Jeremy517

It seems that some people have a revisionist history when talking about past launch lineups. So we'll put them in writing. Of the previous generations, what do you consider the best US console launch lineup? How you weigh quality vs. quantity is up to you.

Polls are limited to ten choices, so I picked the nine that were probably most popular and then chose Atari 2600 as the tenth, since I couldn't find the SMS lineup. No handhelds.

Atari 2600:
* Air-Sea Battle
* Basic Math
* Blackjack
* Combat
* Indy 500
* Star Ship
* Street Racer
* Surround
* Video Olympics

NES:
* 10-Yard Fight
* Baseball
* Clu Clu Land
* Donkey Kong Jr. Math
* Duck Hunt
* Excitebike
* Golf
* Gyromite
* Hogan's Alley
* Ice Climber
* Kung Fu
* Mach Rider
* Pinball
* Stack-Up
* Super Mario Bros.
* Tennis
* Wild Gunman
* Wrecking Crew

Genesis:
* Space Harrier II
* Tommy Lasorda Baseball
* Last Battle
* Thunder Force II
* Altered Beast

SNES:
* Super Mario World
* F-Zero
* Pilotwings

Playstation:
* Battle Arena Toshinden
* ESPN Extreme Games
* Kileak - The DNA Imperative
* NBA JAM Tournament Edition
* Raiden Project
* Rayman
* Ridge Racer
* Street Fighter:The Movie
* Twisted Metal
* Warhawk
* Power Serve 3D Tennis
* Total Eclipse Turbo

Nintendo 64:
* Super Mario 64
* Pilotwings 64

Dreamcast:
* Airforce Delta
* Blue Stinger
* Expendable
* Flag to Flag
* House of the Dead 2
* Hydro Thunder
* Monaco Grand Prix
* Mortal Kombat Gold
* NFL 2K
* NFL Blitz 2000
* Pen Pen Tri-Icelon
* Power Stone
* Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
* Sonic Adventure
* Soul Calibur
* TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat
* Tokyo Xtreme Racer
* TrickStyle

Playstation 2:
* SSX
* Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
* Tekken Tag Tournament
* Armored Core 2
* Dynasty Warriors 2
* ESPN International Track & Field
* ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding
* Eternal Ring
* Evergrace
* FantaVision
* Gungriffon Blaze
* Kessen
* Madden NFL 2001
* Midnight Club: Street Racing
* MotoGP
* NHL 2001
* Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
* Q-Ball: Billiards Master
* Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
* Ridge Racer V
* Silent Scope
* Smuggler's Run
* Street Fighter EX3
* Summoner
* Swing Away Golf
* TimeSplitters
* Unreal Tournament
* Wild Wild Racing
* X-Squad

XBox:
* Halo: Combat Evolved
* Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
* Dead or Alive 3
* Project Gotham Racing
* NFL Fever 2002
* Air Force Delta Storm
* Mad Dash Racing
* Cel Damage
* Arctic Thunder
* Fuzion Frenzy

Gamecube:
* All-Star Baseball 2002
* Batman Vengeance
* Crazy Taxi
* Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
* Disney's Tarzan Untamed
* Luigi's Mansion
* Madden NFL 2002
* NHL Hitz 20-02
* Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
* Super Monkey Ball
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
* Wave Race: Blue Storm

Josh H

For me, their are none of those launches that have more than 1 AAA title. Thus I simply went with the N64, as it had the best launch game of all time in Super Mario 64. It showed what the system could do, and was my first experience with a truely 3D game and platformer.

I was tempted to go with the Dreamcast as Soul Calibur was great, and NFL2K and Sonic Adventure were good as well. But none of those offered much innovation.

kakihara1

I said SNES all three games on that list were kickass

UncleGramps

Here are the games that I personally think are noteworthy. AAA titles in bold.

NES:

* Duck Hunt
* Excitebike
* Ice Climber
* Kung Fu
* Super Mario Bros.

SNES:
* Super Mario World
* F-Zero
* Pilotwings

Nintendo 64:
* Super Mario 64
* Pilotwings 64

Dreamcast:
* Power Stone
* Sonic Adventure
* Soul Calibur

Playstation 2:
* SSX

Gamecube:
* Luigi's Mansion
* Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
* Super Monkey Ball
* Wave Race: Blue Storm


I think I'll go with SNES.

hail2dking

I have to disagree in NFL2K not offering much innovation. If gave Madden a wake up call. That game alone sold a million DCs

Josh H

True, but it was still a football game.

So it wasn't innovative compared to Mario 64, which was the first 3D platformer, and the first 3D game many gamers ever played. It represented the change from 2D to 3D in a big way, and really made the N64 launch.

NFL2K was just a damn fine football game. Good, but nothing that would make me buy a system. Soul Calibur sold the DC to me, but even that wasn't innovative compared to Mario 64.

Which is why I list Mario 64 as my all time favorite launch game.

Jeremy517

Agreed. That was part of my motivation for posting this. Some people are ripping on the Wii's lineup, when I don't think any console has had more than one AAA titles, and an umber of consoles had zero AAA titles.

Goldberg74

For me it was the GC. It's the only system that I bought at launch, and I bought 4 games that day: Luigi's Mansion, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, Super Monkey Ball, and Wave Race: Blue Storm.

fumanstan

NES for me.

Breakfast with Girls

You forgot Sega 32X. That launch line-up included the following games:



If you look at original, AAA titles as part of launch, I would say the Super Nintendo wins out for Super Mario World (my favorite platformer of all time--a perfect game) and F-Zero (first and best racing game on the system). And Super Castlevania IV, the best Castlevania game until Symphony of the Night was released six years later, was released a few months later.

Michael Corvin

Yes but "lineup" seems to indicate more than one title. I have no issue with Mario 64 being the best launch title of all time, but one(or even two) game doesn't constitute "lineup," IMO.

SNES(three AAA games) & Gamecube(One AAA and a handful of AA games) are up there, but I'm tempted to stray and say Xbox 360 with Call of Duty 2, Kameo, Condemned & Perfect Dark. There were also more, like Madden, despite not getting great reviews, it offered people options, unlike the N64 or SNES. The Wii is looking more like the Gamecube launch, one AAA title and a handful of good-but not great games.

Josh H

I agree. But in that case I'd just say that every launch lineup has, and will continue to, suck balls. Even the SNES as I didn't like Pilotwings or F-Zero much.

Developers haven't figured out the hardware, and the games are rushed to be ready at launch. It's just not a good time to buy a console if you want a "lineup" of games. Thus there has to be 1 killer AAA title to make a launch purchase worthwhile.

Michael Corvin

Which is why I went with 360. Condemned, COD2 & Kameo are all AAA titles, IMO. Even a limited amount of people would count Perfect Dark.

Josh H

Fair enough. None of these interest me at all, other than maybe Kameo slighty (no interest in FPS or survival horror/action games).

The DC would be the closest with me, but I really only consider Soul Calibur AAA. Sonic Adventure and NFL2K were A to AA games.

Michael Corvin

As a fan of Zelda I think you could get into Kameo. Think of it as Zelda-lite.

Just looking at names alone(not reviews) a case could be made for the N-gage... that's right, look at this list:
* Tomb Raider
* Pandemonium
* SonicN
* Super Monkey Ball
* Puzzle Bobble VS
* Puyo Pop
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater


... or not.

turborobb

Where's Colecovision?

PixyJunket

I picked SNES based on the launch period.. there were some awesome games within the first couple of months if I recall (Ghouls and Ghosts and Final Fantasy II for sure). Based on launch DATE.. which I guess is what this poll was going for.. I probably would have picked NES solely on Super Mario Bros. as that single game changed video games forever.. seriously, look at every other games on the NES list, they're all basically arcade games. SMB is what broke that formula.

The Bus

SNES, hands down. The 360 and the NES might have more titles, but the SNES wins. SMW is a top five platformer on any serious list. F-Zero is an amazing game that still holds up today. Those two games together had more gameplay than any other launch games before or after.

matome

Or Odyssey 2???? Can't beat that BASIC programming cartridge they had

Lee Harvey Oswald

Does anyone know the Sega Master System lineup?

The Genesis lineup looks very weak. I'm suprised, thought they would have been better. Didn't Altered Beast come with the system?

UAIOE

Wasn't "Revenge of Shinobi" a Genesis launch title?

rabbit77

It did. I also remember Space Harrier II costing $70 for some reason.

killershark

I think people have rose tinted glasses when it comes to the SNES launch. I remember getting the SNES the second I heard it came out, (I believe it was in late august 91) Loved Mario World, but Pilotwings (MODE 7!) and F-Zero did nothing for me. Beyond those games there was nothing out for months. Final Fight and Castlvania came out in DEC 3- months later! The wait was painful when you're an impatient teenager.

Best launch I give to the 360. for the same reasons as above. Loved Kameo, CD3 and Condemed, and PD0 is a fun, but flawed game. Plus free demos all the time from live. Not too shabby.

Worst Launch (IMO) PS2- Nothing interested me until june 01 when twisted metal black came out.

Jeremy517

Dec. 2, 1989, so nope.

Brooklyn

Twisted Metal was not a launch title for the Playstation. It was released
a month or so later. And what about the Saturn? I had a blast with Daytona
and Virtua Fighter.