So, what console DID get you excited?

[Casual Shinji]

PS2

I remember buying a games magazine that came with a video tape (yeah, I know), which had loads of PS2 footage on it. Not the least of which being Metal Gear Solid 2. And at the time it looked fucking groundbreaking. So that already had me hyped. But then later on I saw the first footage of Silent Hill 2 and I was utterly gobsmacked, and I couldn't wait to buy that big black monolith.

Plus, you could make it stand up vertically... How fucking cool was that!?

 

[Yopaz]

I was giddy as a schoolgirl when I bought my N64. My family's NES, SNES, and Genesis were gifts from relatives or friends for the whole family, but my N64 was mine! Sure, I bought it with birthday money, but dammit, it still counts! Still have the bastard, too. Works perfectly, though the analog sticks on the controllers(the original controllers I bought with it) are shot to hell. Not bad, to be quite honest, for stuff bought about twelve years ago.

Captcha: Live long + prosper. Indeed Captcha. Indeed.

Giddy as a schoolgirl... I love that sentence in combination with your avatar.

OT: I've had all Nintendo systems from NES to Wii U. The NES always was there so it was commonplace. I didn't know about the SNES until we got one, I loved the Nintendo 64 and I wanted one for so long, but the one to make the most excited was the GameCube. I was old enough to be an adept reader so for the first time I followed news prior to a release, I also had better access to information than prior to our Nintendo 64 through game magazines and the internet.

However I guess that what really made this the big one for me was that it was the very first time I paid for a console in full by myself. I remember being very excited when we were going to the city (2-3 hours away) and I was going to get to buy it. It was massively disappointing that I got sick that day and had to stay home. I was really looking forward to picking it off the shelf, picking the game (Super Smash Bros.) and paying for it. I still got the thing though and I have to say I loved it. That or the SNES is my favourite console.

 

[Feraswondervahnn]

My N64. I spent ages making sure I'd be able to get one on release day, then forgot to go and get it ha ha! I was devastated as hell when I realised. It's a shame... The poor thing packed up last year, so I removed the expansion pack and got a new one.

I remember desperately wanting a Gamecube, saving all my money, going to pick one up and our car broke down on the way into town. I was so upset it was unreal ha ha. Still have the Gamecube I got though and it still works fine.

I highly I'll ever feel that excitement for a console again though.

 

[AuronFtw]

None of the above, I am a proud and long time PC Master Race member.

This. I deviated from the fold long enough to pick up and enjoy a PS2, with its MASSIVE and impressive library of games (quite possibly the most massive list of "good" games any single console has ever had). Backwards compatibility with a large chunk of PS1 games let me pick up even more amazing titles that never got a PC port (like FFT and some early squaresoft RPGs).

Aside from that, nothing. The gen after ps2 just looked terrible - lack of backwards compatibility was a huge turnoff, insanely limited selection of games on ps3 + RROD on 360 + forced pay for online services + terrible motion control on wii just blew. PCs had better online play, had both kb/m + usb controllers as input options, better modding options (or modding options period, as most console releases lack them entirely), and a bigger library than the 360/ps3 gen.

The worst bit? It's looking like history is about to repeat itself with even less focus on "games" in the next generation of "video game consoles." I'm fully expecting anyone that identifies as a "gamer" will return to PC gaming for the best experience this gen.

 

[karma9308]

Ps2. Final fantasy X . Nuff said . The beautiful score at the begining ( To zanarkand ) , the graphics , the story . Truely the pinnacle of final fantasy .

I couldn't agree more! I was so excited to get a ps2 and wanted one every day. Then my cousin showed me FFX and how beautiful it looked and how awesome it was and I had to have it. (Twice in fact!)

 

[Olas]

The Wii definitely got me excited, it was this whole new thing nobody knew what to make of, that promised to totally change videogames. Being a Nintendo fan during the launch of the Wii was incredibly exciting. While it seemed Microsoft and Sony were just rehashing the same designs and concepts they had been using the previous gen, with nothing but bigger numbers attached, Nintendo was saying 'fuck it' to the graphics war and going in a radically different direction with technology never before used in a mainstream gaming device.

While I did get excited for the WiiU I knew it wasn't going to be big deal the Wii was, and it's hard to imagine Nintendo ever replicating that level of forward energy. Then again you should never doubt Nintendo.