Top 5 Most Important Consoles .. Ever

Plies

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
I'd be interested to hear what people felt were the most important console's of all time.

Obviously this isn't meant to be a "what's the best console" thread, but is looking at which machines have been the most influential in developing gaming, bringing it to new markets etc.

My top 5 are ....

1 - Pong machines (and copies) released in 1975 - really the 1st TV games that most people played! Loads of people bought these as they were somehow before and separate from the "geeky" side of computer games that was to soon develop. The official units sold out straight away and people went on waiting lists for the machines!! Many people still have one of these (albeit copies such as the grandstand version) tucked
away in their attics! Only problem with it was that you couldn't change the games....

2 - Atari VCS 2600- released in 1977 - The first successful cartridge based machine which allowed the changing of games! Although Magnavox released the Odyssey in 1972 it was only to moderate success. The Atari became a runaway hit right from release! Saw off challenges from Intellevision and Colecovision to maintain it's position as top console specially in the US. Classic games such as Combat (contained multiple 2 player games such as the superb Tank), Breakout, Centipede, missile command, Asteroids, Pacman and of course Space Invaders were released for this system.

3 - NES/Famicom - Released in 1983 in Japan - Low price games console which instantly did well in Japan but couldn't get it released in the US due to the Video games crash of 1984. The crash came about through loads of rubbish 3rd party games coming out on the Atari. Shops couldn't shift them and lost loads of cash. Nintendo brought in the "seal of Quality" with the NES. Nintendo searched for a US distributor (even approaching Atari) and eventually found one in 1985. Got a trial release in New York in '85 and went on to revitalise the games industry! Sega and other companies jumped on the bandwagon with consoles but the NES must take the credit for the gaming revival.

4 - Sega Megadrive - released 1988 Japan - Computers (such as the Amiga and Atari ST) seemed to have the gaming market fairly well sewed up until this great console emerged! More powerful and cheaper than it's computer counterparts, it became an instant hit and brought gaming back to consoles in a big way! Sega's most successful console continued to be top of the popularity stakes until games such as Street Fighter 2 and Mario Kart on the later released SNES evened up the balance. Still this machine must get the initial credit for the revitalisation of console gaming after the 16 bit Computer boom.

5 - Sony Playstation - released in 1994 - This machine is pretty much responsible for bringing video games to the true mass market! Through brilliant marketing (and a lot of money!) from the electronics giant Sony the machine became the first console that people thought of as cool! They popped up in night clubs, had ads galore on TV and in print, had games such as wipeout (with tracks from House bands of the time Future Sound of London, chemical Brothers etc) and Tomb Raider (the first heroine based 3d adventure game). The machine blew the Sega Saturn out of the water (essentially setting up the demise of Sega as a hardware manufacturer) and couldn't be touched by the more powerful Nintendo 64.

So those are my top 5 most important console's. I've focused on machines that can be connected to the TV. Obviously if looking further a field the Nintendo Gameboy should well be included, but then again what do you leave out??

There are also machines such as the SNES, PC Engine (first 16 bit machine), Neo Geo, PS2, X-Box, Game Cube, N64, Master system, Gameboy Advance, Atari 7800, FM Towns Marty(first 32 bit console), Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast or even the Sony PSP.
 
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SNES put Nintendo in the big league.

PS1 brought a new format,cd and made gaming cool.

PS2 took this further with DVD

Xbox 360 made online gaming how we know it

Switch made Steam Deck possible
 
NES saved the industry

It also gave us game franchises that not only still exist today, but created a large number of genres that still are staples 40 years later.

If we are just talking "importance" the conversation begins and ends with the NES.
 
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Good list, would swap the Mega Drive with the Game Boy, though.
I agree. The GameBoy is far more important than the MegaDrive was. It made the concept of handheld gaming mass market compatible, it introduced Tetris to the mass market, it was the platform where Pokemon began and I firmly believe that Pokemon benefited from being on the GameBoy just as much as the GameBoy profited from Pokemon being on it.
 
1. NES
Took console gaming from being an amateurish mess to the mass market

2. PlayStation
Sony killed the "games are for kids" image and nailed every aspect of a console in their first attempt

3. PlayStation 2
Brought gaming to the living room as a multimedia device

4. Dreamcast
First console to come with a built-in modem bringing the online gaming revolution to the living room.

5. Switch
Will likely go down as the best selling console of all time, unlike Wii this was the real "revolution"
 
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SNES put Nintendo in the big league.

PS1 brought a new format,cd and made gaming cool.

PS2 took this further with DVD

Xbox 360 made online gaming how we know it

Switch made Steam Deck possible

Concur with most, the original Xbox deserves more credit than the 360 though.

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Pong consoles: There were too many too name but they were great and pong is a classic.


Atari 2600: Came before the NES and it revolutionized the gaming industry at launch. Alot of classic games on there and a great console to this day.


NES: Brought gaming back from the brink of death and made gaming mainstream in households.


PS1: The first console to bring gaming to discs on a mainstream level and the first challenger to nintendo in the gaming space since sega.


Xbox 360: Xbox Live revolutionized online gaming and brought online gaming to the mainstream on an impressive quality level as well as voice chat and an online gaming store that sold games.



This was a hard list to make because i feel like i left some consoles out that i shouldn't but u said only 5.
 
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some 8 and 16 bit computers i grew up with, that is still my first place :)

consoles, mmh let's see
Snes
PS1
Dreamcast
Xbox360
PSP
 
Unusual picks, seems very extreme or niche answers. What made the ps3 so important especially if you look at all what it could do it created todays gaming experience.
 
Hmmm

"Most important"

For me that would be:

1) NES (revived market…arguably without this we don't have consoles like we do today)

2) PlayStation 2 (imo the main reason the root of the modern console industy, adding DVD at the time was revolutionary and paved the way for further media integration like blu ray)

3) Game Boy (handheld market)

4) Nintendo DS (casual market and non traditional gamers, a sort of precursor to smartphone gaming, so many people who'd never think to touch a video game such as my mother who grew up in Uganda and couldn't care less about the medium prior to Brain Age)

5) Xbox 360 (specifically Xbox live… and everything that came with it that gen achievements, avatar, digital downloads, live arcade etc)
 
The Wii U should be on this list as an industry cautionary tale.
 
Atari 2600
NES
Sega Genesis
PS1
Switch

EDIT- I left Xbox out because, in hindsight, they didn't quite cut it.
 
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1. Atari - one of the first living room consoles for consumers
2. NES - made gaming consoles mainstream
3. PS1 - the start of discs over cartridges
4. N64 - I'd argue that the N64 was the console that really brought 4 person multiplayer gaming to home consoles. Goldeneye, Smash Bros, and Mario Kart were unparalleled at the time. It still surprises me that the PS2 released with only 2 controller ports when the N64 had already gone up to 4.
5. Xbox - Whether you like MS/Xbox or not, xbox did the impossible and successfully released a competitive, pc-esque (built-in hard drive) gaming system amongst the established heavyweights nintendo and playstation, and introduced online gaming to consoles (xbox live).
6. Xbox 360 - The console king of online matchmaking.
 
You need x360 in there - it basically ushered in the era of consoles as locked down PC.
And normalized requiring subs for basic online features (something even ps would copy with the ps4 and nintendo with the switch)

Not to mention things like achievements and cross-game chat
 
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Magnavox Odyssey - First commercial console.
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Atari 2600 - First standardized console with independent cartridges and joysticks.
atari2600_n2t9.jpeg


Neo Geo AES - The first home arcade console system.
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Sega Dreamcast - First commercial console with online multiplayer.
dreamcast.jpg


PlayStation 2 - First mainstream multimedia console.
now-where-are-those-widescreen-ps2-games-v0-bfg1vur1xi6a1.jpg
 
NES
Unquestionably the moment when consoles stepped up from being a throwaway fad to a staple of home entertainment. The much lesser relevance of the NES in markets other than Japan and US in its time doesn't really matter. The influence of the NES is pivotal beyond its actual fortunes in the 80s. Just think about all the Famiclones. Also, game design in general owns a lot to NES games, as they were the bridge between typical coin-munching arcades and the more complex, but less action-y, typical home computer games of the era.

GAME BOY
Skimming through the EGM archives, it's curious to rediscover how much of a novelty portable consoles with interchangeable games were at the end of the 80s. And the Game Boy was far from a certain success out of the gate. 35 years later, on-the-go gaming on a variety of systems is a huge part of the gaming market, and Nintendo's handheld systems are the undisputed kings of this segment.

PLAYSTATION
The true heir to the NES. It expanded the home video games market to something very close to what it is today. Its influence, differently from that of the NES, was truly worldwide. It made gaming truly mainstream. It did away with the stereotype that video games are only for kids and nerds. It allowed for some wild experimentation, and for the advancement of previously existing game genres. It's debatable how much PS1 games influenced game design and keep doing so to this day, but in commercial terms, the PS1 may be the most important console ever.

XBOX/XBOX 360
These two systems were key in bridging the gap between consoles and PCs, both on the technical level and in making consoles a true home for western developers instead than a mere afterthought. Xbox also spearheaded the online revolution on consoles, and opened the door to indies before and better than anyone else.

NINTENDO DS
It kept games simple in an age when home console gaming was getting increasingly complex and time-consuming. It also popularized the touchscreen interface, opening the floodgates to modern mobile gaming. Plus, it was pretty much the last dedicated gaming system that could handily be used for educational purposes. The DS is testament to the idea that you don't need the latest tech, the highest production values, and a ton of bloat to make games that people want to play.



I wouldn't consider PS2 that important beyond its sheer numbers: most of PS2's great classics were still based on conventions and gameplay from the PS1 generation, and its usefulness as a media box was limited. Sure, it consolidated and assured Sony's continuing relevance to this day, but as far as pure gaming goes, it was far from revolutionary or influential.
Anything before the NES may have been huge in America for a while, but so much of it crashed and burned in 1983 and never really resurfaced.
 
Nintendo DS is the first console I can remember girls being into and the first time I saw older adults playing games on the train.

Nintendogs and Brain Age 1&2 were among the best selling games and the popularity of Animal Crossing exploded for the first time.
 
Atari 2600
Gameboy
NES
PS1
XBOX

I believe every console listed here had an impact. PS1 and OG Xbox in particular shook the status quo and introduced a new player in the field.
 
NES saved the industry

It also gave us game franchises that not only still exist today, but created a large number of genres that still are staples 40 years later.

If we are just talking "importance" the conversation begins and ends with the NES.

Now this I don't agree with, because the industry wasn't in danger from the crash. The Crash was mainly an American phenomenon; Europe and Japan barely felt it and arcades in those territories (along with microcomputers, especially in Europe) kept chugging along as normal. The Famicom/NES did help expand the gaming market in those regions, but they weren't in a desolate state of being near-dead gaming markets the way America was.

Also if speaking in matters of importance, the home console market of the '80s wasn't even the only space with significant contributions to gaming. The arcades had the first real implementation of force feedback and immersive experiences with things like SEGA's Super Scalar boards, and CRPGs that'd go on to influence devs around the world like Ultima & Wizardry were established around the same time.

I think it's a bit reductive to say matter of importance begins and ends with the NES, even if it did contribute a lot to what we know as the traditional console business model, still in effect today.

I agree. The GameBoy is far more important than the MegaDrive was. It made the concept of handheld gaming mass market compatible, it introduced Tetris to the mass market, it was the platform where Pokemon began and I firmly believe that Pokemon benefited from being on the GameBoy just as much as the GameBoy profited from Pokemon being on it.

In terms of gaming platforms I would agree. But the OP specifically said "consoles" and I personally designate difference between home consoles and handhelds/portables. Maybe they meant "console" in terms of gaming systems, but I guess that's just now how I can interpret it.

But yeah, in terms of gaming platforms, much as I love the MegaDrive, the Gameboy is easily a more important system, historically speaking.
 
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In terms of gaming platforms I would agree. But the OP specifically said "consoles" and I personally designate difference between home consoles and handhelds/portables. Maybe they meant "console" in terms of gaming systems, but I guess that's just now how I can interpret it.
Well, then we would argue personal semantics, I guess. Handhelds are consoles to me.
 
Now this I don't agree with, because the industry wasn't in danger from the crash. The Crash was mainly an American phenomenon; Europe and Japan barely felt it
They barely felt it, because prior to the NES, the home console industry was basically just NA. NES saved the home console gaming and made it a worldwide phenomenon.

You cannot overestimate the impact the NES had on the home console industry
 
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