thaddius' Console Classic 2012 Edition: Semi-Finals, Round 1

[thaddius]

As seen in last week's thread, the 3DS won the lot!

Before we get into it, here's the rules once again:

Spoiler

Each week, video game history will be put to the test to see which console or handheld is the greatest. There can only be one!

Vote for your favourite and follow it through to the end as we try to determine GBATemp's favourite console/handheld!

Consoles and handhelds will face off in brackets comprised of their generation. Because there can only be one, in the event of a tie I will cast a tie-breaking vote. Once a winner has been declared for each generation, the console winners and the handheld winners will face off in individual brackets. Once an ultimate console and ultimate handheld have been chosen, they will face off against each other to see who is the greatest!

For a concrete example of the brackets, see the image at the bottom of this post.

So now we're down to the first round of the semi-finals, in which we determine, of all the winning handhelds so far, which is GBATemp's favourite.


This is what the handheld bracket looks like so far:

This week, as the first semi-final round, we'll be determining which of these chosen handhelds (all Nintendo, btw) is the best of the best.


This Week's Challengers Are:

The Nintendo Game Boy

Known for poor graphics, but a stellar battery life, the Nintendo Game Boy beat out the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx, not only financially, but in this competition as well.

The Nintendo Game Boy Color

What should probably have been a 'too little, too late' system, the Nintendo Game Boy Color was hugely successful and benefited greatly from the Pokemon craze that was sweeping the world. The GBC beat out it's good friend the Virtual Boy to be here, as well as the Neo Geo Pocket and the Sega Nomad.

The Nintendo Game Boy Advance

The Nintendo Game Boy Advance had little trouble becoming a handheld darling based on the success of it's predecessors, and despite early models with some strange flaws (no backlight, then no headphone jack) was a fantastic system with, as usual, great games. The GBA didn't really have any competition.

The Nintendo DS

Released as a 'third pillar' to accompany the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube on the market (which was really a ploy they could hide behind if it failed), the Nintendo DS was hugely successful and saw the release of some of the most originals game titles in the market. The rapid release of different models didn't really slow sales at first either. The DS competed against the PSP, the first real competition that a Nintendo handheld ever had, and won.

The Nintendo 3DS

The 3DS! After a somewhat slow start, a price drop, and a few free games to appease the few early adopters, the 3DS finally started to get some traction. Will this system dominate this generation like so many Nintendo handhelds before it? Who knows! All we do know is that it won our little competition.


Housekeeping!!!

And there you have it: GBATemp's favourite handhelds facing off against each other.

Remember that the winner of this round will go on to compete against the winner of the next semi-final round for ultimate supremacy!

Until next week: VOTE!

Here are the brackets as they currently stand:

Who will win? It could be you!*

*note: it can't be you.

See you next time!

EDIT: The poll is now closed. Join me for the results soon!

 

[Just Another Gamer]

Voted for GBA it was a great console for me with alot of great RPGs and stuff to play and even though I don't have one anymore i'm still having a great time with its games.

 

[EyeZ]

The DS for me purely because it was the DS that got me into handheld gaming.

 

[raulpica]

I can't decide I love the GBA and the DS kinda equally. And the GB/GBC too!

This is too difficult. Gotta pass

 

[emigre]

Where's the nonconformist choice?

 

[BoxmanWTF]

The DS was the first Handheld that I actually owned myself, therefore I could do whatever the hell I wanted with it and it made all the little kids at school with their old GBAs Jelly.
I vote for DS
twas also the reason I stumbled across this amazing community

 

[PolloDiablo]

GBAtemp

 

[Schlupi]

Awww man... what a vote.

I voted for GBA because despite how much I love GB/C and DS, GBA is the system I have gotten the most time into. I still bring a SP/Micro with me everyday to play a few rounds of Fire Emblem, Super Mario Advance 4 e-Levels, or some MOTHER action.

 

[.Chris]

I will vote the GBA because that is the first type of handheld console that I owned, and I loved all the games I owned.

 

[JonnyPoots]

Where's the nonconformist choice?

They don't have those,... anywhere. They don't exist, like smurfs and gods.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Still voting for the PSP.

Actually I just voted for GBC. Dunno why, just had good games.

 

[emigre]

Fuck it, I just voted for the DS. As it pisses over the other consoles as it has a decent amount of detective/point and click/adventure style type games.

 

[DinohScene]

Tough tough tough choice........

I'd say DS.
I still use my phatty as a MP3 player

 

[thaddius]

I honestly wouldn't know what to vote for. I guess it's a good thing I'm not. I grew up with the Game Boy, played Pokemon religiously with the GBC, and I absolutely love the GBAs and DS' libraries. I don't envy the living.

 

[Foxi4]

There is no reason for me to vote for the original Gameboy - the Gameboy Colour provided the user with everything the Big Guy could offer and more, in colour, so the old guy is off the hook for me.

The Gameboy Advance was pretty darn awesome, and I suppose I spent equal amounts of time with both the GBC and the GBA, especially since it was backwards compatible with the previous games and the moment I got it, Mr.Colour started gathering dust.

The DS is probably the one on which I played the most games (flashcart ), it's also the console I started programming for, but... I can't help but feel that it is underpowered, too underpowered...

The 3DS simply hasn't done anything to impress me as of yet, it's definitelly a technological jump from the DS and DSi, but I expected more, loads more. Vita levels of more.

I'm in two minds - GBA or the DS. Childhood memories versus loads of games and programming fun once I grew up and was capable to do something in that field... I wish I could cast two votes.

I'm sorry, GBA. I loved every day I spent playing on you, but... the DS is where it's at as of today. It's the ultimate handheld for both commercial games and homebrew applications, which is weird given its technical limitations. There's alot of love for the DS, not only on the Temp but all around the place. I think it deserves to win moreso than any other choice here, it was revolutionary when it came out and its legacy carries on living in the 3DS.

 

[Ace Overclocked]

i dunno what to choose
i love them all, my first handheld was the gba, and my dear pokemon emerald, i spent most of my gaming time with pokemon emerald, i didn't have internet so i had to discover all the shit by myself and send letters to nintendo, i spent most of my time on ds with diamond and ranger, then later on my flashcarts i just dunno, i own them all and love them all!

 

[Gahars]

Nintendo, Nintendo everywhere.

I'll throw my vote towards the Gameboy Advance since it's the one I spent the most time with.

 

[thaddius]

4 more days of hemming and hawing to go!

Just to add to my previous post on the matter: the DS might just clinch it for me because of it's wireless multiplayer. Now, I'm not one to punish older tech for being released in a time when wireless wasn't necessarily feasible on a handheld, but I must say, it makes quite a difference today. I was able to stealthily play Metroid Prime Hunters in class yesterday with a guy across the classroom, with no one being the wiser.

On a related note, I don't feel that Metroid Prime Hunters is a very good game.

 

[Smuff]

I genuinely like the DS. Has kept me amused during several long boring airport lounge experiences. Admittedly the infamous R4 may well have helped swing my decision here.......

 

[Just Another Gamer]

I'm a little sad there is not alot of GBA love D: