Which console generation was the healthiest?

Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP, DS

Mainly because the games didn't feel samey as they do now.

Gen 6 was the last generation where I felt all the consoles were well worth owning. Don't know if healthy is the word for it, Sega fell out, Nintendo and MS were scraping for market share. But for my preferences as a consumer, each of those boxes offered me plenty to like, tons of variety.

That being said, not something I want to go back to. Hardware and service differences aside, the main differentiator was the games. At least back then when you bought into a machine for its exclusives, there were a shit ton of them. But I do prefer the way things are now. Not trying to shoehorn PC into a console topic, but this past decade or so has been pretty great for the platform, having access to almost everything on one box. Not too interested in juggling redundant systems to access a few games anymore.

I can agree with that. That generation had so much originality and exploration.

@ConanTheStoner: Steam has done a great job consolidating the PC gaming experience which has had a positive effect on the platform.

Either the PS or PS2 era but I go with PS due to it was a time of 3D discovery for devs and lots of jank but well beloved games released. Nintendo struggled with their home console but released for some people one of the best game ever made (FF7 better). Gameboy was pretty revolutionary as it was the first handheld that at least to my knowledge have social features which allows for so much social interaction like pokemon sharing and PVP battle. Tamagochi was probably the actual first thinking back on it.

I don’t if I would call gen 6 “healthy.” The gen skewed very heavily toward PS2. We lost Sega that gen and Nintendo didn’t sell well at all. Xbox was also forced to cut the gen short and jump to the 360. Software was “healthy” but there were big struggles that Gen.

Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP, DS by a mile. It's the generation that got me back into console gaming and handhelds. Loved my PSP!

PS1 or PS2 eras. Either works.

6th gen. On the console side each one had at worst a solid exclusive library and in general 3D games made huge strides and the DS and PSP were both healthy systems as well.

I think the PS3, 360 and Wii were all worth owning but the 3DS and Vita were both not as strong as their predecessors... and game dev costs ballooned with the jump to HD and haven't stopped, it's been downhill since.

I think you could've gotten by with just a PS or XB last gen and this gen. (Ofcourse PC is a better option then either and basically makes consoles redundant now) In general publisher's don't even pretend to give a shit about anything other then squeezing every penny out of us - which isn't really a problem exclusive to consoles or even gaming these days. And ... most people are happy to go along with it.

Depends for which system. Right now, for example, its incredibly unhealthy for the Xbox. Its like we're re-living 2013 all over again.

7th gen, we had Just Dance on Wii, Dance Central on Kinect, I got a good bit of exercise with those.

I'm going to break it down to 3 category's....

Video game wise I would say PS2, GameCube, Dreamcast, psp,nds,Xbox. Big library of titles.

Fun wise the N64, ps, Saturn, Gameboy color etc group.

Online multiplayer wise I would say the PS3,xbox360 era because it was new and became so popular, the gen after that there was a bigger install base but some online video games became stale like cod during that era.

I agree with this.

I guess I will cast my vote now. I would say the PS3/360/Wii/3DS/Vita generation. I was happy to own each system and there were killer games on each that pushed forward. I looked forward to and enjoyed games on each platform and it seemed like bangers just kept coming. It was also the officially sanctioned indie scene thanks to XBLA, it was so undeniable that Sony and Nintendo also agreed to lower their drawbridges. There was a lot of variety. Better online infrastructure and better integration helped change the way we play games online. Communities were strong and positive. Games still worked well day one without patches.

Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP, and DS era gets my vote.

End of PS2, start of X360 era

We had so many genres and unique game ideas. We basically had everything. Except for mobile/tablet games, it was wonderful.

I still remember having a PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and a Dreamcast all connected to one TV via a switcher with the PC my brother and I used right in the next room.

What a time.

PlayStation 2, Xbox 360

360/ps3/wii era, Nintendo branched off and really solidified a separate identity, Sony had to double down resulting in some very high production value titles and 360 made online gaming mainstream. Not including the handhelds Sony really wasn't investing properly in the Vita, and the 3DS I'd argue was almost a hardware refresh than truly new.

@girlusocrazy: this generation. It feels like gaming has peaked and we have so many freaking options and games, so many different platforms, many of which you didn't include like occulus quest. Gaming has expanded so much, it's saturated.

The environment since 7th gen onwards has been sink or swim. Every game is a struggle to keep the lights in, betting everything on the next game needing to be a hit or studios go out of business.

But that's AAA publishing. Indies seem to be doing much better so there's been a healthier vibrancy at same time.

• Gen 1-2: Early years, exploratory, very few actually good experiences
• Gen 3: They figured out what fun is.
• Gen 4: Many more truly deep, rewarding experiences.
• Gen 5: Very memorable. Tons of great 2D and 3D experiences. Devs still keeping it weird.
• Gen 6: Games get more polished, but AAA is still a twinkle in big shit CEO's eye.
• Gen 7: Barrier to entry for publishing games drops. Lot's of good low-budget games. Birth of big budget AAA crap.
• Gen 8: Consoles become PCs. Games become movies.
• Gen 9: You're an idiot consumer, go **** yourself

I think, in terms of consideration for all parties, gen 7 was pretty healthy. Gaming market became much bigger. Both PS and Xbox made it easy to publish games on their platforms. Internet opened up lots of possiblities, but publishers didn't really start taking the piss yet.

This is kinda tough to answer, stuck between gen 5 and 6. 6 was great, but we did start seeing signs that production budgets were becoming a strain. AA publishers started going under, Acclaim, Interplay, Crave to name a few., and licensed games were everywhere.

Gen 5 was cool too. Any idea could get greenlit, and one team of 30 people could make games fast enough to rebound from a few commercial failures. Sony's dominance was not balanced, but it did force Nintendo become less dickish to 3rd parties. So, net positive?

I don't know, there are pros and cons to both, and I can't commit.

Gen 5 or 6. All the big three or four consoles were worth owning that generation. Each of the consoles had a bunch of unique games you couldn't find on rival consoles at the time.

Gen 7 was a decline from the previous generation. Games started looking dull with the grey and brown palettes, the PS3 and X360 became nearly identical HD twins for a while, the Wii was full of motion control shovelware, and the Japanese game industry was unhealthy. These issues were eventually resolved by the latter half of Gen 8.

I wish I could change my vote now that I've thought more. I realize after reading arguments here that it's really the ps3/360/wii gen as the healthiest since all platforms had independent strengths. PS2 gen may have been better but it wasn't as vibrant in terms of viable companies and differing strategies.

PS3/Xbox360/Wii was the healthiest. It was when no console was far above the other. Even though the Wii sold the most, it was 101 million compared to the 85+ million of the other two. It was when Xbox and PlayStation were neck and neck, and were pumping out games to outdo the other. Like, it was the healthiest as far as competition.

Though while it was the healthiest for the competition, it was ironically the most toxic for console wars. Though the toxicity during that generation was the most fun, because both Xbox and PlayStation were close in sales. Even with the Xbox being above it, it wasn't so far above it.

That's why last gen's console war wasn't very fun. Sony was so far ahead of the competition that it pretty much silenced the dissenting side. I mean... What could Wii U stans really argue when their console sold like 14 million? :/ The Xbox One was a moderate success with over 50 million sales, but the PS4 doubled those sales. It was just a one-sided war.

This gen since with every passing day we're getting closer to One universal game playing device that plays all the games. ;o

Oh and shad up, I don't wanna here about your Pee Salty Seas already doing that. lol :P

Yup! Much as I loved that gen, Sony dominated to a damn near unfair degree. My vote is Gen Seven, all consoles sold like mad, even though Sony had struggles then for sure.

Rut roh raggy, no more xbox hardware???? :o :P

Id say the PS3/360/Wii gen. Lots of interesting games, lots of interesting hardware to play those games on and the financial burden wasn't too bad so devs/publishers still took a punt on new ideas.

It was also the first gen where the hardware was a lot less in the way. Devs still had to fight with it (especially the PS3) but they could also get a lot more ambitious in their vision. Open world games especially really benefitted. Compare Morrowind to oblivion or skyrim....different league (er....though Morrowind is still the better game. But more despite the technical limitations).

Even today, 360/PS3 games scaled up to 4K with MSAA still actually look very nice. I was playing Arkham City late last year and it really does hold up well.

Then devs had to think more outside the box for the Wii. It led to a lot of crap, sure, but also some fantastic games and fantastic ways to play them. Same with the DS. Great little device. PSP, though not my fav piece of portable hardware, also set the groundwork for the idea that handhelds didn't have to just be for smaller handheld games.

It did sow the seeds for some of the worst elements of gaming today sadly. MTX being the big one (Damn horse armour) but the damage wasn't really felt back then.

This.

1 xbox360/ps3 era 2 ps2/xbox\gamecube 3 psx/ N64/ saturn 4 ps4 xbox one switch era 4 ps5 xsx switch and (switch 2) era for me

Mega Drive vs Snes gen.

Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP, DS by a mile. It's the generation that got me back into console gaming and handhelds. Loved my PSP!

I feel like it was the PS2 era, so many games, so many memories, so much fun. From PS3 onwards, i felt like games became less and less over time, not to mention, the casino mechanics became a virus for games ever since then. I still play more of my older games than the new ones tbh.