The Greatest Games Systems Of All Time

[kiwimike]

Darn, I didn't see this poll before now. Oh well.

Sorry, but all the votes have long been counted.

If it's any consolation all your picks made the final list.

Sure, it's very understandable. Deadlines happen, I know.

I still enjoyed reading it, it's interesting to hear peoples fave and why. Looking forward to this feature

[demon]

1. Commodore 64 (10 points): still unbeaten in variety and sheer amount of games available, pure undiluted fun and immense creativity
2. Sinclair ZX Spectrum (9 points): would be ex-aequo with the C64 if it wasn't for the inferior sound and color clash
3. Commodore Amiga (8 points): as best as you can go with 2D bitmap graphic without losing the pixels
4. DOS/Windows PC (7 points): not sure if it counts as one "system" or more because the transition between DOS and Windows and then between various Windows versions is smooth from the games point of view; nevertheless it's the best contemporary option for gaming, and a lot of retro title still kick ass
5. Arcade machines (6 points): excellent quality and high fun factor, although game design is limited by the pay-per-play mechanism (not sure if this one also counts as a "system")
6. Atari VCS/2600 (5 points): the grandpa of all gaming consoles still has its charme
7. Nintendo DS (4 points): best portable console ever
8. Nintendo NES (3 points): revitalized the home console market and made Mario everyone's family member
9. Sega Genesis/Megadrive (2 points): gotta give it credits for keeping up the competition with the Nintendos
10. Pioneer laser games (1 point): love them or hate them, but they were indeed an original idea for gaming

[TheAlex]

I missed the deadline, but anyway...

1. SNES
2. N64
3. Switch
4. Gamecube
5. Wii
6. Amstrad CPC
7. Megadrive
8. Wii U
9. NES
10. Xbox 360

[kiwimike]

Still on for the Jan issue? Quite looking forward to this feature

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

Still on for the Jan issue? Quite looking forward to this feature

We're putting the finishing touches to it now. It's a huge photography-led piece, which we've never done before, but it's looking rather awesome all the same.

[kiwimike]

Thanks for that! Eagerly awaiting it.

[ncf1]

Still on for the Jan issue? Quite looking forward to this feature

We're putting the finishing touches to it now. It's a huge photography-led piece, which we've never done before, but it's looking rather awesome all the same.

sounds awesome. I too am looking forward to it. If my beloved Apple II doesn't come in first place, i'm CALLING THE POLICE!!

My poor, poor Apple. sniffs.

[kiwimike]

Still on for the Jan issue? Quite looking forward to this feature

We're putting the finishing touches to it now. It's a huge photography-led piece, which we've never done before, but it's looking rather awesome all the same.

sounds awesome. I too am looking forward to it. If my beloved Apple II doesn't come in first place, i'm CALLING THE POLICE!!

My poor, poor Apple. sniffs.

Sorry, Apple II wasn't in my top ten- but for what it's worth has a special place in my heart

[ncf1]

We're putting the finishing touches to it now. It's a huge photography-led piece, which we've never done before, but it's looking rather awesome all the same.

sounds awesome. I too am looking forward to it. If my beloved Apple II doesn't come in first place, i'm CALLING THE POLICE!!

My poor, poor Apple. sniffs.

Sorry, Apple II wasn't in my top ten- but for what it's worth has a special place in my heart

Cheers mate! Its that sort of system isn't it, it has its own charm, its own quirkiness.

As an aside I just purchased a book that came out about Apple games called 'Break Out : How The Apple II Launched The PC Gaming Revolution' - I've waited for ages for a book dedicated to Apple II games, finally one was released... I hope it's good! Of course I am ever so grateful for our beloved RG's articles which have been just fantastic. They have gone some way to scratch an insatiable itch.

[kiwimike]

sounds awesome. I too am looking forward to it. If my beloved Apple II doesn't come in first place, i'm CALLING THE POLICE!!

My poor, poor Apple. sniffs.

Sorry, Apple II wasn't in my top ten- but for what it's worth has a special place in my heart

Cheers mate! Its that sort of system isn't it, it has its own charm, its own quirkiness.

As an aside I just purchased a book that came out about Apple games called 'Break Out : How The Apple II Launched The PC Gaming Revolution' - I've waited for ages for a book dedicated to Apple II games, finally one was released... I hope it's good! Of course I am ever so grateful for our beloved RG's articles which have been just fantastic. They have gone some way to scratch an insatiable itch.

It's actually the first 'real' computer I used (after programmable calculators) when our school bought four. They switched to BBCs after a year, which I was filthy about- No disrespect to the Beeb machines of course, it's just all our games on disk were useless when they did! But anyway, some of my top C64 games when I got one were the games I adored on the Apple IIe. And the keyboard was gorgeous, one of the best IMO. I would have bought one in a heartbeat at the time had it been in my budget

[ncf1]

Sorry, Apple II wasn't in my top ten- but for what it's worth has a special place in my heart

Cheers mate! Its that sort of system isn't it, it has its own charm, its own quirkiness.

As an aside I just purchased a book that came out about Apple games called 'Break Out : How The Apple II Launched The PC Gaming Revolution' - I've waited for ages for a book dedicated to Apple II games, finally one was released... I hope it's good! Of course I am ever so grateful for our beloved RG's articles which have been just fantastic. They have gone some way to scratch an insatiable itch.

It's actually the first 'real' computer I used (after programmable calculators) when our school bought four. They switched to BBCs after a year, which I was filthy about- No disrespect to the Beeb machines of course, it's just all our games on disk were useless when they did! But anyway, some of my top C64 games when I got one were the games I adored on the Apple IIe. And the keyboard was gorgeous, one of the best IMO. I would have bought one in a heartbeat at the time had it been in my budget

Yeah that would've sucked, getting BBC's after collecting for the Apple. Yes I agree, the C64 was certainly an upgrade for games, and the Apple II was barely touched after the C64 came along, but there's just something about the Apple, whether its because it was because it was our first computer, or whether its the quirky quality of the games, I just want to read about them. Perhaps because the magazines at the time gave (very brief) reviews but never any in-depth information on the games.

You know, I dont think Ive ever played any BBC games so I think I'm going to fire up the Hyperdrive I have barely used and play a few games on it, see what I missed out on

[kiwimike]

Some of my favourite C64 games were still the ones I still played on the Apple first- Lode Runner, Castle Wolfenstein, Inforcom adventures...

The BBC had it's own great games too of course, an excellent Defender clone Planetoids, Elite are the first ones that leap to mind.

Maybe we should keep this topic rolling along, and head to our own personal #1 machine in detail and depth...why it's your number one

[ncf1]

you know, I reckon I'd have liked the BBC.. it seems to be a cross between a Spectrum and Amstrad - at first glance anyway - and it scrolls well, has a nice palette. I haven't played any games yet, just saw YouTube video.

Sure, if you want to describe your #1 choice in detail, mine's a bit boring... PC.. but for me it has been the Ultimate Gaming Machine.

[kiwimike]

Well mine is PS1, but I guess this topic will reignite when the feature is out- as no doubt controversy and debate will start

Yeah I liked the BBC although had little use on them really. Only one school friend had one (rich family!) when we all had Speccys. But was a Nice machine for sure, with some great clones of arcade games of the time. By the time our school had a roomful all networked I had left school and was moving onto C64 being a working lad living at home

[ncf1]

yes I think that might happen, debates will rage PS1 was my third choice but I stated could have been my second, it was a toss-up with the Amiga. But I think the jump from Amiga > PS1 was equally as large as that from C64 > Amiga so second slot for me is virtually interchangeable.

Its interesting that in NZ you had BBC's and Speccy's as quite common, here I don't remember a single BBC owner, and only the one Speccy owner. That's something I have to research a bit - whether the C64/Amiga dominance was due to marketing or whether the options weren't there, I just don't remember if shops stocked BBC/Spectrum/Amstrad, my memory fails me. I just know what games the kids exchanged.