Which gen do you prefer?

The 2nd gen consisted of Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Bally Astrocade, Magnavox Odyssey 2 and Intellivision.

The 3rd gen consisted of NES, Sega Master System and Atari 7800.

Even though I wasn't alive in the 1980's and therefore, I never had a chance to play any of those consoles, I would think that the NES was the best console in the 1980's, because the NES saved the gaming industry from collapsing and created more high quality games. The end of the 2nd gen suffered from low quality games, too many consoles, and commercial failures.

3rd generation, since the consoles were more advanced and fun for people. The 1st and 2nd generations were really primitive for home video games, and it didn't even have that much popularity towards the home gaming market.

3rd Generation. I grew up with the mighty NES and I still remember the days playing Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong with my brother and sister.

Which gen do you prefer?

The 2nd gen consisted of Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Bally Astrocade, Magnavox Odyssey 2 and Intellivision.

The 3rd gen consisted of NES, Sega Master System and Atari 7800.

Even though I wasn't alive in the 1980's and therefore, I never had a chance to play any of those consoles, I would think that the NES was the best console in the 1980's, because the NES saved the gaming industry from collapsing and created more high quality games. The end of the 2nd gen suffered from low quality games, too many consoles, and commercial failures.


I prefer being old school and go with the 2nd generation.

I prefer being old school and go with the 2nd generation.


You prefer the Atari over the NES, Howard?

You prefer the Atari over the NES, Howard?


Atari kept me busy.

Atari kept me busy.


The NES kept me busy!

Definitely 3rd.  Games like Super Mario Bros. 3, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Tetris are still fun today, in my opinion.  I never really got that into Atari games and always considered Pac-Man to be pretty overrated, even as a kid.

Definitely 3rd.  Games like Super Mario Bros. 3, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Tetris are still fun today, in my opinion.  I never really got that into Atari games and always considered Pac-Man to be pretty overrated, even as a kid.


Pac-Man isn't overrated when you play the 2003 Gamecube Vs. version with four people that I've played recently. That said, if you include video arcade games, the second generation. Sure, the third was more innovative with real-time scrolling, early save features, better graphics/sound, and the like, but the second really makes you enjoy your imagination and understand how groundbreaking these games are, yet are so simple to understand. Battlezone, Centipede, Asteroids, Missle Command, Tempest, Defender, Galaxian, Space Invaders, Qbert, Frogger, Pitfall, Yars Revenge, Pole Position, Millipede, the classic Donkey Kong games, the original Mario Bros, the Swordquest series, being awed at the arcade cabinets, and of course having lunch/dinner at the mall before/after an arcade visit. There were even fun PC games like Qix. Even at the peak of Nintendo's success, there was never such a hoopla with regards to a hot trend at a time when people were only used to Pong clones and board games during the early '80s.

In terms of overall technical superiority and development, 3rd generation.
In terms of overall fun, imagination, and creativity, 2nd generation.

I've seen this argument several times before on gaming sites, and it seems to largely fall along generational lines. Most Gen Xers lean toward 2nd Generation consoles like the Atari 2600 and the Intellevision, as those were the systems they grew up playing in the late '70s/early '80s, while most Gen Yers (at least those born before 1990 or so) tend to prefer the NES since, for most of us, the first games we ever played were Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and other classics on that console.

So, having said all that, as somebody on the Early Y end of things, I'm obviously an NES kid. To be perfectly honest, I actually have a hard time even playing most pre-crash 2nd gen games because they just seem so primitive compared to the later 8-bit/16-bit stuff that I grew up playing. In particular, the lack of the auto-scrolling screen pioneered by SMB on early Atari platformers is quite glaring.

The NES kept me busy!


What games were you playing?

What games were you playing?


Mainly Super Mario Bros. but we also had others like Duck Hunt, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Metroid, Zelda, Mega Man and whatever else my brother would buy. Later on we would upgrade to Super Mario Bros. 3 when it came out. That was fun. Frustrating but fun.

I wouldn't really consider the Atari 7800 part of the 3rd generation because it only had 59 games, but played almost all 500+ Atari VCS (2600) games.

I had a 7800 and I loved it at the time, but looking back now, it was not a very good system  for the time it came out, as it was 1 year after the NES.  It was doomed from the get-go

Mainly Super Mario Bros. but we also had others like Duck Hunt, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Metroid, Zelda, Mega Man and whatever else my brother would buy. Later on we would upgrade to Super Mario Bros. 3 when it came out. That was fun. Frustrating but fun.


What about Hogan's Alley?

What about Hogan's Alley?


I remember that game being a bit of a pain in the ass.

I remember that game being a bit of a pain in the ass.


I played it, the game was hard to keep up cause after a few rounds it went faster and faster.

I played it, the game was hard to keep up cause after a few rounds it went faster and faster.


Yeah! I always felt like those damn criminals were taunting me!

Yeah! I always felt like those damn criminals were taunting me!


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TVTF2tr7vVE/maxresdefault.jpg

The purpose of the game was to shoot the criminals and to not shoot the good guys (i.e. The police, young lady and old man)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TVTF2tr7vVE/maxresdefault.jpg

The purpose of the game was to shoot the criminals and to not shoot the good guys (i.e. The police, young lady and old man)


I'd usually shoot both as I was a ruthless killa who ain't care 4 nobody. ;)

That's usually the reason I'd always loose, though.