Greatest video game console
Twenty home and handheld consoles that shaped gaming, from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 5.
Tier list by PairTier · 20 items
- Atari 2600 — 1977 console that popularized interchangeable game cartridges in the home.
- Nintendo Entertainment System — Nintendo's 8-bit console (Famicom in Japan) that revived the industry after the 1983 crash.
- Sega Mega Drive — Sega's 16-bit console, called Genesis in North America, home of Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System — Nintendo's 16-bit console, with classics like Super Mario World and A Link to the Past.
- Game Boy — Nintendo's 1989 handheld, launched with Tetris and later home to Pokémon.
- PlayStation — Sony's first console (1994), whose CD-based games helped bring gaming to a wider adult audience.
- Nintendo 64 — 1996 console with an analogue stick, known for Super Mario 64 and GoldenEye 007.
- Sega Dreamcast — Sega's final console (1998), an early adopter of built-in online play.
- PlayStation 2 — Sony's 2000 console, which doubled as a DVD player and is the best-selling home console ever.
- GameCube — Nintendo's compact 2001 console, known for its handle and titles like Metroid Prime.
- Xbox — Microsoft's first console (2001), which launched with Halo: Combat Evolved.
- Game Boy Advance — Nintendo's 32-bit handheld from 2001, successor to the Game Boy Color.
- Nintendo DS — Dual-screen handheld from 2004 with a touchscreen, one of the best-selling consoles ever.
- Xbox 360 — Microsoft's 2005 console that made online play via Xbox Live mainstream.
- Wii — Nintendo's 2006 console with motion controls that reached a huge casual audience.
- PlayStation 3 — Sony's 2006 console with a Blu-ray drive and the Cell processor.
- PlayStation 4 — Sony's 2013 console, a best-seller of its generation.
- Nintendo Switch — Nintendo's 2017 hybrid console that works both as a home console and a handheld.
- PlayStation 5 — Sony's 2020 console with a fast SSD and the DualSense controller.
- Xbox Series X — Microsoft's 2020 flagship console, sold alongside the smaller Series S.