Video game consoles as we know them today have been around for over 50 years, with the promise of at-home gaming only becoming more and more impressive as time has gone on. We have seen dozens of generations, reinventions, and revivals from some of the industry’s biggest names, but among them all, there are a select few devices that can be considered perfect and a step above the rest.
What defines a perfect console comes down to a lot of different factors, the most important of which are the games and the functionality and reliability of the device, as well as any additional elements that the generation introduced that allowed it to eclipse virtually everything else at the time. Across all sides of the gaming landscape, these consoles demonstrate a bar that very few have even come close to, and have established their place in the history books for decades to come.
Xbox 360 deserves an honorable mention, but we just couldn’t include a console that had an issue as big as the red ring of death.
5
Steam Deck OLED
A PC In The Palm Of Your Hands
Details:
- Access to your entire Steam library and more
- Decent Performance across virtually every game imaginable
When the first Steam Deck dropped, everyone was quick to call it a revolutionary device that would change the PC gaming landscape forever, and that sentiment was certainly true. But it wasn’t until the OLED version that we saw the full vision come to life, with a more vibrant and faster screen that makes all your favorite games look even better, all from the comfort of your hands.
What makes the Steam Deck OLED so incredible is one, the fact that you can play pretty much any Steam game in your library at a comfortable frame rate, from Elden Ring to Hades, but two, it can even double as an emulation device that can bridge the gap between older consoles and can stream Xbox Cloud Gaming titles as well, assuming you know how to set it up correctly. Being effectively a small PC, it does come with a few rough edges, but the gaming experience is unlike any other, and if you decide to pick one up, it will be pretty hard to put it down again.
4
SNES
The Library To End Them All
-
-
SNES Cartridge vertical Image via Nintendo -
Details:
- Extraordinary catalog of timeless titles
- Represents the peak of the 16-bit era
The SNES is difficult to fault because of the sheer quality of the games available for it. Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Donkey Kong Country, and countless others created one of the strongest console libraries in history, and looking back now, it is almost impossible to imagine all that quality packed into a single device.
The hardware also arrived at exactly the right time, refining everything that made 16-bit gaming exciting while supporting richer visuals and more ambitious game design than its predecessor to make it feel modern yet familiar at the same time. Decades on, many of its best games remain genuinely enjoyable rather than simply historically important, which is perhaps the clearest sign of a truly perfect console run.
3
Game Boy
Portable Gaming Made Real
-
Image via Nintendo -
An official lifestyle promo shot for the LEGO Game Boy, showing a man inserting The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening cartridge into the brick-built console. LEGO Group -
Details:
- Unmatched combination of simplicity and longevity
- Enormous library made it an essential for an entire generation
The Game Boy wasn’t the most technically advanced handheld of its era, but that barely mattered when you considered the quality of the device and the games it housed. Nintendo created a durable, straightforward device with exceptional battery life and a library that included some of the most important games ever made, from Tetris and Pokémon to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and that legacy alone should be enough for you to call it an icon.
If we look at the hardware itself, the limitations arguably contributed to its perfection, as you were given a simple, reliable, and affordable device that made portable gaming accessible on an unprecedented scale. Whether it was played during a car journey or underneath the covers at night, the Game Boy became synonymous with gaming itself and remains the poster child for early handheld gaming.
2
Nintendo Switch
A Modern, Mobile Powerhouse
Details:
- Slots into any household and player type
- Strong modern Nintendo library
The Nintendo Switch solved a problem that no previous console had quite addressed. You no longer had to choose between portable and home gaming, thanks to the ability to remove the device from its dock and continue playing immediately, which in itself likely contributed to the huge number of sales from those who would prefer a more versatile device, and that is without even considering the crazy list of games it has to offer.
From the moment it launched, you had access to several heavy-hitters like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, and even more variety with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, giving it an extraordinary collection of exclusives, while third-party and indie support ensures there’s something for virtually everyone. It may have been superseded by the Switch 2, but its impact on the market and the Nintendo brand will be felt forever.
1
PlayStation 2
There Can Be Only One
Details:
- The best-selling console of all time
- Combined accessibility, affordability, and incredible longevity
The PlayStation 2 remains the gold standard because it succeeded in virtually every area that matters. Its game library was staggering, covering every imaginable genre with classics including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, and countless others, all of which were genre-defining at the time and still hold up today.
More importantly, the PS2 was a console for everyone. It was accessible to casual players, home to ambitious exclusives, supported by nearly every major publisher, and was enhanced by DVD playback and backward compatibility to ensure, no matter what your use case and interests were, the device could accommodate it. There is a reason its best-selling record has stood for so long, as no other console has combined hardware, software, variety, and sheer value as perfectly as the PlayStation 2.
