Your favourite gaming platform of all time (all time!)

[Memory]

Out of all the consoles, handhelds and PC, what have you enjoyed playing on the most?

For me, it's the GameCube. It was the first console my family owned that I could afford my own games for. Before that we had a Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64, but whatever games we had were what my parents bought for us or we could find at the local video rental place.

With the GameCube, I was finally old enough and had my own agency to buy the games I wanted. So games like Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Resident Evil 4, PN03 and the Resident Evil remake all hold an extra special place for me.

My second choice is actually the Xbox One. It performed terribly, got a lot of bad press because of its abysmal announcement where Microsoft tried to advertise Everything You Hate™ as a feature, and it ended up a distant second to Sony's PS4. But the reason I like it so much is how it acts as an entertainment hub instead of just a games console. Not only can I play games and watch streaming services through the apps, but I can actually watch TV and listen to music through it too.

I did eventually end up buying a PS4 as well, but mostly because that's what my friends owned so if I wanted to play multiplayer Dark Souls and Bloodborne, I needed to have one.

[Starstorm_X1]

For me, I'd say my favorite gaming platforms are the N64 and Game Boy Advance! Probably because these are the two platforms I had the most games on, admittedly.

In the case of the N64, it really felt like a quantum leap from the SNES I was used to, admittedly. Sure, unlike the PS1, it didn't have as big of a game selection, and some genres (i.e. RPGs) are lacking on the system, but there's still quite a lot of cool stuff to be found.

As for the GBA, even though it was a handheld, it almost felt like the pinnacle of 2D gaming systems. There's a MASSIVE game selection for it, and while I only had a small sample of it, it's still quite interesting to see what could be done with it. (And the modding potential too...)

Honorable mention goes to the SNES, though I may have a slight bias since it was the first game console I ever played in my life. (And the fact that I have an interest in 90s media in general)

[Memory]

This is tough!

I have a special admiration for Wii/DS/3DS era Nintendo, but I have kind of lost the spark of actually playing them nowadays. It's a "you had to be there and live in the time to understand it" thing. It was so playful, so full of physical, tangible design. It made a user interface into a physical playground, and I always thought that was super cool. Like Microsoft Bob, or Melonking itself! I spent my life imagining life in and "lore" of those interfaces, as silly as it sounds. I loved filling my Mii Plaza with characters I invented. I loved the quirky randomness of Miis and the design language of including actual photos of real life objects alongside them, especially if combined with random generation for humor like Tomodachi Life. If the Mii Channel had a town building feature I would have spent the entire day in front of it. Actually, that was pretty much Tomodachi Life anyway.

Maybe it is just nostalgia because I was a kid at the time. It probably is just nostalgia.

[BritKnee]

For me it is a 3-way tie between Snes, PSX and Sega Saturn. The Snes and Sega saturn have specialities in 2 opposing genre's (RPG and Arcade respectively) and the PSX has in my opinion the best diversity so if I had to pick 3 consoles it would be these.

The best games to me are Tenchu and Metal gear solid for PSX, Terranigma and Zelda on SNES, Street fighter Alpha 2 and Exhumed on Saturn.

[Memory]

I have a special admiration for Wii/DS/3DS era Nintendo

I was really into the Wii/DS as well. Both systems worked really well for first-person shooters but were tragically underutilized. Golden Eye, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Red Steel 2 and The Conduit on Wii all showed how great the pointer could work, but there weren't many others. On DS we pretty much only had Metroid Prime Hunters. I actually thought the DS was kind of lame when it first came out, but I instantly changed my mind when I tried the MPH demo at a Toys R Us.

For me it is a 3-way tie between Snes, PSX and Sega Saturn.

Three systems that I never owned

I managed to catch up on the best games for SNES and PS1 years later through emulation, but I have never managed to get an emulator working for the Saturn.

[morrysillusion]

im surprised to say i didnt grow up with nintendo more when i was little (born 99) but rather playstation, and i just cant deny that the ps2 is my top gaming console of all time. i didnt have a nintendo console until the wii (but did have a DS lite- and id label that as the best handheld console for me tbh!) and spent soooo much time on the ps2. the array of video games through the years for that console still keeps me entirtained and even by the time it was "dying" i was still buying games for it even though they were supported on consoles like ps3 and xbox360 haha.

admittedly i have always been a playstation person and still frequently play ps3 and ps4- but ps2 sits at the top just for the library of games and the many more i have yet to play. i do feel like i fell out of consoles like wii after some time even if i loved them, but the ps2 i still easily go back to.

[debleb]

my nintendo 3DS still gets near daily use! i love 3DS a lot, it has tons of good games and the controls feel just right for me personally. i also actually really like the 3D gimmick.

[Cobra!]

My favourite platform is the Sega Dreamcast. If there a Dreamcast version of any game, even if it's not the best, I will always play that! I love almost everything about the console. The history, the UI, the controller, and especially the games. Only complaint is the controller only has 1 analog and 6 buttons. I guess it made sense at the time, but for certain games, it's not optimal.

The frustrating bit is the Dreamcast can actually take 2 analog inputs and 8 buttons. So it would have been trivial to make a controller like that.

My second favourite is probably PC CD/DVD. It's so convenient to play games on something I'm already using. Not a fan of how Steam and the likes are making it a digital only platform, though. I end up just getting a game on another system if it means I can get it physically. The few times nowadays where you get a new PC games feels fantastic. I got a copy of Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake on PC DVD recently.

My third favourite is probably a tie between Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, 3DO, and Jaguar. Just enjoy playing on them!

[Inkerlink]

I'd say my favourite console of all time would be the PlayStation, without hesitation.
It was the first game console I owned, I was gifted it for Christmas one year. My parents didn't let me have a game console for quite a while until I got the PSX. My friends all had SNES or N64 and I would regularly go over to their houses to play since I didn't have a console of my own, so when I got my PSX it was pure bliss!
The PSX started my love for RPG games, and also introduced me to my favourite game of all time: Final Fantasy IX.
Over time I think I went through 2 of them from the laser wearing out on them, my first one was an original grey model (not sure if it was the original with the analogue audio-out or not) and then after that got a PSOne (the little white one) as a replacement for it. I'm not sure what happened to that one, but at some point when I was older, I decided to start collecting for PS1 and bought a second hand grey and have collected a number of games since then. I'm mostly just collecting the games I liked instead of trying to collect every single title in the library, but I've since then procured myself a fairly decent collection of about 30 games or so.
I just love everything about that console, from the startup sound, to the wobbly 3D graphics, and the variety of games you can play. For Sony's first console, it was a fantastic system that is still a lot of fun to play even to this day.

This is tough!

I have a special admiration for Wii/DS/3DS era Nintendo, but I have kind of lost the spark of actually playing them nowadays. It's a "you had to be there and live in the time to understand it" thing. It was so playful, so full of physical, tangible design. It made a user interface into a physical playground, and I always thought that was super cool. Like Microsoft Bob, or Melonking itself! I spent my life imagining life in and "lore" of those interfaces, as silly as it sounds. I loved filling my Mii Plaza with characters I invented. I loved the quirky randomness of Miis and the design language of including actual photos of real life objects alongside them, especially if combined with random generation for humor like Tomodachi Life. If the Mii Channel had a town building feature I would have spent the entire day in front of it. Actually, that was pretty much Tomodachi Life anyway.

Maybe it is just nostalgia because I was a kid at the time. It probably is just nostalgia.

Yeah that really was a great era as well. My family had a Wii since they were really excited to try Wii Sports and all of the fitness games for it. You're totally right about it being a very 'physical' era of interacting with games. That being said I generally gravitated towards couch potato games but still... lots of fond memories with Metroid Prime Trilogy.

My favourite platform is the Sega Dreamcast. If there a Dreamcast version of any game, even if it's not the best, I will always play that! I love almost everything about the console. The history, the UI, the controller, and especially the games. Only complaint is the controller only has 1 analog and 6 buttons. I guess it made sense at the time, but for certain games, it's not optimal.

The frustrating bit is the Dreamcast can actually take 2 analog inputs and 8 buttons. So it would have been trivial to make a controller like that.

My second favourite is probably PC CD/DVD. It's so convenient to play games on something I'm already using. Not a fan of how Steam and the likes are making it a digital only platform, though. I end up just getting a game on another system if it means I can get it physically. The few times nowadays where you get a new PC games feels fantastic. I got a copy of Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake on PC DVD recently.

My third favourite is probably a tie between Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, 3DO, and Jaguar. Just enjoy playing on them!

The Dreamcast is also a fantastic system, it was actually the first game console I bought with my own money. I was really excited to play Sonic Adventure and it was basically the sole reason I bought the console. It also introduced me to a lot of other great games too like Soul Calibur, Soul Reaver, Railroad Tycoon and a bunch of others. I agree that the controller kind of sucked but the VMU features were really cool for the time.

[Cobra!]

I agree that the controller kind of sucked but the VMU features were really cool for the time.

Oh no, I'm not saying the controller sucks. I love it! It's very comfortable and I love the VMU feature! I just wish I had extra shoulder buttons and a second analog. The controller had room for them and the console can take those extra inputs no problem.

[Inkerlink]

Oh no, I'm not saying the controller sucks. I love it! It's very comfortable and I love the VMU feature! I just wish I had extra shoulder buttons and a second analog. The controller had room for them and the console can take those extra inputs no problem.

Ah okay, I'm sorry for misunderstanding then! I didn't know that it was capable of receiving extra inputs, admittedly I'm not super saavy when it comes to the technical side of the Dreamcast. We're there ever any third party or homebrew controllers made with those extra inputs? Although I'm guessing there wouldn't have been any releases that would have supported that outside of homebrew apps I assume?

[Cobra!]

Ah okay, I'm sorry for misunderstanding then! I didn't know that it was capable of receiving extra inputs, admittedly I'm not super saavy when it comes to the technical side of the Dreamcast. We're there ever any third party or homebrew controllers made with those extra inputs? Although I'm guessing there wouldn't have been any releases that would have supported that outside of homebrew apps I assume?

Yeah, I would guess so. I imagine in theory it would be possible to make a first person shooter that takes those extra inputs and make a controller that uses them, or even modding older games to take them, but I guess there's not a big enough market for that.

I'm actually looking into making a first person puzzle game for the console, maybe I should see about having a dual analog option...

[phexe]

it has to be my OLED Switch! I just have so many games on it both new and old and it really feels like my everything console. Being able to just super quickly throw on a game from my huge library and play for hours without fear of running out of charge is so nice. I also have friends around alot to play co-op games and its ease of passing controllers around and syncing your friends up makes it even more convenient.

Its missing alot obviously but its by far my most cosy console and thats what matters to me 

[BananaBoots]

I'd say either the Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo DS.

The Switch because it's handheld, has newer games on it. It's also handheld so it can be taken with me when I go out but also I can play it on my TV if I want. (I promise I'm not trying to sell it to you, I just really like all the main selling points)

But on the other hand I grew up on the DS. It's also handheld and has all my childhood faves. I personally prefer the DS Lite because I like that it folds, it's small and it's the one I grew up with but I tend to use my 2DS more. That's mostly because I have way more games on it and I hacked it lmao

[zanarkand]

my all time favorite will probably have to be the PS2 i think. i have such a strong emotional connection to it, that's how i played all my favorite JRPGs. i remember begging for it from my mom because kingdom hearts 2 was coming out. i remember spending hours on that thing. my other pick would be my first console of any kind which was a purple see-through game boy color that i played pokemon yellow on. i remember also having pokemon pinball which was awesome because it came with a RUMBLE PACK!!! i also loved the gameboy advance SP, i kinda want to get one but they're pricey on eBay.