The 10 Most Overrated Video Game Consoles of All Time, Ranked – CBR

Video games have to be played on something, and a prominent way of doing so is by using what’s known as a console. Video game consoles are, in essence, glorified gaming computers that tend to stick with the same specifications throughout their lifespans. There have been many consoles over the years, from early systems like the Odyssey series to modern devices like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

Some may consider all video game consoles overrated, especially given the modern-day presence of gaming computers that can easily outlast them. However, there are some consoles in particular that get more hype than they deserve, including the PS3 and Game Boy Color, among others.

10

The Nintendo Entertainment System Was Amazing for Its Day

But It Was Quickly Surpassed in Hardware by the Likes of Sega

The Nintendo Entertainment System, originally the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan, is the device that made the world take video game consoles seriously. Other video game consoles existed before it, like the Atari 2600, but the NES is when video games turned from a novelty into a major industry. The impact of the NES cannot be understated, and one can only imagine what video games would look like today without it.

Related

The 10 Rarest NES Games (& How Much They’re Worth)

As PriceCharting shows, some NES games are harder to come by than others, including Cheetahmen II and Little Samson.

Still, it wasn’t long before the NES was surpassed by competitors, at least in hardware. Most notably, the Sega Genesis forced Nintendo into making the much superior Super Nintendo. The staying power of the NES is nothing short of a miracle, given that new NES games are still coming out today. It is a testament to Nintendo’s ruthless business and licensing practices in the 1980s.

9

The Atari 2600 Was a Blast While It Lasted

But Intellivision and Colecovision Were Better

The Atari 2600, originally the Atari Video Computer System, was far from the first video game console; that honor goes to the Magnavox Odyssey, which was released in 1972. However, the Atari 2600 did help to popularize home video gaming with its fairly affordable price point and eye-catching video games. For that matter, it is little wonder that the Atari 2600 managed to dominate the late 1970s and early 1980s.

However, there’s a case to be made that the Atari 2600 is a little overrepresented in the pop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially with the advent of competitors like Intellivision and ColecoVision. Both of these consoles had better hardware and, to an extent, better and more sophisticated video games. The Atari 2600 was simply stuck with the limitations of the 1970s.

8

The Wii Is Overrated for an Underpowered Console

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Were Both Better Options

The Wii marked Nintendo’s successful comeback after roughly two generations of equally overrated yet underperforming hardware. It’s known for its base controller, the Wii Remote, which, as the name suggests, functions as much like a remote as it does a controller. The Wii Remote was also designed to emphasize the console’s motion control capabilities, which helped the Wii vastly outsell its competitors.

Despite being a commercial success, the Wii could only do so much with its motion controls before exhausting any new possibilities with it. Additionally, the result of the Wii’s casual niche was a glut of shovelware that overshadowed any good third-party Wii video games. In all, one would be better with an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, both of which had better first and third-party support.

7

The PlayStation 3 Is Too Elite for Its Own Good

It’s a Surprise That It Eventually Surpassed the Xbox 360 in Sales

The PlayStation 3 was the follow-up to Sony’s worldwide successes: the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Both consoles were notable for being highly innovative in their own ways, and Sony wanted to continue that reputation with the PlayStation 3. To do this, Sony tacked on a myriad of features that, in hindsight, proved to be a little too much for the system’s own good.

Related

Every PlayStation Launch Lineup Ever, Ranked

Every PlayStation console, from the PS1 to the PS5, has launched with a great lineup of games.

Many PS3 features, like Super Audio CD playback and an assortment of card readers, weren’t particularly important to the console as a video game system. Combined with its incomprehensible hardware, the console’s third-party offerings often fell short compared to those on the Xbox 360. It eventually made a comeback, and it’s a miracle that it wasn’t too little, too late.

6

The Game Boy Advance Didn’t Have Many Original IPs

The GBA Wasn’t Very Advanced on That Front

The Game Boy Advance was the third and final handheld video game console in Nintendo’s Game Boy series. It was meant to be the most powerful of all the Game Boy systems, featuring a richer color screen and an advanced sound chip. Theoretically, the Game Boy Advance was poised for greater remembrance, especially with its backward compatibility.

Unfortunately for the GBA, despite being remembered, it doesn’t have many original intellectual properties that originated on the system. Much of its software library consists of spin-offs of existing IPs or remakes of Super Nintendo games. The Game Boy Advance has a place in video game history, though many people give the console more credit than it deserves.

5

The Nintendo 64 Was So Powerful and So Underwhelming

The N64 Hardly Had Any Good Third-Party Titles

The Nintendo 64 was the follow-up to the NES and Super Nintendo. It was technically the most powerful video game console of its time, featuring a powerful workstation processor and a robust Reality Coprocessor graphics chip. However, the N64’s potential was bottlenecked by its use of cartridges, which couldn’t store as much data as the emerging CD-ROM technology.

The result of this bottleneck was that while the Nintendo 64 had great first- and second-party titles like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, the console simply didn’t have enough strong third-party support. For what it’s worth, the N64 did receive a few standout third-party ports, including the impressive Resident Evil 2 port, but it’s little wonder how Sony’s PlayStation managed to succeed where Nintendo couldn’t.

4

The Nintendo 3DS’s Gimmick Only Took It So Far

The 3DS’s 3D Mechanics Were Underutilized

The Nintendo 3DS was Nintendo’s final handheld video game console, not counting the Nintendo Switch and its Lite model. It was intended as an evolution of the earlier DS handheld system, with the key gimmick being the 3D top screen. Nintendo placed its bets on stereoscopic 3D as the next evolution in gaming, as evident in the design and early titles on the system.

Related

Every Nintendo Handheld Console, Ranked

From the Virtual Boy to the Game Boy, these are Nintendo’s best handheld consoles.

repeat of the Game Boy Advance. The 3DS was meant to be a portable Wii, just as the Game Boy Advance was meant to be a portable SNES. Like the latter, however, the 3DS lacked a strong lineup of original IPs, let alone standout entries in existing series such as Chibi-Robo, among others.

3

The Game Boy Color Was Colorful All Right

There Is Not Much Else to the Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color is either a revision of the original Game Boy or its successor. On one hand, it has its own games that do their best to take advantage of the system’s hardware. On the other hand, the GBC didn’t have all that many exclusive titles, especially when excluding the Pokémon games.

Worse still, no Game Boy game with Super Game Boy compatibility will carry over any of the colors from that peripheral, meaning that backward compatibility with original Game Boy games, while present, is otherwise limited and unappealing on the GBC. All in all, a Game Boy Advance is the better option for anyone looking to play Game Boy titles. It’s ard to believe the Game Boy Color was a late 1990s icon.

2

The Nintendo GameCube Had Fine First-Party Hits

Almost Nothing Else On the GameCube Is Worthwhile

The GameCube was Nintendo’s failed follow-up to their nearly failed Nintendo 64 console. For what it’s worth, the GameCube’s hardware was only slightly less powerful than Microsoft’s Xbox, featuring a graphics chip developed in conjunction with ATI and a processor identical to those used in Apple’s Mac computers at the time. The GameCube even used optical discs, though they were smaller in capacity than standard DVDs.

And there lies the problem with the GameCube that leaves one scratching their head as to why the console is considered a cult classic today. The limited disc space meant that only Nintendo’s first-party titles made full use of the GameCube’s hardware, while third-party titles were few and far between. For that matter, all the best third-party hits were already available on the Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation 2.

1

The PlayStation 2 Is Still Fine as a DVD Player

But the PS2’s Competitors Are Vastly Superior

​​​​

The PlayStation 2 is, to date, Sony’s most successful video game console in their PlayStation line. At the time, a major advantage the PlayStation 2 had over its competitors was its use of DVDs. Not only did this allow for larger games to be developed, but it also let consumers use the PS2 to play movies on DVD.​​​​​​​

Related

The 10 Weirdest PS2 Games of All Time, Ranked

PlayStation 2 games like Ribbit King are so weird they have to be seen to be believed.

For that matter, the PlayStation 2 still functions well as a DVD player. Nintendo’s GameCube lacked DVD functionality entirely, and Microsoft’s Xbox required peripherals to play movie DVDs. That being said, the PlayStation 2 is criminally overrated, with both the GameCube and especially the Xbox, with its online multiplayer and better hardware, being superior in every way, despite both consoles underselling the PS2 by a large margin.