Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Andre Ward beating the hell out of Mikkel Kessler, Tito Ortiz’s cracked skull, or HBK’s opening superkick on Triple H, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Gamers love arguing about which current-generation console is best. Whether you’re a card carrying member of the Sony Defense Force or a registered Xbot, a lot of you have been drafted into this silly “war”. Sure, it can be fun to argue about the merits of each system, but ultimately, the best console is the one that provides you with the most entertainment.
With that in mind, I wanted to ask you about your favorite gaming system prior to this generation. Does the SNES hold a special place in your heart? Did the PSone redefine home gaming for you? Or does nothing compare to the days of Space Invaders on the Atari 2600?
As for me, I’m going to with the Sega Dreamcast. The hardware was fantastic and it had one of the best launch lineups ever. The system stands out because it was such an interesting time for me. I was still pretty new to the business when the Dreamcast was released. Console launches were still a novel experience. Sharing that experience with other new writers was incredibly fun and surprisingly bonding. The Dreamcast launch became an “old war story” to my generation of writers and it’s something we still talk about when the drinks are pouring.
So let’s take a trip down memory lane today. What was your favorite console prior to this generation? Why?
Favorite old console… I still have a N64 hooked up and running, but I don't know if it was my favorite.
I remember the Genesis being a big deal. Even once I had a PS!, I had a friend who had the Sega Channel. We would go over to her house daily and play Sega Channel. Before that, it was all about MK1 and the blood kode.
I have to go with Genesis.
In my man-cave I have all the old systems hooked up excluding my memory corrupted saturn and the sega genesis. They all still get played. I was playing "The New Tetris" on 64 yesterday while waiting inbetween CoD matches.
As far as favorite old machine….hmmm….Dreamcast or N64. Lots of good times on both of those machines. I could arguably include the PS2 in that sentence though.
I'd have to back to my old SNES days. First system I bought for myself, I remember saving for weeks. And was completely giddy that I didn't have to do the "blow and slam" tenique like I did for my NES. I would stay up playing Super Castlevania IV, LoZ and Super Metroid. Mario RPG and even lol Mario Paint. Have you seen what people compose with the music part of that? I was lucky to get "twinkle twinkle little star" lol! I usually wanted to play the fly swatting game!
I still have that system, and she still works well. Cept Castlevania, it freezes now on chapter 6. And I learned the hard way that Bram Stoker's Dracula is NOT a suitable substitute for my vamp fix :P
The PS2 was the first game system that I bought myself. It wasn't a gift for christmas or for a birthday, it was an honest to goodness, 2 weeks after launch day purchase, made solely for the fact that Citicard had decided that, as a new college student, I needed a $600 limit on my credit card.
My brother owned a dreamcast for like 2 weeks… I don't think he was very happy with it, and looking at the controller, it looks to be more beastial then even the old Xbox one. In fact, looking at it a bit closer… I think that is the xbox controller minus an analog stick. Holy schnikes!
@larcenous
The DC was my first legitimate purchase of a console. About 2 weeks after release. KayBee Toys was the only store that would take a check from me lol. That system rocked dude. If the PS2 hadn't of had the DVD drive onboard, the DC might not have faded. Who knows.
@cami
You aren't one of those Twilight people are you? ( affirming or disaffirming will not be negative marks on you, merely banter)
@Smartguy – I have heard nothing but good things about it, but I have never played one.
I would have to go with either the NES or the N64. I love both systems, and I still own both. So many titles to choose from makes that one a hard choice.
First off, my Falcons are crumbling right before my eyes. That Wild Card spot is slipping away.
Second, my favorite classic console would have to be the N64. Ahh, the fun my two friends and I had with Goldeneye and WCW vs. NWO Revenge.
@Smartguy – lol that's a negative on my side. I don't fall for that Twilight crap, unlike half the women in my office who took a half day Friday to go see the new one. I wouldn't have even knew it's release if it wasn't for all of them. :P
Guys, the PS2 is still supported and current. It can't be classified as a "classic console" yet.
@ Cami
Mario Paint was what led me to Photoshop later in life. Now, I've done graphics for countless websiytes and bands all over the country. I have no degrees in graphics, just trial and error that started with Mario Paint.
As for the music on Mario Paint, all the kids I rolled with were amazed at the compositions I'd come up with as well.
Long story short, I owe Nintendo for that one.
@ Smartguy
PS1 was my first legitimate console purchase. My brother bought the 64 and WCW/NWO World Tour and we played the HELL out of that. A few months go by, and I got a job at a Gamestop style store called "It's About Games" that got shut down eventually because our landlords sucked. Anyway, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver was the game that made me say "F**k it. I gotta get another PS." I had already had one at launch, but it broke… so I bought another.
@ Dreamcast
I was working at the same aforementioned store in Pittsburgh when DC launched. One Sunday, the Steelers were playing the Browns. I set up NFL2K on display, put the camera angle on broadcast, looked outside and set the weather (it happened to be snowing), and let it roll on CPU like 3 hours before the game started.
MANY… people walked into the store, looked at the screen, and said "I thought the game was on later… I gotta get home!". That's when I'd jump in and say "No… that's the DC… it just looks real."
I sold like 11 of them that day.
@RROD – in that case… I will have to go with the N64 – two of the great wrestling games (WCWvs.NWO Revenge and Wrestlemania 2k) and Pilotwings. Oh Pilotwings, how I used to fly around bombing you gorgeous shores from my flying gyrocopterjalopy.
@N8R – they just released Soul Reaver in the PSN. It's only 5 bucks, so I am considering just randomly purchasing it… but I just don't know how it's going to hold up.
I would have to say the N64 with the SNES and Gamecube following it. The N64 was probably the only console to ever get people playing four player on one console constantly. Many hours of Golden Eye and SSB were logged during its life span. (Plus, that was the only console Nintendo went out of the box with in terms of Pokemon.)
@LarcenousLaugh
Don't forget Perfect Dark and Banjo Kazooie. My God, what happened to Rare?
@N8R – Oh I wish I had your luck with being able to use graphics for others websites and whatnot, now I'm jealous. I've spently countless times just fiddling with PS, to see what I can learn from it. It's an amazing tool.
@RROD – you'll love this… MS bought them! Hey-OOOOOOOO!
I liked Banjo Kazooie but never got the chance to play Perfect Dark.
I think N64 takes mine. I was almost a teenager when it arrived and it was the first gaming console I could call my own. Nintendo Power sent me a video tape that showed off Mario, Star Wars, and Star Fox and from that point on I was in love with the N64. Goldeneye is still one of my favorite games and I still house about 300 emulators on my Computer. it's amazing how well Goldeneye feels when you use 2 joysticks.
@LarcenousLaugh
I know M$ bought Rare but what happened to them? They used to develop classic hit after classic hit but now they just develop average at best games.
Meh all I ever did with the DreamCast was use the NES emulator my husband has for it. Even tho we still have a working NES. As a kid tho I never had allll the games I wanted to try.
But to make up for that all the comically hacked remakes besides all the regular games make me laugh.
@RROD
PS2 counts because it isn't current gen.
Other notes from the weekend
@RPAD – I did kill the Dragon and got the achievement. Some strategy changed but I finally took care of it with 2 characters left. my Mage definitely helped me out with support and Ice Spells. well worth it. Now I'm at Orzamarr and I'm surprised how long this quest is taking. it's my last of the treaties.
@N8R – Interesting weekend. I formatted a 1GB HDD to FAT32 and put all of my TV shows and movies on it and promptly hooked it up to my PS3. I was really disappointed to learn that the mac video encoding is not supported by the PS3. Fortunately the external HDD worked great on the 360. All I had to do was download the software update to play Mpeg movies
@23 – I meant to say I formatted 1TB HDD
@Sandrock323 – LoL love GoldenEye. Prolly the ONLY fps you'll ever see me play. Besides Fallout 3, but I don't count that. GE was epic, 4 player was sooo much fun. Played it in college with a buncha guys I eventually played DnD with. They'd bring a system down in the commen room, and we'd hog the tv half the night. Pretty sure our dorm director was constantly pissed at us for it too haha.
@Sandrock
I don't think the PS2 counts because it's still supported and on the market and selling good. When something is "classic" it is off the market and not supported anymore.
@Sandrock323 – It doesn't count. It might not be current, but way too many people still play it for it to count. Hell you know I played mine over the weekend.
ok im goin original with this one
the 3DO
prolly cause all my friends were still rocking the genesis and the super nintendo, and i have next gen awesomeness. We used to get really high and have madden and samurai showdown tournaments. And Road rash kicked ass, so did battlesport, so did off world intercepter, pebble beach golf links….GREAT system
When you got a 3do game, it was like an experience, it was like having a new arcade machine.
@ Cami
I seriously just looked at it like a video game (i.e. Mario Paint). Fiddling with it is what got me to where I'm at now.
Once I started doing the animations… every thing else seemed much easier and less time consuming.
@ Rare
I bought Nuts and Bolts for my son…. the building in that game is awesome.That, and Viva Pinata are like the only games that aren't reissues they've put out in almost 5 years.
Bare in mind, RPad might ban you for talking crap about Viva Pinata. He is indeed a fanboy.
@Camikitten – you can still go on youtube and find lots of songs composed in Mario paint. do a youtube search for some good fun
@RROD – rare did have the best games for the Nintendo 64 of Nintendo games. does anyone remember Body Harvest? that studio eventually went on to create a little game called GTA3. Also Blast CORPS is one of my favorite games, rare also I believe.
@Dreamcast – I was young when it came out and I had to sell my N64 and all my games just to get it. I had it for about a year and got a PS2 when it launched. Later I bought a 64 again but I still regret selling in the first place. I ended up giving the dreamcast to some kid in high school for like $50 or something
the 1980s were the best time in human history, everything was awesome
that being said, im changing my answer to the NES. How many great games? literally hundreds…..
tmnt, faxanadu, bases loaded baseball, ghouls n ghosts, rygar, castlevanias, zeldas, super marios, punch out, rush n attack, bionic commando, tecmo bowl….i could go all damn day
for any of you who said anything other than the nes, think back for a second, and you will also change your answer
@ Shockwave
That's awesome (except the PS3 bit). I have all of my photos, music, and movies streaming to my 360 over the network. I bought a $20 app for my Mac called Connect360. Some of the best $20 I ever spent towards gaming.
Streams beautifully with no reconnecting of any wires.
I've never owned a Dreamcast. I purposely didn't get one because I knew that the Dreamcast would suffer the same fate as all of the other Sega consoles and add ons.
I like all of the older consoles, but I think I miss the Sega Saturn the most. I just didn't feel like I got as much out of it as I should but for what I had I had a blast with it. I may hook it back up just to see if it is what I remember (which is never the case).
I do miss some of my games on the N64 for though, like Blast Corps
NES games like Marble Madness, Gunsmoke, Kung Fu
Speaking of NES games did anyone here ever play Hylide or figure it out?
@thunder – I play my NES emulator more than any other. they are the best games when I'm on the road as I can jump in to a game and jump out in minutes. The reason I didn't choose NES was that my older brother owned it and I basically borrowed the system from them. I have fond memories of Contra and such but I didn't own a console until I got the N64 for Christmas in 96.
Sega genesis would be a close second. I loved Sega Channel. best thing ever offered. we didn't even need to buy games as kids. I played mostly sports games with my brother but I loved Road Rash and this western shooter. Also General Chaos was a great MP game
@Shockwave
Thats hilarious I just read your post about Blast Corps. I loved that game
@Thundercracker
Do you remember Bases Loaded?
@N8R – I totally look at it like it's gaming too. I just don't do animation. Something about it doesn't tug at me. I've been more at backgrounds and signatures.
@Shockwave562 – Oh I have for the sh!ts and giggles quite a few times!
@n8r
yeah ive got hundreds of gigs of crap streamed to my ps3 through Tversity, and it streams beautifully here too, on top of my blu ray collection.
You cant buy Mr show on blu ray yet, so….seriously though, i totally agree, streaming is the way to go
@Shockwave562 – Bases Loaded II was better imo.
@N8R – ya I have Rivet for Mac which basically does the same thing. It's really nice but streaming video tends to be frustrating at times. things like FF and RW can be a little difficult and I find the wireless network has a lot of hiccups at my house. I still stream everything but I'm glad to have a HDD dedicated to my TV now
@Slicky – definitely one of the best games for the 64. lol. I thought it was funny you mentioned it
@rrod
hell yeah man, i mentioned it
few more though….contra (ty shockwave) ninja gaiden, ghosts n goblins, bayou billy, blades of steel, trojan, track and field 2….
bases loaded was GREAT, i cant tell you how much i loved that game back in the day, i also loved tommy lasorda baseball on the genesis
@ Thundercracker
The Altered State of Druggachsettes FTW!!!!
Have you seen Run Ronnie Run? If not, I highly recommend it.
@Thundercracker
Bayou Billy was awesome. I loved that game. Gun Smoke, Jackal, and Ring Kings were three more of my NES favorites.
@ favorite NES game
… I got really in to T&C Surf Designs. I never beat Bart vs the Space Mutants (couldn't get passed the mall) but I remember it well. I also always heard good things about Snake, Rattle, & Roll… bit I never played it. I have it on emu though.
We played RBI Baseball in my neighborhood.
JACKAL!
in the jeep and shit?
so many you forget about…..
@n8r
of course ive seen run ronnie run, but i still prefer the mr show sketch it was based on. That might be my favorite mr show sketch, thats the smartest sketch comedy in history
here you go n8r
refresh the memory….
lol@ t and c surf designs
thats another great one
NES is the best console. I think they could totally bring it back with the classic cartridges and people would eat it up.
Some of my Favorite NES games in my collection (minus obvious classics):
Bayou Billy
8 Eyes
Al Unser Jr Racing
Battle toads
Blades of Steel
Double Dribble
Excite Bike
Hogan's Alley
Ice Hockey
Jaws
Karate Champ
Narc
Pinball
Pro Wrestling
RC Pro Am
Section Z
T&C Surf Designs
Tiger-Heli
@RROD
Gunsmoke was so good I bought one of those Capcom Collections just for that game. It is a lot harder than I remember. It took 4 tries just to get to the first boss.
so can we all agree that the NES is our favorite classic console?
rc pro am……….jaws………others i forgot
@ Thundercracker
Yeah, the sketch was funnier, but the movie slipped past alot of people. Manny Patinkin naked singing "Y'all are brutalizing me." was awesome though.
I have the whole series of Mr. Show on DVD. I'm pretty much a fan of anything David Cross has ever done. I heard he quit though. Do you know if that's true?
i havent heard definitively either way, but that would make sense. Bob is still working on his adult swim shows and doing the occasional cameo, but i havent seen david cross in awhile
hes got great standup too, as im sure you know.
HENDERSON BOUNTY EGGS, YOU GONNA LOVE OUR EGGS!!
wow, finally an egg for our generation!!
@SlickyFats
How could I forget RC Pro Am. I also forgot Rygar. I'm changing my favorite classic console from N64 to NES.
if anyone over 30 says anything OTHER than the NES, they are lying to themselves
I might have to switch to NES as well.
the SNES… definitely….2nd is the psone. fave game on the SNES; donkey kong country 2, and super mario bros.
Nobody wants to talk football anymore?
@RROD – it was nice talking football when I had something good to say about the Broncos. all I can say now is that we need Orton to be healthy. that and Chris Simms has to be the worst backup QB in the league
yeah mr " i was born in 1990 "
@rrod
yeah yeah the bills are 3 and 7
T.O. caught 6 balls for 197 and a TD, and that still wasnt enough
we need our entire team to be on that tlc show, "overhaulin"
actually i wouldnt mind chip foose as an offensive coodinator at this point
breaking news on sportscenter right now
steelers qb out 6 weeks, needs wrist surgery
dont worry n8r, its charlie batch….although you better hope big ben is ready to suit up soon or youll have dennis dixon running the show against the ratbirds
@PS2
It is last gen no matter how you look at it. Whether people still play or buy it doesn't matter. People still buy Dreamcasts and games are still being made for it, does that make it not a classic then? Lets just look at as anything not this gen counts. Besides, I'm sure there are some people who would love to share stories about their PS2 and it would be rude tell them they can't.
My Falcons are 5-5 but we're still in the Wild Card race.
@ Thundercracker
We sjould have Big Ben and Trot ready next week. We need them AND the wins bad at this point.
Batch does awesome things with the practice squad. Our D might actually suffer without him.
If the Eagles don't want him, you might have Vick next year. T.O. and Vick is getting serious.
@Sandrock
Games are still being made for the Dreamcast? Proof?
(turns the light on)
My typing is horrendous today.
@Shockwave562 Orzamar is the best of the three treaties, by far. There's enough content there for it to be its own game. If you have Shale, bring her.
@RRODisHere Dreamcast has an open-source kit that hobbyists and indie developers have been using.
@Sandrock
What retailer is selling these brand new Dreamcast games? What retailer is selling these Dreamscast that you say people are still buying? FYI, Ebay and Craigslist and pawn shops are not retailers.
@Raymond Padilla
That hardly counts as "games are still being made". Those are not retail games. Big difference.
Well the Xbox is discontinued like the Dreamcast but I don't think the Xbox is any more classic than the PS2 just because it's no longer supported.
even if they aren't classics yet I will say though they are all last gen which could be a favorite depending on how young you are
@RRODisHere It absolutely counts. I don't see where Sandrock specified retail games.
Saints vs Pats next Monday night. Can't wait.
Krewe de'Drew > Pats
Who are the ratbirds?
@RRODisHere and @rpad
this is the best I could find so far with regards to a new game released for the Dreamcast.
http://www.osnews.com/story/22138/Dreamcast_Turns…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dreamcast_ga…
Dux and Rush Rush Rally Racing are both listed as being released in 2009, with another two games listed in 2008 and four in 2007.
so I guess if you count this as "games are still being made"
GO Giants! Way to blow a 14 point 4th quater lead and win on the OT coin flip!!
::sigh::
Thank god we get the suddenly hapless Broncos next. We might sneak it to 7-4 going into the streatch run.
@Topic: I've gotta go NES as well. Still has some of my favorite games of all time. It would be pointless to list them all because most of them have already been listed by other people here. Gotta give a special shout out to the original Bionic Commando though. One of my all time favorites. Too bad the sequel from Grin was such a travesty.
@nightshade
I was pulling for the giants Sunday. Glad they came through.
@Smartguy: Coming off a bye week at home, they'd better win. The defense can't seem to finish though. Ever since Kenny Phillips went down for the year they've been real weak at the safety spot, and it shows.
@RROD
Thinkgeek.com gets shipments of new Dreamcast every now and then and they usually sell out over night. As for the games, Sega announced a new Dreamcast game on the Dreamcast's anniversary this year. Most new Dreamcast games are Japan only, so it is unlikely many people would know about them here in the states.
I favorite past gen system has to be the SNES. Final Fantasy VI is still my favorite of the series and there are just too many games to even list that make that system my go to when I am feeling nostalgic.
@RROD – I think you're going to have to concede today
@Nightshade
If we had of won that coin toss we would have won the game.
@Sandrock
Simple misunderstanding. I thought we were talking retail games.
@RRoD: Should have never gotten to that point. We had a 14 point lead in the 4th Quarter. The defense should have put the Falcons away. You've gotta make stops in the 4th Qtr. Same thing happend against the Chargers a couple of weeks back. Giants should have won that game, but gave up a last second drive to lose.
@Shockwave
I concede. I was talking retail games. But I stand by my thought on the PS2 not being considered a classic console yet. If it was then the PS2 is hands my favorite console and it's widely regarded as the best console of all time. I picked the NES because I don't consider the PS2 a classic console yet. The PS2 is still on the market and developers are developing RETAIL games for it still.
@Nightshade
True. I thought we were done at halftime but we came back to go to overtime.
@RROD – ya I don't really consider the PS2, Xbox, or gamecube classic consoles just yet, it's almost funny that the DC is only slightly older than the PS2 and it is considered classic. I don't know who makes the rules really. I mean, in all fairness the Dreamcast is as much last Gen as any of those if you ask me. just because it failed sooner doesn't make it any less of a console last gen
In football excitement – Go Colts
@Shockwave: I think you may have accidentally hit the nail on the head for exactly WHY the Dreamcast is a classic console. It went out of production so much sooner than the other systems of it's generation that it's hard to look at it the same way as the systems that didn't fail. There ar a select group of people who look at the console fondly, but clearly not enough of them to justify the console latching on like the XBOX, Gamecube or PS2. Obviously the PS2 was in a different stratosphere than the other two consoles, but considering they were still alive and kicking at the end of the last console generation, they can't be considered failures the way the Dreamcast is.
@nightshade – fair enough. I'll give you that
I'm going to have to go with the SNES it was my first real console and one that I have very fond memories of playing. My favorite games for it were Super Mario Brothers, Earthworm Jim, Donkey Kong, Zombies ate my neighbors, and Zelda a link to the past on it.
Most definitely dreamcast and I can't wait to be able to play them again with the whole dreamcast library goes to psn store
Best Classic Systems In Order:
1 – SNES
2 – PS2
3 – PS1
4 – N64
5 – nothing seems good enough to be #5