Steam deck
I really want one. But I also want to save some money and get the second iteration
I have a nostalgic attachment to the Nintendo GameCube. It was the first console I bought with my own money and I spent possibly THOUSANDS of hours on that thing.
Really? I bought a Sony PlayStation in cash.
PlayStation 2. Some of the best games ever made, full compatibility with its predecessor which itself had an incredible library, AND easily hackable!
Shame about the controller, though.
Easily hackable? Might have to look into that in the future, so long as we aren’t talking hardware modifications.
Edit: looks like something I’d try in the future if I ever end up with a spare PS2 because I don’t trust myself not to brick my current PS2 somehow, despite the instructions I found being real easy to follow.
I don’t think there’s much risk of bricking the system, honestly. If you wanted, you could even get a FreeMcBoot card off eBay, and avoid having to do the setup on your own system at all. That’s the beauty of the mod - if you know someone who’s done it, they can very easily make another modded memory card for you!
My big problem with stuff like that is I know I could probably do it, but I’m worried I’d find the one way that bricks the system. Might look into seeing how much a pre-modified card, though, since I never thought about the whole thing of them being sold online.
Xbox Series X but it is the only console I ever had.
Steam Deck, for sure. I can play games from any other console.
PC
I grew up with a Wii and an Atari 2600, and my favorite console is, no surprise, probably the 2600. Both because I put wayyy too much time into it, and because it’s incredibly neat from a hardware perspective (seriously, that anyone actually managed to make functioning games on it is a miracle).
Nintendo Switch OLED.
In my opinion it’s the perfect console form factor. Portable yet dockable when needed, detachable Joycons that can turn into 2 controllers for multiplayer games and a bright and vibrant OLED screen.
it’s unfortunate that it’s severely locked down by Nintendo, held back by its weak processor and Nintendo dropped the ball with Joycon drift.
It’s a 3-way tie I think. Since the Steam Deck can emulate almost anything, that’s a winner. But for legacy consoles, the 3DS and PSP have probably eaten up most of my game time. Between those two, the 3DS has a massive catalogue of games unique to its dual-screen touch interface, so…I guess the 3DS?
Atari 2600. It’s the only console I ever owned and played. It was C-64/128, then nothing but PCs until today.
Wii U
Ooh, that’s a tough call… I really can’t say I have a single favorite, best I can do is say a favorite per generation:
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Pong - the one that started it all. Also taught everyone about screen burn in.
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Atari 2600 - Hands down, one of the all time greats.
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NES - Hard to beat Super Mario 3, but my favorite game of this generation was Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System.
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Sega Genesis - Sorry, the SNES never grabbed me, although Super Star Wars was a great game. Best home version of Street Fighter II was on the Turbo Grafx/Duo of all things.
- I’m going to add an “unofficial” generation here. You will never see this on any official list. Call it 4.5. There was a weird period of time where everyone and their cousin was doing a CD based machine. Sega CD, Turbo CD, Pioneer LaserActive, a whole bunch of crappy “set top boxes” like the Phillips CDi and Tandy Viz. The best of the bunch, with the most games and the best games was the Sega CD.
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Playstation - Another all time great.
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As much as I love the Dreamcast, it was murdered pre-maturely by Sega. Xbox and Halo just demolished everything else. I don’t know that we ever got an official “Halo Killer” until it suicided with Halo Infinite.
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Xbox 360 - Sony handicapped itself with the overly complex cell processor. Games just weren’t as good as the 360.
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PS4 - In this case, Microsoft handicapped itself by fundamentally misunderstanding why people buy consoles. It’s to play games, not “tv, tv, tv, tv, tv, sports, tv, tv, tv.”
- Another unofficial generation, call it 8.5, where you had the PS4 Pro, Xbox One S and Xbox One X - The One X was the clear winner with more power, 4K enhancements and a 4K Blu Ray player.
- Playstation 5 - Microsoft is losing the plot with Gamepass, to the detriment of the entire industry.
360? Guess you didn’t enjoy any red rings of death.
I was so late to the 360 game i got the last gen console they made. Fucker was slim and quiet and currently still going strong, but the disc tray occasionally misbehaves. God the fan on that first one though omg
That’s a hardware problem, not software, and fixable. PS3 had a similar issue:
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PlayStation 2 due to it’s game library.
Dreamcast.
I had a retro game emulator on a burnt disc and that was the most fun I’ve ever had.
Then I dated a crack enthusiast who stole it.
“crack enthusiast” is wild
She was.
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XB360 had a great controller, great library, and graphics that still hold up. What more do you need?