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[Instro]

Xbox. Halo. Game changer.


Ninty hasn't launched a console with a proper first party offering since the SNES, and I was like 12 when that came out so I can't really judge.

What are you talking about? Every Nintendo console has had some sort of major first party offering at launch.

 

[rvy]

You have to remember that SA was pretty mindblowing for the time. Unfortunately it's aged as well as most Intellivision games (ie: horribly).

All I remember is that it was terrible back then, like it's terrible now. But point taken.

Jumping on the DC bandwagon.

 

[Host Samurai]

SNES had SMW, but that is only one game. It wouldn't fly these days.

Best is the Wii

Trauma Center
Legend of Zelda: TP


For all the hate the PS3 got, I think it had a solid launch line up as well.

 

[Neki]

The Gamecube had Luigi's Mansion and Waverace BS at launch. Smash and Pikmin were released before the end of the year.

God, having Super Smash Brothers Melee so close to the launch window was awesome, literally just played that game for months. didn't need anything else.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Dreamcast

Sonic Adventure
Power Stone
Hydro Thunder
SOUL CALIBUR.

among other games.

Dreamcast had one of the strongest lineups of all time. That being said N64 wins for having the greatest game of all time.

 

[isny]

SNES had SMW, but that is only one game. It wouldn't fly these days.

Best is the Wii

Trauma Center
Legend of Zelda: TP


For all the hate the PS3 got, I think it had a solid launch line up as well.

SNES had Mario, F Zero and Pilotwings.

 

[iconoclast]

Dreamcast and Xbox 360 had my favorite launch lineups. Just about every other system only had 1-3 good games at launch.

 

[mclaren777]

N64. Super Mario 64. That one game was just revolutionary to me.

I came to post this.

 

[- J - D -]

Dreamcast had one of the strongest lineups of all time. That being said N64 wins for having the greatest game of all time.

Yeah man I loved Pilotwings 64.

 

[Weenerz]

SNES and N64 both had amazing Mario games that can be replayed over and over and still not become boring.

 

[shintoki]

Dreamcast had one of the strongest lineups of all time. That being said N64 wins for having the greatest game of all time.

Well... it had to since there were two games releasing at launch. Heh.

For good launches, I'd go with Dreamcast(Quality and Quantity), followed by Xbox.

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

Xbox. Halo. Game changer.


Ninty hasn't launched a console with a proper first party offering since the SNES, and I was like 12 when that came out so I can't really judge.

Uh, Super Mario 64? Pilotwings 64 was brilliant too.

Also, the Gamecube may not have launched with a Mario platformer, but Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm were both still incredible.

 

[kamspy]

What are you talking about? Every Nintendo console has had some sort of major first party offering at launch.

Yeah my brain just wiffed on Mario64. facepalm.jpg

Lugi's Mansion didn't do it for me though. But at the end of the last gen I'd say GC had my favorite library of the three.

 

[sfog]

I've always thought the GBA had a really good launch line-up with decent variety and quality. It was certainly better than the GBC or DS.

Advance Wars wasn't a launch game? I picked it up with my GBA.

Nope, it came out a few months later, around early September IIRC.

 

[electroshockwave]

Oh and the 3DS has the best launch lineup of any handheld console in history. Everyone here does not seem to remember how terrible the first months of the GBA and the DS were. And on top of having a better launch lineup, the 3DS is set to have a constant stream of solid titles throughout the launch window period and beyond, no 6 month long droughts here!

The PSP had a better launch line-up than the 3DS does.
The only thing worth anticipating for me is Layton and I have no idea when we'll even get that since the fourth DS game still isn't out. What is there for the western launches? Another Nintendogs and a Street Fighter port? A Ridge Racer that looks worse than the PSP ones?

 

[- J - D -]

The PSP had a better launch line-up than the 3DS does.
The only thing worth anticipating for me is Layton and I have no idea when we'll even get that since the fourth DS game still isn't out. What is there for the western launches? Another Nintendogs and a Street Fighter Port? A Ridge Racer that looks worse than the PSP ones?

Pilotwings *crosses fingers*

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

PS2 had the best launch if only based on hype but if we're talking about top to bottom best launch titles it was probably the 360. COD2, PDZ, Kameo, PGR3, Quake, Amped 3, and others.

 

[[Nintex]]

For all the shit it got because of the RODD the Xbox 360 launch was pretty great. Looking back Call of Duty 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Kameo: Elements of Power, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Geometry Wars Evolved were/are quite awesome games.

The PAL GameCube launch was nice too since Smash Bros. and Pikmin released just weeks after launch. Mario 64... one of my friends sold a bunch of his SNES games to buy the N64 at launch with Mario 64, needless to say the game did not dissapoint. The Wii launch was incredible as well as we finally got to play Twilight Princess. After all the hype and such that was one awesome week. The Wii rolled along nicely with SSX: Blur and a bunch of other goods games following short after launch.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

I don't remember if I've said differently in the past on such topics, but I really was pleased with the Genesis launch period.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Phantasy Star II
Golden Axe
Forgotten Worlds
Revenge of Shinobi
Thunder Force II
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf
Truxton

All of these were fantastic launch and launch period titles to play over and over with. Then, in '90, Sega and friends followed up with great stuff (Warsong, Target Earth, Herzog Zwei, Castle of Illusion, Wings of Wor, Afterburner, Batman, Traysia, Thunder Force III, Fire Shark, Madden 1, Road Rash, Lakers vs. Celtics, Super Monaco GP, and all of the rest).

The controller was so ergonomic and comfortable compared to the PCE/TG-16 and FC/NES rectangles and the decision to move what might have been the select button on those console pads to the main thumbing area made a lot of action games a great deal more playable.

Then there's Sega's mostly silent but much needed standardization of configuration/option modes in the front end of their games and third parties who followed their lead, leading to the first really standard set of features preceding hardware that could offer built-in OSes. Things, like the consistent inclusion of sound tests and music playback with (cross)fading, looping, and, of course, stereo sound available right there on the headphone jack with a fucking volume slider!! Even some titles offered special full-screen sound test graphic displays for channels and cool (animated!) artwork. That shit was way better than some fucking button code to access a box with hex values standing in for named audio file playback. All in all, that shit was futuristic as hell and panning effects were mindblowing for home console sound despite home computers being there way beforehand with 16-bitters in the mid/late 80s. Even PCE/TG16 stuff wasn't nearly as standard in features as Genny stuff...it was something to look forward to messing with besides just the game itself. Then there's the controller-button mapping which was always a big pain to me with 8-bit consoles where I preferred actions to be swapped between the two common buttons. Lots of stuff that we take for granted now...very rudimentary setting stuff.

And what about that fucking gigantic arcade stick?! High quality shit, right there, man. Amazing launch, all around.

The whole experience was fucking incredible, I thought, and it really redefined my opinion of what a new console should offer over just better audio-visuals. SNES, by the time it launched, didn't seem to have quite the impact on me...even coming off a mite bit disappointing, in terms of feature set (though it made up for that with great audio-visuals and some amazing launch titles and SNES-specific hardware features).

 

[Anticitizen One]

Xbox. Halo. Game changer.

Ninty hasn't launched a console with a proper first party offering since the SNES, and I was like 12 when that came out so I can't really judge.

No game changers here dawg

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

The PSP had a better launch line-up than the 3DS does.
The only thing worth anticipating for me is Layton and I have no idea when we'll even get that since the fourth DS game still isn't out. What is there for the western launches? Another Nintendogs and a Street Fighter port? A Ridge Racer that looks worse than the PSP ones?

Pilotwings. As for the PSP lineup, it's pretty comparable with very similar titles (Samurai Warriors replacing Dynasty Warriors, Street Fighter replacing Darkstalkers etc).

The PSP may have had quantity, but how many of those games were really noteworthy? (Of those games I'm only seeing Lumines and maybe Wipeout as really qualifying). I'd also argue that SSF4 3DS represents a more significant effort than other Capcom portable fighter ports. It's a port of a new console game, with significant usage of the handheld's capabilities (3D, touch screen, Streetpass etc)

The same could be said of the GBA, but that had Castlevania at least (F-Zero MV can be said to be comparable to Wipeout Pure) as well as THPS2 (which was noteworthy in it's own right and considered by many to be better than the console one)

Plus the EU launch also had Kururin!

You also have to consider what is coming out in the near future. With the DS, you had 6 months of nothing (except for Yoshi Touch and Go) until the 2nd wave of tiles came out, while the GBA was just one big long wait until Mario Kart Super Circuit and Metroid Fusion (the 2nd wave was largely unknown up until E3 2001)

The 3DS on the other hand has a fabulous launch window lineup to follow the launch day.

 

[Omiee]

psp for me was really diverse.

 

[Sohter.Nura]

I actually really enjoyed the Wii launch lineup Elebits, Excite Truck, Zelda TP and Trauma Center Second opinion kept me busy for quite a while :0

 

[Notorious_Roy]

GBA. It had Kuru Kuru at launch.

 

[SenkiDala]

Dreamcast. Sonic Adventures, Virtua Fighter 3TB, Blue Stinger (I loved this game), Sega Rally, Toy Commander, Soulcalibur... It was huge.

Nintendo 64 had Super Mario 64 but nothing else so... Like Xbox + Halo (and the game in Europe, France was just crazy...).

 

[slider]

I loved the PS2 launch simply because of Timesplitters and SSX. It felt like the future (based on my limited experiences).

Not even sure if those were both launch titles but I'm pretty sure they were.

On a related note I expect the NGP to have a full library at launch given recent comments and news.

EDIT: Shit, original Xbox simply for Halo. Good times.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

If you balance quality and quantity, I'd say the Xbox (Halo, Dead or Alive 3, Oddworld: Munch's Odyssey and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X were great) and the Game Boy Advance (Castlevania, Super Dodgeball, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Super Mario Advance) had the best launch line-ups. I don't know how I feel about counting the Dreamcast since it came out about a year later in the US.

If you just want to count quality though, you can't deny the N64, SNES and Game Boy

I really like the GBA's launch titles. It seems like handhelds have better launch games on average than consoles to me.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

Advance Wars wasn't a launch game? I picked it up with my GBA.

I thought it was too. I got it with my GBA. I love that series.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

I actually really enjoyed the Wii launch lineup Elebits, Excite Truck, Zelda TP and Trauma Center Second opinion kept me busy for quite a while :0

Same here, for me it was all about Zelda TP, Wii Sports, Elebits (not that great, but a good launch titles for experimenting with new types of gameplay), Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz and Trauma Center; plus it also had a solid lineup of launch window titles that followed the launch day as well (Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged, Big Brain Academy Wii)

That being said, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz was a massive disappointment for me and Zelda doesn't really count for me as it was a GCN multiplatform port; so I can't really put the Wii's launch lineup up there with the greats. It was better than average, but I wouldn't say it was great.

Also, am I the only person who spent most of their time with new consoles playing old games via BC? (for the consoles that could do it of course)

There always seems to be at least one big heavy hitting title that comes out as the next generation console comes out. With the GBC, it was Pokemon R/B. With the GBA it was Pokemon Crystal and Zelda OOA/Zelda OOS. With the DS it was Zelda Minish Cap, Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green and Mario VS DK. With the Wii it was Zelda TP and Baten Katos Origins. With the PS2 it was Final Fantasy IX. With the PS3 it was Tales of the Abyss, Final Fantasy XII, Persona 3 and God of War 2 and with the 3DS it is Ghost Trick, Okamiden and Pokemon Black/White (plus Inazuma Eleven if you can find it!)

 

[tok]

ColecoVision. Donkey Kong as a pack-in! (yes, I'm old).

 

[Shig]

SNES was pretty sweet. Super Mario World (for free!), Gradius III, F-Zero, Sim City, and Pilotwings.

Plus Final Fight, Super Ghouls & Ghosts, Final Fantasy II, Actraiser, and Super Castlevania IV in the following couple of months.

 

[Vanillalite]

I really like the GBA's launch titles. It seems like handhelds have better launch games on average than consoles to me.

Castlevania: COTM might be the best 3rd party launch game ever not named Soul Calibur. Problem with the GBA was it was well the GBA and not the SP. Even with one of those ghetto ass worm lights COTM was redonkulous to play because of the lighting issue.

Dreamcast wins because it has Quanity and Quality. Nintendo tends to kill it a launch with their consoles with a must have game changing game though. They just tend to lack the quantity to go with the quality.

On a side note the 3ds lacks that normal Nintendo 1st party killer app for me.

 

[Koralsky]

 

[The Super Bob]

N64 and Gamecube has pretty cool launches. I can't even remember the Xbox 360 or PS3 launches even though I got both consoles day one.

Xbox and Halo was also fun.

 

[Suairyu]

At least in Europe, Soul Calibur was not a launch title.

Super Mario 64 wasn't a launch title in Japan, I believe. Back in those days, getting hardware up to a year later than Japan was generally a good thing. Made launch lineups much stronger.

 

[MetalAlien]

The 32X launched with Virtua Racing Deluxe. I was in gaming heaven for a while at least. Then the PSX launched with Ridge Racer and that high tooks years to wear off.

Those two affected me the longest after launch. The single strongest feeling was when Alien Vs Predator came out for the Jaguar. I couldn't believe how awesome it was at the time but it was not a launch title.

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

Xbox 360
-----------
Geometry Wars
Condemned
COD2
Kameo
PGR3

Gaming bliss...

 

[OnimaruXLR]

The only good launch, ever, in my opinion, was the Dreamcast. Sonic Adventure (say what you will about how it played but at the time it was like being shot in the face with a candy colored rainbow of awesome--that had camera issues and wonky controls), Soul Calibur, and Powerstone. In fact, the DC was actually the last console I actually bought at launch!

Then again, I was a wee lad when SNES came out, and didn't really play Pilotwings and F-Zero until wayyy after the fact. So maybe that was good too.

Sony launches always put me to sleep. There's always a bunch of clearly last gen leftovers...and Nintendo has actually set themselves up for disappointment now that their consoles don't launch with stuff like SMW and Tetris and SM64 anymore.

...Not that it really matters, though, as the DC certainly proves that a successful launch...ultimately means jack squat

 

[DidntKnowJack]

Dreamcast, with PSP close behind.

Though really, none of the launch lineups are ever that stellar. But there's usually some interesting titles that can be found even in some of the worst ones. Even in the often criticized PS2 launch. Aside from the obvious titles like SSX there were pretty good/interesting games like Timesplitters, Smugglers Run, Kessen, and Tekken Tag Tournament.

 

[DonMigs85]

Best was probably Dreamcast, followed by N64.
It's just that DC looked so much better than PS1 and N64 so that helped its impact.
N64 was also great thanks mainly to Mario 64. PS2 was kinda underwhelming.
And as much as I loved the Cube, I think Xbox had a better launch lineup.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Dreamcast was the shit. Sonic Adventure alone won me over (dat windy valley).

 

[evilromero]

I totally forgot about the awesome Wii launch. I went home with Zelda and Excite Truck that night. So awesome.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Dreamcast or Genesis

 

[Sohter.Nura]

Same here, for me it was all about Zelda TP, Wii Sports, Elebits (not that great, but a good launch titles for experimenting with new types of gameplay), Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz and Trauma Center; plus it also had a solid lineup of launch window titles that followed the launch day as well (Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged, Big Brain Academy Wii)

That being said, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz was a massive disappointment for me and Zelda doesn't really count for me as it was a GCN multiplatform port; so I can't really put the Wii's launch lineup up there with the greats. It was better than average, but I wouldn't say it was great.

Also, am I the only person who spent most of their time with new consoles playing old games via BC? (for the consoles that could do it of course)

There always seems to be at least one big heavy hitting title that comes out as the next generation console comes out. With the GBC, it was Pokemon R/B. With the GBA it was Pokemon Crystal and Zelda OOA/Zelda OOS. With the DS it was Zelda Minish Cap, Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green and Mario VS DK. With the Wii it was Zelda TP and Baten Katos Origins. With the PS2 it was Final Fantasy IX. With the PS3 it was Tales of the Abyss, Final Fantasy XII, Persona 3 and God of War 2 and with the 3DS it is Ghost Trick, Okamiden and Pokemon Black/White (plus Inazuma Eleven if you can find it!)

There was the BC on the Wii too, which is the other reason I enjoyed it so much too. I didn't have a Gamecube (I actually skipped the entire generation prior to current gen because I lived in Brazil and didn't have cash to buy video games :x) so right after I got my Wii and was done with the titles I bought on launch, I went and bought Baten Kaitos, Tales of Symphonia, SSB Melee and Metroid Prime 1. Right after that, I got RE4 Wii (which, as well, I had never played before ), Metroid Prime 3, Scarface: The World is Yours, and then by the end of the year I got Mario Galaxy, RE:UC, Trauma Center New Blood, Castle of Shikigami III, Guilty Gear Accent Core, Guitar Hero 3, Zack & Wiki.

To me, NOTHING will ever top the gaming that I did in 2007 D: I had a lot of disposable income, a lot of free time living by myself, and I think it was arguably the Wii's best lineup for the year.

Nowadays I barely turn it on, but I'm pretty sure that someday I'll go back to it and pick up all the backlog that I have to catch up on.

 

[Diablos]

Dreamcast.

I was one of the biggest Sony fanboys on this forum when I first registered around 11-12 years ago (holy shit), and while overall I still retain that PS2 > Dreamcast, the Sega fanboys at the time were right - DC had the best launch lineup. And, really, it still does. I can't think of anything else that compares.

 

[Hylian7]

The Wii surprisingly.

A Zelda game at launch?! Sign me the fuck up!

Fuck the Twilight Princess haters (remember that it was out a month before the Gamecube version, so this was our only chance to play it at this time).

 

[theBishop]

PSP1. I never came home with 3 games on launch day... and still wanted to buy more.

The single best launch game is Mario 64 in my opinion. Even though I prefer Super Mario World in the Mario pantheon, Mario 64 was a major sea change in the history of gaming.

 

[mooooose]

I really liked Wii's launch too.

Wii Sports, Zelda, Excite Truck, Elebits, Monkey Ball, Trauma Center were all awesome. A month later, we got WarioWare and a couple month after, Super Paper Mario.

Wii was awesome.

 

[Pezking]

The first year of the PS2 was insanely good:

Ridge Racer V
SSX
Ring of Red
Tekken Tag Tournament
Onimusha Blade Warriors
Zone of the Enders
Gran Turismo 3 A Spec
Twisted Metal: Black
Red Faction
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
ICO
Extermination
Grand Theft Auto 3
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Devil May Cry
SSX Tricky
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Final Fantasy X

 

[Man]

Surprised not to see the PSOne listed yet.
Twisted Metal, WipEout, Destruction Derby, Warhawk, Ridge Racer, Toshinden etc were all launch titles in the west.
Superb launch. You also got a cool (for the time) demo disc included.