Best gaming platform OF ALL TIME?

[Bvenged]

Believe it or not but I am tasked, by my lecturer, to research on what is the the most popular gaming platform of all time for the purpose of my degree.

I can't just Google it as I need two sources of research. Primary research is this thread, first hand results; and secondary research would be me looking at other peoples research and results.

So, I'd be grateful for you all to share your input on what you think is the most popular gaming platform of all time, with reason. I am looking for opinions more than facts and figures. In fact, the more you argue your opinions the stronger my results can be and the better I look! Remember: Just because it sold well does not mean it was "popular". I know many people who have bought a Wii but few actually prefer it as a regular-use gaming platform over their PC/X360/PS3's.

Once again I appreciate your input; and I'm fully aware of the implications here but I have confidence none of you will start spewing out derogatory insults at anyone you disagree with.

I'll start with my opinion.

Edit: Thanks for picking up my my error; it is now corrected. the terms of the question at hand were loose; it's the subject and content I am after.
[hr/]

I think the Playstation 1 is the best games console fo all time, It had longetivity and managed to sucessfully intergrate Compact Discs as a format unlike the CDi which was prone to long load times. It doubled up as a CD player and memory cars allowedfor you to take your saves over to a mates. It's slimline model was fantastic for moving around and it even offered a on-the-go battery and screen/case. Second to that would be the Xbox 360 for offering a vast community with fantastic services to-boot.

But PC stands as the best platform of all time for the majority of gaming. It offers the expert edge gamers who don't mind getting getting down and dirty with the nasty bits of computing. It is much ore versatile whereas gaming consoles are uniform and simpler; no frills.

 

[Qitz]

Prepare for smattering of "PC you nub!" posts.

Which I agree with. Would also help to call the thread something different and put a poll too if you really want a lot of data.

 

[TehCookie]

I'd say the PS2 since it has the best library of games. Unless you count emulating where PC would win. Still not having to fiddle with everything and only having to put in a disc and sit on your couch is nice.

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

"Greatest" and "Most popular" are two completely different things just so you know.

If you're going by "most popular," I'd say it's a toss up between the PS2 and the Wii.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

what is the the most popular gaming platform of all time
the greatest gaming platform of all time

Wait...those are two different things. I suspect you're supposed to be looking for "most popular", since "greatest" is very subjective, while popularity can actually be quantified in terms of (for instance) sales of the platform and its games. Conveniently enough, you can find a list of sales figures for consoles here [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles]. It looks like the winner is the Playstation 2, with a staggering 154 million units sold.

(And before the HURF DURF WIKIPEDIA crowd starts in, be sure to check out the sources at the bottom of the page for something authoritative to cite.)

Personal computers as a gaming platform are a little harder to find figures for, what with all the different models and manufacturers over the years, but I have a strong suspicion the Commodore 64 is up near the top of the list.

 

[Jamash]

I think you really need to define a 'PC' for this research to be effective, because objectively the PC is the most popular gaming platform by virtue of the fact it's existence as a gaming platform has spanned may console generations.

Perhaps you could divide PC into categories based on which version of Windows it ran (e.g 3.0, 95, 98, XP, Vista and 7) as this would also kind of divide it into hardware iterations more in line with the console generations.

Otherwise, in order to balance the figures you would have to group all the consoles by manufacture in order to stand against the PC, e.g. just count Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft etc.

From my own perspective, the vague category of PC is probably my favourite gaming platform, especially if I don the Nostalgia Goggles and count my Spectrums and Amiga as Personal Computers, although I also had a lot of easy, pure gaming fun from my PS2 and X-Box 360.

I probably spent the most money, both on games and replacement consoles, on the PS2, but in retrospect I enjoy the games and experience of my X-Box 360 more (because of favourites like Red Dead Redemption, GTAIV, Saints Row, Forza), although at a push I'd say the PC is my favourite platform overall (mainly because of the hours I've sunk into real epic games like Mount & Blade, Pirates!, Civilization, Command & Conquer, Dawn of War etc).

 

[DoPo]

Believe it or not but I am tasked, by my lecturer, to research on what is the the most popular gaming platform of all time for the purpose of my degree.

[...]

So, I'd be grateful for you all to share your input on what you think is the greatest gaming platform of all time, with reason.

Aren't the two things here different? Popular does not mean great and vice versa. Surely, Xbox 360 is more popular than Xbox, for example, and the Wii is more popular than PS1 simply because it came out later when more people were into gaming and it was targeted at a wider audience.

 

[WeAreStevo]

Psh. We ALL know that the Commodore 64 was the best gaming system ever!

In all seriousness, I think SNES was my all time favorite. It's hard to compare to modern day gaming, but when I compare the countless hours I sank into SNES as a kid compared to now, it just seemed more fun

 

[C F]

I'm torn between the PS2 and the 360. Because let's be honest: who didn't like the PS2? It had good performance capability and a wide selection of excellent games. But the 360 is designed pretty much from the ground up for accessible online gaming. It's so easy to hop into other people's parties, and it takes about 60 seconds to pop the disk in, join an in-game lobby with your pals, and start up matchmaking. I'll even vouch for the Wii if you want to take family fun into account. I know there's plenty of widespread appeal in that aspect, but as a gamer, I prefer the PS2 or 360.

The PC could definitely stand out as "the greatest" simply due to its modular, Frankenstein-ish potential, but I'm not sure it would be "the most popular". We're all bona-fide gamers here, so we're not adverse to souping up our PCs for optimal gaming performance, but I can think of a lot of people who would just rather have a console instead of making the effort.

 

[Akio91]

Anyone who says anything other than SNES or PS2 can be quietly ignored. No other gaming platform has had such crossover success and was still able to call itself a video game console instead of a Family Entertainment System, or whatever the 360's calling itself nowadays.

Before anyone mentions it, yes the PS2 had a DVD player, but Sony sold it to videogamers first and foremost! The SNES was just godlike as a console, and many of it's games hold up today.

 

[Roobarb]

Meh. The greatest gaming platform of all time was the much-loved Commodore Amiga. It beat any console hands down and humiliated even the most advanced PC spec of its day.

 

[GoaThief]

Which is the question being asked? The best would be Commodore Amiga (c64 runner up), whilst most popular would be sales - PS2 AFAIK.

Akio; it says platform. Not console. Plus, you're wrong. I would say the NES (Nintendo ENTERTAINMENT System) was far more influential on gaming overall than the Super Nintendo ENTERTAINMENT System (SNES). Don't you feel a bit silly with your unwarranted bias on show?

 

[GoaThief]

Oops, post of the double. Damn mobiles.

 

[Weaver]

It depends on the difference between what I think the best is and what the most popular is. The Nintendo DS sold 151.06 million units and the PS2 sold 154.4 million units. These are objective statistics, so numerically the PS2 wins.

The difficulty is what the PC throws into the loop. Over the course of history more PCs have easily been sold than PS2s, but what amount of them were used for gaming? The PC also has the benifit of persisting throughout history. It's always just been "the PC" even when we had nintento blowing up on the block.

 

[Carl The Manicorn]

Nintendo 64 or Sony Playstation 1.

They both had great first party games and they both had alright succsessors.

 

[Jazoni89]

Meh. The greatest gaming platform of all time was the much-loved Commodore Amiga. It beat any console hands down and humiliated even the most advanced PC spec of its day.

Yep, it had 16 bit architecture in 1985! Now that's some super high tech for it's time.

Speaking of High tech for it's time, my favourite console is...

I love absolutely everything about the Dreamcast. The controller, the look and feel of the console, all the way down to the awesome gameboy-like memory cards.

In it's short shelve life, it also played host to a small library of absolutely brilliant games. Ranging from all genres, from beat em up to epic adventure games. It really is a labour of love from Sega, and it's a shame that it went out like it did.

Being a Dreamcast owner feels special, and I don't get that with any other console.

 

[Wolfram23]

PC you nub!

... seriously.

That said, I'm going to assume we're talking about consoles, rather than a platform that is ever evolving, changing, and improving.

In that case, I'm going to go with... SNES. Seriously. Simple enough that developers had to worry about awesome gameplay and awesome stories. Which meant some of the best years of gaming of my life, although it probably helps I was very young, too.

 

[Manji187]

I'd say the X-1080 from 2020. What? You did say OF ALL TIME did you not...that includes the future. No...wait. The Holodeck from 2222 is also great....and 2424's "Matrix" is even better.

 

[GoaThief]

Yep, it had 16 bit architecture in 1985! Now that's some super high tech for it's time.

Indeed, not only that the Amiga CD32 was the first 32-bit console.

The demise of Commodore is a strange point too, if they had stayed in the market I think we'd have seen much more advanced multimedia computers than we currently do. More interesting and relevant than that, it makes for a fascinating case study of the effects of rampant piracy - many believe it caused the platform to fail commercially after software companies abandoned the platform in droves to move to PC/Mac (where piracy was far less common). That's a whole subject in itself though.

 

[Hashime]

How could it not be the computer? The first major home computer, the Commodore 64 was a huge gaming platform. Even now there are far more games available on the computer than all of the other current platforms combined.