discussion Which system had the biggest influence on the gaming industry?

[Ferris Bueller | 495]

Last night I participated in a debate on the Retro World Series stream where we discussed which system had the biggest impact (good or bad) on the video game industry as a whole (not what console had the best game selection or graphics). Guests included:

• Hal Hawkins, Moderator (Retro World Series)
• John Lester (Gamester81/Game On Expo)
• George Gracin (G to the Next Level)
• Jeffrey Wittenhagen (Hagen's Alley Books)
• And me, Christian Deitering (Let's Play Gaming Expo/Mother to Earth)

I argued for the Super Nintendo. The other systems included were NES, Game Boy, PS2, and Commodore 64. I think that a lot of interesting points were brought up and would love to hear what you guys think about our discussion. 

You can vote on your pick here: https://retroworldseries.com/polls

 

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Ferris Bueller

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

Oh that’s easy! Virtual Boy!

[Ferris Bueller | 495]

Just now, a3quit4s said:

Oh that’s easy! Virtual Boy!

Discussed towards the end when Hal asked what had the most negative impact.

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

Before I watch the video I will say the following.

1. The Mobile Phone - It brought gaming to billions of people, plain and simple, an EASY #1
2. The Personal Computer - It never experienced a "market crash" and it's easily accessible since the beginning.
3. Game Boy - I honestly feel without the Game Boy, the Mobile Phone wouldn't even be considered a gaming platform.
4. PS2 & Xbox Console War - Not exactly "a" system, but these two basically knocked Nintendo off the top spot and put Nintendo as everyone's "other" console.
5. Sega Genesis - The original antithesis to Nintendo. While Nintendo was all about family fun, Sega was about pushing blast processing in your face with its edgy mascot.
6. PlayStation - It basically proved that disc based games were the future and cartridges are obsolete.
7. NES - This console managed to save the home video game industry (in America)
8. Atari Pong & Atari 2600 - Go on the street and ask someone "what was the first video game?" and a massive majority of people will either say "Atari" or "Pong". Despite that being wrong, it proves to how much influence it had on the market.
9. Fairchild Channel F - WHAT? Why not? This is where the programmable cartridge was INVENTED. Not only that, but the inventor, Jerry Lawson, was an African American. A true pioneer in many, many ways.
10. Magnavox Odyssey - The granddaddy of all video game consoles. Without this hunk of plastic we'd be playing stickball or something.

Honorable Mentions

• Nintendo Switch - Nintendo officially departs the home game console market with a "soft exit" by creating a handheld game console and bundling it with a TV dock. The end of one of the most important chapters in gaming history.
• MicroVision - While not the first portable gaming system, it's the first one to use exchangeable cartridges. That counts for something.
• Mattel Auto Race - The first portable gaming system. 'nuff said.
• Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Oddysey 2 - Collectively accounting for about 7 million sales, these are the original "console war" consoles (along with the Atari 2600)

 

Edit: PS, remind Jefferey that Contra isn't an NES game. It's a decent arcade port. NES is great, but it aint the real champion in history

Edited January 8, 2021 by ThePhleo

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

Yeah, if iPhone counts, that’s it. Not that I hate Nokia Snake or bootleg old Tetris clones or NGage and Tapwave Zodiacs. But more than putting shitty games in everyone’s pocket, it created numerous genres, vastly changed monetization, and became the most popular gaming platform. Old organizers, PDAs, and phones each played a part, but iPhone and smartphones in general blew the doors off.

PCs almost feel like cheating. Commodore is dead. Atari is dead. Tandy is dead. I’m typing on a descendant of IBM PCs and it’s the most powerful gaming platform ever with a 4 decades deep library of historical firsts. One computer platform is clearly the winner in terms of influence.

After those two, it’s a bunch of old crap that can’t play Minecraft or Pokemon Go. Gross!

Some arguments on the podcast were things that were technical firsts (PS2 online, which didn’t set any kind of standard for online console play going forward like XBL did) or things that made a console “great” (Gran Turismo on PS2 is better than PS1, when GT1 is the bestselling PS game and the landmark in the genre). I also would have a hard time picking Game Boy as the #1 influencer ever when gaming is the biggest it’s ever been now and the primary interfaces to gaming are mobile phones, consoles, and PCs, not dedicated handhelds. I don’t see a way it can be #1 if the reason it’s #1 is that it led to the actual most important platform.

Edited January 8, 2021 by DefaultGen

[JamesRobot | 5,788]

5 hours ago, ThePhleo said:

The Mobile Phone

 

4 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Yeah, if iPhone counts, that’s it.

 

Fuck no!  Apps ≠ video games!

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I'd say Atari 2600 and NES are probably the two most important and influential consoles. Everything after that was more of a progression than a revolution.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

19 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I'd say Atari 2600 and NES are probably the two most important and influential consoles. Everything after that was more of a progression than a revolution.

Agreed.  If you're talking biggest influence on video game technology, it's Atari (popularizing both pre-programmed removable cartridges/data and "licensing" properties, starting with Space Invaders).

But if you're talking about most influence on the gaming INDUSTRY, it is NES without any shadow of a doubt.  Everything Nintendo did and did not do in the NES era has shaped what we know as the gaming industry today.

Now, I haven't listened to your video, but why on God's green earth would you even try and argue for the SNES?!?  It is literally nothing more than an iteration and extension of the NES in every conceivable way, industry-wise, even including the name of the damn thing.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Dr. Morbis

[Startyde | 175]

PS2 brought the entire world of gaming into the mainstream. News reports of people waiting for weeks to claim one, of shipments being restricted to certain countries for fear of them using the tech for weapons, for ushering in the age of DVD by ingeniously doubling as a media player. Just the mere announcement of PS2 emotionally knocked Sega completely out of the console war, it hadn't even released yet. 

You can argue the long term significance of other systems, but nothing has ever been as hype or cool as PS2 and turned the public perception of games being for introverted nerds to something that is cool to be a part of. 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Startyde

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

32 minutes ago, Startyde said:

PS2 brought the entire world of gaming into the mainstream. News reports of people waiting for weeks to claim one, of shipments being restricted to certain countries for fear of them using the tech for weapons, for ushering in the age of DVD by ingeniously doubling as a media player. Just the mere announcement of PS2 emotionally knocked Sega completely out of the console war, it hadn't even released yet. 

You can argue the long term significance of other systems, but nothing has ever been as hype or cool as PS2 and turned the public perception of games being for introverted nerds to something that is cool to be a part of. 

PS2 piggybacked on the Sega Genesis with the "video games are cool" mantra, they piggybacked on the DVD industry by adding that as a selling point, and Atari and Nintendo were household names in America long before the PS2 came about.  He's asking which system had the biggest influence, not which system had the most popularity; what exactly did the PS2 do to singularly affect, change, and influence the gaming industry from its historical point in time onward?  It's literally a Playstation 1 Redux...

Edited January 9, 2021 by Dr. Morbis

[Reed Rothchild | 9,511]

Probably NES, because of Super Mario Bros.

Mario has to be the most recognizable figure in pop culture, 35 years later.

[Startyde | 175]

3 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

PS2 piggybacked on the Sega Genesis with the "video games are cool" mantra, they piggybacked on the DVD industry by adding that as a selling point, and Atari and Nintendo were household names in America long before the PS2 came about.  He's asking which system had the biggest influence, not which system had the most popularity; what exactly did the PS2 do to singularly affect, change, and influence the gaming industry from its historical point in time onward?  It's literally a Playstation 1 Redux...

I answered why it was the most influential, because it brought gaming popularity to a whole new level. Even huge games like Mario 64 didn't resonate with non gamers. N64 sold less than SNES, and GameCube sold less than N64. Nintendo may be a household name but that was a far cry from universally popular. PS2 made the world take notice of gaming like never before. It's why 4 out of 5 of the highest selling home consoles of all time are Sony consoles. That's just unreal. (Albeit not I clouding portable of which Nintendo has always been king.)

It would also help to define what the parameters of influential are. I take it as the mark it left on the world, in which case I would still go with PS2 because I've never seen the world react to gaming than it did in the early 2000s with that system.

If you measure by the kinds of games gaming can create, Is lean towards Nintendo as they created the architype for many modern generas.

Of we go by hardware Is say Sega or Sony as they pushed what a console should include much more than Nintendo, at least on modern times, as they were the last to adopt disks, then DVD, then online, etc etc.

So the answer is going to depend on perspective. 

[GPX | 1,369]

I think there are several layers of influence at play. For example, influence on the:

- hardcore group (regular gamers)

- mainstream group (casual gamers who likes to dabble in gaming from time to time). 

- arcade/home gaming

- portable gaming

So depending on what kind of influence we’re talking about, it can literally be a whole range of answers from:

- Atari (first popular console)

- NES (first console with the most well known mascots in Mario, Luigi, Link, Zelda etc)

- SNES/Genesis (improving the standards before it and progressing further global acceptance of gaming)

- PS1 (gaming relatable to more mature audiences; first console with genuine 3D graphics)

- Wii (brought entire families together; grannies and grandpas can all get involved!)

My personal answer (and I may be somewhat bias here) is gaming consoles of the 8-bit transitioning into the 16-bit era ie. NES/Master System and SNES/Genesis. These were the consoles responsible for the propagation of gaming globally, and if you lived during this period of transitioning, you could confidently say that gaming was accepted exponentially and it won’t take any backward steps from there on. The trajectory in both gaming technology and social acceptance globally is what brought about so many other companies jumping into the share market in the mid-90s (eg. Jaguar, 3DO, Phillips CDI, Xbox) along with the giants in Nintendo and Sega....all battling for supremacy!

 

 

[Maartenvdz | 10]

The NES, no other console even comes close.
 

First there were atari (extremely basic) commodore (not plug and play and once set up, the games were still very basic) and home PCs (not plug and play and very expensive, so not accessible for the masses). Then the NES was introduced > plug and play, high quality, great graphics and games that really took you to a different world and made you feel like you were going on an adventure. Were I lived, there was also a real hype around the NES. All kids had one or wanted one. 
 

In my view, the consoles that came after the NES were just iterations (which does not make them inferior in any way).
 

Of course there were also the arcades back then, but these were a different league on their own. 

[Strange | 1,700]

My immediate reaction is to say NES. If iPhone does indeed count, then it’s “top 2” without a doubt**. The DS and Wii made a mark by bringing in a large casual audience but I’m not sure they’re “most influential.” Same with PS2, while making a huge mark I don’t know I’d call it the most influential, but certainly up there as well.

**I disagree that apps aren’t games. Especially since many iPhone apps have gone on to become full releases on PC and consoles and have gained critical acclaim there.

[GPX | 1,369]

Another perspective I can think of, is which console was responsible for the death of the arcades?

For me, it was the Snes/Megadrive. All the arcade favorites were there on the 16-bit consoles eg. Turtles, Final Fight, Streetfighter 2, Golden Axe, Ghouls n Ghosts etc. 

I stopped going to the arcades in the early 90s simply as there was no need, when I could be playing arcade-quality games and with the comfort of staying home.

[T-Pac | 7,527]

What a great topic for discussion!

With that being said, I don't think we can hope to get a solid answer for this since we're generally all on the consumer side of the industry. Most of the biggest impacts on the gaming industry probably came on the development side.

I assume that milestones in software creation and game-making tools for specific systems are significantly more impactful than market-concerns and broadening demographics, even though all that tech stuff has been behind-the-scenes for the majority of gaming 'history'.

-CasualCart

[Hammerfestus | 3,832]

It’s got to be Nintendo.  The Atari days it was a novelty.  Nintendo made it into an industry with the NES.  Everyone else just built off what they created.  Not to mention they’ve remained relevant and at times revolutionary to this day.

[Ferris Bueller | 495]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:21 PM, Ferris Bueller said:

You can vote on your pick here: https://retroworldseries.com/polls

Don't forget to vote on the poll!

Did y'all watch the video? I argued the Nintendo Playstation R&D had the biggest impact, without which there would be no Playstation.

[DarkTone | 984]

Probably Nes. People had pitchforks ready until they heard the pitch. Only approved games, not just a video game console, etc. 

[Brickman | 3,983]

I agree with basically all of @ThePhleo’s rankings. Definitely the top 7 is how I would rank them too.

The mobile phone and PC have had such an influence on the gaming industry in so many ways it can’t even be a competition.

Consoles even after all these decades are still playing catch-up to PC’s.

[Sumez | 2,934]

For the industry, specifically?

I'd say hands-down the first PlayStation. There's not really any competition there.

It lifted video gaming from a hobby into omnipresent mainstream. It immediately allowed video games to span across generations, forever destroying its status as a toy for kids. It introduced modern video game production where speculating in maximizing profits involved more than just acquiring a lucrative license and spitting out something hasty. AAA production wasn't quite a thing yet, but the first steps were taken here.

Essentially, the video game industry before the PlayStation was a different one, and the video game industry after the PlayStation is the one we are still stuck with.

Me personally, though, I don't have any reason to care for the industry as such. Looking at the field of video games as a whole, you could pick out and argue for almost any platform.

Arcades saw the introduction and refinement of nearly every single action game trope.
The NES represented a nearly ten year arc from simplistic repetitive score hunts to long elaborate adventures tailored to the home market.
The PC has played a role from the early days of RPGs and adventure games in the 70s right up to the indie boom of the modern era.

 

I'd say though, about the NES which a lot of people highlight. To me, that platform is one of the most interesting eras in video gaming because of all the changes we saw between a mediocre Donkey Kong port in 1983, and Adventure Island 4 in 1994.

But to me, the NES represents mostly an effect of everything that happened to video games in that era, rather than the cause. Most of the changes happened due to improvement in technology and the massively decreasing costs of IC production, as well as a shift in habits, and the budgets used in video game production. I couldn't really call the NES an influence in any of those aspects, except maybe simply the change in video games being played at home moreso than the arcade - but it's hardly a proprietor in that regard either.

Edited January 12, 2021 by Sumez

[Sumez | 2,934]

On 1/8/2021 at 8:58 PM, ThePhleo said:

Edit: PS, remind Jefferey that Contra isn't an NES game. It's a decent arcade port. NES is great, but it aint the real champion in history

The two games are so different it's hard to consider it a port.

Super Contra is pretty great on arcade, but the first game is a lot better on NES  

[BreaKBeatZ | 136]

#1 - iPhone

#2 - NES

#3 - Apple II

[Tanooki | 4,931]

I didn't dig into that video, just never been into podcast style stuff.

Was Gameboy ever mentioned?

The only reason I'm asking is I think a fair case could be made for it.  Up until that time portable gaming was more of a few minutes at best minimalist time waster.  It was a red LED or a few, maybe a segmented basic LCD up to about what a Tiger handheld or their own Game & Watch could do...very limited and rigid.

Game Boy opened a huge door.  It proved even using withered tech as its creator liked to call it, you could finally have a way to bring the 8bit world of Nintendo with you on the go, and properly so.  Gameboy wasn't lacking, you had analogous stuff to the NES.  All the various genres on both, both using programmed carts, both using batteries or passwords to save long game progression, and of course the ports spinoffs and sequels of home games.  It proved not only was handheld gaming viable as a real medium, but one that was not just desirable but a growth market that never really lapsed but only expanded.  In turn others got involved...Sega, NEC, Atari, etc, and then blackberry and palm devices saw even people may care so they aped Nintendo too with the installs you could add to it from carts or disks/discs on a PC+dock.  From there you had java/symbian, and finally Apple threw in with iPhone/Touch devices into the Pad and Google with Android.

All of this it rooted back to a swipe Nintendo took trying to create an entire market where there really wasn't one for full real sustained games on a medium people would support, buy, play, and grow with.