which computer or games machine represented the ultimate in 'gaming heaven'

[carmel_andrews]

Computers

 

Atari 400/800/Xl and XE series (incl. xegs)

Atari ST/E/TT/Falcon and compatibles

Commodore Pet/vic 20/c64 (incl. c64gs)/128, commodore 264 series and compatibles

Amiga hardware (commodore and non commodore versions)

Sinclair ZX range (spectrum and pre spectrum)

Amstrad CPC and CPC+

MSX/MTX/Spectravideo/Sega computers

Apple 8/16 bit (not Mac)

Apple Mac (pre intel)

TRS/Dragon series

PC (pre x64 processors)

Acorn (BBC and pre BBC 8bit)

Acorn Risc systems

Others (i.e tatung, research m/c’s, elan, Oric, camputers lynx, FM towns, Sharp etc etc)

 

Games Machines

 

Atari vcs/2600, 5200, 7800

Atari Lynx and Jaguar

Commodore Max/Ultimax, CD32/CDTV

Amstrad GX series

Nintendo NES and variants

Super Nintendo

N64

Gameboy/Colour and SGB

Sega MS/MS2

Sega MD/Genesis I&II and 32x and variants

Sega gamegear and nomad

Sega Saturn

Sony Playstation

NEC pc engine and variants and PC-FX

NEC turbo express

SNK neo geo and variants/ neo geo pocket

Bandai/apple pippin/power player and Bandai wonderswan

3DO and vairiants

Channel F/VES and variants

RCA Studio and Studio II

Magnavox/Philips odyssey/GX series

Philips CDI

Others

 

 

Like it says on the tin, which computer or games machine represented the ultimate in gaming heaven, not just in pushing the boundaries or limits of hardware development/design and technology but also pushed the boundaries or limits of games development, design, technology etc

 

I guess what I am looking for is an objective overview of the merits and otherwise of the popular and not so-popular computer/games machine hardware and the part that particular games machine or computer played in further developing hardware development, technology/design as well as games software development/technology/game types, genres and design etc

 

What I am not looking for is the old BORING argument of ‘My one’s bigger/better then your one’, lets leave that to the relevant dead or alive posts/threads that exist elsewhere on AA

[Seob]

Maybe a strange choice, but I would say the sony playstation. It was very long on the market so it has many games. You can see how games and graphics evolved, when compairing early titles next to late releases. And it has a nice selection of genres so there is a game for everyone.

[goldenegg]

Like it says on the tin, which computer or games machine represented the ultimate in gaming heaven, not just in pushing the boundaries or limits of hardware development/design and technology but also pushed the boundaries or limits of games development, design, technology etc

 

You could argue that the first (in most cases) system of each generation would fit the bill here. With each jump in hardware capability of resources available to developers, it opened up new opportunities for new types of games.

[godslabrat]

Interesting question, and I'd say the answer depends entirely on how you want to view the results.

 

*The SNES seemed like the biggest quantum leap at the time, though in hindsight it was really just the NES on steroids. Not a bad thing, but not the miracle machine it seemed to be at first. SNES games were the first to be even vaguely photo-realistic, were huge in comparison to earlier games, and were not bound by tile graphic limitations. They even used the internet before we really knew what the internet was.

 

*The SegaCD COULD have been the biggest quantum leap, had the CD been used for its proposed purpose of expanding existing (successful) genres like adventure and RPG games. Instead, the power was squandered on FMV games that no one really liked.

 

*The original Playstation was probably the biggest contender, having accomplished what the SegaCD failed to do. However, I'd suggest that maybe it did as much harm to the industry as it did good.

[BydoEmpire]

Commodore 64 - such a huge variety of games, so much ground-breaking stuff, so many genres represented. It was gaming heaven. That said, it's hard for me to deal with the load times on real hardware these days, but I'll still take the c64 library over pretty much anything else.

 

I would also consider a vote for the VGA/Soundblaster era of PC games (386/486) of the early- to mid-90s. PC gaming finally started to standardize, and there were tons of great games in almost every genre. There were probably more RPGs released every month in that era than in an entire year these days.

 

As for console gaming, even though it wasn't my favorite at the time, the original Playstation is pretty tough to beat due to sheer variety (if PS2 were an option I'd go with that due to backwards compatibility). The Sega Genesis would also be right up there given the quantity and quality of games in its library - you saw lots of top-notch computer game ports, great arcade titles, pretty much every genre done well...

Edited October 26, 2012 by BydoEmpire

[The Usotsuki]

Though I come from the Apple ][ world, I'm gonna second C64.

[Rex Dart]

Well a Core Duo PC is going to emulate pretty much the whole rest of your list, isn't it?

[Austin]

A pre-x64 PC could still do a lot. DOS games (without the issues with DOSbox), Windows games, and solid emulation of most platforms prior.

[+Gemintronic]

My dual Pentium II 450 machine with two Voodoo IIs and a striped RAID array running NT 4 was truly rad. Even back then it could run N64 emulators smoooth.

 

Rock Solid. Heart Touching.

[desiv]

I love my Amigas and Apple IIs, but I'll third the C64.

Something for everyone...

 

desiv

[high voltage]

no competition:

[shadow460]

Voodoo graphics/Glide API. 'Nuff said. Early on, the phrase "So fast it's kind of ridiculous" had some truth to it.

[Kid Chameleon]

I just don't see how anything out there can compete with the Super Nintendo, in terms of pound for pound best gaming platform of all time. Sound, Graphics and Gameplay. That thing released in August of 1991 in the USA, and it was an absolute Tour De Force powerhouse for a number of years. I can easily name 50 amazing SNES games, and I can't really do that with any other system. Many of the most amazing SNES games deserve to be ranked among the best games of all time, for any system.

 

Again, if we are judging by the time and place, and the price and the lineup of games, and everything relative to the time period that it existed, nothing can touch the SNES. It's not even close.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Kid Chameleon

[Andromeda Stardust]

The NES, by far. The NES was really the first tile-based system that could accurately emulate arcade games, and it also rescued the video game industry in America from the Atari crash. The NES was my first love as a child, even though my parents never got me one, and since getting my first NES in 2002, I have more NES games than any other system, and if I had to sell every other game system I owned and could only keep just one, it would have to be the NES.

 

That said, I also have in my collection (and the year I bought them)...

 

Atari VCS (2012)

NES (2002 - first home console)

SNES (2004)

Genesis (2011)

N64 (2003)

GC (2004)

Wii (2006 launch)

PS3 (2010)

Wii-U (preordered)

 

Lynx (1994 - dead)

GBC (1998 launch)

GBA (2004)

DS (2004 launch)

3DS (2011 launch)

[high voltage]

I just don't see how anything out there can compete with the Super Nintendo, in terms of pound for pound best gaming platform of all time. Sound, Graphics and Gameplay. That thing released in August of 1991 in the USA, and it was an absolute Tour De Force powerhouse for a number of years. I can easily name 50 amazing SNES games, and I can't really do that with any other system. Many of the most amazing SNES games deserve to be ranked among the best games of all time, for any system.

 

Again, if we are judging by the time and place, and the price and the lineup of games, and everything relative to the time period that it existed, nothing can touch the SNES. It's not even close.

 

 

 

Sega Megadrive perhaps.

 

Actually, loved the SNES, but Amiga I believe is in the same league, excellent games (most from UK), great sounds and graphics.

Edited October 31, 2012 by high voltage

[Arkhan]

The MSX2+ to me is a great gaming machine with cartridge and disk based games of all varieties.

 

I also like C64, but mostly for the RPGs. The action games are always a bit dodgy, especially the arcade ports.

 

So, my vote still goes MSX, as its got a wideeeeee variety of action/RPG/sports/driving/shooty games.

 

and then, Turbo Grafx-16 + CD. RPGs, action, rpgs.... in CD and card form.

 

glory.