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SNES, PS2, or XBOX 360? Which company's sophomoric effort was best?
- Thread starter deftones r cool
- Start date
Yes, im always surprised that xbox one trails so dramatically far behind PS4 because here in America the two console are much more competitive.
PS2 and I don't think the massive success was Sony's doing. It just exploded. It was a console that could play DVD's, available almost everywhere and the name was coming off of another massive success. There were many reasons to buy PS2 consoles back then but its first party lineup were only a small part of it.
In a way this kind of isn't fair. For one the Xbox 360 shouldn't even be an option. Also, Nintendo still had a stranglehold on publishers during the SNES era right?
Ultimately I think it's the PS2 generation pretty easily. Some of my favorite games are on the SNES and it was a great console, but the PS2 has the best library of video games of all time. And even beyond that truthfully the diversity of games the PS2 has compared to the SNES is just crazy.
Ultimately I think it's the PS2 generation pretty easily. Some of my favorite games are on the SNES and it was a great console, but the PS2 has the best library of video games of all time. And even beyond that truthfully the diversity of games the PS2 has compared to the SNES is just crazy.
Huh. Each of those are my favorite console from their respective publishers so that is kinda neat. For me it would be:
SNES
Xbox 360
Playstation 2
If it wasn't for the second half of 360's lifetime, I would have put it #1.
SNES
Xbox 360
Playstation 2
If it wasn't for the second half of 360's lifetime, I would have put it #1.
The SNES highs to me are still the best for any system I have played on (and I have played on pretty much all of them). And timeless in a way I don't feel for any other games on any other console.
But the PS2 has the greatest overall library of any system ever released. The amount of good to great games in literally every genre is just staggering.
I can't pick between the two. They are the GOATs.
But the PS2 has the greatest overall library of any system ever released. The amount of good to great games in literally every genre is just staggering.
I can't pick between the two. They are the GOATs.
playstation 2, not even a question.
not sayong that Snes ad X360 are bad consoles, they were the best at their generations, but PS2 is something completely different. BC, DVD and an absurd library makes it not only the best console of all time but probably the best tech machine of all time.
not sayong that Snes ad X360 are bad consoles, they were the best at their generations, but PS2 is something completely different. BC, DVD and an absurd library makes it not only the best console of all time but probably the best tech machine of all time.
The 360 (and the PS3 and PS4 and pretty much every console other than maybe the SNES) is definitely not in the same universe as the PS2.
Even the overall SNES library is pathetic next to that of the PS2, the only reason it can even be in the conversation is the high notes of the SNES are just timeless. Link to the Past, Super Metroid, etc. are all just so perfect and they are just as playable today as they were when they were released. Not even the best PS2 games aged that well.
SNES
It's super-close though. PS2 was bloody amazing as well. The SNES library is just legendary though. Although the PS2 library is too...
On a dumb scale it'd be:
SNES 100% - PS2 99.9%
I'd hate to know how much time I spent playing the Pro Evolution Soccer series on PS2, they were amazingly fun football/soccer games.
It's super-close though. PS2 was bloody amazing as well. The SNES library is just legendary though. Although the PS2 library is too...
On a dumb scale it'd be:
SNES 100% - PS2 99.9%
I'd hate to know how much time I spent playing the Pro Evolution Soccer series on PS2, they were amazingly fun football/soccer games.
OP
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I dont understand this shared sentiment. I adore all three consoles, but I chose 360 above the other two.
A lot of the innovations, which the 360 catapulted into the mainstream, have become so commonplace that they may not feel as unique now as they had then. HD visuals, prominent online play, digital titles, support for indies, focus on storytelling through games, QoL features like wireless controllers and auto saving, and the 360's catalog is just as wide and varied as PS2's is, unless I'm really missing something here.
I'd love to hear why the PS2 trumps 360 honestly. I love them both.
Hmm, it's very tough call between the PS2 and Xbox 360. The PS2 had the library, and the 360 had a well-executed vision for what console gaming should be.
I'd personally say it's not the Super Nintendo. Nintendo as a company was doing a tremendous amount of things right and was even forward thinking in many ways, such as putting 3D chips in their cartridges and doing wonders with Mode 7. They had Squaresoft and Rare. Their first-party heavy hitters hit extremely heavily. All the great Japanese studios put out their best on the console. Nintendo's marketing was on point for the era in the form of Nintendo Power and mailed-out VHS tapes. Their in-store kiosk demos were awesome. And when Sega had their backs against the wall Nintendo as a company was trying the hardest I've ever seen them. But that godawful slow CPU bottlenecked everything and limited the type of games the Super Nintendo could do. Everthing was so slow! Imagine how much more awesome the "golden age of video games" could have been if Nintendo had put in a decent 12 meghertz main CPU. It's still one of my sorest "what if" scenarios in video games.
It's hard to find obvious fault with the 360, especially in the early years. The 360 was a great example of having a clear vision and successfully carrying it out. That online was something special in the disjointed days where every FPS or MMORPG had their own online account systems. The 360 was the full promise of online gaming completely realized. Ultimately it's the 360's overload on western games, a lack of first-party titles, and that really big drop-off in focus in the second half of the system's life that weighs it down a lot. Microsoft was just coasting there at the end, the scrappy underdog spirit was lost somehow.
The PS2 has an incredibly top-tier library of games, no doubt. However, I have always felt the PS2 was in the right place at the right time and its success is more from its opponents not being in a position to capitalize than anything Sony specifically did. The PS2 was a technical mess, it was hard to develop for and its image quality was awful. It only had two controller ports! But Sega bled to death, Nintendo was late to the party and fell on itself with the purple lunchbox and not being with the times, and Microsoft was also late to the party and had no presence in Japan. What happened was Sony had an unbelievably incredible holiday 2001 lineup that caused a snowball effect of gamers and developers rushing to the system. Success beget success. Sony deserves some credit though, its first-party studios were on point and it bought that 20% share in Squaresoft after their failed Final Fantasy movie, and this kept their games exclusive to the system for the most part. And Sony's marketing was great and gave the system that certain mystique that allowed it to capitalize on the situation.
I'd personally say it's not the Super Nintendo. Nintendo as a company was doing a tremendous amount of things right and was even forward thinking in many ways, such as putting 3D chips in their cartridges and doing wonders with Mode 7. They had Squaresoft and Rare. Their first-party heavy hitters hit extremely heavily. All the great Japanese studios put out their best on the console. Nintendo's marketing was on point for the era in the form of Nintendo Power and mailed-out VHS tapes. Their in-store kiosk demos were awesome. And when Sega had their backs against the wall Nintendo as a company was trying the hardest I've ever seen them. But that godawful slow CPU bottlenecked everything and limited the type of games the Super Nintendo could do. Everthing was so slow! Imagine how much more awesome the "golden age of video games" could have been if Nintendo had put in a decent 12 meghertz main CPU. It's still one of my sorest "what if" scenarios in video games.
It's hard to find obvious fault with the 360, especially in the early years. The 360 was a great example of having a clear vision and successfully carrying it out. That online was something special in the disjointed days where every FPS or MMORPG had their own online account systems. The 360 was the full promise of online gaming completely realized. Ultimately it's the 360's overload on western games, a lack of first-party titles, and that really big drop-off in focus in the second half of the system's life that weighs it down a lot. Microsoft was just coasting there at the end, the scrappy underdog spirit was lost somehow.
The PS2 has an incredibly top-tier library of games, no doubt. However, I have always felt the PS2 was in the right place at the right time and its success is more from its opponents not being in a position to capitalize than anything Sony specifically did. The PS2 was a technical mess, it was hard to develop for and its image quality was awful. It only had two controller ports! But Sega bled to death, Nintendo was late to the party and fell on itself with the purple lunchbox and not being with the times, and Microsoft was also late to the party and had no presence in Japan. What happened was Sony had an unbelievably incredible holiday 2001 lineup that caused a snowball effect of gamers and developers rushing to the system. Success beget success. Sony deserves some credit though, its first-party studios were on point and it bought that 20% share in Squaresoft after their failed Final Fantasy movie, and this kept their games exclusive to the system for the most part. And Sony's marketing was great and gave the system that certain mystique that allowed it to capitalize on the situation.
Mega Drive had Sonic 1-3&K plus Streets of Rage 2, so it beats SNES.
PS2 had all of those plus Silent Hill 2 and 3, God of War 1 and 2, Final Fantasy XII etc. etc. and it could run a SNES emulator too.
The 360 was a fine and well-rounded console, but I can't really think of any exclusives that interested me (besides Alan Wake).
PS2 wins overall.
PS2 had all of those plus Silent Hill 2 and 3, God of War 1 and 2, Final Fantasy XII etc. etc. and it could run a SNES emulator too.
The 360 was a fine and well-rounded console, but I can't really think of any exclusives that interested me (besides Alan Wake).
PS2 wins overall.
So I went with the ps2 because it was the best selling console and it had some amazing games on the system. The 360 could of been a good choice but the 75% defect rate on the original models is absolutely terrible and it didn't even out sell the PS3. The SNES was almost my pick because of the all the timeless classics on the system but at the end of the day the ps2 is winner.
Well I love indie games, but I don't really associate many indie games with 360. There was Limbo although I played that on Mac. I know Geometry Wars was popular too. Can't think of any 360 games with especially good stories either. Bioshock had a cool setting for sure, and Mass Effect's scope was fairly unprecedented even though I don't think the games are good.
The rest of those points just aren't really interesting to me. For instance if PS3 had wired controllers I still would have purchased it. Every console gets progressively better graphics so having HD isn't exactly something that no one would have ever thought of if 360 didn't have it. And hell, I prefer games that don't have online. So it's definitely not the console for me.
The PS2 library is the greatest library of all time for a console. You can name literally any type of game and it has you covered with probably multiple versions. The diversity is something no other console, especially modern ones, can compete with. No one felt left out on the PS2.
Steam is probably the only thing that compares.
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OP
Servbot24 as far as the story argument is concerned, I guess I was primarily referring to the increased focus on incorporating cinematic qualities into games.
bionic77 fair enough. I still would argue that 360 could hold it's own against ps2 unless you wanted JRPGs specifically or something. 360 technically has even more games overall. Love steam too though.
Thanks for further elaborating guys
bionic77 fair enough. I still would argue that 360 could hold it's own against ps2 unless you wanted JRPGs specifically or something. 360 technically has even more games overall. Love steam too though.
Thanks for further elaborating guys
That's my point though. Even if you liked shooters The PS2 has a ton of them. Hell every tv show and movie seemingly had a game on the PS2. It was a complete console that catered to almost every single interest no matter how obscure and also with a ton of high quality games as well.
No other console can compete with that. You have to settle whether it be JRPGs, arcade sports games, dancing sims, etc.
It's the king and it's crown seems pretty secure going into next gen.
All three of these are very close for me, and basically tied for my second favorite video game platform of all time (my favorite is the DS). I'd give it to the PS2 at the end of the day for the unmatched variety in its library though. It's probably my least favorite of the three in terms of everything not related to its library though (speaking about things like the controller, aesthetics, UI, etc.), whereas I'm quite fond of both the SNES and 360 in both of those respects. I think I'd rank them PS2>360>SNES but it's very close.
For one I think it's important to consider the console within the context of its generation and not in a vacuum. Sure, you can point to all of the great games and say, "see look at all of these." For a lot of people, they played those same exact games on the PS3. For a lot of people they decided between the two consoles based on exclusives, and in that department I think the PS3 is pretty far ahead. Not only that, between the RROD, the introduction of paid online, pushing microtransactions, switching to a focus on Kinect and failing to drive compelling exclusives for the second half of the generation - I'm left loving Halo 3 and playing the Gears of War trilogy with friends and otherwise feeling pretty indifferent to the console (which I bought first).
When I think about the SNES, I think about the incredible games you could only play on it. Same with PS2 which and a ton of great exclusives. I understand all three consoles pushed the industry forward in some ways, but out of the three the Xbox 360 is the only one I know had some serious negatives. So when I consider being able to play the multiplatform games on PS3 and all of those exclusives plus the Wii which was doing very unique and innovative things, I can't help but view the Xbox 360 and not even being in the same category as the SNES and PS2. The Xbox 360 had the weakest exclusives of the generation by a wide margin, so whether you compare it to Wii or PS3 it's not as compelling.
And I say this as somebody that puts the original Halo trilogy in a unique category from all other games I love. And also some of the things you are giving credit to the Xbox 360 it shouldn't get credit for, like storytelling in gaming. That's...a bad take tbh.
this is true, people here are grossly understating how PS2 games have visually aged atrociously and especially compared to GameCube and Xbox games.
SNES wins this easily.
I only voted SNES because of my ties to it in my childhood and teenage years. It and the PS2 are easily tied. I'm surprised the Mega Drive/Genesis isn't on the list, but, well...
That's not their second (sophomoric) console, as the OP was asking. Their second would be the Master System, which came after the SG-1000.
OP
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Well as far as JRPGs are concerned 360 notoriously has Blue Dragon, and Lost Odyssey. Also FF13, FF13 2, Infinite Undiscovery, Enchanted Arms, Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia, Resonance of Fate... and that's just off the top of my head.
Idk, I dont find it all so lacking.
I mean, did PS2 even have western RPGs? I'd have to Google that one.
People can use whatever criteria they want to justify their choice. To me it doesn't really make sense to judge it based on how good the games are to play today, but rather how good were the consoles during their time on the market. That's just me though.
PS2.
From a business perspective you couldn't even ask for more; it was complete domination.
For us, we got so many amazing games across so many genres. Honestly, I could play PS2 games for the rest of my life and never run out of quality titles to play. There was literally something for everybody on the system.
But Nintendo started the aggressive exclusivity deals with the NES. And Sony was just as bad about it during the PS2 era (look up the story of GTA III as an example).
And PS2 had bad DRE issues early in its life. Completely agree with you on paid online play though.
From a business perspective you couldn't even ask for more; it was complete domination.
For us, we got so many amazing games across so many genres. Honestly, I could play PS2 games for the rest of my life and never run out of quality titles to play. There was literally something for everybody on the system.
But Nintendo started the aggressive exclusivity deals with the NES. And Sony was just as bad about it during the PS2 era (look up the story of GTA III as an example).
And PS2 had bad DRE issues early in its life. Completely agree with you on paid online play though.
You politicized the 360... You can defend your "meme" description by describing it as a joke, but it's off-putting enough to skew the poll.This was something I was thinking about in the shower this morning, and it's still weighing on my mind.
Just like how the second entry tends to be the best in a movie franchise, or many bands have released cult classic albums after their debuts; the same can be said in regards to the sophomoric console efforts of the current big three in the industry.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all released what could be fairly argued as the greatest consoles of all time with their second swing at bat. The only question is, which one is your favorite?
After much thought, I'm going to give the edge to Xbox 360. As much as I adore my time spent with the PS2 and SNES, the Xbox 360 features my favorite controller of the bunch, and both the most modern and well polished games. The way the 360 handled online gaming revolutionized the industry and moulded the way we see AAA games today.
Between Gears, Halo, Forza, Viva Pinata, and Fable - the 360 absolutely cemented Microsoft's place in the industry as a contender. The only major console manufacturer, mind you, who isnt based out of Japan. With 2,084 titles total - both physical and digital - the 360's library is even more expansive and varied than that of the PS2.
I think I made the right choice.
Which one is your favorite?
Trying to decide between LTTP, Mario World, Yoshi's Island, F.Zero, Pilotwings, super G&G, Rock and Roll Racing, SSF Turbo, Joe and MAC, Super Punch Out....
Over
SSX, Tricky, MGS2, Going Commando, War of the Monsters, God of War, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Jak & Daxter, Soul Calibur 2, DMC....
Man that was tough. I ended up going with PS2, but only just barely cause I spent the better part of a year playing War of the monsters, downhill dom, and Soul C with my workmates almost daily for lunch breaks and we had an absolute blast!
Over
SSX, Tricky, MGS2, Going Commando, War of the Monsters, God of War, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Jak & Daxter, Soul Calibur 2, DMC....
Man that was tough. I ended up going with PS2, but only just barely cause I spent the better part of a year playing War of the monsters, downhill dom, and Soul C with my workmates almost daily for lunch breaks and we had an absolute blast!
Snes easily. I assume ps2 is leading because the age range on this forum screws younger and many didn't grow up with snes.
The chart is inaccurate with a number of the consoles listed. It's using vgcharts after all which is banned here for bad information. XBox one is above 50m according to those with npd numbers and has been for a while. Where exactly we don't know. The 46m is the last known public number from over a year ago. Switch should still be passed it though as it's sales have been crazy strong this year.
The chart is inaccurate with a number of the consoles listed. It's using vgcharts after all which is banned here for bad information. XBox one is above 50m according to those with npd numbers and has been for a while. Where exactly we don't know. The 46m is the last known public number from over a year ago. Switch should still be passed it though as it's sales have been crazy strong this year.
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SNES for sure. It had the best library of the three, especially when looking at 1st party titles.
Going by the question I've gotta go with 360. SNES and PS2 were both successors and improvements on the winning system from the previous gen. It was theirs to lose. By comparison, 360 was a huge turnaround from the OG Xbox in terms of 3rd party support, sales, features and longevity.