RF Generation Message Board

Due to the big hack of 2012, we lost everything in the forum back to 2009. So I'm sort of single handedly trying to kick-start some activity.

So, here's my thread of the day with a question posed to the forum-goers.

We all collect for various reasons. RF generation lets us inventory our collections and share them with others. But in the end it's all a bunch of names and numbers with little personality.  So here's a chance to impart some personality to your collection.

If you look at your collection, what one console that you own is your favorite? I'm not talking the platform; I'm talking the actual console.  Is it that beat up old NES that looks like a smoker's teeth?  Or that Atari 2600jr that has seen better days?

Why is it your favorite?  Share your favorite console and the reason you love it.

Ok, and now for my answer.  Mine is a Panasonic 3DO FZ-10.  Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "A 3DO? Really?"  Yeah really. The truth is, the whole platform is sort of lame. The controllers sort of such and the FMV stuff is just plain silly.  But I love the cheese factor and the truth is, that particular console sitting beneath my TV was my first in the wild purchase. 

I got it for 10 dollars at goodwill. Frankly, I wasn't even that into collecting yet at that point. I saw it on the shelf, saw the 3DO logo and figured what the hell, it might be worth it. I'm rather fond of it because I got a great deal and because it has seen a lot of love. I played it for two weeks nonstop.  I er... "found" games for it online and played through a bunch and then actually bought a few.  I had a video game party where I brought out the only pirated 3DO game I have left, Night Trap and played it with all my guests. You have never heard so much laughing and joking as that game inspired.

In any case, it gets use these days mostly as a CD player. For a console it has pretty good sound, better I think than the PS1. It's a neat little system that really didn't get a fair shake. There's something about the 3DO in general that is sort of magical.

And that's why I love my 3DO.

Hmm, tough one.  In terms of favorite console to collect, the answer is hands-down N64.  But, my favorite console (the one that means the most to me) is my PS3.  It was the first console that I bought brand new with my own money, and I have had a blast playing with it over the years.

I originally had not planned on buying a new console until I found one at the flea market cheap, but my friend eventually convinced me to side with the PS3.  After playing probably close to an hour with Burnout Paradise at one of the demo kiosks, I made my purchase and haven't regretted it since.  That PS3 has the most playtime out of my current collection, and I don't think that will change anytime soon.

That's odd - another person whose collecting was inspired by a Panasonic 3DO. Mine was an FZ-1 though that I purchased for $180 w/ 20 games. ;D

This is going to be a hard decision. I own over 40 consoles, and I enjoy quite a few of them. If I had to pick a favorite though, it'd have to be my Sega Saturn. It's one I never owned as a kid, but one of the younger kids in the neighborhood owned one. I would come by his house to babysit him and we'd sit on his Sega Saturn for hours just randomly playing things, like NASCAR 98 with paintball mode enabled. It also opened me up to 3D RPGs, in which I was introduced to of my favorite titles to date - Mystaria.

I've since picked up 2 Japanese Saturns (1 boxed), 2 US Saturns (1 boxed), at least half of the US NTSC library, and over a hundred JP NTSC titles just from random purchases. I find new gems every time I play, and I even learned how to play Mahjong properly with some motivation from my roommates and the aid of an adult title. Random adult import titles are hilarious.

My favorite console to collect for is my Genesis.  I have the Model 1 Genesis with both a Model 2 CD and a 32X.  Its a behemoth when pieced together.  My favorite console in general will always be the N64 just because I grew up playing Ocarina of Time way past my bedtime. haha

Hi all, just joined the site.  Very impressive.  But my favorite console (and I'm probably the only one) is the 5200.  I still have my 4-port that I received as a Christmas gift in 1982.  And yes, it still works.  Most of the games, however, kept getting lost during moves (either that or Mom would sell them for extra money).  I have only recently started collecting for the console again.  Pac-Man gets pretty old after a while. 

Welcome aboard kamakazi20012! I'd say that you probably are in the minority with the 5200, but I don't think it deserves all the flak it gets. You should check out Sinistar for it, really great port that I believe is still available on Atari Age.

I have to go with the NES. It consumed such a large part of my childhood, and I have vivid memories of a lot of the games I played then. I still play regularly, and it is home to my favorite games ever. Such a wonderful little system.

I agree. The 5200 is quite playable once you do some TLC on the controllers. I refurbished mine with Rev 9 flex circuits and supergluing aluminum foil to the carbon dots.  It's been some time and I do play it a fair amount and the difference is completely amazing.

The controllers are perhaps not as responsive as I'd like, but I find that I really enjoy a number of the game on the 5200 more than on some of the other Atari systems I own.

My childhood was defined by my experience on the PS1. I had a SNES first, but I got it in '94 and got my PS1 only 2 years later. So I was gaming on disc systems... right about the time it got cool.

I cried while playing a game for the first time ever with that system, I spent much more time laughing though at the random crap I could find in the rental stores. But that was the system that got me into RPGs and my first 3D platforming experience with Spyro, but also the ridiculous magic of Tomba in a 2D space.

Such a great time to game really, but we all feel that way about our childhood systems.

The NES served my teenage years very well while the 5200 sat there, begging to be played.  But, I've went through more NES consoles than I can count.  Games on the NES really out weigh what the 5200 received.  And the NES managed to keep gaming going which makes it my 2nd favorite.  I don't know how many times I would get in trouble in class humming music from my favorite games while doing an assignment.  It kept me off the streets and locked in my room in a heavy battle with the latest releases.  The 5200 has more sentimental value for me because it was the ONLY console my Mother would enjoy playing which is the sole reason it remains my top favorite.

Oh this is easy, it's my Vectrex. I have at least 21 different consoles, the Vectrex is very much my favorite. It is prominently displayed in the living room for all to see. I have a picture of MineStorm (one of it's games) on both my laptop and my phone as the background.

Up until I recently replaced my rrod 360, this was also the most expensive video game purchase I had made. I don't spend much on this hobby but seeing this Vectrex collection in a pawn shop caused me to spend a bit more then usual. Fortunately this came with several games as I haven't found anything Vectrex related in the wild since.

And if you haven't seen one working in real life, pictures, videos and emulators don't do it justice.

I can't put my finger on a specific console, but the game boy line as a whole is my favorite. I can remember picking out tetris and mickey's dangerous chase to go with my gameboy pocket when I was probably 3 or 4. I have my old GBC that I played to death as well as the GBA SP that replaced it. Both of these with their backwards compatibility to the original GB  got me into collecting, as back when Gamestop carried GB games, I picked up most of their GB titles, considering they were only a few dollars, and found them just as good as the new games they wanted $50 for.
I still like to collect for handheld consoles the most as there is a sea of unknown games on both the Gameboy and Gamegear.

While I have been gaming since the 80's I started to really follow gaming in 1998. Just at that time I heard of Sega making this new system. Every month I waited for new issues of gaming mags to get new info. I had mo real concept of the internet then nor a PC. I never followed hype so much and then came the hype of this amazing project that became Shenmue. It finally came out as Dreamcast. Everything this system was in 1999 blew mine and everyone elses mind. No system since has blown my mind. To this day we feel many things DC introduced us to. Also holds some of my fave game ever.

Not to expose to many personal details but having a certain disability where I could be gone any moment I have it in my will to be cremated and put in a DC converted to a urn.

That is a seriously awesome idea. Maybe I will steal it but use an NES.

Thats assuming they find your body, mwa hahahahaha......

As of right now the Xbox 360 because of achievements.

Dreamcast, I feel it was nearly perfect in every way.
4 players offline, 1st system to do online, 1st system to do analog triggers on the controllers, great graphics and sound that hold up well even today, best original memory units, awesome arcade ports, amazing library of games for a short life span, compact size, built well to last, way ahead of its time.

Eh, I'll just hide in a Famicom box. You'd never look in there.

GP32, you have to admire the audacity of Gamepark to build a South Korean console.  It's really not that hard to imagine considering Samsung and other greats call the small nation home.  As for the system, It's designed well and most importantly, created a hardcore community that influenced the development of dozens of official and spiritual successors.  I once owned a full set of GP32 "commercial" games, but had to let them go due to unforeseen circumstances.  The games didn't have the crispest gameplay, but were genuine and boxed in cool packaging!

Interesting choice, and welcome to the forums!

Thanks, glad to be here!

For me it would be the Sega Genesis my parents had gotten it for me and I remember playing with my Dad all time, I didn't have much games for it then maybe about 5 but I always remember having tons of fun on it hell my Dad beat Batman: Forever and Sonic 2 a lot on it.

...  NES, nonono.  The SNES.  Yes.  No.  Arg.  Genesis.  No, that can't be it.  Genesis.  Doh, I already said that.  Wait, does that mean Genesis is it?  Dreamcast.  Wait, if I put all my consoles on a console table (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=console+table&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=nl7&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1680&bih=909&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=bdqmebqRsdjB6M:&imgrefurl=http://consoletabledesign.com/modern-style-about-console-table/&docid=RSnDUt4vlarM_M&imgurl=http://consoletabledesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Console-Table.jpg&w=278&h=278&ei=FuiyT7n_FIaI8QTy64XzCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=185&vpy=430&dur=409&hovh=135&hovw=135&tx=127&ty=103&sig=112417419475641721417&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=135&start=0&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:167) will that count?  Yes?  YES!  No?  Come on...

Too difficult...  higher brain functions shutting down...  must remember to breath and not eat paper...

The Sega Genesis always holds a place in my heart and will always be my favorite console. I got it as a Christmas gift when I was in early grade school. I sold it when I bought an N64 in the late 90's as it was just becoming a novelty item by then and I was ready to move on to the next big thing.

I re-bought a Genesis in December of 2010 as a little Christmas gift for myself. I pretty much just owned a Xbox and a Xbox 360 at the time and just wanted to buy the Genesis with a couple of games for shits and giggles to re live my childhood again. I had no intention to collect games for it but it seems to have been the spark to what makes me collect. Somehow I just wanted to buy more and more games for it that I never played back in the day. Its technically what turned me into a collector. 

For me it would have to be the Nintendo DS and turbo grafx/pc engine. I just started collecting for the tg-16/pce about a year ago and it is my fav system sot collect for. I really enjoy the shmups on the console, and it has the best castlevania  game ever made.

The TG-16 does have some great shooters. I think if I was going to really collect for that machine I would go the PCE route.

Thanks for the welcome and I have thought about Sinistar.  And I second the emotion:  I believe the 5200 receives more poor reviews than it deserves.  Mine has held up pretty good for 30 years.

As for the NES; Mom got me the Deluxe Set for my 13th birthday.  She bought it when we both discovered that 5200 games were no where to be found.  Besides, she had played SMB in the arcades and became hooked with console.  While I liked R.O.B. it was on accessory that didn't get used very much.  I ended up trading it in.  I kick myself now for doing it.  The NES kept me out of trouble except for school work; I'd play the NES from the time I got home until I got tired and then would try to do my school work in the mornings. 

I love all of my children but I really have a soft spot for the 32X.  During the SNES/Genesis wars, I was firmly in SEGA's camp which was odd because the NES was the only console I had for years.  When the SNES came out, my parents wouldn't buy it because none of the NES games would work on it.  We got a Genesis and I was kind of a fanboy for a while.

When the 32X came out, I was a super fan, even though I only ended up owning like 5 games for it.  When I started collecting a year or so ago, 32X stuff was high on my priority list.  Just made a trade yesterday for a couple more CIB 32X games which puts me 9 CIBs away from a complete CIB 32X/32XCD collection.

This is a real tough call for me. Great Question though. Seeing as how i just picked one up, and i havent had one since they first launched, right now it would be my turbo duo. Theres something about it that just lights me up. Its an amazing system, and i thought the hu cards were just so futuristic.

Sega Genesis and 360 see alot of love in my house. 

360 is mostly what I play, sometimes I play the ps3 but not alot.

Well, it was a portable deal, but before it met its untimely demise, my first pearl blue Game Boy Advance SP saw more action than most of the other consoles in my collection. It's big attraction for me was that it could play Game Boy, GBC and GBA games. And the strong backlighting was a welcome improvement over the relatively weak glow the regular-issue SPs had.

Fortunately, my second pearl blue GBA SP has carried on the legacy of its predecessor quite admirably.

My Genesis, I've had it an alot of the games since I was a kid.

My Xbox360 is the most played though. 

In terms of both playing and collecting it is hands down my Famicom.  Er, Famicoms, I have several of them.  Colorful carts that look great and a ton of great games in the catalog.  Easy choice there.

My favorite in terms of just the console itself would probably be my Bandai Intellivision.  It is a thing of beauty.  Looks almost the same as the American Intellivision but the box is completely different....and awesome.

You and Duke will get along swimmingly.  I one 1 famicom cart, Goonies.  Duke has pointed me to a user on another forum that sells refurbed Famicim/FDS combos so I might get into the Famicom scene eventually.

I wholeheartedly recommend it!!  My collecting goal is to get the entire Famicom catalog (about 1055 carts), I am about 3/4 of the way there now. 

LOL, Senseiman and I met over at Famicom World and he has sold me a ton. I even mentioned him on Episode 2 of the podcast.

Bil, if Senseiman has anything you are looking for, I'd recommend buying from him first. The other guy I mentioned has great hardware sales.

They are all my favorites.

Asking me me choose my favorite is like asking me what arm i would like chopped off  ;D.

Iv'e been sitting here for about 20 mins trying to think what my favorite is.

Im not sure if it would be mega drive/genesis and snes joint first place then my spectrum second or my spectrum in first place and my mega drive/genesis and snes second place.
I also love my commodore collection as much as my atari collection,its a hard choice for me as i love them all the same just as i love all of my children.

im going to have a hard think and post what my favorite is a bit later on. :D

Hey, I just listened to the (excellent) podcast on Youtube, thanks for the mention and the kind words!

Very interesting too, I totally agree with you about why forums are a better place to trade than Ebay.  The only downside is that it takes a bit more time to find stuff on forums than Ebay, but the cost savings and ability to deal with fellow collectors totally outweighs that. 

It actually is kind of hard to choose.  I really like picking up just about anything, as long as I find it on The Hunt.  I really like picking things up for the PC and Genesis, though, and I think that is because most thrift stores (my primary hunting grounds) mix them in with everything else.  I've found PC games hidden in and priced as books, CDs, DVDs, as well as general electronics.  While many stores in my area have gotten a bit more savvy as of late, I've still found several Genesis titles mixed in with both books and audio cassettes.   

I'd say that the SNES is my favorite. I briefly remember my parents' Intellivision and really started with the NES, but the SNES was the system that really defined my childhood. Most of my favorite games are on the SNES.

For me it's the PS2. Tons of great games.

My favorite Console in my Collection is (obviously) my NES. It was the first console I ever played, and I cannot count the memories I have of playing it.