Abboudc: The PS2 had big games every month. It didn't have the best graphics, etc, but it had the one thing that makes a game console a game console -- games. All of the big games minus the Microsoft first party (which outside of Halo were pretty bad) and the Nintendo first party games.
That's a good post. Games are what makes a system. Graphics only go so far. If you look back on the history of gaming, you can see the changes taking place, and who took over after so many years as a front runner.
If any of you are old enough to remember the "true" birth of video games, you'll remember a "pong" game that came with a rifle, and you shot a moving dot. The console consisted of two dials - that was it. It didn't sell well. An original version of "pong" came out in the 60's (who knew?). In 1972 Magnavox came out with a system called "Odyssey", but practically went under when Atari sued them for copying a PacMan type game called K.C. Munchkin!.
Next came Atari's $200 2600 "VCS" in 1977. Everyone knows the fame of that system. The reason for it's fame? Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac Man, Frogger, Millipede, Pitfall - the list goes on. It was only a few years for the competition to start in.
I remember a few people (sold 3 million units) bought Mattel "Intellivision" in 1979. It was a ripoff of the 2600. The graphics were better, but none of the games were original. The keypad controller was horrible. Radio Shack had a clone system called "Tandyvision."
The big hit was in 1982 - the $175 ColecoVision. It has a large percentage of the arcade games, and was heads and tails above everything else. Great controller, too (for its day). It sold 6 million units in three years, primarily because of the "Donkey Kong" game included with the system. Defender, Gorf, Donkey Kong Jr., Carnival, Zaxxon, Centipede, Q-Bert, Frogger, Burgertime, and Galaxian were big hits as well.
Some may even remember a stand alone gaming system called "Vectrex" which also came out in 1982. It had a few games, most notably Minestorm (asteroids), Berzerk, and Pole Position. This was an awesome system, but never really took off. I actually bought one for $99, and it still works.
Also in 1982 the Atari 5200 came out. Great graphics, terrible controllers. Never took off. In 1984 Atari 7800 came out, and was a flop.
In 1985, NES came out and it practically put everyone out of business. IMO, it was the games, the programming, the controllers, and the fun factor. In 1989, Sega Genesis was the big "to do." Great games, and even better graphics. In 1995 - Sony Playstation - a home run. In 1996 - Nintendo 64 - great graphics, but no comparison to Sony's software.
All in all, over the years, it seems those with the best games have won out.
