Hey everyone! So I came across a feature in the UK magazine Retro Gamer the other day. The feature was on the public's top twenty video game consoles. Although I'm only doing my top five gaming consoles, the article inspired me to think of my favourite consoles and why they're my favourite. So here they are everyone, my top five favourite video game consoles! It doesn't matter when they were released as long as the primary purpose for the machine was for gaming. So without further ado lets get on with it!
Number 5: Xbox (original)
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To kick the list off then we have the massive console which was produced by the leviathan company Microsoft. Due to the 360's success, most people tend to forget about Microsoft's first ever foray into console gaming. Which is a shame due to the console's expansive library of games! Not only were Microsoft churning out classics due to partnering with several developer companies but there were a range of third party companies doing just the same. Who can forget the stellar first person shooter gameplay of Halo, or watching your hero grow in strength and age in Fable? Or maybe it was choosing your first lightsaber in Knights of the Old Republic. There really were stand out games for the system, and there were even fantastic games which came out for multiple systems at the time such as the Timesplitters series, the various GTA games, Spider Man 2, Max Payne and so much more. We can also thank the Xbox and its Xbox Live service for taking online gaming into the main stream. It was handled fantastically and once a person played Halo 2 for the first time online with others there was no going back. You didn't even really need a memory card to save your whole library of games, as the console came installed with an enormous hard drive! I must of had at least 20 games for the system with multiple save files and the Xbox could handle it without a sweat. Yes, the console and its accessories might have been bulky, but to me this gave me a sense of power! No console felt as powerful as the Xbox at the time. It was even more powerful than the Nintendo wii, a next generation console. It took me a while to think of my number five favourite console but when I look back at what the Xbox did for modern gaming and the games which were available for the system, for me it has to be the console which takes the spot.
Number 4: Playstation
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Who could of predicted just how well Sony's first console did. It really did bring gaming into the mainstream and appealed to the masses. It also had a incredibly expansive library containing some classic games: Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Resident Evil and the Final Fantasy series all really became popular due to this boheimeth! It was also a system which seemed ahead of its time due to using CDs and having the ability of displaying FMV. The controller was and still is one of the best to play with in my opinion too. But of course any console is defined by the games which are available for it, and boy did the PlayStation have some games! They had stand-out games for almost every genre. Thanks to the PS1's powerful 3D rendering hardware, niche genres such as survival horror and stealth shooters even began to shine and make itself known to the average player. When I personally think of the Playstation I think of a time when gaming was beginning to grow up and was able to entice people who never fancied playing a video game before. It was the beginning of a time when talking about and playing video games were the cool thing to do.
Number 3: Nintendo 64
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If there was one console which had one of the smallest gaming libraries but one of the biggest impacts on the gaming scene, then it has to be the N64. It might of been a console which was knocked down into second place by the Playstation (a position Nintendo certainly weren't used to) in terms of units sold, but good lord, the games it had were some of the best games in the world and were only available on the N64. Many exclusive games the console had either pioneered a specific genre or were masterpieces of the genre. Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, Lylat Wars. Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart 64: all of these games either rewrote the book on how their specific genre should be played or were just damn fantastic. Even until this day, Ocarina of Time remains my very favourite video game of all time and Goldeneye remains my favourite FPS. And although some part of this may be due to nostalgia, the fact that I still play these games frequently and still get enjoyment out of them too must prove that there are something else to these classics. Even if you are not the biggest Ninty fan, you would still have to admit the influence this console had on 3D gaming was incredible. Again, it may not have a big library, but thanks to the meteoric efforts of Nintendo and Rare those were the only games you really needed for the system. In fact, I'm off to complete Goldeneye on 007 mode right now as I've never been able to complete it.
Number 2: Sega Mega Drive
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The silver trophy then goes to the first major 16-bit system on the list: the Sega Mega Drive also known as Genesis in the states. The Mega Drive proved that there was room for more than one console on the market and proved that the underdog was capable of winning. If that wasn't enough, Sega also managed to create my favourite fictional character, Sonic The Hedgehog. A load of games available on the system had a sort of 'edge' to them and seemed to appeal to the more older gamer. Sega's mascot character seemed to embody this feel as Sonic was all about his attitude and speed. I'm sure most people are aware of Sonic's games for the system; at this point I would love to know how you've managed to avoid them since they're literally available on practically every console and device! But the Mega Drive had a library of games available for the system, both exclusive and titles which were available on other consoles at the time which were fantastic to play. In my opinion a few of the Mega Drive's games beat their SNES rivals such as Streets of Rage compared to Final Fight, where I believe Streets of Rage is the clear winner. Other exclusive classics include gems such as Golden Axe, Toejam & Earl, Castle of Illusion, Outrun, Comix Zone and many more. Not to mention the Sonic The Hedgehog games which managed to topple the mighty plumber back in the 90's! The Mega Drive really is a system which did a lot for gaming and provided me with tons of memories and my favourite hedgehog! And for that reason it is my second favourite games system ever.
Number 1: Super Nintendo
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The majority of you might be thinking ' oh, the SNES at number 1 how original.' But for me there really is no other video game console which deserves the gold award. The amount of classic, ground-breaking games for the system just can't be ignored. Playing these games with the innovative controller also aided the player in feeling in complete control; who could of played the likes of Super Mario Kart and Street Fighter 2 without those shoulder buttons? Who can forget the legendary launch day line up too! What a game to launch with! Of course I'm referring to Super Mario World; still my very favourite Mario game to this day. The 2D platforming gameplay was flawless and the amount of secrets included within the game still beats many modern Mario titles today. Add that to the fact you get Yoshi too and you pretty much will be experiencing a pioneer of its genre and one you won't forget quickly. Mario maybe Ninty's mascot, but there were just a whole catalogue of legendary games for the system. Link to the Past crafted the pen-ultimate action RPG and really provided the series with the backstory and mythos of Hyrule; not to mention it created the framework which every Zelda game would follow for many years to come. Street Fighter, Turtles in Time, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario Kart, Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country; you name a genre and more than likely the SNES could provide a classic for that genre. The SNES was such a triumph it even managed to last throughout the 32 and 3D bit era thanks to the chips and hardware installed onto the console. For many, many gamers this console would be at the number one spot, hence why I had a little dig at myself for an unoriginal first place spot. But it really just goes to show the impact the SNES had on the gaming community. The Mega Drive maybe my second place console and did a good job at rivalling Nintendo, but for me there is quite a stretch between second and first place. I'm very confident that for as long as I play video games no console will come close to producing ground-breaking and genre-defining games as the Super Nintendo did. I still play on my original console to this day and still have as much fun with all the games available for it as I did when I first got my own SNES back in 1998. The games and the console, to me, are timeless and will forever be remembered in the history of gaming. It's for all of these reasons and its impact it still has on me until this day that the console remains my number 1 favourite.
So as mentioned previously, the book is all about the events which happened in the late 80's leading up to the mid to late 90's; the famous battle between gaming powerhouse Nintendo and the cool newcomer, Sega. It ultimately tells the tale in great detail from various key people involved in 'the war', not just employees/employers of Nintendo & Sega but people from various companies and backgrounds who were involved in this important piece of gaming history. However, most of the story, and yes that's how how the book is set up, part novel and part factual history book, takes the Sega perspective of events as the 'main character' (if you want to call it that)Tom Kalinske, who became president of Sega Of America during this key point.