Console Yourself

I was recently asked how many consoles I own. I've had to answer this a few times in my life, and each time I have to stop and methodically work out the answer. So let's go through it now...

The pictures above show the consoles hooked up to two televisions in my games room. Yes, I know they need tidying, I've just been really busy for the past 18 months. Anyway, I've got 10 consoles here:

1. Microsoft XBox (modified to play emulators)
2. Nintendo Gamecube
3. Sony Playstation
4. Atari 2600 re-release (built in games, no cartridge slot)
5. Sega Megadrive Mk 1
6. Super Nintendo
7. Sega Saturn (modified to play different regions, at 50fps or 60fps)
8. Sony Playstation 2
9. Sega Dreamcast
10. Nintendo Entertainment System (clone)

In the living room I've got a Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and an Ouya. On the handheld front I've got an original fat Nintendo Gameboy, a Nintendo 3DS and two Sony PSP's. Why two, I hear you ask? Well I bought one second hand with the custom firmware loaded (so I could play emulators), then the shoulder buttons stopped working, so I got another one to play PSP games on. I also have a Megadrive clone that got relegated to the loft when I got my hands on an original. So that's 17 games consoles in my possession.

My favourite console? That's a tough question, but thanks for asking. I love my PS3, for all the re-releases and remakes of classic games that have been released on the Playstation Store. I love my Ouya and XBox for giving me the chance to play games I couldn't find/afford through the use of emulators. There are so many games on MAME that I would have had no way of ever playing without this. I love my Saturn, for being able to play all those brilliant Japanese shmups that never reached the West. I also love that it cost me £7 at a car boot sale! And despite the fact that my NES isn't an original toaster, I love the fact that it plays just as well as an original model, and doesn't suffer from the blinking red light issue. I love my Megadrive for being a Mk 1 and just looking awesome. The games are pretty sweet too. I love my SNES for somehow not going yellow in its old age. And no, I've not gotten it treated or anything, I only bought it from eBay a couple of years ago. My Playstations 1 & 2 have a wealth of great games, so I would never get rid of them. 

The Gameboy is a nice piece of gaming history, but I have no games for it, it just came with the SNES bundle from eBay. I used to love my childhood Gameboy, but I can't see myself playing one these days. I guess I could take or leave my Dreamcast. The controllers are bulky and it asks me the date every time I power it up. And I don't have many good games for it, which is probably the main downside. The Atari has some good games on it, but most of them are turd. Asteroids is always fun though. I rarely play either PSP these days, although I had some good times playing GTA with colleagues. The multiplayer was great, especially as they couldn't look at your screen to figure out where you were. And lastly, my 3DS. It's a great console, but I feel like I don't want to waste any more time playing it until I get one of the new editions with the jazzed up 3D and controls. And mine has an annoying dead pixel which taunts me every time I play.

I don't have the biggest collection of games, but I've got enough that I've always got plenty to choose from, and still have many that I've not gotten round to playing yet. Here's a little view of some of the games in my games room:

Again, a tidy up could be in order, but as you can see, my collection of retro games isn't limitless. I like to concentrate on quality over quantity, although there are a few sub par offerings hiding in there (Jungle Strike, I'm looking at you).

There are more games downstairs, but this is the lion's share. I've really slowed down on the game buying in recent times. While I can't resist a bargain from a car boot sale or charity shop, I rarely pay full price for a new game these days. I just can't justify it with all these others waiting to be played. 

Games rooms fascinate me, I love to see what people have done with theirs. Mine is a constant work in progress, only limited by space constraints. One day I'll have a bigger, better one, but until then I'll do what I can with what I've got. It has given me an idea for future blog entries though...