If you could only keep ONE console, which would it be?

[Austin]

I can't keep just one system. There are too many good games across many different systems and eras. I'd need at least five that cover a variety of generations to be mildly comfortable.

[leods]

I guess I would get a Japanese PS2.

 

With Capcom collection, Namco collection, SNK collections, Atari Collection, Activision collection etc... I think I get the widest access to games from a console that doesn't rely on digital content. Also it has a bunch of more modern games that are also cool, even though I don't play those as much. Still GT3 is good to have, and Monster Hunter is definitely a plus too.

 

And to finish, it has awesome arcade sticks and pads. The PS2 is a monster of a console, and even if I was exclusively collecting for it, there would be always something new to get.

 

So yeah. PS2, because all of the great (and many not so great) arcade ports. My favorite genres are Fighting games and scrolling space shooters. The only thing I'd suffer terribly from, is a lack of good platformers. Yeah, I know, the PS2 has a couple, but I don't think they're that good at all.

 

Now include PS1 library in there too, cause it's compatible, and it's not that bad at all. I guess I could actually do just fine playing exclusively on a PS2 for the rest of my life. Specially on the Fighting Game side of things.

 

I love my PS2. Specially now that I just got my OSSC. I know it actually looks better on a CRT, but I just can't get a CRT. No space. So the OSSC is doing me marvels.

[Jim Pez]

Colecovision

[leods]

I'm not poking fun, I'm just curious: Colecovision is usually liked for the good arcade ports right? Why do some of you guys prefer playing on the Coleco instead of emulating through MAME? Is it more nostalgia, is it for the feel of the controls, and reduced latency, are the port better than the originals, or something else?

 

Or just the hassle of doing this whole mame thing, ilegal roms etc..?

[Austin]

I'm not poking fun, I'm just curious: Colecovision is usually liked for the good arcade ports right? Why do some of you guys prefer playing on the Coleco instead of emulating through MAME? Is it more nostalgia, is it for the feel of the controls, and reduced latency, are the port better than the originals, or something else?

 

It's one of the many same damn reasons anyone else plays on real hardware.

[sega_SHARK]

I'm not poking fun, I'm just curious: Colecovision is usually liked for the good arcade ports right? Why do some of you guys prefer playing on the Coleco instead of emulating through MAME? Is it more nostalgia, is it for the feel of the controls, and reduced latency, are the port better than the originals, or something else?

 

Or just the hassle of doing this whole mame thing, ilegal roms etc..?

 

Arcade ports from the 80's are usually easier than the actual arcade games. Emulating the game through MAME may be free, but many of the gameplay elements designed to take your quarter as fast as possible are still there. I'm not interested in investing the time it takes to get good at the arcade version, when I can get up to speed with a port in half the time.

[high voltage]

This

[Eltigro]

This one is more difficult than the "sell one console" thread. I can narrow it down, but not pick a "winner."

 

I've had my TurboGrafx-16 longer than any other system I own. I've had it since new... it's a "one owner" system. I obviously have a lot of attachment to it and it holds great sentimental value (and some pretty good monetary value, too, since I still have all the boxes and stuff...) So it is my first thought.

 

But then, I have a nice little top loader NES with a good selection of games. There seem to be more great games at better prices for it than any other system I own. So, fun-to-dollar ratio is outstanding. Also, I had an NES before my TG-16, so those games (if not the actual cartridges/system from my youth) still hold great nostalgic value. And I still have many more games that I'd like to get for it. So it is my second thought.

 

After that, I start thinking about the excellent points that other people have made (even if it is kind of cheating) about how some systems like the OG Xbox make excellent emulation machines and can play just about anything from an earlier machine. So that makes consider it because I could still have other systems.

 

I don't know.

 

It's almost like, "Pick your favorite child." lol There are some I could easily live without, but which ones could I not live without? (And yes, I know I could technically "live" without any of them... you know what I mean.)

[HoshiChiri]

I suppose if I had to, it'd be either the Genesis or the PS2 for the pure nostalgia factor.

 

But in reality, it would be neither, becuase I'd probably pull a shotgun on whoever came to take the others away and get myself tossed in jail. And I doubt they'd let me bring a game console with me!

[Bill Loguidice]

Not counting modern consoles and handhelds, in getting rid of 99% of my collection, on the vintage console side, I only kept a Vectrex and a PlayStation 3 (the one that's hardware backwards compatible with PS2 and PS1 games), although only a small fraction of what I actually had for them. In any case, I chose the Vectrex because that's really the only console that I feel can't be properly replicated in any other way, either via emulation or some type of FPGA emulation. That screen is its ace-in-the-hole. The PS3 was just because of its versatility and the fact that I wanted to keep a steering wheel rig that worked with it and a flight stick that worked with it.

 

Now of course I reserve the right to get FPGA implementations that cover multiple consoles, but I don't see any scenario where I'll ever get original consoles again (that are not the latest and greatest on the market).

[Nebulon]

I'm not poking fun, I'm just curious: Colecovision is usually liked for the good arcade ports right? Why do some of you guys prefer playing on the Coleco instead of emulating through MAME? Is it more nostalgia, is it for the feel of the controls, and reduced latency, are the port better than the originals, or something else?

 

Or just the hassle of doing this whole mame thing, ilegal roms etc..?

 

In my case, it's a combination of multiple skill levels (although some arcade machines have that too), muscle memory for the controls on the console, the steering wheel for Turbo, and that the ColecoVision games are a bit different than the arcade versions (kind of like playing a remix of a game).

[carlsson]

But in reality, it would be neither, becuase I'd probably pull a shotgun on whoever came to take the others away and get myself tossed in jail. And I doubt they'd let me bring a game console with me!

 

It seems you've got the most balls of everyone in this thread so far, stating you would draw arms rather than losing most of your collection.

[+chicgamer]

No question—my Sega Genesis. I love all my consoles, but my Genesis is really special to me.

[Oldschool80skid]

SNES - Street Fighter II ports + Final Fight ports

 

All of the other titles for me are just icing on a cake.

[BigO]

Atari 2600.

Or maybe 7800 since it plays 2600 games and I might some day get a hankerin' to play some of them there modern games.

[Tanooki]

 

It seems you've got the most balls of everyone in this thread so far, stating you would draw arms rather than losing most of your collection.

I liked that post. That's taking the angle that someone is coming to take it away, theft, of gaming consoles from your home. If that were how it went and it was not just a hypothetical wishing away I would do the same. We're tight as it is, if someone broke in here to deprive my of any property they'd be deprived of their life for the attempt.

[keepdreamin]

I can't keep just one system. There are too many good games across many different systems and eras. I'd need at least five that cover a variety of generations to be mildly comfortable.

 

I never understood the point of Desert Island threads, other than it seems like the OP is trying to make some imaginary thread creation quota. Almost like making a thread is forgotten homework coming due and you have to scribble something down on the school bus. It's OK not too make a thread if you don't have subject matter to discuss.

 

"If you could only keep one shoe on your feet, which foot..." Doesn't make any sense.

[juansolo]

I can't choose between the Dreamcast and the SNES. It'd have to be both.

[HoshiChiri]

 

I never understood the point of Desert Island threads, other than it seems like the OP is trying to make some imaginary thread creation quota. Almost like making a thread is forgotten homework coming due and you have to scribble something down on the school bus. It's OK not too make a thread if you don't have subject matter to discuss.

 

"If you could only keep one shoe on your feet, which foot..." Doesn't make any sense.

 

The point of the Desert Island thread is to see how people prioritize whatever thing is the topic of the thread. When you have to boil things down all the way, and see whatever solids are left at the bottom of the pot, what do you get? What's REALLY important? The common-ness of such threads takes away a bit, since it means a lot of people have a canned response ready to go & don't really think about it.

 

Plus, it can be fun to see who & how cheats the question. Still waiting to see who keeps a PC and emulates/pirates everything.

[famicommander]

One system's library? Saturn. I love its fighting games, I love its shooters, and it's the console I played the most as a kid.

 

One system including backwards compatibility and add-ons? Genesis with SEGA 32X, SEGA CD, and a Power Base. I know you can't use the Power Base with the 32X at the same time, but I'm willing to switch.

 

I think picking a console running emulators for older consoles is cheating the spirit of the question. Because otherwise you'd be nuts not to just get a modded Wii U or something. Hardware compatibility for Wii and Gamecube, emulation for most consoles between 2600 and Dreamcast. Or just a PC.

[VectorGamer]

 

I never understood the point of Desert Island threads, other than it seems like the OP is trying to make some imaginary thread creation quota.

 

Threads are a finite resource - we must practice conservation.

 

Every thread is sacred, every thread is great, if a thread is wasted, Allah gets irate.

[spacecadet]

It would probably come down to Dreamcast vs. PS2, which feels strange to say, because at the time I was totally in the Dreamcast camp and hated everything Sony was doing. But the PS2 does just have a *lot* of games it can play, including of course PS1 games.

 

But I do love me some Dreamcast. And even though its total library is pretty small, I have more games for it than any other console I own.

[djour]

My XBox 1. The backwards compatibility list for the 360 and OG XBox is growing, there are quite a few retro collection game sets available, and it even has pinball variants. Without technically cheating with emulators, I still get to play a large number of older games and new ones as well.

[BydoEmpire]

7800 - killer homebrews, decent native library and 2600 compatibility. It's pretty much the only console I play anymore anyways, with time evenly split between 7800 and 2600 titles. I think the better question is "if you could only keep one console's library" - that really makes you choose. If that's the case I'd be tempted to go Genesis, even though I sold mine years ago. Such a wide range of games.

[Lord Innit]

My Vectrex. You can't get more awesomer than the awesomeness of this awesome console. Also, when I got my current Vectrex, I vowed to never ever sell off my Vectrex ever again. Can't go without Vector Pilot either.