Has the Most Powerful Console of a Generation Ever Actually Won?

Console power. Since the misty dawn of the early ‘90s, when all was unicorns, new-age synth, and wizards, it has been the first and most furious topic of conversation surrounding the announcement of each and every new games machine spat up by the earth. ‘How much faster will it be? How much shinier and more numerous its pictures? By what percentage will it allow you to chisel down your home best friend’s self-esteem by denigrating his personal identity based upon his recent hardware purchase choices?’

[BLizardXD]

"Has the Most Powerful Console of a Generation Ever Actually Won?"

Who was the most powerful in the last generation? once you can figure that out then maybe you'll have your answer.

[porkChop]

The PS3, which essentially tied with the Xbox 360 for second place. Both systems have sold roughly the same amount of units.

There is an argument to be made about overall quality of games available. Though the winner of a console generation is typically based on total unit sales or how many living rooms the system was able to penetrate.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Nope. Wii won 7th generation whether you like it or not.

[porkChop]

@Otaku, that's literally what I'm saying...

[mikeslemonade]

Technically Wii is last gen system so in an angle the PS3 was the strongest. NES and SNES were stronger overall. The PS1 was strongest overall because the N64 had a storage bottlneck with their cartridge. So yes the strongest console wins almost half the time. PS4 is the strongest. Scorpio doesn't count cause it will only he strongest for the last year of the generation.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

PS3 came in last.

[davand114]

If you're talking about all consoles then the ds won last gen with the wii coming in second place.

[mikeslemonade]

DS is handheld console in a different generation. And if you wanna play like that the PS4 will beat the 3DS!

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

@mikeslemonade
The PS1 was not stronger than the N64.
N64 was 64 bit while PS1 was 32 bit.
PS1 only had rendering that put it above the N64 due to CD format.

[donthate]

Forget last gen.Who is winning this gen?

Don't believe it, well here is further proof why power matters!

https://www.forbes.com/site...

[yeahokwhatever]

a significant portion of the 360 sales are replacement buys because crappy console quality. sales are still sales though.. but I'd pass it to PS3 as a "winner" for that nugget of reality alone.

[TheCommentator]

PS4 is winning right now with no chance for MS to catch up, so the answer is yes. The real question is what does it matter who wins? I play games, not sales.

[ClayRules2012]

Well said.

I personally prefer PS4, because of the diversity of games on offer, and the polish & quality of the finished product is always extremely high, thanks to Sony's First party developers.

With all that said, I genuinely want to see gamers on Xbox to have awesome gaming experiences on their respective console as well. I don't want to see Microsoft or its console fail. Competition is a good thing, and I hope they bring great new games to their fans.

At the end of the day, I just really want all of us on PS4, Xbox, PC, Switch to all have fun playing all the video games we look forward to, and that they meet & exceed are expectations.

Much love to all =)

[kowan]

I guess they're also including the Scorpio together with the Ps4 and Xb1? Just like how the Pro is still part of this generation.

[ninsigma]

There's an interesting point to be made in that sure PS4 is gonna win the sales battle at this point but with Scorpio, MS will have the most powerful console of this generation, so that would subscribe to the whole most powerful not winning a gen. However, do we count pro and Scorpio in such a metric?? Personally, because Pro and Scorpio are just upgrades I still see the "battle" being between the OG PS4 and XBO and their slim variants. Interested to know how others view that.

[XanderZane]

It should only matter to Sony, Microsoft & Nintendo, since they are the ones making the profit from all these console sales. Having more sales does help to get more 3rd party support however and that's always a good thing.

[XanderZane]

Well the Wii won last gen and it definitely wasn't the most powerful compared to the XBox 360 and PS3. The PS4 was the most powerful this gen to start, but it looks like the Scorpio will be the most powerful when the generation ends. So once again, the most powerful game console won't be the winner. How ironic.

@mikeslemonade
Dude you're clueless about game consoles most powerful. Please stop posting, cause I can't stop laughing.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

In terms of units sold?
Only once. PS4.
It is typically the weaker consoles that sell better and get the bigger libraries. That's historical fact.

[LiamKreptic]

I am curious as to whether or not you are stating the PS4 is weak? If so, explain with facts.

[TheCommentator]

No, he's saying PS4 broke the trend of less powerful consoles always selling better.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

What Commentator said.

[LiamKreptic]

I misunderstood your post and apologize for that. Thanks for clarification!

[aaronaton]

The Ps4 is the most powerful base console this gen.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Never said it wasn't.
If you thought that's what I was saying, please read again.

[XanderZane]

Actually it's the PS4 Pro right now, but after the Scorpio releases it will be the most powerful game console this gen.

[Liqu1d]

@Xander "base console"

Please read properly. The PS4 Pro is not a base console and neither will the Scorpio.

[Liqu1d]

PS4 won't be the most powerful by the end of this gen though.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Won't stop it from maintaining competitive numbers, thankfully, but yeah, Scorpio will probably beat it out in specs.

[aaronaton]

The Ps4 will be the most powerful base console this gen. Corrected it for you!

[aaronaton]

So the Scorpio is Microsoft's base console? I must of missed the news on MS offering a free upgrade to Scorpio if you've already purchased an XboxOne.

[pcz]

depends how you define 'winning'

[Aenea]

And this is a mid-gen upgrade not a new generation so how can it even win now?

Scorpio is just a PR boost for the Xbox brand and for the fans which is a good thing!

[rando]

Super Nintendo. this article is irrelevant.

[TheCommentator]

Genesis had double the speed of the SNES and could handle larger sprites an more objects on screen. Snes had a color advantage of 256 colors to Genesis' 64, and it had a better (Sony-made) audio processor though. In the end, Genesis was more powerful than Snes.

[Concertoine]

The genesis was not more powerful. They were both stronger in certain aspects. All you have to do is look at the software to see that.

[Segata]

SNES also had better resolution on screen. SNES could display 256 on screen from a choice of 32000. Genesis,512. PC Engine could display more colors on screen than Genesis with 480+. SNES also had the ability built from the start with the idea of one day doing basic polygon games. Later SNES carts have more pins but the rom ability was there day 1. SNES had 64KB of Audio ram vs Genesis 8KB. Tho it's always up for debate what people prefer. I love both. Genesis has a cool sound to it and could really drop the base. SNES was more replicating real instruments and often sounds great. Even full vocals like Tales.

[jreeves82]

Looks like someone forgot about the neo geo. It was more powerful than snes but sold like donkey turds.

[C_Ali88]

DONKEY DUDs.....

[Vanfernal]

The Neo Geo was by far the strongest console of that generation.

[Vanfernal]

@SolidStateSnake The Jaguar is actually very early 5th generation (32 bit era). So it was actually one of the weakest for its generation. XD

[Segata]

SNES aside from CPU beat Genesis in every way but you forget something. Jaguar,3D0 and CDi were part of that generation. Neo Geo and Amiga CD and more were around. SNES was not the most powerful of it's gen.

[TheColbertinator]

Super Nintendo and PS4 actually. Scorpio will be the most powerful but to win this generation...no.

[Hugodastrevas]

Genesis and Neogeo weremore powerful than Snes.

[TheColbertinator]

NeoGeo was 800USD so I can understand.

As for Genesis and SNES I say that the advantage in sound is what set it over. It was a high quality sound chip that trounced the Genesis one. Made by Krazy Ken Kutaragi himself.

[Segata]

Genesis WAS NOT more powerful than SNES. Gen had a better CPU but SNES blew Genesis out of the water in everything else. Sprites/colors on screen. Hell TG16 was better than Genny with colors on screen. Genny had 512 to choose from and 64 on screen at once. SNES,32000+ and 256 on screen at once. More sound ram from 64KN compared to Gen 8KB. Sprites on screen. Genesis 80. SNES 128. SNES had more scrolling layers,often referred to as mode 7. SNES was a much stronger machine than Genesis.

[Hugodastrevas]

@thecolbertinator Imo the 2 main predictors of a console's success is price and games.
The cheapest console with most games always wins.

[C_Ali88]

WRONG

[Vasto]

Super Nintendo?

[Segata]

Neo Geo,Atari Jaguar,Amiga 32,CDi,3D0.

[Suwarbox1]

No and once PS4 destroys the living shit outta xbox, this will be proven true again

[ClayRules2012]

Lol, Kratos has spoken...

Are you not a fan of Xbox?

[Suwarbox1]

I am not, my friend.

[ClayRules2012]

Haha, alright. What's your most anticipated PS4 game as of now? I'm curious.

[rlow1]

Well the ps4 is winning and is more powerful then the xbox1. So yes.........buuuttt this is the first gen with a mid gen refresh, with both companies coming out with a much more powerful machine. So this gen can't be directly compared, because it's playing by different set of rules.........The game has changed.

[LiamKreptic]

Honest question, (And yes I understand many of you will come screaming at me for bringing this up) why does everyone always go and look at sales, power, but never the games? I own a PS4, PC, and use to own a Xbox One. Not once did I go and look up specs (except for my PC).

Please explain the point of a console cause I thought they were meant to be used for video games not bull**** 4K (which btw I hope you guys know the human eye cannot see 4K resolution, look it up, there is a little bit higher resolution of HD, but after that you are forking over money for nothing so good job on feeding a major scam).

[Z501]

Games are subjective. Sales aren't.
Hope that answers your question.

[TheCommentator]

I can still see aliasing in a 4K game, so I can see the interaction of the pixels even at 4K resolution. Seeing 4K pixels is largely dependent on how big/close the srceen is too. If you meant that you cannot actually see an individual 4K pixel, then I apologize for misunderstanding your post.

IMO, 8K will likely be the upper limit, because then even a 120" tv will still have excellent pixel density.

[LiamKreptic]

The screen size and closeness do matter, but in the large scale of things the human eye cannot really tell the difference between 1080p monitors/TV's and 4K ones. I don't know if a study was done, but if you tested a group of people by showing them a clip of something on a TV and then asking whether it was in 1080p or 4K, I would bet the vast majority would be unable to tell. I feel like we are pushing something that is nothing more than a major scam as it has really no true benefits. (Maybe colors look better, but it will not increase the look of objects as far as I have seen)

[343_Guilty_Spark]

@Jlmccart03

Alternative facts

[Yohshida]

If we actually look back, PS1 was weaker than its competition, yet offered a CD Player and Games people at the time actually wanted to play.

PS2 came out to be the most powerful compared to the SEGA Dreamcast. Yet outsold it even though it was double the price with way worse games. Later it became 3. in the power race thanks to Gamecube and Xbox. They had the momentum from PS1 and the DVD market on lockdown.

If you can stand out with features and a lot of games the competition doesn't have, power won't matter.

[TheColbertinator]

The PS2 had an abysmal line up in 2000 and the Dreamcast's selection quadrupled after its first year.

However by the end of 2001 the PS2 had Max Payne,Final Fantasy X,Gran Turismo 3,Devil May Cry,GTA3,Metal Gear Solid 2 and Jak & Daxter so its robust library secured its early foothold against GC and Xbox.

[Bronxs15]

Yes. PS4 is most powerful console this generation and it won.

Scorpio won't change that. Scorpio is same generation.

[Einhander1971]

PS4 is the lead platform like it or not, but I'm a console gamer I have PS4, SWITCH, and Scorpio in my sights the only winner is the gamer, as long as you don't become a silly fanboy who dips out because of brand loyalty. Enjoy all what the big THREE offer.

[ILostMyMind]

Off course yes. This generation The Most Powerful Console already won, the PS4.

[ILostMyMind]

PS4 is more powerful and has won against XBO.
Pro is no longer powerful and will win against Scorpio.

Sony wins in both situations.

[SaveFerris]

Since the Scorpio is meant to be part of the Xbox One family and a mid-gen refresh, then history will repeat itself and the winning console (PS4/PS4pro) is not the most powerful of this generation.

[Yetter]

PS4?

[Mithan]

Won what exactly?
How does one win?
Are people actually that daft that they think there is a winner or loser in this?

Sega and TurboGrafx16 lost.
Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have been winners all along. Duh

[headblackman]

so the ps4 isn't winning???

[OC_MurphysLaw]

eh hem... the PS4 was the the more powerful console for this generation and its won. I think you can safely put the PS4 Pro and Scorpio into their own mid generation generation as they really do open the door to a new generation that will be ushered in gradually vs what we have seen traditionally.

[Tedakin]

Super Nintendo?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

No.

[Ulf]

This article is BS. The SNES won, and was superior to, the Genesis, plain and simple. Add-on crap doesn't count. The PS3 outsold the 360, and demolished the Wii when it came to software sales, so I'd call that a win as well. And this generation? The PS4 is the clear leader, AND it's the most powerful default platform.

This article is clickbait. -- the "journalist" here is distorting facts to make it sound like the answer to his question is black and white. It is far far from that. Sony has won every generation since they started making consoles, even if the last race was awful close, and twice they made the most powerful console in the race.

[Segata]

Neo Geo more powerful than SNES.

[XStation4pio_Pro]

The amount of power discrepancy has never been as big as it's about to be when Scorpio is released. The only real comparison for that power discrepancy would be to compare the PS4 or Xbox to the Wii U, and we saw how well that went for Nintendo. As of right now the PS4 pro is technically the most powerful and the base PS4 is more powerful (barely) than the x1s and it's in fact selling more so I'd say that's enough to base a pattern.

[GoodnessGreatness]

PS4, PS3

[JunMei]

Well, it's winning this time. I would consider the base PS4 to be the overall most powerful console. It's the first time this has ever happened, though.

Still, number one preferred console is another matter entirely. Depending entirely on whether or not you have a pc, I suppose.

If you have a great gaming PC, then you really look at consoles in a VERY different light. So, most PC centric gamers often lean towards Nintendo since it often offers an experience most different from what they have available and has the most high quality first party games. Some might prefer a Sony console, though, if Nintendo's offerings are of little interest. Xbox One is...less appetizing.

[McToasty207]

It all depends, if your wildly more expensive then no but if you can show that for the same price you get a better version of the game then sure, see 360 Vs PlayStation 3 (Technically the 3 had more power but it's weird design mean't 3rd parties always looked worse), PS4 vs Xbone, NES Vs mastersystem and SNES Vs Gensis.

A couple of Odd Ones got to PlayStation 1 because of the disks allowing more cut-scenes than N64 or PlayStation 2 destroying the competition based on the strength of Sony's brand and Wii's stranglehold on the Casual Market but that bubble has long since burst (Hell the attach rate of games to that console is abysmal).

So generally the machine with better game performance has done best aside from ridiculously expensive side contenders, real question is that with the focus on online communities might Success snowball? I.e If everybody plays on PS4 why would folks not get one themselves to play with friends?

[lildudexst]

No... never PS3 was prime example

[Smokingunz]

Wow what a great article, indeed it is.

[MilkMan]

Answer: no.

[DarXyde]

Well, this generation WOULD HAVE been the exception with PS4, but Microsoft releasing Scorpio kind of throws a wrench in that.

There is no way that Microsoft is catching the PS4, but since, apparently, Scorpio is part of the current generation, PS4 can't be the most powerful.

In short, PS4 will sell the most and would have been the most powerful... But now it's business as usual.

[ShaunCameron]

So far, it would be the PS4. Other than that, no.

[FallenAngel1984]

The PS4 was until this mid gen upgrade crap started happening

[Harmy666]

Failed to mention that the PS4 outsold the Xbox One. PS4 being the most powerful console out at the time of launch.

While I have all faith in the Scorpio, I think it's too late for Microsoft to "win" this generation. Unless they did what Sony did last gen and just about take the belt before the end of the generation.

I doubt PS4 owners are going to just ship mid gen and get the Scorpio. So I would assume that the only buyers of the Scorpio are Xbox One owners.

[babadivad]

Yes

[mochachino]

PS4 already won and it was the most powerful.

[Mister_G]

Well I care who wins because I don't want MS squeezing out the competition and ending up the sole provider of console games. Wouldn't been the 1st time they've squeezed people out - Anyone remember NetScape navigator? No? Exactly :)

MS are a massive company with money to burn, if Xbox fails it won't really matter to them; but for Sony and Nintendo it would matter a lot.

[jrshankill]

Author worried about the Scorpio I take it? This is sad. Reminds one of childhood fights in the playground.

[QUIMICOMORTAL]

The ps4 has!

[SugarSoSweet]

What a beast the Xbox Scorpio is

[yeahokwhatever]

The more relevant questions: when did this generation start? when did it end? and what generation are we on now?
A: This generation started with the release of the PS4 and XB1, and later release of the WiiU. During that generation of consoles, the PS4 won in the power department, AND sales department.
A: It ended with the release of the PS4:Pro. Sales between this next generation and its competitors are yet to be seen, as its main competitors (switch, scorpio) havent had enough time to know. As for power, assuming its not all lies, the Scorpio will be the most powerful console in this current generation. The Switch is a distant third.
A: We are on generation 9. 10 will be the launch of the PS5 and whatever Nintendo wants to release with for the console spot, as the Switch is a 3DS replacement, like it or not.

[uth11]

Yet another article that acts as though gaming consoles didn't exist before NES.