have you ever hated a console?

[JayWI]

...I think the biggest issue was and is the load times they are ungodly long.

 

I agree with the load times. I really dislike all modern systems due to the games. The load times are enough to put me to sleep.

[doubleminor]

As a kid, I was a huge Nintendo fanboy and hated the Sega Genesis. The "Genesis does what Nintendon't" commercials would give me fits.

 

Once I was finally able to get my hands on a Genesis, the fits were all for naught. I think the end was playing Sonic the Hedgehog at a Service Merchandise store.

[Taskmaster99]

Had a 3DO back in the day......didnt get much love from me. Just couldnt bring myself to like it. That and my Neo Geo CDZ. It was supposed to be faster than the dreadful NGCD but not by much. I could pretty much turn it on and go make dinner waiting for the game to load. The 3DO is since long gone....but the CDZ is still with me just because its Neo Geo.

[+darryl1970]

The Intellivision simply because of Bill Plimpton's trash talking.

That's "George" Plimpton.I actually thought his trash talk was funny.Although i disagreed with his trashing the Great Atari 2600!

 

 

Ha! Shows how much I've picked up the book Paper Jaguar...

 

What memories!!! I HATED George Plimptom for that. I didn't even know who he was, but I thought he was such an arrogant jerk. HAHA!

[frogstar_robot]

 

The problem was, and maybe still is, the fact that home versions had the game rigged against them from the start. A home console had to be able to do many things; an arcade game could be geared to do just one, especially with unusual controls (steering wheels, guns, etc.). You could rarely expect a console that ran about $200.00 to truly match the most recent arcade machines that weighed hundreds of pounds and cost a few thousand. The simple fact was that arcade technology, especially from about 1978 through 1984, was evolving at a fantastic pace, while home consoles could not, except via chips in the cartridges, and this could not overcome the difference, just lessen it somewhat.

 

 

The arcade power curve started out way ahead of anything you could do at home but starting with 16-bit technologies at home the two curves started merging. Towards the end you had arcade cabs based around PC mainboards with maybe a special bespoke graphics card on board. I even remember walking past arcades in the early nineties that had little DOOM deathmatch LANs. They were really fighting to hang on then.

 

These days the only thing the remnant of the once mighty arcade industry has over home tech is sit down cabinets that can move and specialized controls. And motion sensing controls are even making inroads there.

[akator]

The problem was, and maybe still is, the fact that home versions had the game rigged against them from the start. A home console had to be able to do many things; an arcade game could be geared to do just one, especially with unusual controls (steering wheels, guns, etc.). You could rarely expect a console that ran about $200.00 to truly match the most recent arcade machines that weighed hundreds of pounds and cost a few thousand. The simple fact was that arcade technology, especially from about 1978 through 1984, was evolving at a fantastic pace, while home consoles could not, except via chips in the cartridges, and this could not overcome the difference, just lessen it somewhat.

 

 

The arcade power curve started out way ahead of anything you could do at home but starting with 16-bit technologies at home the two curves started merging. Towards the end you had arcade cabs based around PC mainboards with maybe a special bespoke graphics card on board. I even remember walking past arcades in the early nineties that had little DOOM deathmatch LANs. They were really fighting to hang on then.

 

These days the only thing the remnant of the once mighty arcade industry has over home tech is sit down cabinets that can move and specialized controls. And motion sensing controls are even making inroads there.

 

Around 2000-2001, I visited a place similar to Dave and Busters. They had several "VR cabinets" for playing a first person tank game as their "big thing" to make the arcade experience attractive and worth spending money on.

 

I paid close attention to the tech, and it turned out that the "VR experience" was a networked Mac game. It was fun to play with 8 people, but I was very disappointed that the best they could do was a game I had at home that they charged $5 for 15 minutes of play...

Edited May 14, 2010 by akator

[malducci]

Have you ever really hated a video game console really bad? i do. i hate my sega genisis. when i turn it on, i have the sudden urge to turn it of, unhook it, and chuck it in the closet. when i play it, it makes me want to do something else. i dont know why. oh well.

 

 

I think you need to clarify the context of "hate". Hate as in a specific console because it constantly lockup up, reset, or whatever; or hate in general for that system (what it stands for, what it is, etc)? I don't think I had any hate in either context for a system, that I recall.

[Classic Pac]

The NES simply because I could NEVER get one that worked for me.

[Lendorien]

Can't say I ever hated a game system... until I had to ride the bus for a summer after my car kicked the bucket. I got the idea to take my original Gameboy (a gift to me back in 92) with me to stave off boredom on the long ride. Keep in mind that this was in 2006. I did it for two days, playing Tetris and a few other games I owned. The looks I got and the eyestrain I suffered because of the terrible LCD screen, motion blur and dubious light on the bus convinced me to go out and buy a GBA SP by the end of the week. I have the original GB but now it sits on a shelf with all the other toys I have on display that I never play with any more.

 

I don't hate the original gameboy exactly. I just hate playing it. Unlike other retro consoles, it's the one system I cannot, CAN NOT stand playing.

 

To this day I still play Tetris on my GBA.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Lendorien

[wavelflack]

More than I few times, I felt a small flare of hatred erupt in the direction of the SMS design team. This is for their outstanding achievement of placing two indistinguishable buttons (one for pause, one for reset) about three inches apart.

 

Fond memories of the SMS days:

 

1. "Hmm...JJ's about dead, time to switch over to Champ"

 

*booooop* 'SEGA MASTER SYSTEM'

 

2. "But Mom, I'm on the last boss! Okay, fine. Hold on a second!"

 

*booooop* 'SEGA MASTER SYSTEM'

[Austin]

More than I few times, I felt a small flare of hatred erupt in the direction of the SMS design team. This is for their outstanding achievement of placing two indistinguishable buttons (one for pause, one for reset) about three inches apart.

 

Fond memories of the SMS days:

 

1. "Hmm...JJ's about dead, time to switch over to Champ"

 

*booooop* 'SEGA MASTER SYSTEM'

 

2. "But Mom, I'm on the last boss! Okay, fine. Hold on a second!"

 

*booooop* 'SEGA MASTER SYSTEM'

 

lol, likewise with the finicky NES on my side.. I can't even begin to count the amount of times I was far into a game like Battletoads, ending up resetting the system because I got up hastily and knocked the entertainment stand by accident. This would always shake the NES a slight bit, resetting the game in the process. Ugh. Never have had that problem with the other standard cart-based systems of the day.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Austin

[malducci]

I hated the NES because of what it represented. It represented a cultural shift from american consoles to Japanese. I was really too old to be enthralled by Super Mario Brothers. So the whole side scroller fascination was kind of lost on me. All I knew was the consoles I associated with the home gaming universe were being swept aside and the NES and SMS were taking their place. The NES much more than the SMS felt Japanese, and I mean Japanese in a 1970s Datsun sort of way. And I just didn't go for it. I didn't like the color palette or the cutesiness or the joypads that emphasized the left thumb over the right hand. And I resented the fact that the Generation Y was falling for this stuff hook line and sinker. Nintendo Power magazine, The Glove, the emphasis on "megabits" and all the stuff that really signified the switch between classic gaming and the modern era of disposable, sequelitis gaming.

 

So the NES to me was like rap/hip-hop in the music world, the dividing line on the generation gap.

 

It was the complete opposite for me. I hated US made *crap) games. Japanese knew how to make great games. US stuff was low grade, simplistic, poor art and graphics, poor sound, and felt souless. EU tried to somewhat copy that Japanese fell, but failed IMO for the most part. Almost everything before NES never interested me. Even before I had a NES. When I was younger, I'd rather go outside and play and such (even program on my home computer). When NES came around, that all changed (that and Japanese arcade games). The Japanese showed the world how to make "real" games, thanks to the NES.

Edited May 19, 2010 by malducci

[rpgfaker]

To me out of all the systems I've owned the Genesis had no games worth my time. By itself it's only save grace is it's controller can be used on a 2600.

[Tr3vor]

To me out of all the systems I've owned the Genesis had no games worth my time. By itself it's only save grace is it's controller can be used on a 2600.

 

The same for me, but now I can use my extra NES controller for the atari 2600 (its even better than the genesis controller!)

[4Ks]

By itself it's only save grace is it's controller can be used on a 2600.

 

 

The grammar police strike!

[BassGuitari]

I can't say I hate any console. I don't think there are even any that I actively dislike.

 

Although the Genesis, which might have been my favorite system growing up, is probably one of my least-favorite and least-played now.

 

Not that it's without its merits, but given the choice between SNES or Genesis (or TG16 if I had one), I go for the SNES...although I do have criticisms of both, mostly concerning sound: while the Genesis' sound is tinny and thin, the SNES's sound always sounds like it was played in a soundproofed cave, if that makes any sense...it's resonant and muffled at the same time.

 

As for controllers, I'm not wild about the Sega Master System joypad. Maybe it's just from being so used to the NES cross-shaped directional button, but that square-shaped d-pad is frustrating bordering on infuriating. The Atari Pro-Line and Colecovision/ADAM joysticks might be the most uncomfortable.

[yuppicide]

I hate pretty much anything Sega ever put out.

 

I hate sports games most of the time too.

[csgx1]

The NES simply because I could NEVER get one that worked for me.

 

 

Same here, until you change the pin connector.

 

The Sega Nomad...Mine is very finicky where any bump or shake will cause the game to freeze.

[DickNixonArisen]

I've never been a playstation guy and still don't want one, but... Colossus, tactics or some of the other FF's, Xenostuff, select fighters and shooters, SotN. Can't say I wouldn't play those.

[famicommander]

Only PSPgo, because it's a disgrace to the product line.

[+Charlie Cat]

Only PSPgo, because it's a disgrace to the product line.

 

 

Hi guys,

 

I have to disagree with the disgrace part for the PSP-Go. Its a very neat product that it's ahead of its time. The timing was off by 2 years in which I think the world would've been ready for it. Its still worth the price for collecting or playing. I'm starting to prefer downloadable contents and products, then buying CD's and paper players guides these days anyway.

 

 

Anthony....

[Austin]

Can't say I'm a fan of the all-download model, but I've said it before and I will say it again.. The PSP Go will be a killer platform when it's cracked (if it hasn't been done already).

[superdevil]

Even though I actively "hate" several consoles, I still feel like they're my children. I can't 100% despise them; they all have some sort of goofy charm about them.

 

Of the major classics, I seriously hate the Colecovision and INTV mainly for their controllers. I later grew to love the Coleco when I figured out that I could plug in a Genesis controller instead of those horribly stiff "joysticks", but during the 80's I hated it.

 

In fact, that whole mid-80's period is full of frustration for me. The 2600 played great still, but the graphics were horribly outdated. Here we had the 5200, the INTV, and the Colecovision with stunning graphics and wretched, unplayable controllers. Remember the AVGN video on the 5200 where he says "Well, if we can't play the games, I guess we can at least watch them" and he proceeds to sit back and watch the demo of Pole Position? That was me circa 1985. When the NES finally came on the scene with its no-bullshit D-Pad and two fire buttons, it was like the gaming Messiah had appeared to save the world from all the awful, unresponsive joysticks and unnecessary numeric keypads. I still shudder at the notion of controller overlays.

 

Of the more obscure early consoles, the Emerson Arcadia gets my ire for its (big surprise) shitty controllers. The APX M1000 I hate simply because I've had three of them so far and none of them have ever worked right.

 

Of the modern consoles, the Playstation and the N64 made me give up on gaming for years due to their shitty games. I hated the 3D movement, and to this day I find 95% of the games on the N64 and 90% of the games on the PS to be almost unplayable. The only reason I own those consoles now is for 2D side scrollers that probably could have appeared on the SNES or the Genesis.

 

I hate the two "video consoles" I own; the Action Max and the Viewmaster Interactive. Could you imagine being a kid on Christmas and really, really expecting an NES, only to open up your present and it's an Action Max?!?!?! I would have hated my parents for the rest of my life.

 

And as a whole, I hate computer gaming with a passion. PC gaming doesn't really interest me, but it's much better than it used to be. I'm talking about the absolute wastebaskets of gaming- the ZX Spectrum, Apple II, C64, Amstrad CPC, and the Atari 8-bits. See, when I was a kid I would spend the summers with my mother in France, and all my cousins had home computers instead of consoles. I would try to explain to them how backwards they were for playing monochromatic games. I tried to explain that the NES didn't require you to write a novel and wait 2 hours just to play the game- you pressed "Power" then hit "Start" and that was it. I would try to describe to them complex worlds of fantasy and myth a'la Super Mario Brothers, but they just didn't get it. I really felt sorry for Europeans when I was a kid. By the time I saw an Amiga in action, I thought it was a good step forward, but I had owned a Genesis for a couple of years and I wasn't impressed.

 

Of the current generation, I like several games on the 360 but the hardware is crap. Microsoft knows how to make a better console, but they just get a kick out of seeing people's systems kick the bucket.

 

I also hate the Zapit Gamewave, the Xavix Port, and the Mattel Hyperscan. How in the hell did these systems even see the light of day? Boggles the mind.

[R.Cade]

Yes... my Vectrex! I own two and both don't work for **it. One the screen flips out of control, the other the screen is off center and flicker is bad. I'm just about to throw in the towel and destroy both with a sledge hammer to put them out of their misery. I wouldn't want to sell them and then have another poor gamer go through the agony I've been going through. *sigh*

 

It takes a lot of work, but new cap kits and complete solder reflows will fix most problems like this with the Vectrex.

[akator]

Only PSPgo, because it's a disgrace to the product line.

 

Good point.

 

Even though I like the PSP in general, IMO it turned out to be a disappointing platform. When it was released, the PSP was pretty impressive. Sony's announcements of upcoming features promised a great future for the system. Sadly, Sony's attempts to fight homebrew diverted resources that should have been spent improving the system and delivering on promises. It would have made much more sense to bring homebrewers and small developers into the fold, using their talents to improve the system in an official capacity. Years ago Sony knew this in the 90s, as demonstrated by the relatively affordable Net Yarooze, but they seemed to have forgotten it since.

 

The second reason the PSP has been a disappointment is that it is now the posterchild for how "rampant piracy" hurts those poor, upstanding game developers. "Whah!" they say, "only 100,000 copies of our heavily promoted game were sold but there were 500,000 downloads from warez and torrents!" Everyone fails to mention that the game only sold 100K because it sucked and had low ratings from both critics and consumers... just the same as a sorry game would on any other system. Also not discussed... the game sucked so bad that only 500K were interested in it as a free download. Rather than address the real issues of slow game sales (global recession, lackluster content, overcrowded game market) they blame it all on piracy, scapegoating PSP owners as a bunch of lowlife maggots who steal everything, PSP owners who are raping and pillaging those poor game companies like Vikings in a monastery...