This perfectly sums up the whole console war argument (people char shit)
With Christmas fast approaching, Twitter is awash with console Fanboys having their usual argument over which version of Call of Duty is better.
And it got me thinking, which is my favourite console of all time?
And with that, here is my list BASED ON THE TOP SELLING GAMES on that console (based on Wikipedia). It isn’t a fair list, as I do ignore the hidden gems, or indie devs, but you’d be suprised at how good a measure the top selling games are for measuring a consoles greatness.
I ignore PS4/XBO, and anything before the 8bit Generation as I have no real knowledge of that era. I am going to ignore Japan only games, and I am going to deduct points for lack of originality.
Number 10… Xbox 360
The only reason Xbox 360 is higher than PS3 is Alan Wake and that isn’t in the top 10 sold games.
The top selling games on the console are depressing list of shit. Halo 3… Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Gears of War 2, Halo Reach, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and Grand Theft Auto 4.
In the 360’s defense though, Kinect Adverntures (a WII rip off), Minecraft (a crap port in my eyes), and Gays of War at least mean some original(ish) games made it into the list.
I would bemoan the red ring of death, but to be fair, the console is lucky to make the top 10.
Number 9…PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 might actually have the best back catalogue of all the consoles. There is some BRILLIANT stuff out there for the PS2. It marked both, the rise and fall of Grand Theft Auto being a good/fun game. San Adreas, 3, and Vice City were brilliant. San Andreas will get most people’s vote for best GTA, but I will always have a soft spot for Vice City. San Andreas is the point where Rock Star started to take themselves too seriously. For me, Vice City was the peak., and San Andreas was the plateau.
Final Fantasy 10 is good too. It isn’t my favourite Final Fantasy (its my 8th favourite), but it is a great game.
Other than that? Well the top sellers on the PS2 were a clusterfuck of fucking sequels.
Gran Turismo 3, Gran Turismo 4, Tekken 5 and Final Fantasy 12 (not 10-2).
Oh, and Kingdom Hearts… I’ll be honest… I never played this… but it was kinda a big deal.
The PS2 was the last truly great console though, it is unfair to focus purely on the top sellers, but the consoles ahead of it…
Number 8… Nintendo Gameboy
Which one? Well, all of the original Gameboy, before we get to the Advance.
When you look at Tetris, Super Mario Land 1 and 2, Pokemon Yellow, Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening/Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons, and Pokemon Crystal, it is a pretty formidable list. If not a little bland
The build quality on the console was amazing, but it ATE batteries for fun, and without the extra power pack it was very expensive to run. I got through 2 sets of batteries playing Pokemon Red the other month!
Number 7… Sega Megadrive/Genesis
Right… So, this is a little low, and I might get crucified for this. I was old enough to remember this “console war”, but what this actually meant was, I had a Megadrive, and my best mate down the road had a SNES. There wasn’t really a war, most peoplcouldn’t afford 2 consoles, we didn’t demand both consoles from our parents, so whichever console we were lucky enough to have, was the “winner” of this console war
Now, there are some FUCKING Fantastic games in the Megadrive list. Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Aladdin, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat 2, Street Fighter 2, Altered Beast, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic 3.
That is a pretty impressive list. The are a few sequels, and 50% Sonic… Me, I prefer Mario, but you can’t disagree, the original Sonic series are still decent.
Number 6… Nintendo Gamecube
The Gamecube was almost perfect. It sadly didn’t really sell that well.
They tried to be different, and the few exclusives it got were pretty fantastic (like Resident Evil REBirth, Zero). It’s top selling games, were not all my cup of tea, but you can’t really argue against Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, Metroid Prime, Legend of Zelda Windwaker.
The other games in the list I couldn’t care less about… But Super Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart Double Dash!!, Mario Party 4 do a pretty good job of showing the console had a slight over reliance on Nintendo IP, and could possibly be why it sold so poorly.
I like Zelda, but at some point in your life you realise you’re playing the same game. Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart count double for this… And this might be the issue with Nintendo? You are guarenteed a Zelda Game. a Maro Kart, a Mario game, and a Smash Bros (plus others). For me, it is a little boring, they are good games, but I can’t be arsed with the same game again, and again every generation.
Number 5… The PC
Yeah I did that. The PC is fucking awesome. Screw your fanboy ways. What does the PC get? A decent version of Minecraft. World Of Warcraft. Half-Life 2, StarCraft, Half-Life, and Guild Wars, Granted, it also got The Sims 3, Diablo 3 and The Sims 2. But the PC, is/was/will be around. No “generation” bullshit, but you do have to put up with fucked up operating systems (Millennium Edition, Vista, and 8!)
Number 4… Nintendo
Oh god, the list suddenly gets hard.
I love the NES, It has some of my favourite Games, Mega Man 2, DuckTales, and Super Mario 3. It also had Super Mario Bros (with Duck Hunt)/SMB 2, the Legend of Zelda and Metroid.
At the same time, it has Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… Which, was fucking terrible. Zelda 2, which was pretty poor (VERY HARD).
Ultimetly. the console was solid, the games that came out were usually to a good standard, and my NES still works. How many Xbox360s will last 10 years? Never mind 30.
Number 3… Super Nintendo
Look at the top 10 selling SNES games.
Go…
Depending on how you count, this is a fucking BRILLIANT example of original IP, and what a console generation should be.
Super Mario World… It reinvented platforming. It took Super Mario 3, and improved on it every way. It took the Mega Man concept, and improved on it in every way.
Donkey Kong Country. This game is just WOW.
Super Mario Kart. This isn’t the best version (that’s coming up) but it started it all.
Street Fighter 2 (World Warrior and Turbo), i’m counting these as one game. This is original. If you’re unlucky enough to have played the original Street Fighter, or Street Fighter 2010 you will join me in ignoring their existence. Street Fighter 2 is still a solid, balanced beat-em-up, and still holds well against Tekken/Mortal Kombat and even Street Fighter 4.
Star Fox (Starwing), I wasn’t exactly fond of this game, and I wasn’t that fair in my review, but it tried to do something different. It was a great technical innovation, just not a great game.
Killer Instinct. This game, made Mortal Kombat look like Smash Bros in terms of violence.
Number 2… PlayStation
I’ll be honest. This is the one console war I sort of paid attention too. I mean it had Final Fantasy 7, Tekken 1-3, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid. It also had other great games, like Abe’s Odyssey, Silent Hill, Dino Crisis and Twisted Metal. But the one thing that lets the PS1 down, is the thing that makes my number 1 stand out.
I wanted this to be my favourite console. I really did, and in many ways it is: The collection of games is immense; it revolutionised gaming; it brought about the death of Sega; it is just awesome.
Number 1… Nintendo 64
IT HAD 4 CONTROL PORTS! I had fun on 360 with XBOXlive, but that will never top 4 mates sat in your house, playing GoldenEye or Mario Kart 64. Xbox 360 actually made it a deeply unpleasant experience playing on a single console as you all needed a login. And if you dared playing online as a 2 piece you’d get kicked in games like Left 4 Dead.
But let’s look at the top 10 games.
Super Mario 64. Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye, Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Bros, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong64, Majora’s Mask, and Lylatt Wars (Star Fox 64).
There isn’t a bad game among them. And the back catalogue, while not the biggest, is brillaint.
Overall
Thinking about it, the PS2 marked the end of consoles being particularly good, or innovative to me. I have avoided PS4/XBOXOne, as I am waiting to see what happens with them. So far, a HD remake of the Last of Us isn’t going to convince me…
As for my list? We’ll I really thought PS1 would come out on top. It is cerainly the console I have dedicated more of my life too. Consoles come and go, and one will always leave a bigger impression. The N64 however, it is my Brokeback Mountain…
How I feel about n64
I always go back to it, whether it is trying to get the Ho on No Mercy with Craig, trying to get the Train Cheat on GoldenEye with Claw, or just a good old Beerio Kart session, the multiplayer aspect of N64 is what ultimetly swung it for me. I could sit in a room alone, playing online listening to 12 year olds screaming noob, or I could sit in a room with good friends, and shout abuse at the “cock-sucking-ass-cunting-noobs” for camping the box of proximity mines, and we all know which of those is more fun.
The list of games on Xbox 360 and onwards is utterly depressing to me. You get a few original IPs per console, and then you get bombarded with that game. Gears of SNORE, as a prime example.
So, anyway? Agree with the list? Did I miss anything? (Ha, Jaguar…) Post a comment, I might even respond.
