The 5 Most Impactful / Important Consoles in Video Game History - Retro Bird 

To clarify one more time... this video is not a list of the best 5 consoles or the 5 consoles most important to me personally. This is a list of the 5 consoles that I feel have impacted gaming the most (for better or for worse). Also, a lot of you have mentioned the Super Nintendo's controller, which I think is a solid argument (in addition to the console's overall greatness). Games played: Super C (0:06), Mega Man 2 (0:37), Kirby's Dream Land 2 (1:08), Sonic 2 & Knuckles (2:18), Contra Hard Corps (2:40), Timesplitters 2 (7:18), OutRun 2 (7:50), Mario Kart 64 (8:40), BurgerTime Deluxe (10:00), Final Fantasy IX (16:55), Symphony of the Night (17:40)

Nailed it. As a Nintendo AND Sega boy (my love reaches no bounds), I think the fierce competition between the two was the perfect storm. 🤓

NES was the most important in my opinion. The industry was on life support with no signs of recovery and Nintendo found the cure. As good and important as other consoles are; they may not have existed at all without the little grey box.

I like how you included at least one console from each of the big four console manufacturers. They all had their own impacts on the industry. Even Microsoft.

Killing it with the longer form content. Thumbs up from me

I feel like the issue with the Atari 2600 is it just did not hold up well over time. The NES was the first generation where 2D games started to look and play a lot like 2D games still do to this day.

I actually think that the N64 is one of the most impactful consoles since it fully made the shift to 3D (analogue controls and fully explorable 3D environments), where the PS1 and Saturn games in 3D had been mostly 2.5D until then. While it had few games, certainly Mario 64 and Zelda toot had a disproportionately large influence on 3D gaming after that. An inciteful list though!

I really like the separation of favorite consoles vs important/impactful consoles.

In no particular order: Atari 2600: Introduced home gaming to the masses. Everybody had one. NES: Gave us Mario & Zelda, my childhood. N64 & PS1: Brought gaming into the 3rd dimension. Gameboy: Made video gaming portable for the masses.

Interesting list. I think I would debate a couple of these but at the same time, I can see how you arrived at these choices.

and clearly, youre the most important retro gaming channel, absolutely helped me making my retro setup without even thanking

This is a refreshing channel. There’s so many like it but this has something others don’t. Keep it up.

Just started the video and if the PS2 isn’t on this list, I’m making a Retro Bird voodoo doll.

Great content, and hilariously entertaining delivery. I subbed!

Consistent quality content. What a great channel.

Really enjoying your videos bro! Great content that is funny and informative

8:20 Easily my new favorite Brad Face.

I love opening my RU-vid and seeing that there is a new #RetroBird video!!!! Truly makes my day and fantastic fantastic content 💯 You need way more subscribers and way more, likes honestly, keep up the amazing work!!!

Your video output is impressive. Most channels I used to watch are obviously burnt out and just going through the motions at this point.

You made me laugh and smile today! I needed that. Subbed!

What? How was I not subscribed? I've been watching for a little over a year and could've swore I was subscribed. Oh well...I am now

Yet again, another great subject to chew on in the gaming world. I completely agree with all of your choices as well as the order they came in. The Genesis was more than an edgy competitor, it was proof that you can still have healthy competition despite what Atari and the crash did as long as it was done right. The original Xbox took what the Dreamcast tried to do and turned that dial up to eleven by introducing the very first built-in broadband connection and an online service that literally EVERYONE loved at the time. The Gameboy wasn't just the most significant step into handheld gaming, the entire definition of the phrase "handheld gaming" can basically be summed up with the Gameboy's name alone. The NES took what Atari nearly destroyed and rose it back up from the ashes. Without it, it's very possible we might not even have any home consoles to this day. Finally, the PS1 brought more people into the hobby and introduced a new media type that changed games forever. More storage on a cheaper type of media brought bigger games like RPG's into mainstream attention and into the hands of a growing audience of gamers. I'd like to add one small fact to the Xbox and say it was also the first console to bring HD level gaming into the living room. Consoles before it couldn't do much better than 480p on its best day, but the Xbox was capable of pumping out resolutions as high as 1080i without breaking a sweat which was HUGE back in the early 2000's. No other console before it could do that. Keep in mind this was also before the widespread adoption of HD flatscreen TV's and HDMI cables to. That means the Xbox was the first and only console to bring HD level gaming into the living room using nothing but whatever analog video connections were available back then (S-Video, Component and even RGB via SCART or JP21 if you were in Europe or Japan respectively). Every console since then... except the Wii because, well, Nintendo... has since followed that example by offering true HDMI at HD resolutions as a standard practice.

Ok the, "get on my lawn" hat is hilarious! Nice touch.

Great content as always, thank-you !

I laughed so hard at the neighbor kid bit. Your face sold it. Been there haha

5- Nintendo 64 - A relatively modest commercial success and of little interest to many publishers, its major impact was in how it influenced 3D game design, its utilisation of analogue controls, expanding multiplayer, and branching out into experiments like rumble and handheld connectivity. The SNES was something you might play with a friend, but the N64 was something to crowd around. Making 4-player a fundamental aspect of games like GoldenEye, Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Party was a huge part of its wider appeal, and gave players a taste of what they would enjoy in online gaming in the decades that followed. 4- PlayStation 2 - A console that sold to those who couldn't justify buying a console. A cheap DVD player and two consoles in one, it massively broadened the market, and what kind of games could make a profit. No matter what kind of games you like, there's bound to be dozens of great examples of it on the PS2. It was a console for everybody, and everybody bought one, massively inflating the budgets of games, and setting expectations for what a "Triple A" release was. 3- PlayStation - Through the early nineties, many console manufacturers had made attempts to make a success of 3D design or CD-ROMs, but the PlayStation is what solidified these as foundational aspects of modern games. Bolstered by publishers' frustrations at Nintendo's authoritative approach and high costs, the PS1 offered opportunities for designers to get wild. CD audio allowed for games to tell stories in engaging new ways, and the Memory Card massively expanded their scale. A truly global platform, massively successful in America, Europe and Japan, with developers from each territory contributing must-have titles to its library. 2- Game Boy - Possibly the first truly global success for a video game system, and the biggest breakthrough in portable entertainment since the Walkman. Relevant throughout the nineties until the massive boom of Pokémon completely revitalised it, bringing new releases into the new millennium. Its cheap price and unique functionality made it many people's introduction to buying video games, and an indispensable pacifier for children. 1- NES/Famicom - Until this point, video games were pretty much divided into arcade games and computer games. The Famicom gave us some of the first examples of console games as we recognise them today. Long, fun adventures with clear beginnings and endings, and intricate gameplay mechanics. The system that defined what console games were. Even if it wasn't so marketable in Europe, its approach to game design completely changed developers' attitudes and customers expectations through the late 80s and early 90s.

Great Stuff!

Thank you for making videos.

You deserve way more subs man

Now I wanna get a PS1 and NES mini and load them with games. EDIT-I was born in 84 and lived through these eras and can confirm everything bird said.

I'd go with Snes personally Great video, as always

Love the longer videos

Nice list man!

Here are my 5 before I watch 1: NES - my first ever game console. MAGIC. Gaming is HARD. 2: Sega Saturn - first 3d console I played. First I remember using discs. 3: Nintendo Gamecube - favourite Nintendo console, pure joy 4: Sony PS2 Slim - greatest valued console of all time. DVD player. 5: Game Boy - Started portable gaming for the boys

Great list, I totally guessed the first spot. My thinking was the fact that the Nintendo and Sony partnership break up lead to the creation of the PS one. That is some diverging timeline level shit there. Imagine a world with Sony's hardware with Nintendo's solid gameplays...

Your list is very well thought out I agree with your opinion about the most impact for us gamers and I’ve been playing games since 1980

Love the Time Splitters 2 gameplay. Thats definitely one of my all time favorites

This is my favorite retro style bird

One of the very rare lists on internet I actually agree with! All the spots, even Atari and Oddyssey. Good work 👍🏻

Personally, I didn't notice that change in gaming finally becoming "cool" until the original Xbox and the PS2. In my opinion, that's when things really started to change and gaming really started becoming more mainstream. It grew a lot during the PS1 era, but by the time the Xbox and PS2 came out, that's when I felt like things really changed and it became seen as normal for anyone to game. It definitely was a big shift away from things like cute mascot characters like gen 4, but I feel like it wasn't until the original Xbox and the PS2 until owning a console became more of the norm. The original Xbox and the PS2 introduced a lot of games that appealed more to more casual gamers that still weren't really there yet.

Totally agree with your list although I would put them in a different order.

I completely agree with your list.

Green Gameboy with that exact color palette. That’s what I use 👍🏼

I would add Neo Geo AES for being the first home console to bring perfect Arcade ports home in an era where that was what all consoles would strive to do and fail. Also for inventing the Luxury gaming market.

List is excellent! I would've added the TurboGrafx since it really pioneered multiplayer games on a console (yes the NES has the Four Score--which I have never been able to use); I wonder where 3-5 (or more) player gaming would be without such classic games like Bomberman or Dungeon Explorer. Just an observation. :)

Excellent list sir. I remember the playstation effect very well.

Before even watching this video, based on the title alone, I would have put the NES at #1, the Gameboy at #2 and the PS1 at #3. and I think I’ll stick with it. You’ve convinced me that the Megadrive should be on that list, it wouldn’t have made my list before and I’ll also put it onto #5. which leaves fourth place. Here, I’d put the iPhone. Not a dedicated gaming console, but it changed the industry. Nowadays, mobile games make a huge profit and they have brought entirely new demographics to video games.

Great list and great points. Id personally put nes in top spot for bringing the gaming industry back from the crash but 2600 would probably be second bringing gaming mainstream followed by Genesis for bringing major competition to the dominant nes, then ps1 for being the outsider to step in and dominate the industry and lastly the Gameboy for many years of portable dominating.

Good list and good question. Your answer is definitely going to be influenced by where you grew up. I’m fascinated to watch European RU-vidrs and their love of the Mega Drive and Master System. I don’t feel qualified to offer much of a ranking but I’ll stick the Genesis at number 1 since there are still AAA games being made for the console today even though it debuted back in 1989. And if you haven’t tried games like XenoCrisis and Demons of Asteborg you are missing out.

Man I'm so used to playing my OGxbox on a poopy TV seeing whatever TV or monitor he was using looked so nice hahaha

Really great list man! Agree 100 percent. I would add PC as a platform (i mean microsoft systems mostly), technically not consoles but you get the point. But i agree with every bit of that list - Sega did start actuall competition the way we know it today (and kinda shaped SNES), Xbox (or 360) did change the net play, Gameboy did create, actuall handheld market, shaped it, and legitimised it, NES did saved the market and set a new standard, and psx did open the gaming market to large audience with it's mix of old school arcade games, and new more complex, more story driven and often adult games. Perfect picks. And even though i'm kinda leaning on picking 360 over classic, the groundwork was done by classic just as the groundwork for ps2 was set by psx.

I agree with your list. Especially what you said about the PSone making it preferred to use CD’s for games. PSone and NES are not only the two most important consoles, but I would also put them as my two favorites. There are more classics on those two consoles than any other console.

He’s the retro bird!!! 🎉 that ending song is great!! Is it available for download?

I think the Neo Geo AES could get an honorable mention for bringing the authentic arcade experience to the home which no other console had even come close to at that point

I'm 44 y/o. Gaming was instantly "cool" with Nintendo, sales proved that point. Everyone owned a Nintendo. It was cool even with Atari 2600 (my drug-dealing brother had one in the late 70's, lol). Sega made gaming MORE cool (Biggie smalls even rap about having both). It was the different TYPE of games that separated social statuses. Everyone PLAYED video games and thought they were cool. But the real gaming nerds, back then, were more into RPG type games and games that took longer to play. Some where into PC gaming. The rest of us casuals were into sports games, fighting games and mainstream titles.

I really enjoy you "playing" Final Fantasy 9 by watching the intro cutscenes with the controller still in your hands. XD

I forgot how the PS1 made video games “cool” to the mainstream. I also remember that comic books also were really uncool until (seemingly) Iron Man 1 hit the theatres. So could you say that Marvel Studios is the PS1 of comic book characters? Thanks for the fun video. Great job

I would argue that the Super Nintendo did change gaming, atleast for the Japanese market. Prior to the SNES gamers couldn't download games to carts (the satelliview) or even the controller itself, it set the standard that everyone uses today, 4 face buttons followed by shoulder buttons.

Great list. It’s hard to argue the PS1 not deserving a type 5 spot, however, I would have put the PS2. I think the PS2 was truly the first system that was seen as not for “kids/teens”. It also was the first mainstream system that played DVDs (right in the height of the DVD era), so it truly became a family system that parents were more willing to purchase because they could use it as a DVD player. The PS2, in essence, became a more justifiable purchase for so many people because of it having a dual purpose.

I remember when the gray original game boy came out. By 1995, I thought the Gameboy was done, there were games coming out but not by leaps and bounds. By 1997, I couldn't believe going to toys R us and seeing new game boy games coming out. When Pokemon hit the scene it revived the Gameboy until the gameboy color came out and that was that.

The back in my day pants, the get on my lawn hat... what shirt completes the fit? The "sorry dad well be quieter" T shirt? The "I don't care if your friends see, they have moms too now give me a hug" sweater?

It’ll be interesting to see how the Switch is remembered along these lines. Although the wiiU tried it first, the ability to play high fidelity games while in bed, on your big screen, or at your desk at work is AMAZING.

I say the part about DK being made as a response to Aladdin on genesis is exactly true as I was just at the Midwest gaming classic show in Milwaukee and Kevin Baylis and David Wise had a Rareware panel where Kevin said exactly that!

I like your list

I actually think this list is bang on. Only thing i'd contemplate switching is Dreamcast for Xbox as it laid the ground for an out of the box online ready system. But I'm also just a massive Dreamcast fanboy so i would say that XD

Yup! Your right retrobird. The old games were awesome. 🙂

Funnily enough, I got to see the Gulf War Gameboy. Its in Nintendo World NY at Rockafeller Center.

I thought this ranking was spot on. I think with the PS1 being an easier hardware platform to develop with, not to mention much cheaper for these developers all around, I feel this opened the door for that creative boom in gaming where you'd get a vast variety of genres of games, some of them being born in this era, and others along greatly improved upon the quality of these types of games. There was a game for almost any subject matter you could think of, so anyone could live out their fantasies through gaming. Imagine what a skateboarder experienced playing Tony Hawks Pro Skater for the first time when before there was only Skate or Die and 720. Car enthusiasts playing Gran Turismo getting to drive a 1963 Split Window Corvette with a big block 454 on a realistic racetrack when before all they had was Sega Rally and Daytona USA. No console had offered those types of experiences before IMO.

What, no mention of the legendary Apple Bandai Pippin? Or the Action Max? Or the Russian Dendy? Somebody needs to do their research... 🙄 You haven't lived until you've played Mr. Potato Head Saves Veggie Valley.

An excellent case could be made for the DS and Wii, but overall good choices

Maybe the SNES didnt have the same impact the other mentioned consoles had, but its controller sure did. Most later consoles, and PC gaming, seem to have taken inspiration from the SNES controller with shoulder buttons, and Playstation took it further.

I think you could make a strong argument that the N64 was the first console to popularize multiplayer in a serious way. With 4 controller ports, games like super smash bros and golden eye were the first games I played multiplayer with more than just one other person. Sony kept 4 player games locked away behind an extra paywall for a multitap which kept devs away from since so few people would bother to get a multitap for PlayStation. I never owned an N64 but I played a lot of multiplayer games on it at friend's houses.

A cool vid and a list I for the most part I agree with. My only real issue is dealing with the PSX at the top of the list. However, I will begrudgingly agree as it's home to so many classics. It also really contributed to popularization of gaming, though I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good thing 😅

Thanks for the video. I appreciate the time involved. I must say I an quite surprised by having the original PlayStation console on the list. I would think the only thing the original Playstation did was create a way for more Playstation consoles. lol. I know the Playstations are much loved but for me give me Nintendo or SEGA anyday !

I like your list, but I would make the NES my number one most important system. Without the Nintendo Entertainment System, we may not be playing games the way we are today. It saved the industry from a terrible crash. The PS1 would get my number two slot. All of your points are perfect. It made gaming mainstream, which was the next step after the groundwork laid by the NES. Third, GameBoy. Again, your points are spot on. Fourth, I’d change the Xbox out with the Xbox 360. Yes, Xbox Live started on the original, but it was the 360 that really made online console gaming a truly realized vision. At number five, I would agree with the Genesis/Mega Drive and for all the same reasons. It not only gave an alternative to Nintendo, it did so much more. It made gaming cool. It showed that gamers were growing up. Sony may have made gaming mainstream with its 3D system, but the Genesis is where it began. Also, it forced Nintendo to innovate and release the SNES. Lastly, the Genesis was the whole reason (besides the PC’s DooM) for legislation urging the formation of the ESRB with Night Trap and, of course, the home version of Mortal Kombat!

I remember in the late 1980s, my relatives on my mom's side of the family would call Nintendo games Nintendo tapes, like a VCR lol! 😆

“Back in my day pants”….hahaha

My Top 5 Most Impactful would start with Channel F with the introduction of the Cartridge or the VideoCart as they called it. #4 The Original NES as you stated the come back story of ATARI failures. (Don't call it a come back, Gaming has been here for years!) #3 PS2 with backward capability & DVD player. To this day one of my best friends never did buy another movie player ever again! #2 GB Advance SP with plug in power, down with batteries...why are they still here? #1 XBOX One with a computer company Microsoft into the gaming field opened doors for movies to say hey we need to have gaming departments in our studios too! Maybe I went too far on the limb with that, but what I am saying is gaming is everywhere we look now! Would be here if Microsoft decided not to launch the XBOX One? Now for the hard decision, do I play video games or watch another episode of Retro Bird?

This may be a bit premature, but I think the SSDs in the latest Xbox and PlayStation consoles mark the biggest paradigm shift since the evolution of cartridges to optical media. As Mark Cerny pointed out, this isn't just about loading speeds, but the effect it'll have on game design itself.

Pretty good list. I would have to include N64 for introducing the analog thumb stick and rumble, 2 things that have been standard on every console controller since, even causing Sony to update the PS1 controller.

Agree, the psx is also my #1, followed by game boy, ps2 at #3, snes at #4 and saturn at #5

The Gameboy color has exclusives, unlike the pocket, and it made the games IN COLOR! It honestly felt like a new console to me, even though it wasn't any more powerful. I still remember being massively impressed by how vibrant everything looked

The game on the Odyssey II that was genuinely solid was K.C. Munchkin. Basically a better Pac-Man.

Hard to argue with you here RB, especially with all your well thought out reasons for why each console is deserving of a spot on the list. I would maybe swap PS1 and give top billing to the NES, as it’s importance and widespread adoption by the general culture can not be understated. Back then people didn’t play ‘video games’, they played ‘Nintendo’. I’m pretty sure my mom still calls all game consoles “Nintendo’s” 😂 I would also possibly add in PS2 as at least an honorable mention. Other than that, great list good sir 😎

Plus in any year the Genesis model 1 still looks cool

I'd say that he SNES makes the influential list just because every extant system's controller is based on the SNES controller.

Took me long to get in the gaming world. Was more of a Nintendo guy until my 20s than I started to buy those old console to experience the revolution of the time. Now the irony is I'm back to like more Nintendo bc they didn't change that much with gaming sense over the years. I skipped Wii u thought hahahaha

I would argue the Xbox also had a strong benefit of being one of the first if not the first console with storage that wasn't simply a memorycard or battery on the cartridge itself. Having on-device storage was a big game changer too. A strong argument could also be made to socket the PSP into the list somewhere before (or after?) the Gameboy for a few reasons. It being among the first consoles to support downloadable demos/games, an online marketplace (keep in mind, it predated the PS3) while supporting multimedia playback (ala smartphones that would come in years following) and had current gen console-like experiences on the go. And even more so, was one of the first consoles to support emulation. Even beyond hacking, PS1 classics could be run on the PSP and purchased from the playstation network (Albeit this came along later in its lifespan) but it was a combination of being able to experience old console games on the go, some ports of current console games, and should you hack it, even games from some of the competition, as well as your music, videos, browse the web, and more. I suppose Dreamcast could be considered somewhere in there too for being the first console to include the hardware for online gaming, and the first console to have access to an MMO (Phantasy Star Online) but in that same breath, PS2 had a more true MMO scene with FFXI and Everquest, and even the PSP later had a demi-MMO in the form of the Phantasy Star Portable games.

Sega Genesis will always be my desert island favorite. Play it like Jake forever 👍

I'll agree with this list

I would say Honorable mention: the Odyssey -First home gaming console, but is pretty rare and not really anything that special, outside of being the first. It is incredibly primitive, even in the definition of a videogame console. It's more like an experiment. #5 Atari 2600 -First gaming console that had popularity, and actually had a decent gaming library. It's the console that truely brought gaming to people's homes, and was not just an experimental console. #4 Sega Genesis -Literally everything you said, and I will add, it was also the gaming console that brought games like Road Rash and the Strike series that would revolutionize gaming forever. The gaming library was more experimental and often for the best, giving us more unique games to try, like Toe Jam and Earl. #3 Playstation 2 -It did what Sega said the Dreamcast would do, and capitalized on that. I believe the PS2 is more significant than the Xbox, despite the Xbox having revolutionary things like a harddrive and launched Xbox Live. One, the PS2 launched the headset for games like SOCOM, allowing better communication. The console was a home entertainment center, as it not only played CDs, but it also played DVDs which sold an insane amount of consoles, as it was a cheaper DVD player. It became the one thing outside of literally Cable or Satellite TV to do it all for you home entertainment setup. It also continued where the PS2 left off and gave us some of the most iconic games ever made like the GTA III that showed games are no longer just games, but a MAJOR entertainment industry that would start employing professional actors to do voice work for games. It was the competition that the Xbox needed to be what the Xbox became. #2 Playstation 1 -This was the console that revolutionized adult/mature gaming, simulation racing, continued on the successes of the 16 bit era and showed Sega and Nintendo after they both turned Sony down, that Sony was not a company to dismiss like they did. Nintendo turned down Sony after the Nintendo Playstation, and then Sega turned them down immediately after. So Sony became the underdog that beat out its competition. Even more strange, Sega would also turn down Microsoft on a joint built console when the Dreamcast was in development. Sony also revolutionized the CD based console, more so than the Sega CD or Turbo Graphx CD ever did, and gave us games that were impressively large, like Final Fantasy 7, or games that influenced Grand Theft Auto, like Driver 2. All in all the PS1 was a perfect first console in my opinion. #1 Nintendo Entertainment System -I put this one at number 1, because it is the first successful 8 bit console that started off the reintroduction of the videogame console. It was the first console to have games with a proper scrolling screen, and far more detailed levels, with a goal in the end versus a simple high-score. Like games like Asteroid, Centipede, Pac-Man, and more on the Atari were just a single screen where the point was to get a high score. Games like Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Castlevania, and Contra are games that had layers to them, levels, vivid colours, goals, and an actual ending to the game. These games expanded how we would view home gaming forever, and restored the gaming industry nearly single handedly in North America. To this day, it's collectibility is still significant, where consoles older than it, are no longer sought after. Despite the fact they paved the way for the NES. Great video as always.

While I personally love the SNES most, I will admit that it's not the most "important" Console out there. I tend to agree mostly with what you mentioned although I'd say the Genesis & Playstation can share a slot as they effectively did the same thing at different points in time & the Playstation leaped off the back of what the Genesis had done previously. Glaring omission as far as I'm concerned: Nintendo 64. It's an easy oversight, but I did one thing really importantly "Analog Stick" specifically in relation to 3D movement it was a game changer. While analog sticks existed before, they weren't used for 3D movement & bundled as a standard for a console in the mainstream. Without it we may have never had analog sticks on the Playstation, Saturn or any other console, which would mean a big divide between a "Console" game & "Computer" game compared to today where they're almost ubiquitous.

7:19 I'm one of the odd ducks who's 1st online games on console was Dreamcast, never had my Xbox online 😆, my most important consoles are (no particular order) NES-we had intellavision and atari but Nes was the 1st I remember enjoying, except I played a lot of burger time on intellavision GB/GBC-Made trips much more enjoyable, had a Gamegear but it devoured batteries to quickly to be very portable Ps1-the golden age of JRPGs made me realize games could tell a great story and I would be a gamer forever N64- Ocarina made me want to explore a game world like none before it Dreamcast-1st console I bought with my own money and the 1st console I played online

An honorary mention should also go out to The Switch. The first proper handheld/console hybrid. It’s changed how we can play a game by being on our TV and then walk off with the Switch and play it handheld. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being the biggest seller of all time even though it still has about 40 million units to beat the PS2. I think history will show what an important console it was and has already got a PC gaming clone in the Steam Deck. I’ll be surprised if another manufacturer doesn’t try the same within the next few years, especially the rate at which mobile technology is progressing.

Spot on and similar to my list. Atari 2600: The OG NES: Started the Nintendo franchises. Also saved gaming in North America. Xbox: Built-in Hard Drive, Online service, popularizing PC genres in consoles. It was pretty much a gaming PC. PSOne: The marketing push Sony did popularized gamibg and made it mainstream. First console to surpass 100 million units sold.

A handheld console I would consider to be extremely important RIGHT NOW is the Steam Deck. That was a game changer for me. I have a top end gaming PC and I find myself using the Steam Deck more than that! Being able to take PC games on the go and have it be as easy as a console to use is nothing short of amazing. Kudos to Valve. The fact that Valve is encouraging other manufacturers to enter the handheld PC space is amazing. I really think this will open up PC gaming to millions and allow people like myself to actually play some of the hundreds of games in their Steam library.

In My Opinion 5 Of The Most Important Console's / Handhelds I Agree With Atari 2600 It's Maybe The Most Important But I Would Also Have To Say Sega Dreamcast Because It Was The First Console To Realize The Potential Of Online Such As Phantasy Star Online. And With Games Like Soulcalibur Would Surprise The Arcades. 3rd In My Opinion Yes Gameboy Was 1st But The Neo Geo Pocket Color Would Leagues Above Any Other Handheld Of The 90's . 4th The Original Xbox Or As I Called It Dreamcast 2 It Would Take Many Things The Dreamcast Did With Online And Take It Farther With Xbox Live. Plus The Only Console You Could Get Some Games In 720p Like Soulcalibur II In 2002 That Was Crazy & A Hard Drive. Last I Would Say PS4 For Being In My Opinion Because It Is The 1st To Make VR Experience You Could Have At Home And More Affordable I Think In The Future People Will Look Back At PS4 As Being Revolutionary For The Time. Speaking As Someone Who Has Experienced Resident Evil 7 In VR It's Crazy How Fun And More Immersive Experience You Get.

Colecovision I would probably put at number 1, if for any other reason then it being the main reason the NES, and Master System exist, and why they both entered the market to begin with. The Atari 7800 I would actually put on the list somewhere for introducing backward compatability.

you should do an Atari 2600 series ! and what your favorites are and whatnot!

I have to say no one is going to mention this but the original Xbox you could hook four of them together and play 16 player Halo combat evolved couch co-op and I'd have to say that blew my mind and cemented it as being one of the best consoles