EDGE Names PlayStation 2 Best Console Of Last Twenty Years

EDGE is currently celebrating twenty years as a source of gaming news and opinion. As part of this anniversary EDGE is releasing special covers for the magazine, looking at some of the most influential games in the past two decades.

Not only that but they’ve listed the top consoles of the last twenty years, and Sony’s PlayStation 2 has taken the honour of first place.

1. PlayStation 2
2. Xbox 360
3. PlayStation
4. Nintendo 64
5. Gamecube
6. DS Lite
7. PlayStation 3
8. Wii
9. Xbox
10. Dreamcast

Nintendo dominate the list in terms of numbers of consoles released, and Sega make an appearance at the bottom with the Dreamcast. It’s an interesting look at the last twenty years of gaming. Do you agree with the list, or would you switch it around a bit?

Source: NeoGAF

30 Comments

  1. Get a petition going. Dreamcast for number 1.

    Ok, back to being serious. I agree with the top spot, PS2 deserves that. Not sure about the GameCube being in 5th though..seems a bit high for reasons I cannot justify! Maybe swap that with the Wii :)

  2. Rightly so, PS2 changed gaming forever.

    … but dafuq is up with number 2? Yeah I enjoyed my 360 but second best console/handheld of the last 20 years? Erm … no

    • Agreed. I suspect there was a little editorial pressure not to anger the Microsoft fanboys there.

      The PS2 was a huge deal, it cemented what Sony began with the Playstation and was responsible for launching some of the best franchises and developers we have now.
      While the current gen has been pretty even, there is no denying the PS2 dominated the last.

    • Agreed. When you look at the context of its own generation and then compare that generation to the others it belongs in the middle. No where near No.2.

      • 360 at number 2 and no psp or vita?

        Gamecube at 5? really? Above the PS3 as well?

        I think they need to go back to the drawing board on this one.

      • Yep, 360 and Gamecube are way too high up. The original Xbox easily beats GCN, as do the Wii.

  3. Not sure how the N64 beat the PS3. I owned two N64s, and both times it was only worth owning Goldeneye, Mario 64 and Zelda. The lack of “must have” games was a joke imo.

    • The N64 still is THE party console of all time in my mind. It was all about four player split screen and it was a huge part of my gaming childhood because of it. Mario Kart, Golf, Tennis, F-Zero, Smash Bros, Rush… Good times!

      • True, although I hate split-screen! ;)

        I admit I slightly overlooked StarFox 64, but I didn’t think that Mario Kart 64 was as enjoyable as the SNES version.

    • You’re right actually, the N64 didn’t have that many huge games, but it did kick off the FPS console multiplayer experience and the likes of Mario 64 and Zelda were truly revolutionary games. PS2 on top spot seems perfect, it pumped out the most impressive graphics throughout its life and bizarrely it even managed 1080i. Great games, DVD player, online, definitely the best machine to have as a student back in 2003. The PlayStation was probably my favourite though, the eastern influence made it seem a very serious machine.

      • For sure, no doubting the PS2! Did it manage 1080i, tell me more?

      • Hitman Contracts I believe is 1080i.

  4. My list goes something like this:

    1. Playstation 3
    2. Playstation
    3. Playstation 2
    4. Megadrive

    I’ve never owned any of the others. Yes, I’m one of the five people who doesn’t own a wii. Surprised to see 360 in 2nd place. I’ve only ever owned playstation consoles and never really saw the need to have two. Is it really that good?

    • I assume they are only talking about consoles LAUNCHED in the last 20 years. The megadrive was launched in 1990. If they aren’t then missing out that and the SNES is a travesty!

      • I thought it was odd that they weren’t on the list. I remember my brother having a megadrive mid 90’s but I didn’t think it was that old :O

        I wonder how different the list would have looked like if they had done ‘the past 25 years’?

  5. I think the original Xbox was more influential than the 360. Like the PS1, it took a company that no-one associated with gaming through acceptance and respect to where it is now, one of the two biggest games console manufacturers in the world.

    In a way the 360 was a success for simply continuing what the Xbox had done while the PS3 faltered, trying to do too much. Seemingly the XB1 and PS4 looks like a role reversal of that.

  6. Surely the mega drive or snes need to be in there instead of some such as GameCube and dream cast? Or were they more than 20 years ago? Damn, I must be getting old :(

  7. No Megadrive in the top 10?!! My #1 console easily.

  8. The Megadrive should be in there for sure. I feel the playstation should be second. Easily some of my greatest gaming memories are from that console. The Xbox should be slightly higher. Most Halo fans probably second that.

    • Last 20 years, I think the Megadrive was out earlier than that… Man I feel old!

  9. The Dreamcast deserves to be higher than 10 (or lower, whichever way you look at it… Now I’m confused!).
    I booted one up a couple of years ago & the games are still pretty playable & the graphics aren’t bad at all when you consider it’s age.

  10. Really surprised the original Gameboy didn’t figure.

    • Or the Color for that matter. It was huuuuge! And me, as a Game Boy Pocket owner, hated it for its smug colour display.

      • I totally agree and was searching the comments shocked that the GAMEBOY wasn’t mentioned till now. I strongly believe that the GAMEBOY Colour was the best handheld ever and you just can’t beat its Pokemon games (at the time it wasn’t strung out to billions of versions).

        However, all in all if you really want to just judge the console then you can only possibly say PS3/XBOX 360 just cus they do more. Why would you get a NOKIA 8210 when you could get an iPhone 5 now? Nostalgia and personal feelings have a lot to play in lists like this as it’s never really about the capabilities of the products themselves unless being judged on a level playing field – i.e. in the same generation.

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