What consoles just didn’t click with you?

[Ketchup]

The PS2, the most bought console in all of history. The power of the emotion engine, toy story like graphics and the ability to launch WMDs (supposedly) and yet it’s never a console I’ve really loved.

 

The launch period of the PS2 is an odd time for me. I was very much into the Dreamcast, the N64 was still hanging on and I’d never owned a PSone. Yet I loved the original PlayStation, it had great games and content I couldn’t experience elsewhere. Mostly down to money, being a Sega kid (and in some ways being fortunate not to be able to buy a Saturn) and all my friends owning a psone I could get away with not having one but still enjoying it. Incidentally I bought an N64 because Mario, Goldeneye and Star Fox just wowed me so much so I picked that over the PSone. Plus 64 is better than 32 right?

 

Anyways I’m enjoying Dreamcast and the PS2 launches and let’s be honest here it was a terrible launch. Games looked worse than Dreamcast games, Ridge Racer and Tekken 3 TT were similar to their PSone versions and the rest of the launch lineup wasn’t much better.

 

Besides the PS2 was expensive at launch, at £299 it was twice the price of most other main console launches. The PSone was also still pretty healthy at this point too. By the time GT3, MGS2, DMC etc launched I was working in game retail. I still was enjoy the final Dreamcast games but also around the corner was the Xbox and GameCube. Initially I waited for a GameCube, maybe something about underdog consoles is what I enjoy? Either way it had a great launch and the graphics were so much better than the PS2. Sadly not long after launch you can see the GameCube wouldn’t be the machine everyone bought. I initially avoided the Xbox and maybe this is a discussion for another topic as it was during the whole M$ era, them being a new comer like the 3DO and honestly I think everyone thought they’d disappear quickly.

 

But thanks to a massive price cut, and adding in JSRF and Sega GT into the box, along with a whole host of other Sega games, let alone PGR and I guess Halo. Besides it had a Hard Drive and the games were graphically better.

 

But because of owning an Xbox the PS2 never grabbed me the way it should have. GTA3 was amazing but I got the PC version. MGS 2 I picked up on Xbox a year later. Pretty much any PS2 game I’d want to play ended up on Xbox and the games I enjoyed on PSone got worse sequels. Parappa 2 was not as good. Tomb Raider was terrible. The smaller more quirky games either disappeared or got bigger and worse. I really should have loved the PS2 but it never did click with. The games were often the worse versions especially when it came to online multiplayer, the exclusives often didn’t appeal to me and it didn’t feel like and over powered PSone as the games were also changing in direction more.

 

As a small aside I picked up a PC Engine mini last year and realised most the games on it just don’t appeal to me. Same with the NeoGeo, I love the look and tech in the machine but besides a handful of games it’s full library (Game Sack did a video discussing every game released for it recently) just doesn’t have anything I’d enjoy. I love the tech and sprite scaling in all the fighters but fighting games have never really worked for me.

 

So after that long winded ramble, what consoles never clicked with you?

 

 

[Qazimod]

The Dreamcast. I picked it up not long after its tombstone was being planted and so a preowned one cost about £20. I was a poor student and so things like the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox were coveted luxury items. At the same time, our household didn't know anything more recent than the PS1, so the opportunity to grab an ill-fated 128-bit gaming platform was pretty tempting. And I had still played a few DC games through visiting people and trying demo pods, so I was familiar with the games and felt like it would be a good deal. At the time, games were still available in bargain bins and used game sections of stores and so it didn't take too long for me to pick up a decent collection of titles - Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5, Virtua Tennis, the Sonic Adventures, Soulcalibur (sic), and maybe a sly ISO burn of more exotic games that would never show up in brick and mortars (again: I was a poor student, so joining eBay auctions for sought-after imports was out of the question. Oh and the console was dead and being sold in bargain bins for £20, so I kind of doubt that devs were still raking it in.)

 

At the time I liked the games that I had. I got all of the unlocks in Soulcalibur, enjoyed the soundtrack of JSR and for a long time I went through this crazy period where the Sonic Adventure games were near the top of my hypothetical Favourite Games Ever list (current standings). The sharper, cleaner graphics were nicer than what I remembered of the PS1, and people classified it as part of the "sixth gen" - with the PS2/GC/Xbox - so it felt like I was "current" even though it was a commercially dead platform. And the 60hz modes. All of the 60hz modes! When I studied in Gloucester my friends thought I was nuts because we'd visit the indies in Westgate St. whilst they were talking about the latest Halo 2 news or whatever and I'd be rummaging through the bargain bin grabbing stacks of blue cases (all of which were predictably smashed to pieces around the hinge) and seeing if there were any classics missing from my collection.

 

It was a console with some great games, no question. However, I just don't get the absurd reverence it's been met with after the fact, especially online. What everyone holds up as a pinnacle of gaming history is something I think of as another good games console. There were some classics in there but I can't pretend that there wasn't a lot of mediocre trash and licensed garbage from lesser studios - just like every other platform. Again, I sifted through stacks of games in stores trying to find the better games because I had to cast aside so many dull sports games or licensed movie/TV crap or multiple copies of the few decent games I already had. I appreciate that I missed out on the console during its glory years - and so the rarer titles may have been harder to find - but this was still a console with a supposed library of classics and I was struggling to find the gold under the filler. It's seen a bit of a revival on my PC thanks to Redream, and I'm enjoying Under Defeat, Cool Cool Toon and CvS2 (not an exclusive but whatever) right now, but I don't know if I'd hold it above the alternatives of the sixth-gen in any way.

[SMD]

3 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

When I studied in Gloucester my friends thought I was nuts because we'd visit the indies in Westgate St. whilst they were talking about the latest Halo 2 news or whatever and I'd be rummaging through the bargain bin grabbing stacks of blue cases (all of which were predictably smashed to pieces around the hinge) and seeing if there were any classics missing from my collection.

 

holy shit, i rinsed them in 2004 when they jettisoned all their gamecube games and game did that ridiculous exchange offer. i'm guessing they're long gone now.

[dataDave]

Importing a Japanese Dreamcast as early as possible was the only way to approach that console. I can definitely understand only playing PAL releases being a bit underwhelming.

[MikeJ]

I got a DC at UK launch, it blew me away compared to the competition until the Xbox and GC came out.

 

The N64 has never really clicked with me, even when new the dodgy framerates and vaseline graphics seemed jarring.

[DeciderVT]

Same- I bought a DC on UK launch day and had a fantastic time with the PAL catalogue, I didn't import anything until after it was officially dead. Probably the last console I was truly excited about.

 

One console that has never fully clicked with me is the PSP, which is now going to get a second chance without UMDs or Memory Sticks thanks to the Steam Deck.

[Alexlotl]

The Wii U. Loved the Cube, the Wii and subsequently loved the Switch, but I just didn't get on with this one.

• While I loved the idea of handheld, I thought it looked like crap with the video compression and washed out LCD. Also, only being able to play near your TV isn't that liberating.
• I found the control tablet thing really uncomfortable to hold, and the Pro Controller not much better. This was the main thing. I have small hands, so usually I get on well with Japanese-designed tech that a lot of westerners complain about.
• I bought it primarily in anticipation of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which turned out to be a deep-fried turd.

I bought lots of games for it, almost entirely second hand on the cheap, but finished exactly zero of them. It basically got used as a way to play the original Wii Xenoblade Chronicles via HDMI. I got a heap of good Switch games when I finally traded all the Wii U stuff into CEX, though.

 

I'm normally an original platform purist, so I'd love the idea of playing Pikmin 3 and BOTW as the designers intended with the dual screens, but in practice I know it was such a bad experience for me that I'm never going there.

 

[Camel]

Intellivision and Videopac are the only two I can think of really. The former was unplayable due to the pad and the latter -as well as also having terrible controllers - was too basic even for someone who likes the 2600.

[Siri]

Like the others, Dreamcast always felt like a magical time in gaming to me, and felt like it lasted age longer than what it actually ended up being when looking back on the period. Just felt like a flurry of bangers coming out month after month, and that was without being exposed to the import or piracy markets.

 

Anyway, for something that I just didn't gel with, I can go with its ancestor - the Mega Drive.

 

Now, obviously in hindsight it was a good console, but I got my console a good few years after launch - primarily as a second fiddle to the SNES we owned, just to play Sonic 2 and Road Rash 2. 

 

I enjoyed playing them, along with the surprising amount of enjoyment I got out of Mega Games 1, but I never really ventured into the library outside of what I had. And I had Streets of Rage 2 on the Game Gear, so I didn't need to play the Mega Drive version*.

 

Eventually, new fancy games like DKC, Mario All-Stars and Yoshi's Island turned up, and Sega did their thing with the SegaCD/32X/Saturn rapid fire of hardware bullshit that was very expensive along with the megabucks Virtua Racing cart, so it ended up pretty much retired after the occasional rental of Sonic 3 or Micro Machines.

 

Spoiler

* I might have realised when I finally got my hands on a computer that ran GENS that this turned out to be a grave, grave error

 

[Haribokart]

PS1 & PS2, never liked them while I very much enjoyed the N64/Saturn/Xbox/Dreamcast.

 

Biggest for me is the Xbox brand though and their past few consoles, as soon as Kinect came out and they changed the dashboard that was it for me and I sold my 360 which up until that point was a console I loved. Their general direction and the games got worse and worse, Xbox One was an absolute joke of a console with attitudes on display by the team behind it that make the idiots at modern Sony seem pleasant, the only way they managed to get people to care about their crap again is to offer a discounted subscription service mostly stuffed with Netflix style filler in the hope people don't notice they barely release any games and the ones they do are mostly poor. Phil Spencer is an outstandingly manipulative bullshitter who has been saying 'this is the year of the good games' for the best part of a decade without ever actually delivering.

 

I was known for a long time as the forums biggest Xbox fanboy, the first console + first half of the 360's life were so amazing and now I literally couldn't give a fuck about the brand at all. Writing this post is probably the most I've discussed/thought about it since the One launch almost a decade ago - Xbox is just completely dead to me.

 

[phillv85]

The NES for me. My first console was a Mega Drive and by the time I was regularly visiting friends houses most kids had a Mega Drive or a SNES. One of my best mates had a NES and we did play some Mario, Donkey Kong and Probotector on it. Probotector held up against the 16 bit games I was used to playing, but everything else felt a bit old fashioned to young me. Aside from playing it at his house though, my experiences were limited. I remember another friend digging his NES out for a bit of Duck Hunt a few years later but that was only fun for 10 minutes. Even now going back to it the games still feel a little too primitive for my liking. There’s obviously some stone cold classics on there. I love the original Super Mario Bros, Probotector/Contra and a few others, but by and large I just don’t really enjoy playing games on it. I’ve got loads of Famicom games and have tried a bunch of them out but there’s very few I’ve gone back to after an initial try. 

[Wiper]

I guess the biggest contrast between general response and my own is the Wii. Just a whole world of... Nothing. Like, the Wii U was a damp squib, but a) at least that's the near-universal experience, and b) I did get some highlights from it (hi, Wonderful 101). The best the Wii ever did for me was playing Gamecube games through HDMI, and given the Gamecube wasn't exactly the pinnacle of its generation for me, that's not the highest praise.

 

There are plenty of other consoles which didn't really blow me away, despite general acclaim (notably the PS1 and 2, and more or less every non-handheld Nintendo console), but they all featured at least some games I love, some exciting experiences. The Wii is the only console I can think of that doesn't have a single unique title I really rate. Like, even the Jaguar beats it on that front. The few games I like on it are the worst versions/entries in their series — worst WarioWare, worst Nights, worst Houses of the Dead. 

[Keyboard Koala]

Another vote for the PS2 oddly enough.

 

Probably because I was still sore about the DC's demise.

[Couch Corpse]

PS3 - just didn't give a fuck, re-hashes of the same old series, shit controller, shit interface, and shit online.

 

Saturn - ...

[Keyboard Koala]

9 minutes ago, Wiper said:

The Wii is the only console I can think of that doesn't have a single unique title I really rate. Like, even the Jaguar beats it on that front. The few games I like on it are the worst versions/entries in their series — worst WarioWare, worst Nights, worst Houses of the Dead. 

 

Not a single game out of a stellar line-up like Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Zack & Wiki, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, No More Heroes, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wario Land: Shake It, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Little King’s Story, Muramasa, Sin and Punishment 2, No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower & Rhythm Paradise: Beat the Beat ?

[Camel]

(Kororinpa)

[Wiper]

27 minutes ago, Keyboard Koala said:

 

Not a single game out of a stellar line-up like Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Zack & Wiki, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, No More Heroes, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wario Land: Shake It, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Little King’s Story, Muramasa, Sin and Punishment 2, No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower & Rhythm Paradise: Beat the Beat ?

 

Correct, though admittedly I've never tried Pandora's Tower or The Last Story, as I'm not made of money. The others are all comfortably the worst games in their series, and/or games in series I don't like.

 

It's comfortably the least populated of any of my collections of games, with but four games I was compelled to keep:

 

 

And that's without even considering the significant digital libraries of the 3DS onwards, vs the zero Wii eshop titles I own.

[SMD]

33 minutes ago, Wiper said:

 

Correct, though admittedly I've never tried Pandora's Tower or The Last Story, as I'm not made of money. The others are all comfortably the worst games in their series, and/or games in series I don't like.

 

It's comfortably the least populated of any of my collections of games, with but four games I was compelled to keep:

 

 

And that's without even considering the significant digital libraries of the 3DS onwards, vs the zero Wii eshop titles I own.

 

You kept Nights??

[dataDave]

Any new console from the PS3 onwards that isn't a Nintendo machine.  It's like gaming had taken this huge diversion into sports/TV and SaaS around that time, and hasn't steered back any. If the games were there then I'd make exceptions, but they just aren't. For me, at least, mainstream gaming died with the X360.

 

I don't want pictures of fucking Lionel Messi, or equivalent, whenever I turn on my games console. Nor do I want reminding that I'll never be able to comfortably afford any exotic hypercar.

[Wiper]

27 minutes ago, SMD said:

 

You kept Nights??

 

I mean, it was better than Skyward Sword, at least. But it's true, it is the worst Nights, and doesn't exactly get much playtime.

[SMD]

2 minutes ago, Wiper said:

 

I mean, it was better than Skyward Bored, at least. But it's true, it is the worst Nights, and doesn't exactly get much playtime.

 

I don't think I've ever been as disappointed with a sequel as Journey Into Dreams and I played Zero Time Dilemma.

[Wiper]

I mean, I agree that it's more disappointing than ZTD, but then I like Zero Time Dilemma 

 

I'd put it on a par with the Warioware its next to as far as "you followed up a perfect game with this?" whiplash (see also: Double Dash, and Rhythm Tengoku: Less Good Wii Edition). Like, I can still enjoy it, it's just a mediocre sequel to an incredible predecessor.

[SMD]

At least we still got good Warioware games since.

[Keyboard Koala]

2 hours ago, Wiper said:

 

Correct, though admittedly I've never tried Pandora's Tower or The Last Story, as I'm not made of money. The others are all comfortably the worst games in their series, and/or games in series I don't like.

 

There's people who don't like Little King's Story ? seinfeld.gif

[Protocol Penguin]

7 hours ago, Alexlotl said:

The Wii U. Loved the Cube, the Wii and subsequently loved the Switch, but I just didn't get on with this one.

• While I loved the idea of handheld, I thought it looked like crap with the video compression and washed out LCD. Also, only being able to play near your TV isn't that liberating.
• I found the control tablet thing really uncomfortable to hold, and the Pro Controller not much better. This was the main thing. I have small hands, so usually I get on well with Japanese-designed tech that a lot of westerners complain about.
• I bought it primarily in anticipation of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which turned out to be a deep-fried turd.

I bought lots of games for it, almost entirely second hand on the cheap, but finished exactly zero of them. It basically got used as a way to play the original Wii Xenoblade Chronicles via HDMI. I got a heap of good Switch games when I finally traded all the Wii U stuff into CEX, though.

 

I'm normally an original platform purist, so I'd love the idea of playing Pikmin 3 and BOTW as the designers intended with the dual screens, but in practice I know it was such a bad experience for me that I'm never going there.

 

The Wii U was such an abysmal system, I genuinely can’t work out why Nintendo  ever released it as it was – it’s like a prototype frankenconsole that somehow managed to escape into the wild. The only appeal it really ever had to me (as someone who bought it launch day) was having Nintendo games in HD, which seemed an enormous milestone, oddly as that seems a decade on. The appalling gimmick controller, the confusing branding, the lack of power… It was unsalvagable.

[Keyboard Koala]

1 hour ago, Protocol Penguin said:

The Wii U was such an abysmal system, I genuinely can’t work out why Nintendo  ever released it as it was – it’s like a prototype frankenconsole that somehow managed to escape into the wild. The only appeal it really ever had to me (as someone who bought it launch day) was having Nintendo games in HD, which seemed an enormous milestone, oddly as that seems a decade on. The appalling gimmick controller, the confusing branding, the lack of power… It was unsalvagable.

 

I wouldn't agree on "lack of power" as the Switch (and the Wii before it) proves Nintendo doesn't really need it, but I agree on everything else. A massive failure really. I see it as the missing link between the Wii and the Switch. And I suppose it is exactly that.

And with most of its good games having been ported to other systems, I think it only really has a handful (Star Fox Zero, Fatal Frame, Paper Mario and Kirby ao.) of games which make it worth holding on to. Unless you use it as a HDMI Hi-res Wii player like I do.

[AlexM]

PS2 - I bought the console at launch, very excited for MGS2 and the ‘emotion engine’, purchased a good number of games for it and sold it before MGS2 came out (I still haven’t played it). I barely remember anything I played on it, it was ok for DVDs though. 

GC and Xbox (later) - didn’t take to either of them, although they didn’t disappoint me like the PS2. 
 

PS3 - I know I had some fun with it, but online was incredibly clunky and my overriding memory is just how uncomfortable that controller was. Primarily a Blu-Ray player. 
 

Vita - Absolutely terrible operating system, stupid overpriced memory cards and guaranteed hand cramp within 30 minutes. 
 

Wii - Terrible graphics, pointer wasn’t very accurate. Wii Sports with the family was fun. Played some Mario Kart before selling it (when it was actually worth something). 
 

Xbox One - Clunky OS, slow, so very slow, no interesting games. Such a disappointment after the 360. 
 

PS4 - That fan noise! I hated it. Loading times were awful too. 
 

Switch - I’ve owned one since launch, still don’t like it. Uncomfortable to hold, slow loading times, overpriced games, and not a lot to separate it from the Wii U library (Mario Odyssey & Mario Rabbids aside). 
 

I had a great time with the Wii U, lots of good memories and co-op gaming time with my son. Close behind the DC on my favourites list. 

[dumpster]

The Switch.  A horrible, cheaply built, flimsy console with a poor screen and controllers that have been faulty since launch.  A small range of titles, with many of the Nintendo branded titles actually just ports from the Wii-U. It's a handheld but the battery life is terrible and the console has motion controls so it's not really any good as a handheld.  It's got a little leg, so you can put it on a table and all your friends can gather around it.  No-one outside of the advert has ever done this. You can connect it to the TV, but it has a touch screen so you won't be able to use that function if you do. You can switch between TV and portable mid game,   but in reality most players use it either portable or TV 90% of the time.  The multiple parts (2 controllers and screen) have their own batteries, so chances are, one third of your console is about to run out.  They never made a Netflix app.  Games come on small easy to lose cartridges like its the 1990s. And is it portable, really? I mean, sure you can stick it in a rucksack, but you'll need a case to protect the screen and also store all the bits. A 3DS is portable, a Switch isn't, not really.  All the games are 5 years old and still full price.  Mario Kart is a dreadful game with awful rubber banding and cheating AI.  Always has been.  The E-shop and online services are awful.  I've hardly used mine and yet the main screen has needed to go to Nintendo for repair twice and the controller's have been repaired 3 times.  Every time took weeks and I lost all my save game files because you don't get cloud saves as standard like you do on Xbox.  The tech of this console is basically an old android device.  It's honestly a complete load of shit, and anyone who disagrees is a Nintendo fanboy who is wrong.  Haha! 

[fat flatulent git]

8 minutes ago, dumpster said:

The Switch.........A small range of titles

 

I get that it's only wikipedia, but according to its entry for list of Switch games

 

Quote

Switch games are listed across five pages due to technical limitations. There are currently 4400 games across these five lists:

 

[dumpster]

One thing that hasn't clicked with me, and seems a very stupid business decision indeed, is the naming convention of the new Microsoft Consoles.  We, forum people, we follow and understand. We pay attention and we're knowledgable on these things.  The average family does not.  

 

One of the greatest decisions Sony ever made was to launch a console called PlayStation 2.  You couldnt ask for an easier, simpler name. The PlayStation at times felt like the only console on the market, having beaten Saturn to a smaller section at the back of the shop.  For a while, PlayStation was about 75% of the floorspace in the high street stores, the industry was PlayStation, They had sold millions.  Face it, you know, as soon as you hear the name, PlayStation 2 is the thing you like, but BETTER.  Apart from Nintendo/Super Nintendo, I can't think of a console name that screams "this is what you buy next" and it also played the ps1 games as well, the progression to a new console couldn't have been spelled out any clear.  No-one knew what a "Dreamcast" was. It was a made up word.

 

So it boils my piss a little to see that Microsoft have added to their range, which started with the Xbox One, but then became an Xbox One S, then they did the Xbox One X which is the better one. But then there's Series X and Series S, despite them already having existing models called S and X.  I bet there have been loads of confused eBay sales, people buying old S consoles thinking they're getting a Series S. They now have the Original Xbox One technology from 10 years ago inside consoles called S and X, alongside their latest offerings which are miles ahead but have roughly the same names, as if any regular member of the public cares enough to remember.  I love their approach to back compatible gaming, but think their naming convention could be the death of the format.