Consoles you got at launch versus ones you waited and got later

[Warmsignal]

So here's a fun little collector's poll. Which consoles did you end up getting at (or near) the launch window, and which consoles did you wait a long time to finally pick up? This question is regarding pretty much any generation of console.

The current/outgoing gen I did get a Switch about 8 months after launch, but the PS4 I didn't get until 2017, and the XB1 I didn't get until 2020.... Really the only consoles I remember acquiring anywhere near when they were first released would be Switch, Dreamcast, and N64. Most of the other consoles I've gotten over the years were out at least a few years before I picked one up. I usually don't get new console fever when something releases. Like, I would never be one of those people lined up outside of a retail store at 4 AM trying to buy the new game console. That's way overboard. Even if it's a new console that I'm interested in, I can easily wait months if not a few years to grab one.

I'm sure everyone is doing cartwheels over the PS5, but a new PS or XB console is not even on my radar right now. It could be years before I consider it, it's just not a bid deal to me. I've got so many games and consoles as it is.

[tripredacus]

Never got a console at launch.

It seems possible that for me the closest was the Dreamcast, which I would guess would be maybe 3-4 months after it came out. I remember the game I bought with it was Elemental Gimmick Gear.

Similarly, I can only really guess on other times I got a console. I believe both the Saturn and PS2 I got about a year after they came out. The PS2 was the second US model. The Saturn had been a rental unit.

Nothing else was even close.

[kashell]

I never bought a console at launch.

[pdgordon]

I waited at walmart right after work for 37 hours for the ps3. I end up falling a sleep on the hiring machine spread eagle. To be woken up to free chicken and also the ps3. I was like 5th in line then went to gamestop to pick up 1 there same day. I also got the core version of the xbox 350 I think I was like 7th in line didn't really wait long like 20 hours at walmart.

[oldgamerz]

I never gotten a console at launch, but my family bought me one A PlayStation 1, and I never took it home so technically it was my dads and my sisters console, I only played on it when I visited my family. I think I got it in 1999, but can't be sure.

[burningdoom]

No way I'm paying $500 for a console. I've never bought one at launch.

[kamikazekeeg]

Hard for me to remember exactly, I got the PS2 maybe 6 to 8 months after launch as a birthday gift, and I might've bought the 360 around launch. 

One I specifically remember getting is the Wii at launch, sitting in the car with my buddy as it was pretty cold out, before having to stand outside the Walmart because people couldn't wait and started lining up, picking it up with Twilight Princess.  The next one I remember getting at launch since it was more recent was the Switch.  And now the Playstation 5 will be the latest.  I think I might've got the Wii U at launch or around it, but I don't remember exactly.

[aliensstudios]

All I ever got at launch was the Nintendo Switch. Honestly, it wasn't worth owning until Super Mario Odyssey came out. Lots of other systems like Wii, Wii U, 3DS, GameCube were gifts are purchases a year or less after launch.

[topspot123]

I get nearly every Nintendo system at or near launch (within 6 months) since SNES. Otherwise, I waited in line for PS2 launch, got PSP and Vita very early (within months), and that's about it.

Most others I've waited for some kind of price drop or well-priced bundle.  Having purchased systems both at launch and waiting, I have every intention of waiting for a while before getting next-gen.  Not only might I save on hardware costs, but there'll be a greater library of games to peruse.

[baileykun]

I got a switch at launch so I'd know I had one when Splatoon 2 came out. Got mine in my backwoods walmart without a fuss. Nintendo handhelds are usually high priority for me. I also had a launch day New 3ds. Otherwise, I tend to wait on consoles to price drop. They don't usually have a good launch library anyway. Now though it's hard to want consoles at all when PC is an option. I find myself getting most ps4 games on the switch or PC instead.

[undertakerprime]

Interesting question.
I’m usually not someone who will wait in line to pick up a console on launch day; it’s a waste of time.
The only one I did that with was the Dreamcast, but I happened to work at a Software Etc store at the time, so it was simpler than waiting in line with the regular customers.
So, here’s a list of when I got certain consoles (the ones I remember, at least)

Atari 2600 - bought for me by my parents maybe around ‘83
NES - got one probably in ‘88, after I played my friend’s.
Game Boy - got one for Christmas ‘89
Genesis - bought it from a high school classmate, sometime in late 1990
SNES - got one for Christmas ‘91 (but I secretly got it out and played it beforehand )
PS1 - honestly don’t remember when I got this one.
Saturn - bought from Toys R Us on deep discount shortly before it was discontinued
PS2 - got one shortly after Christmas 2000
Dreamcast - as mentioned, got it release day

Everything from original Xbox on, including PS3, X360, Wii, PS4, and Switch were bought long after release.

[bikingjahuty]

The only consoles I've ever bought at launch were the Wii, PS3, and Switch. I've got/bought several other consoles within a month or so of launch like the Dreamcast, PS2, and N64, but not actually on launch day.

[NickAwesome]

I got a switch at launch, only time I ever bought a console at launch, just because i had the money for it.  I have a ps5 preorder right now, but may cancel it- only thing i want to play at launch is demon's souls and I've already played though that game a million times. I love it, but I need a bit more than a remake of a game I love.

[pzeke]

I'm not the kind that likes buying consoles at launch; the closest I would say was the Nintendo DS Lite given I bought it sometime around the release of StarFox Command. The PS3 and PS4 are the longest I've waited to get a console, as I got he former sometime in 2013 and the latter quite recently on Black Friday.

[Cartagia]

The only console I have ever gotten at launch was the Switch. Being able to play BotW portably was a big deal for me, even though I didn't use it nearly as much as I thought I would.