every handheld since the GameBoy (I actually participated in one of the local betas for it) and the DS is by far the most amazing. With the DS Lite, you also have the option of GBA games making it possibly the best available system period.

[burningdoom]

Hrmm what would you consider first gen? Ill start where you guys did

First-gen is Magnovox Odyssey, Pong, all the Pong-clones out there, and other early one-game dedicated consoles.

[insektmute]

3rd Gen - NES: My parents bought it for me for Christmas that year, and I still remember literally screaming as I tore the wrapping paper off. I never owned a ton of games for it, probably only a couple - Dragon Warrior and Iron Sword - but rentals of Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and a slew of others really ignited that initial spark of addiction for me.

4th Gen - SNES: A lot of people I knew had a Genesis, but for me, this was THE system, and I still think it's one of the best consoles ever produced. Great controller, better build quality than the NES, and an absolutely incredible library of games.

5th Gen - PlayStation: Up to this point, I was a die-hard Nintendo fan. Two consoles, a subscription to Nintendo Power since almost day one, hooked on all their main series, the works, and it all died the minute I saw the N64. Gone was the elegantly minimal look of the SNES, gone were the exotic, elaborate worlds I got to visit in games like Final Fantasy VI and Super Metroid, and in their place was a hideous, plasticky thing with an awkward controller, and childish games filled with primary colors. I hoped for a sign that things would get better, but as time wore on, I gave up on console games and Nintendo entirely.

A couple of years passed, and as far as I knew, things were more or less as I'd left them, until I went over to a friend's place one night before we went out to a club. I was playing with his cat for a little bit, and he mentioned that her name was Aeris, which seemed like kind of an odd name... then he tells me it's from Final Fantasy VI.

"There's a Final Fantasy 7?!" I ask.

Long story short, that moment signified my return to console games, and the start of a bit of an obsession with the PS1, which for me, was basically everything that the N64 should've been, and never came within miles of offering. It really was the true successor to the SNES, and overall, I think it's still a better system than anything Nintendo's ever produced.

6th Gen - PlayStation 2: Shocking, right? This was the first (and only) console I've stood in line for overnight on launch day to buy, and it's been a constant companion ever since. Absolutely my favorite system of all time, thanks in large part to a ridiculously large number of great JRPGs, SRPGS, 2D fighters, bullet hell shooters, and everything in-between.

7th Gen - PlayStation 3: Continues the lineage nicely, with better build quality than the PS2 (and obscenely higher quality than the pre-Slim 360's), more or less than same DualShock controller that I'd used for years and loved, free online, no ads plastered all over the screen, region-free imports, user swappable hard drive, no gigantic power brick, and tons of awesome exclusives. My only real complaint is that they removed backwards compatibility for PS2 games, but all things considered, I love the thing.

[sin2beta]

3rd gen : SMS. Everyone had a Nintendo except me. I had the master system and because of that, I got to experience some games none of my other friends did. Phantasy Star, Golvellius, Miracle Warriors, Rocky, Ys, Basketball Nightmare, R-Type, etc.

I do have to say that Phantasy Star blew me away. I grew up on Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior for the NES. I played Phantasy Star years ago and it is AMAZING! It came out just 10 days after Final Fantasy and just seems to have SO much more.

Needless to say I am a huge fan... Odin is even my avatar pic!

[darko]

3rd Gen - NES - Christmas gift from my Grandparents when I was 4ish?
4th Gen - SNES - Bought this with "my own money" after a garage sale that was basically held for me so I could buy it
5th Gen - PS1 - First game I played was FF8...yes...I personally enjoy it more than 7. Also, Silent Hill!!! Was late to this one as I basically skipped a generation. BUT - I did have one before I got the PS2.
6th Gen - PS2 - Won my PS2 in a drawing and the rest was history. This is my second favorite system of all time.
7th Gen - 360 - A ton of my friends picked it up before I had made a console decision. I now own all 3 but I prefer the 360's controller over every other controller ever.

Handhelds:

Gameboy - Once again, a Christmas gift from my Grandparents. The GB and Mario Land were under the tree. I played the HELL out of Tetris and Mario Land that Christmas break. All of my friends got theirs at the same time so we would just hang out and play GB all day. My grade school was cool about bringing a GB to play with at recess so we all took them to school with us and played MK, MK2, etc together. It was awesome.

GBA - My favorite handheld system ever. Slightly better graphics than the SNES...but basically a Super Nintendo handheld I actually didn't own one until the Micro came out, but once again...Marry X-Mas to me got the Famicom LE from my Grandma (are you seeing a pattern here? It's become a tradition )

DS - Love the DS, but like the GBA games better.

PSP - loading times suck...but it has some great titles. I enjoy it from time to time. Also, the screen is AWESOME.

3DS - Meh. It's okay. My favorite games on the system are remakes of N64 games...

[scott]

3rd - NES -  I got my NES as an Easter present one year w/ Super Mario Bros./ Duck Hunt, 1942 and Cobra Triangle. Played the crap out of those games and eventually talked my folks into getting some more. It was good times. Castlevania III got so much play time, it was constantly on loan from my cousin. I think he even forgot that he owned it at one point.

4th - SNES - Christmas Present. Got it with Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, Aladdin and Congo's Caper. It cause me to neglect my NES in favor of the "cooler, better looking" SNES games. Eventually I'd get a Genesis, but the SNES was where it was at. Still have my original one. And I still load up Aladdin every so often and do a single sitting play through, love that game.

5th - Saturn > N64 > PS1 - Got a Saturn before any of the other ones and loved it. But eventually I realized that I had jumped on it late and no games were really available. Unfortunatly it was just around the time that I was able to start working. But, didn't have enough money either, so I couldn't hop on all the sweet closeout deals on games for it. eventually I bought N64 w/ my own money and played the crap out of that, and loved it. But the games were expensive so I didn't have a lot of them. Then I got the PS1 for Christmas and it turned me to Sony for the next generation thanks to games like FF7, 8, 9, Vandal Hearts 1 and 2, Resident Evil etc....

6th - PS2 - Bought it in 2001, near the end of Summer. Picked it up w/ Klonoa 2, The Bouncer, Tekken Tag and Dave Mirra's BMX 2. The PS2 was the 1st system I could afford to buy games for as I pleased and boy did I get some games. Loved everything about it. It all seemed super modern and awesome. The graphics were sweet (and a lot hold up well today) it had the PS1's controller still, but I HATED that I had to buy new controllers for Player 2. I ended up getting disc read errors on my original one and ended up replacing it. In the end I've bought 3 Fat PS2s after 2 failures. But still love the system. If it weren't for backward compatbility and upscaling on the PS3, I would still have the PS2 hooked up.

7th - Xbox 360 - I jumped ship on Gen 7, Sony had pissed me off w/ the need to replace my PS2 a 2nd time, or something. But also I had been playing online via my Xbox and Halo 2 a lot. When it came time to upgrade 2 factors caused me to got 360. 1) Online multiplayer w/ my friends (who all owned 360s) and Crackdown. I can honestly say that I bought my 360 because of that game, it was so fun. I didn't even care about a potential Halo release. Once I played Crackdown, I knew I needed a 360.

Handheld
I'll always be a Nintendo kid when it comes to portable games.

Game Boy - I'll always have a special place for the Game Boy. It helped me survive multiple road trips as a kid. Got mine along w/ my older brother for Christmas and we spent months playing Tetris against each other. I got a bunch of classics with it too. Metroid II, Super Mario Land, TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan and Alleyway. It was awesome. I still love the Game Boy, and though I rarely play the original one anymore. I do load up my Game Boy Light pretty regularly to get some games going. And w/ the Game Boy Light, I don't have to strain my eyes or have perfect lighting all the time (backlit ftw)

DS - I love the DS, I kinda missed the boat on the GBA. But I picked up a DS near launch and never looked back. The ability to play both DS and GBA games was great, but I remember being kinda sad that it wouldn't do GB games. Either way, my DS collection is always growing and I'm still finding games for it that I didn't know about. A lot of good stuff on this baby.

[mkarasch]

2nd- Commodore Vic-20.  More of a computer than a console, I know, but all I did was play games on it.  Text adventures would always get me totally engrossed!

3rd - NES -  My circle all had NES, I didn't even see an SMS until probably a year later.  I always thought it was neat that it CAME with that snail/maze game thing even when there wasn't a cart in there.  But yes, NES was amazing.  I can still remember events like being kinda bummed that SMB3 was out and how cool it looked, and my mom was like, "welp, let's go get it."  Best day evar.

4th - SNES - Probably my favorite of all time.  I'll echo what some other folk were saying.  It wasn't really about experimenting with new methods of gameplay, or new rendering engines, it was just like, here's what you've got, make a great game.  And mode7. 

5th - N64 - While I love many PS1 titles, it didn't get played as much or as long as the N64.  Super Mario 64 was amazing, Goldeneye was my "countless hours spent on multiplayer" title, etc.   

6th - DC - Since the title said favorite systems: Dreamcast.  The library doesn't do much for me, but playing power stone, soul calibur, and crazy taxi just seemed unreal how great the graphics were and how fluid and fast everything was.  The vmu was quirky, but charming, and wasn't really all that well implemented, but it was so cheap, it didn't really have to be. 

7th - I'm really split here, but I think the edge has to go to ps3.  I bought a 360 first because of a Fight Night 3 demo at best buy.  Sold me instantly.  I didn't even really want a PS3 that badly, but my wife wanted a blu-ray player.  I'm annoyed with the small hard drive I got with my first 360, and how ridiculous the price of larger branded hard drives was.  I still don't know why there isn't a single system that can make multiplayer/party/game joining work properly and easily.  I'm impressed by the hardware capabilities  of the PS3, and since I am buying a LOT more used games now, I'm very appreciative of the BD's resilience to scratches.  So yeah, I'm leaning in the PS3 direction...

Handheld
I've owned a bunch of handhelds, but to be honest, I never find myself gaming on a handheld.  I don't know why.  I guess the edge would go to the GBA?  Just because I liked it better than the original GB or GBC that I had, and the Game Gear, Lynx, and game.com I had don't really give it too much of a run for it's money.

[soera]

Hrmm what would you consider first gen? Ill start where you guys did

First-gen is Magnovox Odyssey, Pong, all the Pong-clones out there, and other early one-game dedicated consoles.

Ahhh figured that was it but wasnt sure. Those were all before my time anyhow.
Love most of the responses here. Insekt has almost exactly the same thoughts on every system I do. Im shocked,however, to see some systems not listed yet. Turbo Grafx/Duo I was certain at least one person may have picked. I havent seen a Gamecube or Wii either. I guess the top systems really have their spot.

[soera]

3rd gen : SMS. Everyone had a Nintendo except me. I had the master system and because of that, I got to experience some games none of my other friends did. Phantasy Star, Golvellius, Miracle Warriors, Rocky, Ys, Basketball Nightmare, R-Type, etc.

I do have to say that Phantasy Star blew me away. I grew up on Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior for the NES. I played Phantasy Star years ago and it is AMAZING! It came out just 10 days after Final Fantasy and just seems to have SO much more.

Needless to say I am a huge fan... Odin is even my avatar pic!

If Sega would have had a better following, I could have seen Phantasy Star being the main jrpg series instead of FF or DQ. The SMS and Genesis games were so good and so in depth compared to the NES/SNES games for the most part. Once PSO started ... ugh ... those arent even seriously playable. What the hell they did to the Phantasy star name makes me cringe.

[gecko101]

I wasn't around for all of them, but I will answer my favorites for each gen.

2nd: The Vectrex!
The thing is beautiful and it provides one of the most unique gaming experiences out there.

3rd. NES
I'm going with the NES here. Though I love the Master System, there are many more NES games a prefer for it.

4th. Sega Genesis
I love the genesis. There are so many great arcade games for it, its full of beat 'em ups, Shoot 'em ups, arcade games and unique platformers. It's an outstanding console.

5th.This may come as a surprise, but... The Sega Saturn.
This console gets a bad rap, but I think it's absolutely amazing. It has many great and unappreciated games and it''s a 2D powerhouse.

6th. The Nintendo Gamecube
This is another game console that isn't loved as much as others. I think it's great. It holds many amazing 1st party games as well as 3rd party.

7th. I haven't spent much time in this gen. so I will just say the Wii. I don't have any of the other consoles, so I don't know if I can judge that gen.
A reason for the Wii? It might be because it's just a GAME CONSOLE.

Ah, I forgot handhelds.
Game Boy Light.
I Always played GBC in the car at 6am and eventually I ran the car battery down because I used the lights in the car so much. So I searched online and found out there was a backlit GB instantly got one and I still use it to this day.

That's all for me.

 

[theflea]

1st: Odyssey
While I didn't own one til much later in life as a collector, This system really shows how far gaming has come. It's still gets a good laugh having people try and play it today.

2nd: Atari 2600
It was my 1st gaming system bought by my grandfather when i was really young. While I love my Vectrex, Colecovision, Intellivision and others. I still have a lot of love for my Atari. oh and I still have it today and it works great.

3rd: NES
with so many great games how can this not be anyone's favorite system of the 3rd gen.

4th: SNES
While I started out a huge Genesis fan, Then I got a SNES and fell in love with it's great games. And it made me a huge RPG fan. I still say the SNES is one of the best systems even to this day.

5th: Playstation
After becoming an RPG fan how can I not love this system. Also loved the birth of the Survival Horrors with Resident Evil & Silent Hill

6th: Playstation 2
While I played a ton of Xbox and Dreamcast, I still found most of the games I played where on the PS2.

7th: Xbox 360
Now I own PS3 and a Wii, and I use all 3. But overall I use my 360 the most. Mainly because most of my friends are on 360. also I find many games on the PS3 have more glitches then the Xbox. Look at Skyrim (yes the xbox is glitchy too) but the game can't even have the DLC because of it's glitch issues. My only complaint on the 360 is I had to replace it 5 times lol. and yet my original atari 2600 still works.
 
8th: Only time will tell
With all the rumors saying the Xbox and PS4 will not play offline and won't play used games. My favorite might be back to Nintendo's Wii U. If this happens I will not be buying the new consoles til they change this or they drop in price and I will only buy the games I know i will play a lot of.
And not just for collecting.

and now for fun the WORST of each generation. (that i've played)

1st: Pong Clones
While I don't mind collecting the Atari, Magnavox, Coleco & Nintendo Pong consoles. Its the hundreds of off brand Pong clones and gets crazy. And most don't even work today. lol

2nd: RCA Studio II
While every other system of its time was in color, RCA stayed in Black & White. The controllers where built into the console and the games where outdated. On top of that its one of the ugliest consoles ever.

3rd: Action Max
Its a video game console you hook up to your VCR and play VHS tapes. the games where all light gun games that only kept score (and bad at that) when you aimed the gun at a light in the video you wached and pulled the trigger.

4th: Memorex VIS
Originally I listed the CDi but I remembered this stain of a system, the Memorex VIS. How can it be worse then the CDi? well the system looked like a crappy DVD player, the wireless controller used infrared and if you didn't keep it pointed straight at the system you would lose the connection. and it's best game was Sherlock Homes. At least you get a laugh at the bad zelda/mario games on CDi, this system is just garbage.

5th: Casio Loopy
While there was a lot of bad consoles in this generation (Virtual Boy, Pippin, Playdia & 3DO) the Casio Loopy gets my vote as the worst. It was a gaming system aimed at girls. All the games where crappy fashion and dating games. but hey you can make your own stickers on it. (I wanna see a new system do this. lol) This system isn't even fun for it's target audience.

6th: N-Gage
its a phone, it's a game system, its a taco!! yes the crappy N-Gage was ugly and just plain bad. It's small screen didn't help it ether.

7th: HyperScan
This has to be the worst console ever made. Its ugly, it feels cheep. and the games are unplayable. Most all the games you need a full set of cards to even try to play them. and the loading time are worse then the NeoGeo CD.

8th: Any system that puts the online only and no used game feature.
Expect a third video game crash if this happens.
 

[soera]

I wouldnt mind doing a worst of

2nd gen : Commodore 64. While it seemed cool, the games were very bland and generic and horribly done even for the time and age. A guy I used to hang out with had one and we couldnt ever spend more than 20 minutes at a time playing cause it was just blah.

3rd gen : I would have to say the Atari 7200. It simply had no real value compared to the NES and SMS.

4th gen : Turbo Grafx. While not a horrible system, it wasnt common and the games werent that great and there was not much variety.

5th gen : Neo-Geo. Simply put, this was just too expensive for its time. (I wanted to name the N64 but at least it was obtainable)

6th gen : Dreamcast. Yuck. The most awkward base controller for any system ever and just blah games. Im sure everyone is going to say something like "Crazy Taxi was neato but even a game like that has boring replay after a few minutes"

7th gen : Xbox 360. I know a ton of people like it but I just dont. Its all about the rpgs and options and Xbox has hardly any of either. It doesnt even play previous Xbox games without having to buy an optional hard drive. Its all about Microsoft getting every stupid dollar they think they need.

8th gen : ?? Right now the WiiU is looking like a possible pass-over system but Ill agree with theflea in that if Microsoft and Sony end up going with DL only games, Xbox will probably get my vote again.

Handheld : N-Gage. Calling it a gimmick means that it has some value and use. This doesnt even have that. Its just junk.

Other : Virtual Boy. Sure it sounded like the wave of the future. But it turned out to be a headache and just uncomfortable. Red lines for hours does not make me happy.

[disgaeniac]

My Favs:

1st Favorite = Years (mis?)spent in ARCADES, then

ATARI (No, not the 2600 -but- the one before it w/ the paddle that came w/ Super-Breakout,

followed by the ATARI 2600, then

the APPLE ][e, followed by

the NES, next up was

the PS1, after that came

(Hand down), the PS2, and now - for this gen,

the PS3.

I guess that (by default - since it plays the vast DS Library, as well as what seems to be a promising & nicely growing Library of its own); that I'd have to, ATM, give my vote to the 3-DS-XL for Handhelds.

Yeah - I wasn't a constant & consistent gamer when I was in my teens & 20's, so I *MISSED* a few consoles (and maybe, even a whole gen or 2:)