I've not seen this topic brought up properly for quite some time so I thought I'd ask you guys what your favourite video game console/system of all time is. I'd also like you to at least give some reasons for your choice and not just give a console name. It can be for whatever reasons you choose. The design of the system, the library of games it has, nostalgia linked to it or anything like that.
For me, I have two favourite consoles that I struggle to pick between. They're actually consoles that I only acquired this year, but they're older than me.
The first is the Sega Master System. A console from the 8-bit era that was actually more successful than the NES in the UK and I believe Europe as a whole. The games, like most 8-bit era games, are fairly primitive. They're played with a D-pad and two main buttons but they rely on difficulty to ensure that they take a while to beat. The games themselves are by no means great, but the action starts as soon as you start up the game. You're almost always instantly met with difficulty, which can be fun if not frustrating.
I like the pick up and play aspect that games from this era have. There's no mindlessly walking around huge open maps to find something interesting. It's just non stop action and I think that's what a lot of modern titles are missing.
On top of that, it's a nice system to collect for. The consoles aren't expensive and the games sell for around £3 including postage on eBay. The entire Master System library only contains about 318 games, so it's by no means impossible to have a near complete collection for it.
The second system is the Sega Mega Drive. Or the Sega Genesis if you're from North America. My reason for liking this system so much is similar to the reasons that I like the Master System. The games are hard and make you jump straight into the action. No sitting about waiting for things to offer a challenge. It's there from the start. The main distinction between this system and the Master System is that it comes from the 16-bit era. The games look nicer, sound nicer and are all in all more colourful, which is always nice.
There are so many classic titles on this system as it had a library around three times the size of the Master System. I just love the look and feel of games from the 16-bit era. It's everything I like about the 8-bit era, but nicer. Games like Sonic The Hedgehog can still be considered "nice looking" even today, unlike a lot of games from the early days of 3D graphics that quite frankly look terrible now.
I do also have a very small amount of nostalgia attached to this console. Technically it was the first console that I ever played, although my memory of it is quite poor. I'd have been less than five years old at the time but I can still remember playing Aladdin and there are even some really vague memories of Sonic.
So yea, those are my two current favourite consoles. I do have reasons to like most of the consoles I own, maybe with the exception of the Sega Saturn. It's not awful, but it has quite a bland library of games in my opinion.
Anyway, what is your favourite console of all time and why?
