The most important console for gaming thus far....

[G-Boobie]

I was thinking about this the other day when I was organizing my games collection...

I have absolutely NO brand affiliation; brand loyalty is just about the dumbest thing to happen to our alleged 'culture' since the sitcom. With that said, I notice a hugely disproportionate amount of SNES and PS2 games in my collection, games that help define the modern videogame as an entity. Games like Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Rez, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, GTA San Andreas, etc. etc. etc.

Consoles are nothing without the software they enable. Some consoles, though, have taken on a state of grace all their own. What gamer doesn't have a soft spot for the Dreamcast, Saturn, or Xbox? Many important games have appeared on those consoles; Shenmue, Radiant Silvergun, Ninja Gaiden, Halo, etc. etc....

So my question is this: What console do you think has been the most important or influential so far? Why? What games help define said console? What console from the current crop of 'new gen' consoles do you think will be most important in the future?

G-Boobie, out.

[SkiDragon]

I will take the easy route and say the most important console was the Atari VCS. Being the first popular console, I wonder what would have happened if it never came out.

A year ago I would have said the Wii would be the most influential current console. Now I am not too sure, but it's still probably the strongest candidate. It's just that so many developers have the ability to make uninnovative games using the most innovative control system to come along in a long while.

[BHvrd]

I would say the NES cause that's when gaming really seemed to boom and pretty much hasn't stopped since. I can't think of a videogame system since that has had quite the impact that the NES did. To this day I have yet to meet a person that doesn't know/remember/hasn't played the game Duck Hunt.

The bases were very well covered with that system, there was a game for everybody. My sister was an Arkanoid freak, My bro loved Kung-fu, My dad liked Mario, My mom was into Othello, and I was into Metroid.

Never since has a system peaked so many interests at the same time. The system really had the bases covered for the whole family, and then some. It would be awesome if Nintendo could get the same kind of recognition from gamers and non-gamers alike with the Wii like the NES, but i'm just not sure if they can. So far they seem to be trying.

Yeah I would definetely say the NES cause it didn't just get the attention of gamers, but non-gamers as well.

[Maxx]

I second the NES. My mom liked Mario, Dad liked Duck Hunt and Zelda, and I was addicted to Final Fantasy. My parents were into Atari, so naturaly they loved games; simplistic games where the only goal was high score. Nes games were more complex and yet still simplistic. The goal was not so much score anymore, but finishing the adventure.

Today, games are so complex in controls/storyline/graphics they can't bring a family together. I remember my Mom tried to play Halo. 15 minutes into the game and she got so sick, she threw up for 3 hours. Good luck trying to get them to play anything again.

[BydoEmpire]

Hm, 2600 or NES - nothing else even comes close. On one hand, the VCS really put gaming into the mainstream and built the industry. It seems doubtful to me that its competitors could have done that (at least to such a degree). On the other hand, there *were* other systems out, so it's possible gaming could have taken off without it. The NES revived a basically dead industry. Without the NES, we'd all be playing computer games now.

I still have to go with the 2600, though, since it really built much of the industry in the first place.

[neogamer]

The NES!

It revitalized an industry that was completely wiped out and washed up.

Enough said!

[Nebagram]

2600 or NES, even though I'm not a huge fan of either. My vote'd probably be the NES.

[Mayhem]

Three most important consoles ever imo are 2600, NES and PS1...

[Dangerboy]

You'd have to look at it from each generation, no one console brought everything to the table.

Case in point:

1. Odyssey 1 by default - took the first baby step
2. Atari 2600 - Allowed the first 3rd party, first true home versions
3. NES - The console equivalent of a Phoenix Down
4. Turbo Grafx - First baby step into CD format
5. PlayStation - ZOMG <3...ahem...first true 'mainstream' gamer crowd*
6. Xbox - First time multimedia storage console taken seriously**
7. Wii - First time a long running standard was challeneged...and 'won'

I truly believe the Wii has been the biggest step in years, almost 11+ to be precise, where a world took notice and suddenly admitted that hey, this really isn't just for kids / hardcore people.

* - As much as I love the PSX, it has both ushered in a new breed of gamers, as well as started the alienation of the hardcore gamer. I think Microsoft is the only real company left attempting to grasp the hardcore by way of Achievements and all the rare down loads (Rez, Puzzle Fighter, etc).

** - By time table, techinically the CD-I and 3DO would have been first with the first attempts at movies on a CD (VCD?), however, their early death/instant death defeats the purpose of the post.

It'll be interesting to see what this thread looks like in another 15 years.

[KingCobra]

VCS for being the first to be wide spread.

SNES took 2D over the top to the masses, who doesen't know of the Super Nintendo System?

and the Dreamcast for the first true 3D level jump, it brought some of the first true near perfect arcade ports right into the living room.

Many systems and PC's were far more powerfull than these, but these were the ones than blew me away.

I don't know about these newer modern system yet, their all cool! But they all seem to be missing something? They got alot of power and sure have some nice features, I guess they're all missing that game that goes over the top that's not from last gen.

[smokehouse]

Three most important consoles ever imo are 2600, NES and PS1...

Nuff said.

2600- made home gaming popular and made “video game” a household name

NES- Came form the ashes of the completely destroyed US gaming market and made Nintendo more known that Mickey Mouse.

PS1- Made gaming transcend into the realm of “mainstream”. In other words, it mae gaming ok for the “normal” Joe’s to play.











The next one in my opinion…the Wii…only time will tell but in as I see it, it’s doing something NO console has ever done before.

Bringing video games to people who are not prone to or do not like traditional gaming.

I’ve heard many stories of older people who would never touch a video game playing Wii titles…this is the next level of gaming in my opinion.



As for some of the other consoles listed, they mostly made technological jumps…something that was bound to happen no matter what.

The 4 listed above have made major social changes…that’s far harder to attain. Some might not have been the best on the market but it had that “something” that made it special and the public picked up on it and it took off from there.

[KingCobra]

Nuff said.

2600- made home gaming popular and made “video game” a household name

NES- Came form the ashes of the completely destroyed US gaming market and made Nintendo more known that Mickey Mouse.

PS1- Made gaming transcend into the realm of “mainstream”. In other words, it mae gaming ok for the “normal” Joe’s to play.














The next one in my opinion…the Wii…only time will tell but in as I see it, it’s doing something NO console has ever done before.

Bringing video games to people who are not prone to or do not like traditional gaming.

I’ve heard many stories of older people who would never touch a video game playing Wii titles…this is the next level of gaming in my opinion.



As for some of the other consoles listed, they mostly made technological jumps…something that was bound to happen no matter what.

The 4 listed above have made major social changes…that’s far harder to attain. Some might not have been the best on the market but it had that “something” that made it special and the public picked up on it and it took off from there.

Good post! technological jumps force other gaming componies to step it up though, thus moving other consoles to the top, I'd say as long as gaming has been around now at this point, we'd really have to seperate it by two area's 2D and 3D. There's just been too many jump's at this point to call one or two consoles the "King"!

[7th lutz]

From each generation I have to say:

1.)Odyssey- default

2.)VCS-first popular video game system, 1st system to have 3rd parties, 1st system to have arcade ports

3.) Nes-revived the videogame home console market

4.) Tied between tg cd and Sega Genesis- Tg-cd was the first cd based system was an add-on. Sega Genesis proved there was a big market for Mature games. While Nintendo didn't accept Mature games in orginal form, Sega did. Sega allowed games with blood and fatilities on the Genesis like Mortal Kombat and the system started to make gamers think Sega's rivil Nintend was klddy. Sega Genesis also was partly responsible for having a ratings system.

5.) Playstation-first non cartidge system to be a major sucess. First Mainstream system

6.) X-box or dreamcast-While the dream cast was a niche system, it was the first game console to have older games from older games systems ready to be downloaded. First system to have on-line gaming. X-box was the first game console to have orginal games downloaded for an onlin service.

7.) Wii-different type of controls from other game consoles before this generation, brought the virtual game console idea from the Sega Dreamcast to a new level. The system is created a market that didn't exist before in videogames.

I have to the 2600 is the most important at this point. It the first of many things for gaming like creating the foundations for future genres and about everything with videogames at that point except for Cartridges and being the first 1st system released.

[UniHamachi]

The VCS, NES, and PSX are defintely the top three, but if I had to pick just one, I'd say the NES only because it was such a great product that it almost didn't make it to the US market specifically because the VCS was such a disaster that home console systems became radioactive. I would argue that the NES would have made it to market even without the VCS -- in fact, it may have had a harder time coming to the market because of the VCS. In a sense, the VCS is sort of like a species in the family tree that was an evolutionary dead end.

PSX is a very strong second -- before the PSX, videogames were a kid's endeavor -- the stereotype of a videogamer used to be a little snot nosed kid. Now it's of a slacker nerd who has no girlfriend. Somehow, it's still progress.

[suppafly]

Im NOT an atari lover, but I have to agree that the Atari 2600 is the most important console ever.

[diskoboy]

I vote Odyssey. Simply because it was the first.

2nd place - Fairchild Channel F for making systems programmable by simply changing a cartridge.

3rd place - The VCS for bringing video games to the mainstream.

4. NES for reviving the almost dead US market

5. TG16/PC Engine for introducing the CD-ROM as a viable storage medium.

6. Dreamcast for introducing online play as a standard feature.

[neogamer]

No offense, but the "question" was what is the most important console thus far! Why do we have people listing three consoles?

[neuropolitique]

The 2600 should be discounted straight off. It's sales were mostly to non-hardcore parental types.

Therefore, the most important console was the TG-16. It was really the first console to target the hardcore gamer.

[smokehouse]

No offense, but the "question" was what is the most important console thus far! Why do we have people listing three consoles?

Because you can’t separate the three big ones (2600, NES, PS1). Al three are equally important to the grand picture of gaming. How can you say what any of the three accomplished is larger than what others have done?

You can’t.

All three had major flaws but all three transcended being a simple “home game machine”.

[Trebuken]

The 2600 popularized video games, but the NES was a dramatic advance and it is the source from which most soubsequent games derived.

So I believe the NES wins.

Props for the TG-16 plug though...

[heybtbm]

I'm going to have to say Atari 2600. It was the first mainstream video game console in this country. NES was a bigger deal (looking back), but the 2600 was "first".

[8bitgamer]

Atari 2600. Just set up an Atari 2600 at a public place and watch the response. (I don't expect anyone to do this, but I've done this at a couple of book signings, and the response has been incredible. People's eyes light up light crazy, and they have an instant story to tell about their Atari when they were younger).

http://brettweisswords.blogspot.com/

[smokehouse]

Atari 2600. Just set up an Atari 2600 at a public place and watch the response. (I don't expect anyone to do this, but I've done this at a couple of book signings, and the response has been incredible. People's eyes light up light crazy, and they have an instant story to tell about their Atari when they were younger).

http://brettweisswords.blogspot.com/

The original NES toaster would have the same effect as well though…

[UniHamachi]

I'm going to take another crack at this.

Let's clarify what "important" means in the context of this thread. It doesn't mean first, it doesn't mean the one with the most nostalgia.

When I say "important", it means, which console, if taken out of history, would have the largest affect on gaming today? The VCS ended in a radioactive fireball that destroyed console gaming. If it didn't exist, we'd lose some memories, but it really has no direct bearing on gaming today.

The NES did two things: first, it recreated the console game market, and it can be argued that the VCS made it more difficult for Nintendo to break through, not easier. The second was that it brought Japan into console gaming. And that alone is worth anything the VCS accomplished.

As stated earlier, the NES is the console that all modern consoles spring from. If the NES never existed, modern gaming wod be on the PC. If the NES never existed, Sony would never have developed the Playstation and MS would never need to create the XBox.

[neogamer]

Because you can’t separate the three big ones (2600, NES, PS1). Al three are equally important to the grand picture of gaming. How can you say what any of the three accomplished is larger than what others have done?

You can’t.

All three had major flaws but all three transcended being a simple “home game machine”.

I think you can remove the PS1 from the list. Gaming would still have gone on without it.

The 2600 started gaming. The NES revitalized it. The PS1 just continued it, but it would of lived on without it....