What makes a great video biz console ?

It ’s a bit of an experiential motion . It ’s much easier to discuss what makes a bully video secret plan , as they can be analyze as communicatory artworks . A video plot cabinet is different . It ’s a hunk of charge plate that plays those game . In our forward-looking era , those devices have become more and more homogenized . AnXbox Series X and PlayStation 5have roughly the same features and even share a large library of games . What really differentiates one from the other ? Is it the shape of a controller ? A smattering of unspoilt exclusives ?

While the exercise of rank consoles may sound whacky , it does force one to contemplate on those questions . To create a ranked list of the best cabinet of all meter , we had to look back at decennary of ironware and home in on what take in some spliff fondly in our memory . After a mountain of soul searching and reflect on the devices that built gambling ’s chronicle , we ’ve come up with a list that remind us what makes recreate games so especial . It ’s not just about the games , but the sense of manufacture development that we get to play a role in as player .

10. Nintendo GameCube

While every expression of a list like this is always conk out to ruffle some feathers , I imagine the GameCube ’s inclusion over the Nintendo 64 or Wii might be a period of controversy . It ’s one of Nintendo ’s least successful systems from a sales perspective and certainly does n’t have the same cultural stash as what came before and after it . Even so , the GameCube earns its spot for one key reason : a fantastic game library . While the Wii ’s game often bank on mussy motion thingumajig and a lot of N64 classic are tough to recall to in 2025,GameCube ’s good gamesstill feel timeless today . Metroid Prime , The Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker , andPaper Mario : The Thousand - Year Doorall still feel ahead of their sentence today — and that ’s just the confidential information of the iceberg .

The GameCube genesis saw Nintendo locking in on its design philosophy in a way that we would n’t quite see again until the Nintendo Switch . This was the ship’s company at its most modern , whether it was birthing oddball franchises like Pikmin or have the inspired idea to impound a hold to the system . That ’s not to bring up that the system itself is one of console gaming ’s last nifty firearm of aesthetic ironware design . The iconic indigo cube stands out even more today as so many modern consoles have settled for drab grim or livid intent . It ’s an underdog system of rules on this list , but that ’s what makes it a classic .

9. Sega Dreamcast

Like the GameCube , we waffled a bit when deciding whether or not the Dreamcast should make the cut . After all , it ’s the organisation thatkilled Sega ’s hardware ambitionsfor unspoiled . But the point of this list is n’t to rank the most successful console table of all time , but the most memorable ones . By that metric , the Dreamcast deserves some making love . Sega ’s final cabinet felt alone forward of its time ; it was even a innovator in implementing on-line play in a home console .

Though Sega had trouble moving units in a losing warfare against the PlayStation 2 , theDreamcast ’s game libraryis shockingly strong . Some of its greatest hits includeSonic Adventure 2 , SoulCalibur , Jet Set Radio , Crazy Taxi , Power Stone , Virtua TennisandSkies of Arcadia . Today , that eclectic roll is most unimaginable . console like the PlayStation 5 are fulfil with cookie - cutlery activeness - escapade plot work up for aggregated entreaty . You did n’t have the sense that Sega was trying to make every undivided biz a huge smasher in the same way on Dreamcast . Rather , it was comfortable create a wide array of niche games that would satisfy a range of musician . Perhaps spreading itself so slender was Sega ’s precipitation , but it ’s hard not to look back on the moment lovingly today .

8. NES

When create a list like this , there ’s always a counterbalance to be struck with picking foundation systems . It ’s important to honor the classic , but those system should be capable to stand on their own exterior of their historical context . The Nintendo Entertainment System is one of those devices that evade that public debate ; it ’s both important and still great today . The hardware itself still makes for a great toy , as even the deed of load a chunky magazine into the system of rules feel fun .

niggling take to besaid about its gamesat this point . The NES launch most of Nintendo ’s magnanimous franchises , from The Legend of Zelda to Kirby . I could go on praising the obvious classics ( Super Mario Bros. , Duck Hunt , etc . ) , but the system ’s third - party support was just as crucial to its success . Developer interest in the system gave us games likeFinal Fantasy , Castlevania , Mega Man , and much more . While many of its slap-up hits can feel a small clunky today , the NES pave the manner for what mod play still look like today — and it frankly did it well than today ’s console .

7. PlayStation 4

The stakes were high for Sony in 2013 . The troupe had just follow off a rough contemporaries with its expensive PlayStation 3 . Had its follow - up gone poorly , it could have gone the way of Sega . you may palpate that urgency now when you depend back at the PS4 ’s full lifespan . In many slipway , it feels like it hone what a home console should be . Everything from its UI to its controller felt like a completion of decades of iteration , all leading to a system that reestablished Sony as an diligence leader .

That great hardware would n’t have mattered much ifthe game it could runweren’t great . as luck would have it , Sony found its vocalism during the PS4 geological era in the same way Nintendo did on the GameCube . Uncharted 4 : A Thief ’s End , God of War , Horizon Zero Dawn , andMarvel ’s Spider - Manheadline a deep library of narration - heavy action at law - dangerous undertaking game that so many have tried to emulate since . With an United States Army of third - party musical accompaniment to fill in the spread between those game , Sony progress an exciting console generation that made the PS5 feel like a must - own organisation when it plunge . That was a gamy streak , one that Sony has still yet to clear .

6. Sega Genesis

If you consider that competition breed origination , theSega Genesisis a great bit of supporting evidence . so as to take on the Nintendo phenomenon , Sega would require to obtain a means to make the Genesis stand up out . It would pull that off with an impressive 16 - bit cabinet that feel like a monumental footprint up in tech at the time . It was capable to produce faster and more colorful games that made the NES feel go out . Sega had one heck of a killer app to prove that top executive thanks to Sonic the Hedgehog .

What Sega really bring in to the game was personality . In a stroke of marketing brilliance , the Genesis was advertised as a nerveless and edgy cabinet compare to the family - well-disposed NES . Itbacked that up with gameslikeEarthworm JimandMortal Kombat . Nintendo may have realized the visual sense of a well - supported home console table , but Sega figured out how to turn over a boxful into a distinguishable life style brand name . Was that a final positive degree for the industry ? You could reason that the Genesis directly chair to today ’s obnoxious “ console table wars . ” Even if that ’s true , Sega ’s top jewel still feels wholly unique because of it .

5. Xbox 360

While Microsoft has made some reliable systems over the past few decades , the Xbox 360 is the only one that felt culturally transcendent . Learning from the flaws of its first organization , Microsoft tightened its vision and figured out what set the Xbox aside from the PlayStation during the 360 epoch . That response largely derive down to online gaming , as game likeHalo 3andCall of Duty 4 : Modern Warfarebridged the gap between console and personal computer gaming . Today , it feels like one of the last great party system of rules , the variety of console that was a prerequisite in every college dorm way .

While there areplenty of groovy gamesto shout out , the 360 ’s software program profits were more experiential ones . Its expectant impact was n’t any rum game , but rather Xbox Live Arcade . The marketplace created an only new dispersion platform for developers , ushering in an indie gyration on home consoles . Releases likeBraidandSpelunkyfundamentally changed what game we play today , launch the door for a legacy of originative , data-based games . The Xbox 360 was a true paradigm transmutation .

4. Atari 2600

If you did n’t grow up with an Atari 2600 , it might be hard to translate why it ’s still such an brave organisation today . From an away perspective , it may look like a rudimentary patch of computer hardware . I can promise that you ’ll blab out a unlike tune once you ’re actually toy on one . As old as it may be , there is still an indescribable magic to Atari ’s best system . Few gaming systems — aside from the Nintendo Wii — realise the tactile joys of swordplay like Atari did . The physicality required to run its joystick controller fix simple games feel transcendent . If you do n’t trust me , peck up anAtari 2600+and try for yourself .

There ’s something universal about the Atari 2600 ’s plot . Anyone can plunk a game likePongup and know exactly what to do thanks to elegant innovation and nonrational controls . A secret plan likePitfallfeels every bit as grand asUnchartedwith a fraction of the graphical spectacle behind it . How many game today really feel as timeless asPac - ManorAsteroids ? While the experimental day of gaming can make it hard to go back to other games , the Atari 2600 still feels like the one truly retro console that will populate on incessantly .

3. Nintendo Switch

One part of me feels like it ’s too early to put theNintendo Switchon this list at all — but that ’s precisely why it take a shit the gash . At the clip of written material , the Switch is eight old age old , and yet it still feels like a firebrand new machine . That ’s thanks to its ingenious hybrid design that fused the joys of abode and portable gaming into one . The Switch is a trailblazing system of rules that is already fundamentally changing what hardware looks like . Sure , its want of power now makes it look go out next to something like theSteam Deck , but Nintendo sail through the form agent on its first effort .

At this point , I do n’t think it ’s an overstatement to say that the Switch has thebest game libraryof perhaps any video recording game console table . Its first - party scoop are unmatched and its wealth of third - party support help load it up with remasters , indies , and retro games . It ’s the form of all - in - one cabinet that feel out of the question to retell on outside of incremental exponent upgrades . We ’ll have to look to see what the farsighted - terminus impingement of the Switch will be , but it ’s already survive flash - in - the - cooking pan gimmicks like move command or camera trailing . Like the NES before it , the Switch is foundational .

2. PlayStation 2

With a lot of the console feature on this tilt , I find myself reflecting on a specific innovation that each brought to the table . There are several system that finger like game - changers thanks to modern gamble . What makes the PlayStation 2 so noteworthy is that it does n’t really have any flashy elements to verbalise of . Sony determine out to make a examine - and - true biz cabinet here . In doing so , Sony created a blueprint that everyone still keep up to this day . There ’s a reason that it ’s still thebestselling console of all time .

Everything about the PS2 feel perfect , even if the PS4 would complicate its undecomposed quality subsequently . Its silken black design is unproblematic , but still iconic . Its restrainer is so well - designed that it ’s still a standard - bearer . Itsgame librarygoes unbelievably deep , giving giving birth to Sony franchises in the same way the NES did for Nintendo . The third - company game might be even more important , as the PS2 gave us all - metre greats likeSilent Hill 2,Shadow of the Colossus , andMetal Gear Solid 3 : Snake Eater . Sometimes a console table take to make a name for itself by doing something new . You do n’t demand to do that when you have the console table all the others need to secernate themselves from , and that ’s the PS2 .

1. Super Nintendo

There ’s one Christian Bible I kept coming back to when crafting this listing : timeless . The video plot consoles that stay with me the most are the ones that I can fire up at any pointedness and have a good time with . That ’s honest of every cabinet on this lean , but that requirement best gibe the Super Nintendo . progress on everything that made the NES great , but with double the bits this fourth dimension , Nintendo ’s second abode console table still feels like the one lawful “ desert island ” system .

Like the PS2 , there are no big gimmicks here ; there are onlyincredible gamesthat finger like they ’ll never fail the test of fourth dimension . I ’m confident that I will be able to return toSuper Metroid , Chrono Trigger , orSuper Mario Worldfor the rest of my life and not get bored of them . The system ’s skilful games still take on signally well , outlasting the total 3D generation that would immediately follow it . Games have gotten flashier and more complex since the SNES geological era , but there ’s a part of me that feels like few of those technical leap are really all that necessary . The SNES still feels like the pinnacle of what play can be , with limitless creativity to be found in the system ’s games .