Console wars round two is here - Time to choose the finalists

[indospot Veteran]

Console wars round two is here - Time to choose the finalists
by João Carrasqueira

Welcome back to Neowin's console wars. Two weeks ago, we started a tournament with every major console from each generation, and thanks to your votes, it's now time for round two. As previously sated, the two most voted consoles from each poll have moved on to the second round, which will consist of three matches, each pitting four consoles against each other.

The first matchup in the previous round pitted the second and seventh generations of consoles against each other and, unsurprisingly, the second-generation hardware didn't hold a candle to its newer counterparts. The Xbox 360 came out ahead with roughly 45% of the votes, a smashing result. In second place, the PlayStation 3 obtained just over 20% of the votes. Neither of the consoles was the best-selling platform of the generation, but the PlayStation 3 came out ahead between the two, and the Xbox 360's crushing win can likely be attributed to the Microsoft-focused nature of Neowin. We'll see more of that in the rest of the polls.

As for the second matchup, it featured third- and sixth-generation consoles, and once again, the newer hardware came out on top. The PlayStation 2 pulled off a clean victory with just over 30% of the votes, which isn't at all surprising considering it's the best-selling console of all time, having sold more than 155 million units. Second place was given to the original Xbox with 23.6% of the votes, despite it only selling 24 million units back in the day.

That means the first poll in this round is all about Sony and Microsoft:

Poll

Playstation 2 vs Xbox vs PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360

1. PlayStation 2
2. Xbox
3. PlayStation 3
4. Xbox 360

Submit Vote

Next up, the third match in round one features fourth- and fifth-generation consoles, and it's one of the closest races so far. The original PlayStation pulled ahead with 26% of the votes, with the Nintendo 64 trailing it only slightly with 25.6%. The result is surprising considering the PlayStation sold over 100 million units, while the Nintendo 64 sold just under 33 million. Left behind was the iconic SNES, which only amassed 21.9% of the votes.

The fourth poll pitted the eighth generation of home consoles against the fifth generation of handhelds, and it would seem there's not much love for the classics here. Microsoft once again took the top spot with the Xbox One, garnering 35.8% of the votes, and the Nintendo Switch slightly edged out the PlayStation 4 for second place, receiving 26.7% of your choices. Microsoft stopped reporting console sales numbers a few years ago, but estimates point to it having sold around 50 million units as of December 31, 2019, which was about half of what its direct rival, the PlayStation 4, had sold at the time. As of the latest report, the Switch has sold just under 80 million units, but it's also been on the market for much less time.

And so, the second match in round two is:

Poll

PlayStation vs Nintendo 64 vs Xbox One vs Nintendo Switch

1. PlayStation
2. Nintendo 64
3. Xbox One
4. Nintendo Switch

Submit VoteResults (12 Votes)

From here on out, we're focusing on handhelds, and Nintendo has absolutely dominated the market in this area. Pitting the fourth and eighth generations of handheld consoles together, it was Nintendo's original Game Boy that came out on top, leading with 37% of the popular vote. In a close second, the Nintendo 3DS obtained 35.4% of our readers' choices. Sales-wise, both consoles were at the top of the chain for their time - the Game Boy family sold over 118 million units, and the Nintendo 3DS sold just under 76 million, leaving little room for competition.

The picture isn't all too different in the final match-up of round one, with the Nintendo DS coming out ahead with 37.7% of the votes. The dual-screen handheld sold over 154 million units and is the best-selling portable console ever, so that's not surprising. In second place, the Game Boy Advance conquered 31.2% of our readers' preference. This was one of the least competitive generations in handheld consoles, and the GBA was practically the only viable platform at the time. Even though it was superseded by the DS just three years later, it managed to sell over 81 million units.

And with that, the final match in round two has a guaranteed winner - Nintendo. Here are your options:

Poll

Game Boy vs Game Boy Advance vs Nintendo DS vs Nintendo 3DS

1. Game Boy
2. Game Boy Advance
3. Nintendo DS
4. Nintendo 3DS

Submit Vote

And those are the matchups for round two! We've gotten rid of a lot of contestants that barely anyone cared for, so the real competition starts now. Every console in these polls played a major role in gaming, so it's up to you to decide which ones were the biggest. The winners of these polls will participate in a three-way final round.

Don't agree with the results? Let us know in the comments and share the tournament with your friends so we get the most realistic picture possible. And stay tuned for the final round at the end of February!

[kazerrrt]

people voted xbox 360 over the PS2, hahahahha they are delusional 😂🤣🤣

[dirtyvu]

360 games were so much better than PS2. Show me a PS2 game that even came close. Heck, comparing a PS2 version of game against the OG Xbox version, the OG Xbox won 80% of the time. The PS2 was technologically behind the OG Xbox.

[inactive]

360 games were so much better than PS2. Show me a PS2 game that even came close. Heck, comparing a PS2 version of game against the OG Xbox version, the OG Xbox won 80% of the time. The PS2 was technologically behind the OG Xbox.

Yeah, I tend to think the XBox consoles in general are ahead of Playstation consoles overall. because unless someone really gets into the Playstation exclusives, which I never really did (although I liked Gran Turismo(Playstation exclusive) at one point but once Forza Motorsport series came along in 2005(XBox exclusive), there was no reason for me to bother with Playstation anymore in terms of exclusives) they are better off with a XBox overall.

plus, I think in terms of moding... the original XBox was the peak as just getting programs on it like XBMC (XBox Media Center) made it quite nice for video playback alone and not to mention you could run your games from it's hard drive along with emulators etc.

I think the original XBox was the console I got the most all-around use/enjoyment from in the more modern era consoles (i.e. call it 2000-2001 (i.e. PS2/XBox) to date). but then again after the XBox360 era I never got into any newer consoles (basically there was simply not enough games I liked high enough for me to justify the hardware costs etc) since as I generally preferred PC gaming, especially in terms of shooter types of games as a mouse is just far easier/quicker to accurately track stuff on screen than a analog stick which cripples me. but then again there is very little games I bother playing anymore as very little is worth playing/replaying here and there as the years pass. because while I would say I used to play games more heavily from around my mid-20's and younger, I would say by the time I was around the age of 30 (which was about 10 years ago now), video games as a whole started to take a solid hit as less and less were worth playing and that continues to this day as even when I do play a game once in a while it's almost always something that started in the past, or ill simply replay a game I liked years ago etc.

but at this point in time... looking back over the years I tend to think when looking at about the mid-1990's to date (call it 3D-era on forward) the N64/XBox stood out to me the most overall. but I think to this day, I would probably favor N64 over original XBox since I think those games (at least a small amount) got a bit more staying power for me at this point in time.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

people voted xbox 360 over the PS2, hahahahha they are delusional 😂🤣🤣

Personally I'd never compare the PS2 and 360, however the 360 was the best console ever released in my opinion. It brought online gaming to the masses who we're never in to PC gaming. The 360 launched with achievements, which other platforms have since copied and XBLA brought a lot of unique games to consoles. So many games also supported 2/4 player co-op on a single console, which was great for setting up easy lan parties with two consoles / tv's.

Xbox vs PS2 however, Xbox all the way simply for the homebrew scene. The games just performed better too. On the PS2 the framerate was poor on various multi platform games compared to the Xbox, game such as Need For Speed come to mind as an example.

[TDT]

Yeah, I tend to think the XBox consoles in general are ahead of Playstation consoles overall. because unless someone really gets into the Playstation exclusives, which I never really did (although I liked Gran Turismo(Playstation exclusive) at one point but once Forza Motorsport series came along in 2005(XBox exclusive), there was no reason for me to bother with Playstation anymore in terms of exclusives) they are better off with a XBox overall.

Well, these exclusives can really be a decisive factor for someone who doesn't really know what to buy, the PS or the Xbox. Personally, I would buy the Xbox in a heart beat, but...exclusives God of War, Uncharted, Last of Us, just to name a few.

[kazerrrt]

360 games were so much better than PS2. Show me a PS2 game that even came close. Heck, comparing a PS2 version of game against the OG Xbox version, the OG Xbox won 80% of the time. The PS2 was technologically behind the OG Xbox.

that's the problem of xbox players, they value graphics over gameplay, and it's not even that good

no wonder the switch sold more and PS still outsell the xbox

[NewGuy123]

people voted xbox 360 over the PS2, hahahahha they are delusional 😂🤣🤣

This place is full of Micro$oft fan boys...

[adrynalyne]

On 14/02/2021 at 04:46 PM, kazerrrt said:

people voted xbox 360 over the PS2, hahahahha they are delusional 😂🤣🤣

This place is full of Micro$oft fan boys...

People will like what they will like.

[Riggers]

On 14/02/2021 at 04:46 PM, kazerrrt said:

people voted xbox 360 over the PS2, hahahahha they are delusional 😂🤣🤣

This place is full of Micro$oft fan boys...

As opposed to Sony fan boys! Notice I didn`t put a dollar sign in the name. Both consoles where game changers of their respective eras. I personally enjoyed both and would find it hard to split the 2, why can`t people just enjoy things...

[Geezy]

As expected the results reflect the site's audience and not the market