1y ago

If you could only play on one game console for the rest of your life which console would you choose?

Let's say the PC doesn't count and you aren't taking into account backwards compatibility, emulation, online play, homebrew games, and the cost/availability of games.

I feel like I'd want to choose the PS3. Like the Xbox 360 it had a decent lifespan and a lot of games were produced for it. A lot of which are already some of my favorites.

The only things that would make hesitant are I feel like a lot of modern games are larger and have open worlds which I feel like that could be nice in the long run and many of my favorite games for the PS3 have been re-released.

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Steam Deck, because it is handheld, and can run a lot of my Steam games. I can also dock it to a big screen and attach a controller.
- Steam deck is just a PC going through a few hoops though.
  
  Aren't all consoles like that, though? They all run mainstream operating systems, and are basically locked down PCs in a fancy box. If anything, the Steam Deck is further from a PC than an XBox/PS, due to being handheld, with an embedded screen and controller, while XBox and its friends require a display and an external controller (like a PC).
- Plus, it would have new games until the end of time. Although simpler graphics each gen, due to incremental sysreqs.
PS3 is a strong, strong contender for reliability and repairability reasons. You could replace the CMOS battery and hard drive today. You have to jump through hoops to add funds to your wallet, but once you do the store still works for the moment. The last time I looked there were even some decent deals from a couple of publishers.
No memory cards to worry about. The physical discs were expensive enough that people took care of them and are more inclined to sellt hem than toss them: it's still really easy to find discs on eBay, and they're new enough and most games have been remastered so they're usually less than $20. It's impossible to find Sixaxis or Dualshock 3's, but fake ones from AliExpress are super cheap and almost identical except for the almost-never-used motion controls. You can also use a lot of USB controllers, or use something like a MayFlash adapter to use just about any controller you want. I think you can pair Dualsense too, though I haven't tried. If you have original OEM's, I don't remember them ever having drift problems. The only real problem with the original controllers would be battery life (you can replace them if you're handy), USB Mini-B, and how they needed a handshake and could only charge plugged into certain devices or special power supplies (another reason to just use counterfeits).
With a fat model you have full backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2. With the online store you can get a lot of PS1, PS2, and PSP games. Not sure if this counts, but you can do remote play with a PSP too. Some of the online multiplayer probably still works, depending on the game. It has an HDMI out and the old AV out, so you can hook it up to almost any TV with cheap and a sailable cables. You can also load up video and audio files for playback, saving wear on the disc drive. I remember briefly experimenting with using mine as a media server back in the day.
The drawbacks are few. I'm assuming no hacking or modding, so no Nintendo games. No Xbox either, though I don't think that's anywhere near as important. A disc drive is always just a matter of time before it fails. The fat model has PS2 compatibility, but also was less reliable, so that's a trade-off. The digital store is not long for this world. I used to use mine for Netflix, YouTube, HBO, etc and I'm guessing those apps have probably been shut down at this point. You lose out on modern games too. The PS2 and PS5 are both good options too, but I think the PS3 has the edge. If they ever add a PS3 emulator to the PS5, or if the PS5 library grows in general, it could still overtake the PS3 in the future.
If you lean more Nintendo I think the WiiU was better than the switch until they shut the e-shop down, and might still be better if we open this up to modding and hacking. It's just easier to work with a WiiU because Nintendo stopped caring about protecting it. It's also better for playing DS and Wii games for example. A ton of Switch games were also released on WiiU, and the Switch's legacy content is mostly locked behind the online subscription - how long will that be available for? Still has the disc drive issue and can't play Sony exclusives, but a strong option.
I'm not usually an Xbox guy, but they're usually the easiest to mod, the emulate things well, and even without modding the Series X is probably the best option for pure backwards-compatibility with a good chunk of the libraries of every Xbox generation ever. The problem is you get neither the Sony nor Nintendo exclusives. And Xbox exclusives really aren't all that enticing to me. Maybe if you're into HALO or Gears or Forza Xbox is a more appealing option. The best IP's Xbox owns are often released on other consoles, like MineCraft. Which is great for the industry, but hurts Xbox's ranking here.
- You can also use a lot of USB controllers, or use something like a MayFlash adapter to use just about any controller you want.
  You can do this in software too if you wanted to use something like a generic Logitech PC controller or an Xbox 360 controller. Very plug and play.
  If they ever add a PS3 emulator to the PS5, or if the PS5 library grows in general, it could still overtake the PS3 in the future.
  That's something I was kind of disappointed with when it came to the PS4. I thought it might have PS3 backwards compatibility and be pretty much the perfect system for me. A lot of the games I have been playing the past couple years (on PC) were released for the PS4 like Control, Death Stranding, Dying Light, and Far Cry 4 to name few.
  All that said I did phrase the question in a way that omits backwards compatibility, game costs (with the price of retro games these days it would be enough to keep me from picking anything sixth generation or below), emulation, and online play because I was more curious what generation of games people think they could play in a kind of stuck on a dessert island scenario. Ignoring all of that I feel like going with the most recent generation of Playstation would be the way I'd go. It's moddable, online is still available, backwards compatible with a lot of PS2 games, and you don't really need to worry about a lot of the typical wear if everything is digital.
The PS2 spawned a lot of games that later generations emulated. Lots of stuff after that basically consisted of sequels, spin offs and games trying to recreate the feel of that era.
PS5. Easy. New hardware does shit older hardware can't. And while there are games older than PS4 I like, there aren't anywhere near enough to choose them over actually modern shit.
And newer indies often do modernized takes on the stuff older games were limited to.
Nintendo DS baby, who wants a lan of metroid prime hunter?
Either SNES or PSX
- Any reason why? What games do you like on them?
  
  Both have such a huge library of fantastic games. In my opinion, the best libraries overall of any generation of video games. I think they existed during an era of video game development where there the market had not fully digested what a commodity video games could be, so there was space for a lot of experimentation and discovery. Off the top of my head, the SNES has...
  Donkey Kong Countries 1, 2, and 3
  Final Fantasies 4, 5, and 6
  Super Mario World
  Yoshi's Island
  Super Metroid
  F-Zero
  Star Fox
  Mega Man 7
  Mega Man X, X2, and X3
  Breath of Fire 1 and 2
  Rock and Roll Racing
  Earthbound
  Secret of Mana (and sequels if in this hypothetical we're not being region-locked)
  Secret of Evermore
  Terranigma
  Skyblazer
  Hook
  Street Fighter 2 (and others)
  Final Fight 1, 2, and 3
  Killer Instinct
  Super Mario RPG
  Joe and Mac 1 and 2
  Soul Blazer
  Chrono Trigger
  Zelda: A Link to the Past
  Mario Kart
  Shadowrun
  Demon's Crest
  Super Ghouls and Ghosts
  Castlevania Dracula X
  Super Castlevania 4
  Mortal Kombats 1, 2, and 3
  Illusion of Gaia
  Dragon Quests
  Star Ocean
  Lufia
  Front Mission
  7th Saga
  Ogre Battle
  Harvest Moon
  Tales of Phantasia
  ... I'll leave it there, but the list goes on, the SNES has a library that is burgeoning with bangers. The PSX is, too, but I feel hesitant to ruin the comments page with another list.
Let’s say the PC doesn’t count and you aren’t taking into account backwards compatibility, emulation, online play, homebrew games, and the cost/availability of games.
I'd rather quit gaming altogether at that point.
- I game on PC myself but why would you quit gaming all together if you couldn't do it on PC?
  
  Because I don't like consoles, plain and simple. Everything they can do I also can on my PC, except better and for less.
Would have to be either the switch for Mario Kart, Super Smash and Nintendo sports when family is visiting or PS3 for FIFA World Cup 2010 when the lads are visiting. I suspect the switch would age better, though 2010 World Cup is an absolute gem.
I don't think the single player game selection matters that much as it would grow stale with time anyway.
I could probably be happy with playing Bloodborne for the rest of my life if I absolutely had to choose a console. Ps4 also had a fair few decent indie titles release during its lifetime, and it had horizon zero dawn which is fucking breathtaking.
The Nintendo Switch is like cheating since it gets all the older games from different platforms..
Otherwise, the PS2 had the best games in it's lifespan. Fight me.
- The Nintendo Switch is like cheating since it gets all the older games from different platforms…
  The classic games section sure but I feel like it's legitimate if they are remasters like the new Super Mario RPG for example.
Sega Dreamcast. It had and IMO still has some of the most unique games ever. Crazy Taxi, Powerstone, Jet Set Radio, the list goes on!
Steam Deck if it counts as a game console here
- I would say it doesn't because you are still running PC games. The reason I specified consoles specifically without homebrew and backwards compatibility is it kind of leaves you stuck in a certain generation that typically has a finite lifespan.
  You could install Linux on a console and use it forever or rely on homebrew for extended life like the PS Vita otherwise.
  
  Then Xbox Series X as I said in the first version of the comment
Given we're not counting the Steam Deck or virtual console titles, I'd probably go with the DS. I'm too big of a dirty Pokemon fan (among the million other great IPs on the older Nintendo handhelds), and the DS is particularly nice because it has backwards compatibility with the Gameboy Advance.
PS5. I simply can't go back to long loading screens.
- Why not go NES?
PS9. Gotta think ahead if I i can't upgrade it. I get it right now, right?

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