Alright c'mon y'all....what generation of PlayStation is undeniably the best?

I've mostly been an Xbox guy for the past 16 or 17 years, but that all changed (for the better) when I bought my first PlayStation console back in November 2016.

Saying that, I had many, many friends at school whom had a PSone and a PlayStation 2 so, I had a really good time with both of those!

My preference would be:

PSone > PS2 > PS4 > PS3

I hardly knew anyone who had a PlayStation 3 last generation when the Xbox 360 kind of took over here in the UK so, regrettably, I didn't get an opportunity to play very many of those games with the exception of the remastered versions of both The Last of Us and Journey.

Both the PS1 & PS3 hold special places in my heart, but the answer is PS2.

Imo, PS2 > PS1 > PS3 > PS4.

Betty said:

PS2 was the first time gaming felt like it took a giant step out of the bedrooms of boys and young men.

You had Singstar, Rockstar, Dance Dance Revolution, and so many more, it was a global phenomenon.

Not to mention DVD became the defacto format thanks to being a trojan horse inside every PS2.

Yes Wii and DS went even further by gaining an even wider audience, but PS2 was the first time Gaming felt like it went mainstream the world over.

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Still no, none of those titles compare to Wii Sports or Nintendogs. A quick google search tells me that Dance Dance Revolution sold 6 million copies on the PS2 whereas Wii Sports sold 45 million.

Given the PS2 had a much larger install base than the Wii, you really can't use DDR as an example of PS2 making gaming main stream.

I disagree with your last sentence as well, in fact to be honest I disagree with the entire premise.

There is this presumption that only teen boys and young men played video games but that has never been true. All of my female cousins owned a Nintendo 64 and I didn't know a kid in school, boy or girl who wasn't playing pokemon. Video games have always appealed to a wide cross section of people. The Wii and DS just exploded that audience in a way other consoles didn't

No, on your point about DVDs as well. Most people owned a DVD player, it wasn't some trojan horse by Sony.

Pretty sure that the PS2 would be a safe assumption to make that as being the best of the four.

PS1 all the way. The impact of that machine cannot be understated. I wanted the N64, but then one day I discovered the PS1 at the local mall, and I was just not prepared at all. It just made everything else seem obsolete. This machine was just a staggering piece of work, and it kept delivering great games. Overall, the PS2 library might be better, but I just remember the PS1 as a miracle.

1 > 4 > 2 > 3

PS1 will never be rivalled.

As a 34 year old gamer who's owned all at day one:
PS4 > PS2 > PS1 > PS3

-PS4 just gets so many things right as a console (usability, apps, UI smoothness and navigation). Games are finally maturing as a medium and games released for it now have acceptable performances (solid fps, 1080p at the minimum).

-PS2 brought out so many classics. God of War, Resident Evil 4, Gran Turismo, among others. And was also the very best DVD player at the time of release.

PS1 - So many classic JRPGs that are very much still playable today. Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 and Tactics. So good.

Ps3 - the exotic architecture wasn't worth it in the end. Most games just performed terribly and at sub HD resolutions. It's exclusives doesn't stand up to what came out on PS1 and PS2 overall. Patching of games were also a pain. A lot of notable games were also remastered on Ps4 with muchore playable resolutions and performance making the PS3 even more irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

PS1 hands down. The boldness and experimentation were unprecedented.

PS2 was pretty great two with probably a better overall library than 1 (with the benefit of backwards compatibility to boot) but I he sheer madness of PS1 boy

PS4 is approaching PS2 levels but the risk aversion and infatuation with "cinematic" will keep it from getting there fully

ps1

Playstation 2

MGS2+3 and Persona 4 are all amoungst my favourite games of all time

Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, Persona 3, Final Fantasy 12 and Dragon Quest 8 are all on my top 25 as well

my heart wants to say 2
but
RE1-3
FF7-9
MGS
making it difficult...

2 will never be matched, its the pinnacle.

3 was the worst though, just a horseshit console.

PS1 for me.

Better RPGs, neat 2D games...

Ps2





LONG LIVE THE KING.....

This one. Perhaps not the most iconic but in terms of best game, widest range of games I fail to see how the PS4 won't have you covered. And then the obvious arguments like PS1 or PS2 games are perhaps a bit too old now to enjoy by many people.

Funnily enough I think it's PS2 although I never owned one myself.

I think the PS1 era was was a wild west thanks to its polygonal and storage capabilities. It resulted in tons of creative titles, and birthed the most games I liked out of all the Playstation systems. The lack of standards in controls and mechanics often resulted in rougher, less polished games, but I prefer it over the homogeneity that the later standards would bring.

Another benefit it had was that the genres I like the most were also heavily represented.

Don't get the love for PS2.

For me it was 1, 4, 2 and then 3 a distant last.

PS1 and 4 for me, I spent the PS2 era somewhere gargling alcohol

We need a poll!

1 > 2 > 4 > 3

Probably ps1 for me. The nostalgia is really strong for me and I still go back and play a bunch of the games still.

PS1 started the future. PS2 ended up with the best software library. My fondest memories are with the original.

PS1>PS2>PS3>PS4

John Doe said:

Still no, none of those titles compare to Wii Sports or Nintendogs. A quick google search tells me that Dance Dance Revolution sold 6 million copies on the PS2 whereas Wii Sports sold 45 million.

Given the PS2 had a much larger install base than the Wii, you really can't use DDR as an example of PS2 making gaming main stream.

I disagree with your last sentence as well, in fact to be honest I disagree with the entire premise.

There is this presumption that only teen boys and young men played video games but that has never been true. All of my female cousins owned a Nintendo 64 and I didn't know a kid in school, boy or girl who wasn't playing pokemon. Video games have always appealed to a wide cross section of people. The Wii and DS just exploded that audience in a way other consoles didn't

No, on your point about DVDs as well. Most people owned a DVD player, it wasn't some trojan horse by Sony.

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Not to mention the poster you quoted seems to have forgotten the whole Tetris/OGGB craze in the late 80s/early 90s, which was directly more responsible for opening gaming up to more audiences much more so than of the games they mentioned.

Seriously, there's a reason why Tetris holds a claim to being one of, if not, the overall most influential game ever created.

Anyway, to answer the thread title: It's the PS2, and IMO, it's really not even close.

From DBZ, to SSX, to Soul Calibur, to God of War, the Smack down games, Midnight Club, the GTA games....I mean, fuck, I could literally keep going.

If there's a Mt. Rushmore of gaming devices, the PS2 is somewhere among the greats. That's high praise I can't say for any of their other consoles, and they have been great in their own right.

Toss up between 2 and 4. I'm trying really hard to not let nostalgia cloud my judgement of 1

Tie between 1 and 2.

Grew up with PS1, but it's undeniably PS2. Almost all of the great IPs that started on PS1 got even better on the PS2 (MGS2 & 3, Silent Hill 2 & 3, RE4, Gran Turismo 4, Persona 3 & 4, etc.) and a barrage of huge IPs that are still relevant today came out on it (GTA, DMC, Monster Hunter, God of War, etc.). It even had games that, although didn't have followups, were innovative, memorable and top quality (Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, God Hand, Okami, and more). So, it was the best mix of best sequels of established IPs, new gaming series and interesting new concepts for games.

Even though the PS4 is still going, the Sony exclusives are more 'standarized' in a way the they were in the PS3 generation. Having a killer FPS with Killzone 2, then a cinematic third person shooter with Uncharted, an open world action game with Infamous, an online only shooter madness with Warhawk and the stealth masterpiece of MGS4 is a really varied mix of games. Now, everything feels like its slowly approaching the same mold of game design: open world with RPG lite mechanics, meaningless side quests and collectibles as to pad out the game to have it last 20 more hours (GoW & H:ZD, and going by previews, Ghost of Tsushima too). Not that they're bad, but it's getting stale to me, big time. Let's see how the rest of their output during this gen shapes up.

So far: PS2>PS3>PS4>PS1

galv said:

Both the PS1 & PS3 hold special places in my heart, but the answer is PS2.

Imo, PS2 > PS1 > PS3 > PS4.

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I agree with this. You summed up what I was going to say nicely. :)

2>1>4>3

though 4 having significantly better power and design than 3 makes this current gen the "best"

but gamewise, i remember having the most fun during the ps1-ps2 era, ps2 being the best library ever.

I still need to catch up with PS2's library, but so far...
1 > 4 > 2 > 3

PS1 tops because of the pleothra of excellent JRPGs it offered.

PS4

PS4 is actually getting up there. PS1 and PS2 had amazing libraries, but we're looking at their whole lifecycles. PS4 is still going and will be relevant for a long time, but the game library is already starting to become simply incredible.

There's no "undeniable" best, but PS4 will at least rival PS1 and PS2.

Whitemex said:

Toss up between 2 and 4. I'm trying really hard to not let nostalgia cloud my judgement of 1

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resident evil 2 & 3 are amazing games, no nostalgia necessary

If you think about it. The PS2 generation was also the most influential.
1.Open world-GTA series the grandaddy of open world
2. Character action- DMC...Platinum games(clover) and God of war were born in this generation
3. Ico and SotC, Omani,...sparked the are games art conversations
4. JRPG madness! You love Persona 5? You can thank persona 3 for that. One of the biggest collections of IP in media(Disney) had a love child with Square Enix. Love Nier: A? Guess where taro started.
5. Peak Kojima(don't @ me)
6. Sucker Punch, Insomniac, ND, were all growing as studios and this was their adolescence.
7. 150m+ consoles sold, the console that made gaming truly mainstream.
8. The guitar hero and DDR craze....
We still feel the impact on gaming the PS2 has til this day!

PS2, no wuestion about it. Probably the greatest console ever made and ever will be.

PS4 and the best is yet to come!

PS2, but that might change in a year or two in regards to the PS4 for me.

4 easily.

I guess you could argue that the other gens were more exciting at the time but if you were in desert Island situation with a complete collection of software from only one it would have to be PS4. And it's not even close.

I feel the original PlayStation has more high quality games that appeal to me but PlayStation 2 is also home to so many classics. You can still walk into a second hand store and pick up a great gem you've never heard of on either system.

3 & 4 aren't quite like that and that's partly due to how game development has changed. Output is lower and the AA market has all but vanished. I think PS3 nudges out PS4 for me. I'm a little disappointed that major franchises like GTA and Elder Scrolls only received remasters this generation while they had two instalments each on the PS3.

Even Sony's digital output on PS3 was more interesting with Tokyo Jungle and Journey.

PS4 has Bloodborne though.

I'd rank them:
PS1>PS2>PS3>PS4

PlayStation 2 is certainly at the top. It's my favourite console. It's the favourite console for almost everyone I know. I still have it set up!

The PSP + PS3 generation was one that I missed out on until its end, so visiting that and experiencing the library has been an amazing time with still no end in sight. That might be second because I was able to experience it in this way and essentially binge on many favourites.

The PS4 + Vita generation has been great thus far and caused me to branch out into more genres. There's a lot of unexpected surprises and the future continues to have a ton more games I'm waiting patiently for. It's third but can easily be second; it's really made me more enthusiastic for games.

The PS1 I have memories of as a child, yet, I didn't enjoy it that much at the time. It was only really due to the PSP that I managed to get back into its library and make a connection with the plethora of JRPG's on the system. I'd call it last just because it feels so blurred with the PSP and my memories are fuzzy yet individually it's still one of the best consoles of all time.

Organizing everything aside from the PS2 really is tough since I'm still juggling between them all whenever playing games.

PS2 was absolutely amazing

NBA Street 1 & 2
SSX Trilogy
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Ico
Silent Hill 2
Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas
Soul Calibur 2
Capcom vs SNK 2
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Resident Evil 4
Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3
Ace Combat 4
Devil May Cry 1 & 3
Gran Turismo 3
Hot Shots Golf Fore!
God of War I & II
Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, and Jak & Daxter games

Are some of the greatest games ever and I could probably be content playing just these games until the end of my days

PS1 is still my favourite because of the sheer level of creativity on display. Big fan of more obscure stuff like Lammy, Bishi Bashi, Kula World, Intelligent Cube etc. Objectively it's probably PS2.

2 for me.

Playstation 2 by 10 Texas miles. Such an incredible console. Anything else will just pale in comparison. Even the PS4, this generation's undisputed leader, couldn't hold a candle to it.

You'll never see the kind of domination the PS2 had ever again.

PS2 > PS1 > PS4 >>>>> PS3

PS2. It can play almost every single PS game perfectly and has component out, making those old games look even better. No contest.

Where is the pool op ?

ps1/2

PS4 probably. PS had some great games but gaming overall has come a long way since then.