video game consoles and systems of all time

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We love video-games. Games are fun. They can take you to far-off worlds and let you shoot down entire space fleets; they allow you to find ways to save mankind or ways to quash it, and they let you play the hero, or the villain. For many of us they have helped define our childhoods, or even led us to our careers. But what video game console or system do you most fondly remember? Which gaming hardware deserves its place as the best of all time? It's a topic of fierce debate, so we invited the readers of Retro Gamer magazine to vote for the greatest video game consoles and systems of all time, and are delighted to present the results below.

We asked Retro Gamer readers to rank their top ten favourite gaming systems of all-time - not just the best retro consoles on-sale today, like the PS Classic or SNES Classic Mini - with 94 systems voted for from 35 different manufacturers. We spoke to leading developers and industry professionals, past and present (including Mark Cerny, Nolan Bushnell and Yu Suzuki) for their views on what made each gaming system special; in what must be the most comprehensive poll of historical gaming hardware ever conducted. The top five manufacturers will come as no surprise, but what is interesting is that no single company had all its machines appear in the final top 30. Some choices raised eyebrows, as we’re sure they will with you, and certain systems simply didn’t amass enough points to make the final list. All consoles and hardware systems were eligible for voting, so don’t be surprised if you see a few current systems in the list. Starting with…

Nintendo Switch

We’re surprised to be kicking off the list with a such a young console, honestly. However, the Switch elegantly realises the concept of being both a handheld and home console, and it’s impossible to deny the quality of games like The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey.

Answers by Christie Sandy, Producer at Team17

Why do you think a brand-new console has made such an impact?
I believe the Nintendo Switch has resonated so strongly because it really brings a whole new gaming experience to the market, by taking classic home console gaming and allowing it to break free from your lounge. The seamless transition from TV mode to handheld mode is a real winner for any gamer, as your gaming experience can continue on uninterrupted when someone else needs the TV!

What’s the Switch like as a development system?
It’s an exciting console to develop on. Learning about the Switch’s capabilities and how we could use them within our games was a fantastic experience. 

Have developers been caught by surprise by the Switch’s success in 2017?
I think everyone has been pleased with the Switch’s success, as well as developers. We’re gamers too so it’s fantastic to see it do well. The Switch really brings something unique to the market and it’s certainly a big hit around our office! 

Why is Team17 releasing so many games on Switch?
I believe it’s because our games really suit the Switch console and its audience. Overcooked, Worms WMD, Yooka-Laylee and The Escapists 2 are all great, good fun games to play that really feel at home on the Nintendo Switch. 

How do Team17’s games, such as Worms WMD, benefit from being on Switch?
It’s been seven years since we launched a Worms game on a Nintendo platform, so we were excited to get the chance to bring Worms WMD to a new system, especially one that really allows the player to have an uninterrupted experience. Being able to whip out the Joy-Cons means that multiplayer games can be up and running so quickly too! This is a great match for Worms WMD which features both local and online multiplayer modes. 

Atari Lynx

Manufacturer: Atari Year: 1989

The first ever colour handheld console was a real powerhouse, boasting features like sprite scaling that weren’t even possible on most home consoles. Though it lost out in the marketplace, the Lynx makes it into your list thanks to a series of amazing arcade conversions and some impressive original games.

Answers by D Scott Williamson, Former Atari programmer/designer

Tell us a little about your first encounter with the Lynx, and what did you think about it?
I honestly don’t remember my first encounter. Like every game system I’ve worked with, I remember the discovery phase, that time when you get to play the system and when you read every word of all the manuals. I remember how free form the sprite system with built-in hardware collision detection felt – Todd’s Adventures In Slime World had character graphics but they squished and squashed and oozed. You could also do 3D like never before with sorted scaled sprites, and I leveraged that in RoadBlasters and S.T.U.N. Runner. 

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What was it you liked about coding games for the Lynx?
There was a lot I liked about working on the ‘Handy’, er, the Lynx. It had good, complete, documentation with lots of examples. The tools were excellent, and I really came to like working on the Amiga [ while making Lynx games]. The Lynx itself was extremely capable, especially considering its size and portability – it was 6502-based, like many systems of the day, but it had hardware multiply and divide, bitmapped graphics, powerful sprites, really decent sound hardware, and good tools and samples that got you developing games quickly. 

Why do you think your arcade conversions are so po[CENSORED]r? 
I really can’t take credit for the games, all the gameplay was built into the originals. I really like to exploit technology, especially under constraints like limited memory or bandwidth, and I think that is what I really liked about doing coin-op ports. Fitting all the graphics, gameplay, levels, bosses, and sound into a little cartridge that ran on simple hardware was kind of a puzzle. 

What do you personally love about the Lynx? 
This is a hard one to answer, but I think I really like its versatility, how capable the hardware was at the time and how much it enabled a developer to do. 

Amstrad CPC 464

Manufacturer: Amstrad Year: 1984

Despite being an all-in-one answer to the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, Lord Sugar’s (for the benefit of younger readers, that's Alan Sugar, presenter of the UK version of The Apprentice) machine still found itself trailing behind its peers, which explains why it’s so low down on your list. Having said that, everyone loves an underdog, which probably explains why it still managed to break into your top 30. 

Answers by Philip and Andrew Oliver, Former Amstrad programmers      

What did you think about Amstrad entering the computer market? 
Philip Oliver: We really liked the computer and thought it was a great opportunity for us to make many games on, with far less competition from the top game developers on Spectrum, C64 and the BBC Micro. 

How did the Amstrad compare to its rivals? 
Andrew Oliver: We loved the real keyboard, disk drive and monitor – it was a very good package for a fair price. Having its own screen meant most people gave it a dedicated setup, and didn’t have to contend with a poor quality RF (aerial) signal and fuzzy display. We were quick to buy a plug-in Z80 assembler, called Maxam, that gave us the ability to write very fast arcade-style games in assembler. 

So, despite a lot going for it, why do you feel the Amstrad was less po[CENSORED]r than its 8-bit peers?
PO: It was less po[CENSORED]r than the Spectrum and C64 because it came a couple of years later and was more expensive. But because it was a complete package, most buyers would tell you it was worth the extra, and they were quick to defend their purchase against the more po[CENSORED]r Spectrum and C64. Fundamentally, the Amstrad was a souped-up Spectrum, running the same Z80 CPU with a variety of graphic modes and a little more RAM. 

How did Dizzy benefit from appearing on the Amstrad? 
AO: The Amstrad was a less crowded market with fewer established names. As a result it was easier for the new guys like us to break in – and break in we did! Dizzy was seen by many as the mascot character for the Amstrad, because we always prioritised the Amstrad version to the ported versions as it was always the first and had slightly more colours, no colour clash and better music. 

The Amstrad has a vibrant community today, why do you think it still strikes a chord with its fans?
PO: People who bought the Amstrad, had a complete, easy-to-use, computer. There was no sharing of the TV and no messing with cables. It was there to be switched on and instantly enjoyed.