• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

What game was an actual "system seller" for you?

Bo_Hazem said:
Funnily though the PS1 was on every single house, from poor to rich. What compensated for the steep price is the pirated games priced at around $2.6-1.3 each. Some even buy a game and hang it on the rear view mirror as some sort of 1990's decoration trend. PS2 continued to be piracy dominant, PS3 broke that and some people bought the Xbox360 for those $2.6-1.3 pirated games as well as you nearly can't find any legit Xbox game vs Sony that had official storefronts that are disappearing now but has close ties to major stores/super markets. Microsoft has yet to release xbox officially here as most of them are imported from the US/UK, and maybe this gen some are coming from KSA/UAE as they have them there officially but not our market.
Click to expand...
Piracy was here too but a fraction of sales during PS1. Most people bought their systems and games legit. New or used. Getting a modded system required you to go to independent shops or Chinatown where youd give a slummy store $80 and they'd take your system to a back room and mod your system in an hour.

During the PS1 days, CD burners were rare at home. Not that many had one. So for pirated games, you had to go back to these stores and get them to copy a game for you for $10 (a blank disc alone was $5). Some stores had no shame too. You walk in and it was literally racks of burners all going at once. Pop in a disc and come back in an hour.

I didnt follow piracy during the PS2/360 days so not sure what it was like, but Xbox OG had some. My buddy had a modded HDD with pirated games including 100s of Genesis/SNES games.
 
StreetsofBeige said:
Piracy was here too but a fraction of sales during PS1. Most people bought their systems and games legit. New or used. Getting a modded system required you to go to independent shops or Chinatown where youd give a slummy store $80 and they'd take your system to a back room and mod your system in an hour.

During the PS1 days, CD burners were rare at home. Not that many had one. So for pirated games, you had to go back to these stores and get them to copy a game for you for $10 (a blank disc alone was $5). Some stores had no shame too. You walk in and it was literally racks of burners all going at once. Pop in a disc and come back in an hour.

I didnt follow piracy during the PS2/360 days so not sure what it was like, but Xbox OG had some. My buddy had a modded HDD with pirated games including 100s of Genesis/SNES games.
Click to expand...

I'm 100% against piracy, it's just a soft name to give theft a cool name. I was guilty for that myself. Sadly though, no legit games were available in my region back then.
 
Bo_Hazem said:
I'm 100% against piracy, it's just a soft name to give theft a cool name. I was guilty for that myself. Sadly though, no legit games were available in my region back then.
Click to expand...
Piracy back in the 90s didnt even save you that much money. Buy a game used and selling it back to a store didn't cost much more than getting a place to burn a disc for you.

Also, I'd say 30% of the time the burned disc didnt even work or stuttered. And because they were CD-R, all you could do is throw it in the garbage. I did it a bit during the back half of the PS1 era as friends kept telling me about shady stores in Chinatown doing it. Also factor in renting a game you want burned and the time spent to do it. Never bothered since then. Waste of time.
 
Super Mario 64 - N64
Luigi's Mansion - GCN
Super Mario Bros. 2 Advance - GBA
Halo 2 - Xbox
Halo 3 - Xbox 360
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Wii
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
 
StreetsofBeige said:
Piracy back in the 90s didnt even save you that much money. Buy a game used and selling it back to a store didn't cost much more than getting a place to burn a disc for you.

Also, I'd say 30% of the time the burned disc didnt even work or stuttered. And because they were CD-R, all you could do is throw it in the garbage. I did it a bit during the back half of the PS1 era as friends kept telling me about shady stores in Chinatown doing it. Also factor in renting a game you want burned and the time spent to do it. Never bothered since then. Waste of time.
Click to expand...

Yeah the way you describe it it's pretty useless. But $2.6 for plastic cover, $1.3 with disposable plastic bag was just too cheap. After like 2-3 years your laser starts to struggle and you need to replace it with another one for like $150.
 
Every console I've ever owned I did because of a system seller.

With one exception. I wanted a SNES, but the Genesis was slightly cheaper. So I went with Genesis, kind of blindly.

Best decision I ever made.
 
i kinda hate this idea that every system has a "system seller".

i never bought a system just for one game, it was the prospect of several didfferent games and franchises being on that console, and the extra capabilities of the console (read cd, dvd, hdmi port, mp3 player lmao, etc) and i always felt like the gaming industry was balanced with some of my fav series on each of the consoles.

anyway, ill play ball for fun, here it is. kind of messy but oh well...

NES: i was just happy that my parents bought me one, played lots of paper boy
GEN: same as nes, mostly played sonic, but discovered my love for fantasy with shining force 2 (still one of my all time favorites)
SNES: i wanted one for super mario world but never got one. eventually played all the SNES games i wanted on an emulator, but i mostly missed out on this console, sadly...
N64: ocarina and goldeneye
PS1: ff8 (but i found ff7 much better after i eventually played it)
XBOX: halo 1 and 2 (didnt get an xbox until well after halo 2 released)
PS2: gta 3 and ff10
X360: halo 3
PS3: mgs4
Gamecube: wind waker (i was really LTTP on this one)
XONE: halo 5 and mgs5
PS4: ff7 remake and PSVR

coming soon...

XSX: darktide and starfield
PS2: re8 vr and PSVR2
 
Last edited:
MGS 4. I was gonna get a PS3 eventually, but that upped the timeline.

The 360, I think it was GTA 4? Saint's Row? One of them. It was some game that was a timed exclusive......yes the dreaded timed exclusives were a thing back then.

Not gonna lie...it may have been Crackdown 1.....

Crackdown 3 convinced me to get a One X, lol. I decided I didnt want the console anymore.

For Nintendo, damn near any Nintendo exclusive. I got a Wii U at launch, just didnt get any games for it.

For Series consoles? Hellblade 2. Or Fable. Hell, State of Decay 3. One of those convinced me to get a XSX last year.
 
Last edited:
Playstation - Resident Evil/Tekken
GameCube - Starfox Adventures (which was the first game I ever preordered)
Dreamcast - Jet Grind Radio/Shenmue
Xbox 360 - Gears of War/Blue Dragon
PS3 - Final Fantasy 13/Uncharted
PC - Better looking games/Customisability
PS4 - Infamous Second Son
Xbox One - Sunset Overdrive
PS5 - Final Fantasy XVI/Horizon Zero Dawn
Xbox Series - Starfield
Switch - Octopath Traveller
 
Uncharted 4, Spider-man
Gears of War
Ryse
Super Mario world
Battle Arena Toshinden
 
Last edited:
Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendogs and Mario64 for the DS, Kid Icarus for 3DS, Infamous Second Son for the PS4 (never ended up buying it but have it on PS plus), Zelda BotW for Nintendo Switch, Gravity Rush for PSVita, and I bought a Gaming laptop for upcoming DokeV, Black Myth: Wukong and Final Fantasy XVI. Also the ability to play both Xbox and Playstation exclusives.
 
Going from memory I'd have to say:
Nintendo= Super Mario Brothers
Sega= Sonic
Sega CD= Sonic CD
SNES= Star Fox
Playstation= Crash Bandicoot/Road Rash/FF7
PS2= GTA3
Gamecube: Metroid Prime
Xbox= Halo
Xbox 360= Condemned/COD 2
Wii: Mario Galaxy/Twilight Princess
PS3= Uncharted/MGS:4
DS=NSMB
PS4= Assassins Creed: Black Flag

Of course, some of the best games were always games that were found and pleasant surprises

Edit: Had to add Mario Galaxy to the Wii because that was the most hyped I'd ever been for a Mario
 
Last edited:
I pretty much bought Nintendo handhelds prior to the Switch only because of Pokémon.

Thinking about it, would it be fair to say that Red/Blue were pretty much the biggest system sellers ever? The Gameboy's sales had been slowing for a while (the thing was already pretty old by the time Pokemon came out), and by the mid 90s Nintendo was already working on a successor. But after the release of Red/Blue the Gameboy sold globally more than it had ever before, and significantly lengthened the system's lifespan.
 
Well I can really only afford one console so I lose out on Xbox.

However, I did buy a second hand 360 two years ago just so I could play viva pinata with my daughter who was 5 at the time. Just an absolutely fantastic game for the family. It was so worth it.
 
PS1 - MGS and Wipeout
DC - Shenmue
X360 - Mass Effect and Gears
PS2 - MGS2
PS3 - MGS4
PS4 - pre-ordered
PS5 - pre-ordered
 
If I were to buy a console purely for a particular game, on NES it would be Mega Man 3, Battletoads and Super Mario Bros 3. SNES it would be Super Mario World. N64 would be Mario 64 and Ocarina Of Time. Playstation would be Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Symphony of the Night. Xbox would be KOTOR. Playstation 2 would be Silent Hill 2. After that though, I'm struggling to think of a game I'd buy a console for after the ones I mentioned.
 
Super Mario Bros (NES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
PSO (Dreamcast)
Halo (Xbox)
 
PSP : Final Fantasy VII
Thought that was crazy on a handheld at the time

PS4: FFXV Episode Duscae. I refunded my rent to buy a ps4 and payed it back over time just for that

XBOX360: Lost Oddysey. I only own an xbox just for that

PC: Lineage 2. I get emotional thinking about this game.
PC 2: Aion. Beautiful game at that time!


PS2: Wanted everything. KH, DMC, Onimusha, DBZ Budokai 3, MGS2 and FFX. I was blown away by FFX, the smoothness of the battles, voice acting.

PS3: FFXIII (sux ass), Naruto Shippuden UNS WOW! What an awesome game!
 
Halo - Xbox 1

Smash Brothers Melee - Gamecube

Bioshock - Xbox360


Diablo 4 will be the reason I purchase a xbox series X.
 
- Duck Hunt

- Sonic 2 (master system 2)

- Chrono Trigger

- Streets of Rage 2

- Metal Slug

- Pokemon Blue

- Link's Awakening DX

- V Rally 3 (gameboy advance)

- Final Fantasy Tactics - ps1

- Shenmue (very close call with Street Fighter 3rd Strike / Soulcalibur)

- Rogue Leader

- Ninja Gaiden

- God of War 2

- Test Drive Unlimited (x 360) - PGR 4 also applies

- Disgaea 2

- Mario Rabbids

- P5R
 
Last edited:
NES: Super Mario Bros.
Game Gear: Sonic The Hedgehog
Super Nintendo: Super Mario World
Game Boy: The Legend of Zelda- Link's Awakening
PlayStation: Megaman x4 , Metal gear solid, Castlevania SOTN
Nintendo64: Super Mario 64
PlayStation 2: Bully, Silent hill 3
GameCube: Resident evil 4
XBOX: Marvel vs Capcom 2
XBOX 360: Eternal Sonata
Wii: Rockband (I win a contest the Special bundle complete edition)
PlayStation Portable: Final Fantasy Crisis core
PlayStation 3: Resonance of fate, MGS 4
Nintendo 3DS: Resident evil revelations
PlayStation Vita: Gravity rush :messenger_smiling_hearts::messenger_heart::pie_sfwth:
PlayStation 4: Metal Gear solid The phantom pain

PlayStation 5: Coming soon (Demon souls, Pragmata) , Slitterhead,
 
Last edited:
PS4: Bloodborne, when it was still known as Project Beast. Loved Dark Souls but was disappointed with it's sequel, so I really wanted to check the actual A team next project. It didn't disappoint.

Switch: BOTW. A fren let me try it on his Switch, and the next day I was already trying to get a Switch and the game for myself.

3DS: SMT IV. Having finished Persona 5 Royal I wanted to check out the mainline games. When I saw how cool this one looked and how awesome it's OST is, I just needed to play the shit out of that game.

Gameboy Color: Pokemon Blue. I was 8, and happy as fuck with my brand new console and game.

Been gaming on PC since I was 12 or so. Never built a system for a specific game, but I remember that with one, the first game I played was Oblivion and, with the latest one, I went straight into HL Alyx.
 
Bought an N64 for Zelda OoT.

A Dreamcast for RE CV.

An original XBOX for Halo 1.

An GC for RE Remake

A PS2 for GTA 3.

A 360 for PD Zero.

Jack Black Reaction GIF


Wii for Zelda TP

A PS3 for MGS 4.

A PS4 for Killzone SF.

Switch for BotW

WiiU dont know.

XSX Halo Anniversary for dont know, still sealed.

A PS5 for Demons Souls.
 
Last edited:
This is the order in which I purchased each system.

Golden Axe 2 - Sega Genesis '91
Lunar: The Silver Star - Sega CD '93 *pre-owned*
Super Dodge Ball - NES '94 *pre-owned*
Xenophobe - Atari Lynx II '94 *pre-owned*
Super Game Boy - SNES '95 *allowed you to use your television to play GB/GBC games* *pre-owned*
Mario Tennis- Nintendo's Virtual Boy '95 *I had it for two weeks and then returned it due to serious eye problems.*
Jumping Flash! - Playstation '95
11th Hour - First time building a PC '96
Warioland 2 - Game Boy Color '98
Guardian Heroes - Sega Saturn '99 *pre-owned, modded to play Japanese import games*
Soulcalibur & Tokyo Extreme Racing - Sega Dreamcast '99
Planescape: Torment - Second PC Build '99
Castlevania 64 - Nintendo 64 '00 *pre-owned*
Halo: Combat Evolved - Xbox '01
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Playstation 2 '02
Pokémon Ruby - Game Boy Advance '03
Condemned: Criminal Origins - Xbox 360 '05
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - Nintendo DS '05 *pre-owned*
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Playstation Portable '08
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Playstation 3 '08 *I also purchased a Japanese Import DS3, this was the first controller to support rumble. *pre-owned*
Gravity Rush - PlayStation Vita '13 *pre-owned*
Fire Emblem Awakening - Nintendo 3DS '13
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Third PC Build '14
Bloodborne - PS4 '16 *pre-owned*
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch '17
Cyberpunk 2077 - Fourth PC Build '20
 
Last edited:
The last time that happened was Final Fantasy VIII for the PS One. It looked so amazing that I just had to have it, even though I was still a bit of a Nintendo fanboy at that point.

Later on, once the legendary MGS2 trailer showed up, I had to have a PS2 and since then I've gotten only PS consoles. I did get a GCN, but it was so underwhelming and the Wii was so terrible hardware wise that it killed my inner Nintendo fanboy for good.

I haven't ever seen anything that made me want an Xbox console, ever.
 
Jennings said:
People talk about System Sellers all the time, those games that can single-handedly move game consoles or $1,000 PC video cards. While many people might buy a console to simply keep up with the latest and greatest hardware available, there are plenty of others which aren't motivated to buy until a particular title shows its face.

If you've ever been convinced to buy a new console or PC all because a single game pushed you over the edge, which game was it and what hardware did it convince you to buy? What game was your personal "system seller?"
Click to expand...
Bought a PS4 for No Man's Sky. Even though it didn't quite live up to the hype it was still a fantastic game to just explore.
 
NES - Super Mario Bros
SNES - A Link to the Past
N64 - Ocarina of Time
Gamecube - Wind Waker
Xbox 360 - Gears of War
Xbox One - Ryse
Xbox One X - Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Xbox Series X - better performance
 
NES - Mike Tyson's Punch Out
SNES - Final Fantasy 3 (6 in Japan)
N64 - Golden Eye
PS - Final Fantasy 7
PS2 - SSX
Gameboys - All the Iga-vanias
Xbox - Halo
Wii - Wii Sports
PC - Diablo 3
Switch - Breath of the Wild
Xbox Series S - Gamepass
 
Last edited:
Mario 64
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Halo: Combat Evolved
Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Forza Horizon 5
 
Megadrive - Golden Axe and Super Shinobi
SNES - Marioworld, F-Zero and Super R-Type
32X - Doom
N64- Mario 64
Gamecube - Wind Waker

I think every other console I've had already had a big library, so there wasn't a single system seller title(s).
 
The Witcher 3 for gaming PC
Super Mario Odyssey for Switch
Mario Kart Ds for DS
Gravity Rush for Vita
Gran Turismo 2 for PS2
Gran Turismo Ridge Racer for PS1, or was it Jumping Flash?
Samurai shodown for Neo Geo
Shinobu (forgot which one) for Sega Genesis
Street fighter 2 for SNES
Tetris for Gameboy
Super Mario Bros for NES

The only exception would be PSP, didn't buy it at launch but as a handheld at the time all the games look so good. I just have to buy it.
 
Last edited:
Need for speed 2 on the ps1. No game has impressed me more with its graphics since. The jump from 2d to 3d was amazing to me.
 
Bought all Nintendo consoles at launch regardless, though did hold out on switch until Mario had a date.
MGS2 and FFX - PS2 - though here is was more waited and avoided the initial craze
MGS4 - PS3 - here it was waited on the system because the price was insane for a grad student but really needed my MG fix and then turned around and sold the system only to buy a slim when I had a real job and wanted to see what Uncharted 2 was all about.

I bought Ps4/5 & Xbone at launch but stopped buying Xbox because I have a PC.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

What would be a system seller for the PS6 (for you)
Hardware Platform  2 3 4 5
212
506
Miyazaki’s Slave replied
What was the last "perfect" game you played and how old were you?
2 3 4
157
1K
MrCunningham replied
  • Poll
What decade was better for gaming, 2000s or 2010s?
2 3
123
440
KenaiPhoenix replied
What game has the best feel to it, for you?
2
92
1K
ToneyJ replied
Before Dishonored, Arkane was tapped to make Thief 4, and my heart weeps for what might have been: 'We had an amazing pitch for Thief'
Opinion Game Dev 
41
99
Hollywood Hitman replied
Top Bottom