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Of the three bestselling systems of all time, which has the best library?

Which has the best library?

  • PS2

    Votes: 193 79.4%

  • DS

    Votes: 7 2.9%

  • Switch

    Votes: 43 17.7%
  • Total voters
    243
L

LakeOf9

Member
I saw this on a different forum and it's an interesting topic so here it is for GAF: of the three bestselling systems of all time, the PS2, the DS, and the Switch, which do you think has the best library?

I think if I only go by original library released natively for the system, it would probably be PS2. But if I am allowed to count ports and remasters and re-releases in the totality of the library, the Switch might start to put up some serious competition.

I still voted PS2, but what does GAF think
 
March Climber

March Climber

Member
If the selection of retroactive games that used to be on NES, SNES, N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U count: Maybe Switch?

If not: The Playstation 2.
 
jshackles

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Switch, easily.

Even if you don't count the ports (big hitters on the PS2 like Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2/3, Grand Theft Auto III, etc.), the Switch library I still feel like has better overall variety. Much better JRPGs. Tons of great indie games like Stardew Valley, Inscryption, Golf Story, Dead Cells, Vampire Survivors, etc. all are standout titles. Then you've got the big Switch games like your Zeldas and Marios.
 
Doom85

Doom85

Member
HF637gv.gif
 
Azelover

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
I voted DS.

The PS2 was great but I have a thing for portables.
 
SenkiDala

SenkiDala

Member
It's a matter of tastes...

I'd say Switch because you can play new awesome games such as Mario Wonder, Metroid Dread, etc and older stuff too like FF7/8/9/10/12, MGS1/2/3, all most of the Megaman games, Neo Geo games, etc.

Nah in fact I'd say PS2 because of Silent Hill 2/3/4, Zone of the Enders, Valkyrie Profile 2, Ico, Katamari, GT3 and 4, Wipeout, Sly, Jak, Soulcalibur, Tekken, Gradius V, VF 4, Ratchet, SSX, Burnout, DMC, Bully, Onimusha, Shadow Hearts, Dark Cloud, Xenosaga, Odin Sphere, Breath of Fire...

Oh you know what fuck you op ! :(
 
Last edited:
F31 Leopard

F31 Leopard

Member
I would have to go with Switch by a long shot. Although PS2 had a great library Switch has a plethora of choices that eclipse the PS2. Its library contains games from every generation starting from Atari to current.
 
Solidus_T

Solidus_T

Member
PS2. In fact, a good amount of the remasters and ports released for newer consoles are PS2 games. It was that good. If you didn't have one, you missed out and are likely just finding out about what you missed without even knowing it.
 
kiphalfton

kiphalfton

Member
The switch relies too heavily on Wii U ports be anything but a disappointment to me, having owned a Wii U.

If you exclude Wii U games that were ported to the switch, which is quite a few games, and just compare those to Switch exclusives, I honestly think the Wii U exclusives are better. That would mean specifically Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Super Mario 3D World, etc.

If you want to argue that ports should count, that's stupid because as more time goes on each subsequent console can ripoff on the previous consoles games as well as release new games, and so obviously the previous consoles would be at a disadvantage once games stop being released on it.

I can however say with certainty, the PS2 is the best of those systems mentioned (and also the best Sony console).
 
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Freelance Yakuza

Freelance Yakuza

Member
I don't know if we will see another console with such diverse and high quality library from all genres like the PlayStation 2 had.

The only company that I feel like they can offer something similar is Steam, and that is because PCs have full retrocompatibility
 
CashPrizes

CashPrizes

Member
PS2 is highly overrated.
I am not even that much of a Switch fanatic and it is clearly Switch.
It has a ton of those PS2 games, and a ton of the best Xbone/PS4 games (albeit some streaming), one of the biggest backwards looking libraries ever, just about every great game from WiiU has been ported, and it has some killer exclusives by itself.
 
Last edited:
NightmareFarm

NightmareFarm

Member
Poll results were predictable. PS2 has some GOATs even though its buried within a mountain of shovelware. Most of the Switch exclusives i've played turned out to be super mediocre on the other hand.
 
Majormaxxx

Majormaxxx

Member
I only own a ps2 but it seems the switch wins due to having modern games with modern design and controls.

Don't get me wrong, ps2 is awesome but game design has evolved in 20 years. Sometimes for the better.
 
Fredrik

Fredrik

Member
It’s a nostalgia-loaded question.
I mean what system has the better library, PS5 or Commodore 64? I’d choose C64 in a heart beat. But someone who has no nostalgia would no doubt choose PS5.

Anyhow, at the time PS2 was untouchable but my nostalgia was rooted 2 decades earlier and today I’m in no rush plugging in a PS2 to play some old 3D game over TOTK, BOTW, Dread, Wonder, Link’s Awakening etc. PS2 is better than PS1 but it’s still the early 3D era and every game I try from that time leave me disappointed today. But 2D games up to SNES era… Just lovely! 🥰
 
FingerBang

FingerBang

Member
It really depends on the context, doesn't it? Historically, the PS2 wins hands down. There's no contest there.

That console started many of the series we still love today. In a sense, it started modern gaming, refining what was the big experiment of the previous generation.

Now, would I personally be happy to game on a PS2 in this day and age? Fuck no. I'd take a Switch over that. But the amount of incredible games on that console is simply unmatched.
 
Soodanim

Soodanim

Gold Member
The fact that PS2 is from an era where companies weren't forced to get GOTY or go bust makes a difference. It was an era of iteration, but also innovation. Things invented on PS1 had room to improve upon things the PS1 held back, but there was also room for trying things without your company going broke from a swing and a miss. The result is an incredible mix of the best games in many franchises that are going today and many cult classics.

DS was held back by being a low powered 2 screen handheld.

Switch is fantastic, there's no denying that. But a couple Zelda games and whatever else from Nintendo's first party can't match the sheer size and quality of the PS2's first and third party library. I will say though that a benefit of Switch is that it's a system that doesn't so much concern itself with astronomical budget AAA games at 4K, so there is more room for a wide variety of games.
 
Robb

Robb

Gold Member
It’s Ps2 or Switch for me, but Switch is a bit too recent for me to decide. I kind of need it to marinate a couple of years post its successor(s) before I can decide just to see if it stands the test of time.

So Ps2.
 
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gimmmick

gimmmick

Member
Strictly going by releases of its console for its time? Ps2 by a mile.

Console I’ll be playing 5 - 10 years down the line with my kid as he gets older? Switch.
 
cireza

cireza

Member
I am perfectly fine with people picking PS2, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I picked the DS.

There are several reasons that make me prefer the DS. First of all I am moderately old gamer and my love for pixel-art simply can't fade away. DS was a marvelous system on that regards, with a great resolution for pixel-art (256x192, same as the Master System) and these games are gorgeous and simply don't age.

Portable consoles also had, back then, dedicated efforts and games specifically developed for them. The experience was simply put, perfect. I enjoyed hours of gameplay and still own today a DSi XL, with its huge, perfectly white screens (that was before the "yellowish tint" curse that affected all screens).

This resulted in a library of excellent games, such as the Castlevania games, Final Fantasy III and IV, Chrono Trigger finally in France, Contra 4, three of the best Sonic games, Shiren the Wanderer which is one of my favorite games ever, Knights in the Darkness, Strange Journey, Radiant Historia, Hero Saga Laevatein, Etrian Odyssey, Golden Sun etc... Yeah, we got a ton of excellent RPGs, with the second screen being awesome for managing inventory, checking maps etc... This remains the best RPG configuration we ever had, in my opinion, and the library is fantastic in that regard.
 
S

Superbean

Neo Member
If we are counting parts, remasters, etc and online then we have to at least count for PS1 compatibility.
Ps2 wins in any combination, by far.
 
STARSBarry

STARSBarry

Gold Member
cireza said:
I am perfectly fine with people picking PS2, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I picked the DS.

There are several reasons that make me prefer the DS. First of all I am moderately old gamer and my love for pixel-art simply can't fade away. DS was a marvelous system on that regards, with a great resolution for pixel-art (256x192, same as the Master System) and these games are gorgeous and simply don't age.

Portable consoles also had, back then, dedicated efforts and games specifically developed for them. The experience was simply put, perfect. I enjoyed hours of gameplay and still own today a DSi XL, with its huge, perfectly white screens (that was before the "yellowish tint" curse that affected all screens).

This resulted in a library of excellent games, such as the Castlevania games, Final Fantasy III and IV, Chrono Trigger finally in France, Contra 4, three of the best Sonic games, Shiren the Wanderer which is one of my favorite games ever, Knights in the Darkness, Strange Journey, Radiant Historia, Hero Saga Laevatein, Etrian Odyssey, Golden Sun etc... Yeah, we got a ton of excellent RPGs, with the second screen being awesome for managing inventory, checking maps etc... This remains the best RPG configuration we ever had, in my opinion, and the library is fantastic in that regard.
Click to expand...

Generally confused about the lack of DS votes (I also voted for it)

I feel like GAF must just have been made up by people who only owned the PS2 that gen. The DS was just outstanding for a handheld and I remember far more of its releases fondly than I do my PS2.
 
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