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If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 1:19 pm
by Alex79
If you could only pick one console and it's entire back catalogue of games to play for the rest of your life, what would you go for?

Personally, I think it's a tie up between the SNES and the PS4.

I loved the SNES so much, and most of my fondest gaming memories from my mid to late teens were on the SNES and it has so many great games. On the other hand, the PS4 has all my modern favorites and some incredible worlds to get lost in for years, so it's a really tough decision.

With a gun to my head, I think I'd have to go with the PS4. What about you?

Some arbitrary rules:

The consoles 'back catalogue' consists only of games specifically released for that console. So, remasters and re-releases are fine (for example the PS2 games available on PS4), but backwards compatibility is not allowed (no picking Wii for all the Gamecube games you could also play).

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 1:37 pm
by Suits
Easy, Super Nintendo.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 1:51 pm
by Simonsloth
Alex79uk wrote: May 19th, 2019, 1:19 pm

Some arbitrary rules:

The consoles 'back catalogue' consists only of games specifically released for that console. So, remasters and re-releases are fine (for example the PS2 games available on PS4), but backwards compatibility is not allowed (no picking Wii for all the Gamecube games you could also play).
Your rules are killing me!

I was going to cheat and say my phat 60 GB PS3 for 3 generations of PlayStation games.

Now I’m torn between WiiU with virtual console or vita with psone, PSP, vita and excellent indie selection.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 2:09 pm
by KSubzero1000
I am really struggling with this one.

My first instinct is to say GameCube for its GOAT controller, amazing RE line-up and multitude of Nintendo first-party heavyweights. But it does suffer from a dearth of content in comparison to the others and I would end up missing a lot of the stuff that's not on it after a while. Especially if the Game Boy Player is out of the equation.

The PlayStation 3 has arguably my highest number of all-time favorites (all the MGSs, all the GoWs, Demon's/Dark Souls, all the Clover/Platinum stuff and barely decent-ish versions of RE and NG. Plus a very healthy PS1 and PS2 Store line-up.) But the PS3 versions are almost always the inferior ones and I also despise everything about its controller and infrastructure.

The PlayStation 4 is my go-to workhorse these days and I've certainly taken quite a liking to it. But, excluding re-releases, it only has a handful of exclusives that I genuinely love (Bloodborne, Housemarque stuff, SotC, Yakuza Zero and... The Witness, I guess?). It's definitely the Quantity over Quality option for me.


...I dunno. Gun to my head, I'll probably say PS4 and then collapse in tears at the thought of never be able to play MGS, NG, Halo, Metroid, FE, any decent arcade racer or proper version of Mikami-era RE ever again.

PS: If we throw all rules out the window, I might take a hacked WiiU that can play GameCube and Wii games + all the VC goodness instead...


Simonsloth wrote: May 19th, 2019, 1:51 pm I was going to cheat and say my phat 60 GB PS3 for 3 generations of PlayStation games.
There's a lot of great PS1/2 games on the PS3 Store, though. I think it counts.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 3:00 pm
by Flabyo
PS2, and it’s not even close.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 3:12 pm
by ratsoalbion
Sophie’s choice

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 3:41 pm
by James
Hang on! I need some clarification here.

Are Wii/WiiU/3DS' Virtual Console or Vita's PSOne catalogues allowed? They could be seen as digital re-releases of previous gen games, and therefore equivalent to a HD remaster/re-release.

So Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for Xbox One should also qualify, right? Sure, I can use my Xbox 360 discs, but I could also go onto the Xbox store and buy the game digitally. Even, in some cases, games which were not originally available digitally. So, that's a re-release too, surely!

I know the answer is 'No', but I maintain that it's not so easy to draw a line between what's backwards compatibility and what's a re-release when it comes to digital storefronts.

Also, my answer is Microsoft's eventual streaming Xbox. No such thing as backwards compatibility when it comes to streaming games off a server, and it could theoretically have every game ever, subject to licensing deals. Plus, there's every chance I can pay to download any games that would suffer due to latency of streaming. I'll take a punt on that happening, along with the prospect of games I haven't even thought of yet.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 4:42 pm
by Alex79
Ok, so the backwards compatibility rule is:

Anything available digitally to download from an official online store is fair game. (So anything 360 on the MS store could be played on XB1 if you chose that. Also the PS1 games on PSN if you took a PS3 and all virtual console stuff is OK too).

What you're not allowed to do though is play games from discs which weren't specifically for the console you're playing them on.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 4:44 pm
by Suits
Ok then, I may have to switch to Wii U if that’s the case 😄.

That thing has everything !!

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 5:02 pm
by ratsoalbion
I choose death

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 5:21 pm
by Alex79
ratsoalbion wrote: May 19th, 2019, 5:02 pm I choose death
At least limiting yourself to one console would shorted the endless list considerably :D

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 19th, 2019, 6:55 pm
by duskvstweak
For me, it's a toss up of the SNES or PS2.
I think, replaying-wise, the PS2 might be what I pick, if only because I could play Burnout 3/Dynasty Warriors 3/Timesplitters for the rest of my life.
Honestly, I know this makes me sound like an old-fogy, but as good as the PS3/4 have been, I've yet to feel like the PS2 library has been beat as a whole.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 20th, 2019, 8:35 am
by hazeredmist
It's either the Vita or the Switch for me... I'll expand when I pick a winner.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 20th, 2019, 8:38 am
by chase210
I can’t believe no one has said the DS yet. The DS library is so outstanding, varied, I think I could play it forever and never get bored.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 20th, 2019, 11:56 am
by Magical_Isopod
Probably PS4 because many of the best PS2 and PS3 games have been remastered on it. Plus it has an outstanding library itself.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 20th, 2019, 12:15 pm
by Magical_Isopod
... Alternatively, I'm gonna say Polymega. Because it plays everything. But I presume aftermarket consoles don't count. ;P

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 20th, 2019, 10:11 pm
by Jobobonobo
Oh boy, this is a tough decision to make. I suppose it would be a Playstation console of some sort just because of the sheer variety of games on offer. The PS4 has been one of the best consoles I have ever owned, the amount of stone cold classics that machine has offered me has been truly extraordinary. Everytime I am in a games shop and go through the PS4 section there is always at least 20 games that I would love to try out, its library is enormous, diverse and constantly expanding. That is not even going into the digital storefront.

But then there is the PS2. Again, some of the best the medium has to offer is on this machine and I feel like I have barely scratched the surface with this console. There are so many stuff I want to try on the PS2: Sly Cooper sequels, Ratchet and Clank series, Parappa 2, Dark cloud, Gregory Horror, Persona 3/4, God of War 1 and 2, Burnout series, Dragon quest 8 and countless others that I cannot remember right now. That library could easily last me a lifetime and since I think I have experienced the best and brightest of the PS4 (for the most part) the PS2 might just barely win out over it.

They really are both phenomenal consoles but if this was a real scenario, ,missing out on Nintendo titles would legit be heartbreaking. Thank goodness this is not an actual choice I have to make :D

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 21st, 2019, 11:15 am
by hazeredmist
I'm going with the PS Vita.

- The library is amazing. Whatever the genre, I'm covered. I have more Vita games (physically and digitally) than for any other system. Those who consider the Vita to "have no games" are quite simply, idiots. Visual novels, RPGs, big games, little games, puzzle games, action games, sports games, it's got everything.
- My gameplay habits mean playing in bed is a necessity for me to commit to one console. The Vita is comfortable and well equipped for this scenario, moreso than the Switch which is a bit too big for gaming on my side in bed
- It's an excellent bit of tech, packed with many features and comforts, some of which the Switch doesn't even have. And the screen (OLED) is dreamy.

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 21st, 2019, 1:48 pm
by Sinclair Gregstrum
Vita is not a bad shout.

My head says Xbox One X - massive library across multiple generations including nearly 2,000 games on Xbox One itself and nearly 600 backwards compatible titles.

My heart says my beloved multi-region Saturn though. It's the console I'd miss the most if it wasn't around and the same goes for many of the games. Being so proficient at 2D actually gives it a smaller but much better rounded library than its contemporaries the PSOne and N64 (in my humble opinion anyway), and due to it being tricky to emulate there's still a lot of stuff that you simply can't play anywhere else to this day.

Hell just give me a Saturn with the Panzer Dragoon series (1, Zwei, & Saga), Sega Rally, Nights Into Dreams, Street Fighter Collection, Die Hard Arcade, Sonic Jam and Dragon Force, and I'm all sorted!

Re: If you could only pick one console...

Posted: May 21st, 2019, 8:47 pm
by ColinAlonso
The PS2. Played it first in 2001 and still pick up games for it these days.