Which video game console is the most overrated?

I defy you to watch these commercials from the late 80s (when Nintendo and Sega were were the market), and tell me that the answer could be anything other than the Atari 2600.

Intellivision

Dreamcast. I loved the system a lot back in the day. They had great launch games. But looking back there really wasn't a good set of games throughout it's cycle. Maybe Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were the only exception. They really shot themselves in the foot by not making the games run on DVD.

Nintendo 64, horrible controller and most of the games would give me headaches 30 minutes later. But yet most people I talk to love the system. I don't get it at all.

Wii. Only console that I've ever returned for a refund. I would rather play a game with the 2600 joystick than with the Wii motion controllers.

Loved the N64 controller. Loved the system. Probably had more couch MP hours on that system than any other. Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Turok, WCW, Quarterback Club, Mario Party, Bomberman, (some seem to like Smash Bros ), Mario Tennis & Golf, Waialae Golf...Plus Rare was at the top of their game with Goldeneye, Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo, Conker, Killer Instinct... and then Nintendo games like Mario 64, WaveRace, Zelda: OOT & Majora, Starfox and Lucasarts' Star Wars games like Rogue Squadron, Shadows of the Empire, Pod Racing... etc.

That's a helluva catalog (and just scratching the surface of the entire library) for a few developers.

Dreamcast. And speaking of controllers, that controller was good for one thing, and one thing only... carpal tunnel. I'm convinced the only reason the Dreamcast is so revered is because it was so easy to pirate games.

64 controller is one of the best whats the deal? If anything the system was the last time Nintendo interested me.

Agreed, the last truly great Nintendo console. Gamecube had some killer games but the breadth and volume of the catalog definitely took a step back.

Gamecube was the nadir of the series, hooooolly smokes did it take a step back. What 64 lacked with 3rd party support it was on all cylinders with 1st party. Meanwhile with Gamecube they got some of the 3rd party but their 1st party was kind of limp (aside from like Metroid Prime and Zelda Wind Waker).

I voted Dreamcast, if only because people talk so nostalgically about how awesome it was all the time

I can't agree with Dreamcast because I was a pretty big fan of the Sonic games, Powerstone, Soulcalibur, my imported Ikaruga, Maken X, MDK2, Resident Evil Code Veronica, etc; though most of those wound up on other consoles at a later date. Have fond memories of the more novel games as well (Shenmue, Seaman, Chu Chu Rocket, Samba de Amigos, etc; ), I even liked the Ecco game.

I'd have to say the PS3. By that point I hated the controller and other than a handful of titles I felt like things were always better on the Xbox 360.

Edit: Change that, the Wii, easily.

The dreamcast was awesome! Screw you jerks who disagree

Easily Dreamcast. I remember the talk about how it was gonna be legendary and just break records. Then it came out and to quote the warden from Shawshank "vanished like a fart in the wind."

It even had the epic launch date of 9-9-99.

did you even buy it at launch? that console was amazing....enormous jump from previous generation. Did Sega make some dumb decisions in managing the console? Yes, but it was a damn impressive console with some amazing games

I loved my N64...got more playtime out of that unit than anything since my Atari 2600.

Yeah fuck off with the Dreamcast votes. No way, great console with a huge number of new IPs and interesting games. Plus the VMU was an interesting addition. It was also the first console with online play - and it didn't suck.

I think the only real answer is the Wii, if we're being strict about "overrated" and what that actually means. Tons of hype, huge sales, but it pretty much sucked if we're being honest. Controllers were an interesting idea but the execution was wanting, and the game library is really not good. Wii U takes a lot of shit but is already a superior product.

In the poll though, I voted XBone because... well it's XBone.

The PS2 is probably the only console no one can honestly call overrated though. It was so dominant that generation and the library of games was absolutely insane.

Granted it was a bit cumbersome but you have to give it credit for the VMU. Being able to pick your play in Madden on your controller so that your opponent can't see the three plays you are choosing from was a great feature.
Dreamcast

Dark horse candidate for me: Sony Playstation. It sold by the bucketload because the commercials showed pre-rendered cutscenes instead of in-game footage, creating the impression that it was much more powerful than it actually was.

I'll bite. Those commercials have hardly anything to do with the importance/quality of the Atari 2600 system. The first commercial is for the Jr. model, which was just a mid/late-80s re-release of the 2600 system in a smaller, cheaper form factor. The second commercial has nothing to do with the 2600 so I fail to see the relevance. I've never heard of anyone rating the Atari XE very high.

The Atari VCS/2600 came out in 1977. It was revolutionary. It paved the way for the home video game market and most importantly it had a ton of games that were fun. The NES and Sega Master Systems came out in the mid-80s and represented the bump you'd expect from a subsequent video game generation, but I don't see how that has any bearing on how highly-rated the 2600 was and still is in video game console history. In fact, your Jr. model commercial brings up a good counter-argument. That model sold tens of millions of units while the Nintendo and Sega were dominating the home market, which says something about how great the games for the 2600 were.

Full disclosure: I never had a 2600 as a kid, but I love playing it now.

I haven't voted yet, but I was thinking this too just because of how badly the games have stood the test of time. But then I think back to how much fun I had at the time with Twisted Metal 2, Castlevania SOTN, the Tekken series, the Crash series, the Wipeout series, the Tomb Raider series, Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter and others.

N64 is crazy talk. First, it's not that highly "rated", and second, whatever remaining hype it does have is justified by some of the greatest games of all time. It was also the first console with an analog stick.

I don't think the 2600 is a great candidate, because it was more or less alone in the market. It begs the question, "Overrated compared to what?"

I'm leaning:

Dreamcast: Nice console with lots of promise but with a greater cult following than it probably earned, or

XB1: Continues to garner a ton of loyalty here and elsewhere despite being objectively botched in most ways, or

Wii: Which sold far more than it deserved but might actually be underrated by core gamers at this point. It had some really good core content that got overlooked IMO.

pretty weak to make this a private poll, imho. open it up so we can argue with each other!

PS1 was far from overrated, I'm more willing to believe that PS2 was overrated if we are strictly talking Sony consoles. The PS1 was a godsend for anybody who liked their JRPGs among many types of games. It was also very easy to copy games and play with a boot disc for those who were into that *whistle*

I'm sticking to my original of the N64 (because the comments since my post only further prove my point) and 2nd for me would be the Wii. Third...maybe the XB1, just because I've been poed at everything regarding the system but yet it seems to be doing well. Sadly, I'll probably still end up buying it if and when they turn out the lights on the XB360 service.

Edit: Somebody should start an underrated console poll too. I got two prime candidates.

PS2: I got into it way late (late-2004), and while I enjoyed it immensely, I never felt like it was leaps and bounds better than when I played friends' Xboxes, Gamecubes, or even my Dreamcast. Now, when I see people praise it as the greatest piece of video game electronics to ever exist, I'm kind of surprised.