jawa asks... what is your favourite TV gaming console?

Balladeer wrote:...Although my pants are from Love-Hotel-Era Nintendo Jawa.

Enjoy the contraptions, Balla!

You're very kind regarding my extension sir.

We're a day-and-a-half into the vote and, at this point, Nintendo is ruling the roost!

The GameCube and the N64 are out in front with eleven votes each, whilst the Switch has amassed nine votes (all Deluxe, though!). Just behind the leaders we have a triumvirate of classics in the PlayStation, PS2 and Xbox 360; with each gaining eight votes.

As you can see, the numbers are very close! Please feel free to pick your faves if you have yet to do so and - as ever - get the party started by writing words here as well :-).

jawa_ wrote:

Outrunner wrote:A lot of that resonates with me and honestly, if Dreamcast hadn't died, that would have been my main (maybe only) console of that generation. If Sega were still in the hardware business then chances are that would be my console of choice (obviously that a hard one to say for definite but I'm assuming that they would still be producing the same sort of titles that they had when they were producing consoles). I was forced to branch out by Sega's demise...

Yes, it sure was sad that Sega pulled out of hardware, Outrunner. I think that their downturn coincided with the mass-market expansion of gaming and the cost of being a manufacturer became too much. I was a Sega console fan from 1987 through 1993 and I still consider myself to be one rather than a Nintendo fanboy; even though I've played on Nintendo systems for many years since then!

Yeah, I think that market forces, underestimating how much 3D gaming was going to take off, the rivalry between Sega of America and Sega of Japan which led to the 32X and MegaCD, over pricing the Saturn, alienating shops in America were all things happening at the same time and the company just couldn't deal with the pressure. As a fan it was frustrating to watch. There was the briefest of times when I thought Dreamcast might turn things around, great looking, fun games, easy to program, but the PS2 shadow was just too big.

If I ever become a billionaire I'm going to buy Sega and make the Dreamcast 2 as my vanity project.

jawa_ wrote:

VlaSoul wrote:Went for the GC, Wii and PS4...

It's good to see the Wii being represented in the voting, VlaSoul! I picked up the system a bit later (2009) but thought it was tremendous. There *was* lots of shovelware and plenty of bad games but there were many gems, too. I liked using the Remote and Nunchuk combo as well - they felt so natural. A few years ago it felt like the Wii was always getting dissed but, in more recent times, more people are talking about it in positive ways. Nice pick!

I think I got one in 2008? idk I was young
I definitely got a lot of gooseberry fool for it from my peers at the time, since they had their xstation 420s and what not
The control scheme was great for the time and I would love an updated version, as when it worked it was such a unique and interesting way to play games made to use it. Give it a second thumb stick and it'd be perfect.

Retroactively I've seen a lot more people now appreciating the good parts of its library, even tho you have to wade through the shovelware first.

Mega Drive - after the 2600 it was my first console. I only got it at the start of the 32-bit era but I absolutely loved it nonetheless. I remember having six weeks of gastroenteritis over one Christmas and the Mega Drive basically got me through it

Dreamcast - this console bruh, this console! The first console I saved for and bought myself. Soul Calibur, HOTD, Crazy Taxi, MvC2, Virtua Tennis - I had so much fun with this console. Also an honourable mention for the hidden game of trying to find gaps in the Dreamkey browser's parental controls - somehow we found "www.itsmellslikefish.com" (yes, that really was the name of a porn website )

360 - I can't really say much about it other than it was a really good console! When I had all three of that generation it dominated my play time, and when my wife and I lived with my dad it was my only console. It was the first console that gave me seamless online play, on a par with what we'd had for years on the PC (better in some ways as it was simpler).

NES: Pretty sure my brother still has our old one somewhere. We were gifted it when I was 12 (if I remember correctly) by my uncle who didn't want to throw it away. Punch out, TMNT, Trog, mario brothers and a few other games were played constantly by me and my brother. It was the first console we owned. It was old, scuffed but yet still worked like a dream. It was great coming from school knowing that I had no homework so I could hole myself up and just play for a while.

Gamecube: I spent far too many hours playing our old beloved gamecube. Far far too many. I spent hours trying to get to level 100 in that well in Paper Mario TTYD, spent days trying to map every single island in Windwaker, rolled far too many eggs about in billy hatcher too. It was the first console we had where we could competitively play against each other so me and my brother played a lot of Timesplitters 2 as well. So much love for that purple box. I can't remember half of the other games we had except for Soul Calibur 2, which I only remember because of Yoshimitsu

Switch: we all know where I got our switch from (thanks again Denster you absolute legend! ) and I honestly adore it. Its allowed me to freely play multiplayer games with you guys in animal crossing and my mate who I love doing raids with in pokemon shield. The portability of it is great, my mate got me playing Arms in the middle of a shop once just because we could. The ease of it too, being able to just pop it into the port and have it on the TV is just epic.


I would have said the PS2, or 360, but my brother owned those and hardly ever let me touch them. When I did I didn't get to play much as my brother had and probably still has a habit of breaking controllers so I could only really play when he had a working one. Great consoles though!

jawa_ wrote:

RichardUK wrote:Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation

Another shout for the DC! I'm beginning to wonder if it's more popular now than it was at the time . It seems to be that the period from 1999 through 2004 were your golden years for gaming, Richard?

I really loved the Dreamcast at the time (I got it at the end of a weeks work experience at Woolworths) and then later the GameCube sort of became Dreamcast 1.5 and I voted for the original PlayStation just because it was such a massive leap at the time going from SNES and Mega Drive, I think that time period is also special because it was a time of playing games with friends, if I had a 4th vote it would have probably been the Game Boy Advance mainly for great memories of playing Advance Wars using the link up with friends

It's such a tough poll.

It should be something like a non-HDMI connection TV.

I'd probably go for Gamecube.

Followed up with DC and XBOX.

The Dreamcast was pure magic and I still tinker with emulators as well as having 2 in the loft.

Xbox too - stunning console. I got big into the modding scene which added another dimension.

Did you guys know that the console is Green and not Black? Very, very, very dark green which only becomes obvious when you dremel it or the like.

Mommy wrote:Did you guys know that the console is Green and not Black? Very, very, very dark green which only becomes obvious when you dremel it or the like.

This is like that fact about Guinness being red but much nerdier

I like it

OrangeRKN wrote:

Mommy wrote:Did you guys know that the console is Green and not Black? Very, very, very dark green which only becomes obvious when you dremel it or the like.

This is like that fact about Guinness being red but much nerdier

I like it

Never new the Guinness fact. That's cool

I was going to complain about the lack of Stadia options, because that isn't even in the list of things included that I can complain about, such as it not being a PC etc.

However, and even though I'm getting a new Stadia controller plus Chromecast dongle delivered just tomorrow morn due to what seems like a firesale (£20 for both!?), I shan't.

Despite all those words I said earlier.

But nah, it's the NES for me. It's a stone cold classic. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles edition, no less. And then, after Punch Out, there was Super Mario Bros 3.

You know what, there wouldn't be TV consoles at all without this machine. Console gaming was done, deceased, a dead parrot when it came out.

We'd all still be typing out stupid computer codes from a magazine, in order to play Horace Goes Skiing on a Spectrum, in our underpants, whilst our mums called us down for tea if it hadn't been for the NES.

Thus, my essay is finished.

N64 or 360. N64 for the memories or 360 for the volume of stellar games.

They were also the two consoles I had when I was at peak gaming habit - the N64 in secondary school and the 360 when I was student/young professional with all the spare time and money that came with it.

Outrunner wrote:...There was the briefest of times when I thought Dreamcast might turn things around, great looking, fun games, easy to program, but the PS2 shadow was just too big...

When the DC first arrived it seemed that it was gonna be a big hit but, as you say, Sony certainly got people thinking that they should wait for PS2. That year's head start wasn't quite enough for Sega to capitalise upon and many folk, after four-to-five years of experiencing PlayStation, were eager for more PlayStation.

VlaSoul wrote:...I definitely got a lot of gooseberry fool for (the Wii) from my peers at the time, since they had their xstation 420s and what not
The control scheme was great for the time and I would love an updated version, as when it worked it was such a unique and interesting way to play games made to use it. Give it a second thumb stick and it'd be perfect...

Yeah, the Remotes really did, I feel, get more people playing games. Regardless of how well systems like the PS4 and Switch have done since then in terms of sales, are families really all playing games together on them like they did on the Wii? I suspect that the core gaming market has grown to support those newer consoles but a big part of that bowling-and-fitness crowd has either moved on to mobile (a completely different experience) or stopped playing. For all of the interesting tech features in the Switch's joy-con, I'd venture that they're not a patch on the Wii Remote in terms of desire for that mass market crowd to use.

Dowbocop wrote:Mega Drive - after the 2600 it was my first console. I only got it at the start of the 32-bit era but I absolutely loved it nonetheless. I remember having six weeks of gastroenteritis over one Christmas and the Mega Drive basically got me through it ...

Wow, Dowbocop! Going from the 2600 to the Mega Drive must have felt like an incredible jump! The tummy troubles were worth it to experience that MD action .

Dowbocop wrote:...Dreamcast - this console bruh, this console! The first console I saved for and bought myself. Soul Calibur, HOTD, Crazy Taxi, MvC2, Virtua Tennis - I had so much fun with this console...

It's perhaps surprising how everyone who owned a DC waxes lyrical about the experience; but it just didn't get enough people playing on it. I recall Sega setting up plenty of in-store demo pods, too, so it's not as if folk didn't have the opportunity to see it in action. My local Blockbuster, Dixons and HMV all had units running games. Alas, the grip of PlsyStation (and I'm not cussing the PS as I loved it!) had really taken hold and most people stuck with it.

Dowbocop wrote:...360 - I can't really say much about it other than it was a really good console! When I had all three of that generation it dominated my play time...

The 360 was, looking back, so good. Barring those initial hardware issues, the features, performance and range of games was just terrific. Microsoft had done so well and yet they kinda left the system to drift in the final years, allowing Sony to step up and push the PS3 enough to make most folk think that it had beaten MS in that generation. Eventually, of course, it did in terms of sales but the 360 was the winner for the bulk of that generation... IMHO .

Tsunade wrote:NES: Pretty sure my brother still has our old one somewhere. We were gifted it when I was 12 (if I remember correctly) by my uncle who didn't want to throw it away. Punch out, TMNT, Trog, mario brothers and a few other games were played constantly by me and my brother. It was the first console we owned. It was old, scuffed but yet still worked like a dream. It was great coming from school knowing that I had no homework so I could hole myself up and just play for a while...

Great memories, Tsunade! Dang, that was great to have gotten the system from your uncle. As a kid, having your own console and range of games is such a cool thing.

Tsunade wrote:...Switch: we all know where I got our switch from (thanks again Denster you absolute legend! ) and I honestly adore it. Its allowed me to freely play multiplayer games with you guys in animal crossing and my mate who I love doing raids with in pokemon shield. The portability of it is great, my mate got me playing Arms in the middle of a shop once just because we could. The ease of it too, being able to just pop it into the port and have it on the TV is just epic...

Oh boy! I hadn't realised that Denster had got you a Switch! I recall that the guy had been amazingly generous on occasion but.. wow! I get your point about portable and TV play - it really is so good to have the two styles of play; and both are, indeed, ace.

Tsunade wrote:...I would have said the PS2, or 360, but my brother owned those and hardly ever let me touch them. When I did I didn't get to play much as my brother had and probably still has a habit of breaking controllers so I could only really play when he had a working one. Great consoles though!

Urk! Sounds like your brother could wreck a console or two .

RichardUK wrote:I really loved the Dreamcast at the time (I got it at the end of a weeks work experience at Woolworths)... I think that time period is also special because it was a time of playing games with friends, if I had a 4th vote it would have probably been the Game Boy Advance mainly for great memories of playing Advance Wars using the link up with friends

Yeah, playing with pals certainly does drive good memories of gaming, Richard. Rampaging through Advance Wars together must have been pretty neat.

Mommy wrote:It's such a tough poll...

It is, Mommy! Even with three selections it can be hard to choose.

Mommy wrote:...I'd probably go for Gamecube.

A lot of folk seem to be very fond of the Cube. Although it had a challenging time competing with the behemoth PS2 and the upstarter Xbox, it still delivered some great titles and those they had one really seemed to enjoy it.

Mommy wrote:...Xbox too... Did you guys know that the console is Green and not Black? Very, very, very dark green which only becomes obvious when you dremel it or the like.

Is it *really*?!? I hadn't known this... I will take a closer look the next time I dug the system out of the cupboard!

Abacus wrote:...I'm getting a new Stadia controller plus Chromecast dongle delivered just tomorrow morn due to what seems like a firesale (£20 for both!?)...

Twenty quid?!? That's an amazing deal!

Abacus wrote:...it's the NES for me. It's a stone cold classic. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles edition, no less. And then, after Punch Out, there was Super Mario Bros 3...

Ah! The NES, Abacus! I dallied in my thoughts between the Sega Master System and the NES for a while.. but with the MS launching first here in the UK, I went with that. The NES sure did have some good games and I think I would have loved it, but Sega did such a great job with their advertising. I recall TMNT and Mario Bros 3 getting lots of coverage in the gaming mags!

Abacus wrote:...You know what, there wouldn't be TV consoles at all without this machine. Console gaming was done, deceased, a dead parrot when it came out.

We'd all still be typing out stupid computer codes from a magazine, in order to play Horace Goes Skiing on a Spectrum, in our underpants, whilst our mums called us down for tea if it hadn't been for the NES...

Hmmn... I'm gonna say maybe, Abacus! Yeah, console gaming was struggling in the US and the NES did totally reinvigorate the gaming landscape out there... but in the UK the micro computer dominated the scene in the post-2600 years and then the MS and NES sat alongside the computers for a few more years, with the NES running second to the MS.

But... yes, you're totally right in terms of consoles and eventually they took over - by 1994 most gamers were on the newer consoles and the Amiga was the last (non-PC) system being used by the more hardcore computer buffs.

The early-to-mid 90s we're amazing for consoles with a number of systems vying for success; it almost resembled the micro computer scene of the early 80s. We had the MS, NES, MD, SNES, Mega CD and 32X, of course, but also the Jaguar, CDi, 3DO, PC Engine/Turbo Grafx, Amiga CD32... even the C64GS and Amstrad GX4000 as the micro computers tried to adapt! Then, of course, came the Saturn and the mighty PlayStation. The PS was such a big leap forwards in terms of raw power; polygons and CDs felt so futuristic at the time. Funnily enough, PS's 3D games can now often look more dated than MD/SNES titles; that's the price of breaking into new tech!

Skarjo wrote:N64 or 360. N64 for the memories or 360 for the volume of stellar games.

They were also the two consoles I had when I was at peak gaming habit - the N64 in secondary school and the 360 when I was student/young professional with all the spare time and money that came with it.

Two excellent systems, Skarjo! You make an interesting point about how life can impact our love of certain consoles; if we have the time to play on them, they drive good memories! I suspect that a lot of people look back on their first systems with a fond eye.

When my brother moved out of mums, she told me she had to filling about 20 holes in his bedroom walls. All made from getting mad at games and destroying the controllers. He went through about 10 360 ones and about 20 PS2 controllers too.

I liked my 3DO too. Interesting quirk with controller A plugging into the console, then controller B plugging into the out port. Standard 9 pin joystick interface as used on the Speccy. Loading time were a bit slow but a good version of SF2 Turbo was ported over.

Tsunade wrote:When my brother moved out of mums, she told me she had to filling about 20 holes in his bedroom walls. All made from getting mad at games and destroying the controllers. He went through about 10 360 ones and about 20 PS2 controllers too.

...crumbs! Videogaming rage!

Mommy wrote:I liked my 3DO too. Interesting quirk with controller A plugging into the console, then controller B plugging into the out port. Standard 9 pin joystick interface as used on the Speccy. Loading time were a bit slow but a good version of SF2 Turbo was ported over.

I *knew* I had to include 3DO as an option, Mommy . By most accounts, Road Rash, Need for Speed and Return Fire were dang awesome.

jawa_ wrote:

Tsunade wrote:When my brother moved out of mums, she told me she had to filling about 20 holes in his bedroom walls. All made from getting mad at games and destroying the controllers. He went through about 10 360 ones and about 20 PS2 controllers too.

...crumbs! Videogaming rage!

Mommy wrote:I liked my 3DO too. Interesting quirk with controller A plugging into the console, then controller B plugging into the out port of controller A. Standard 9 pin joystick interface as used on the Speccy. Loading time were a bit slow but a good version of SF2 Turbo was ported over.

I *knew* I had to include 3DO as an option, Mommy . By most accounts, Road Rash, Need for Speed and Return Fire were dang awesome.

To clarify.


Yes, Road rash was great and as good as the megadrive version. Captain Quazar wasn't too bad either but there were only 30 odd PAL releases.

That MGS2 trailer was a big nail in the Dreamcast coffin.

I loved my DC, definitely one of the machines that I really regret letting go of.