Top 10 Console War Winners!

#10: Xbox 360

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This console war was the hardest to pick a definitive winner for. While the PS3 notoriously fumbled right out of the gate, it eventually picked up steam and was home to some of the greatest games of the generation. The Wii was the most successful and innovative system after its release, but its lack of third party support and lesser graphical capabilities doomed it in its twilight years. Ultimately, we had to give this contest to the 360, for being the most consistent of the three consoles. It had a year head start, was a powerful machine, had the best online service, and most third party titles ran better on the system over it’s competitors.

#9: Nintendo 3DS

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Three dimensions makes everything cooler right? Actually, Nintendo’s follow-up to their insanely successful DS system got off to a bit of a rough start. The console suffered from a weak launch lineup, which hurt sales in the immediate months after its release. With the imminent launch of the PSVita in early 2012, Nintendo was going to have to take drastic action if it wanted to keep the 3DS alive. Thankfully, Nintendo gave 20 free Virtual Console games to gamers who bought the system early, and the release of future classics like “Pokemon X and Y”, “Super Mario 3D Land”, and “Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” turned the 3DS into a worthy successor to the DS, eventually crushing the PSVita.

#8: Nintendo DS

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The Game Boy family may have reached its end late in 2004, but it was succeeded by an equally influential console. Nintendo revolutionized the handheld market again with their dual-screen system with a touch interface that also featured full 3D graphics on a handheld system. Fueled by innovative games like “Nintendogs”, “The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass”, and seven main series Pokemon games, the DS was able to stave off competition from probably the only other system that ever posed a challenge to it, Sony’s PSP. Despite the PSP’s graphics and multimedia features, it just couldn’t hold a candle to Nintendo’s touchable wonder. In total, the DS, DSLite, and DSi family of systems sold over 150 million units worldwide.

#7: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

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This is the legendary battle everyone thinks of when they hear the phrase “Console war”. It began when Sega launched the 16-bit Genesis in 1989, and came out attacking Nintendo in its advertising. Despite Sega’s efforts, the Genesis failed to gain a foothold until the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, which was also the same year Nintendo launched the Super Nintendo. What was once a rivalry was now an all out war, with Nintendo facing its first legitimate challenger to its home console dominance for the first time. While the Genesis overtook the SNES in its early days, Sega eventually made some mistakes that buried the Genesis, such as its reliance on its add-on systems. The SNES managed to procure an incredible game library, and eventually sold almost 50 million units worldwide.

#6: Game Boy

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Before the Game Boy, gaming on the go was a fantasy often attempted, but never fully realized. But when Nintendo managed to basically cram a NES into a grey, brick shaped console, the video game industry was changed forever. The GB was an instant success, partially thanks to the game it was bundled with, the perfect puzzler Tetris. Even when technologically advanced competitors like the Lynx and Game Gear were introduced, they couldn’t dethrone the Game Boy from its lofty perch. The system sold over 100 million units counting the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, and for those lucky enough to live in Japan, the Game Boy Light.

#5: Atari 2600

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Of course the system that popularized home console gaming has to be on the list. Introduced in 1977, the 2600 stayed on the market until 1992, well into the following two console generations, with 30 million units sold. Despite ultimately being the least powerful of those early systems, the 2600 was able to beat out its competition, including Mattel’s Intellivision and the ColecoVision. The 2600 boasted a much simpler controller, and a massive library of games, including arcade ports, and iconic original titles like Adventure, Pitfall, and Yar’s Revenge. While the 2600’s success ironically also led to the brief death of the video game industry in the early 80s, its influence in the world of gaming is undisputedly more important.

#4: PlayStation

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In 1995, nobody thought Nintendo could be dethroned as the king of the gaming world, especially up against newcomer Sony. But after Nintendo betrayed the tech giant during the development of their CD add-on, Sony decided to take matters into their own hands and make their own system. The result was the 32-bit disc based console. Through Sony’s aggressive marketing and pricing, new technology, and a huge, varied library of games, the PS1 did the unthinkable and became the top dog in the video game industry. It didn’t hurt that both Nintendo and Sega stumbled somewhat with the Nintendo 64 and the Saturn, and lesser, supposedly “Advanced” competitors like the Atari Jaguar and 3DO failed to make any sort of impact.

#3: Nintendo Entertainment System

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The year: 1985. The video game industry in North America? All but destroyed. The knight in shining armor? The Japanese company that gave the world Donkey Kong and a big grey box. Nintendo singlehandedly revived the gaming market in the West with their beloved 8-bit console, due to clever marketing and some of the greatest games of all time. The NES controlled almost all of the video game market at the time, and none of its competitors even approached its level of success. Even though Sega’s Master System was a technologically superior console, there was no competing with Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and the huge amount of third party games that the NES boasted.

#2: Game Boy Advance

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After the original Game Boy was discontinued, Nintendo continued their dominance of the handheld market with its successor, the 32 bit Game Boy Advance. It was a success right out of the gate, and only got bigger with the introduction of the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003, which finally gave a much needed backlight to the handheld. The few systems that tried to challenge the GBA, including the NeoGeo Pocket Color, the WonderSwan, and the N-Gage, were promptly crushed. And so, the GBA enjoyed success well into the life of its successor, the DS. During its storied run, it sold over 80 million units worldwide, and was a haven for both ports and original titles.

#1: PlayStation 2

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There’s just no competing with the most successful home console of all time. The amount of advantages the PS2 had over its fellow consoles were almost comical. It killed its first rival, the Dreamcast, because of its more powerful tech. It had a year head start on both the Xbox and Gamecube, and was the cheapest DVD player on the market at the time. But above all, the PS2 had the games. Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry, Gran Turismo, Ratchet and Clank, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus; The Xbox and the Cube had no chance against the power of the PlayStation brand at its peak. The PS2 is not only the winner of its console war, but a true juggernaut in the gaming world.