"And those who say PS2, plenty of its greatest hits were ported over to PS3/360 as well. The 7th gen really had all gens rolled into one like no other before it".

I was pointing this out.  Those who chose the ps2 as their top 5 didn't consider that the ps3 was able to play those games on their ps3 so automatically they should put ps3 above ps2, I supposed they choose ps 2for what it offered at the time and the experience they were involved with during the whole gen.  IMO Same as the gamecube compare to Wii even though you can play gamecube and classic games on Wii.  Those who chose gamecube, they did it for what they experienced at the time.  Maybe I worded my words wrong but I don't wanted it to make sound like you shouldn't choose 7gen over 6th gen just because you can play old classic and new gemes on it.  If that's your criteria to choose you favorite top 5, that's fine by me.  Still classic games don't feel as special later on as it feel when you first try it that's why I also understando people choosing old console over new ones.

Also he just highlighted port only at first so somehow I didn't get the all gen rolled into one part.

My criteria is simple. When ranking consoles only one question matters: "What games can I play on this?" Everything else is superfluous.

An argument could be made for the importance of a hardware's impact on the industry. This is the same kind of argument that would lead someone to claim that Pong is the greatest game ever made. I don't care for this argument.

that's great because you have every game you enjoyed in your past at your disposal plus the new ones.  I wish I could say the same thing when I chose the top 5 but most of my classic games downloaded that where huge at the time ended up eating space on my 7th gen console and when I tried it, couldn't keep playing for long.  So I realized that having access to old and classic games on my new console isn't a big deal for me.   Anyway my eyes just caught the "port" segment but couldn't recognize that he also meant BC.

I completely agree with you. thats why i had 360 and ps3 under the same slot. yes, there are only so many options for the poll, but i also did it because the consoles are damn near the same thing. i mean, once theyre completely dead, no longer sold in stores and are completely a part of history, what do you have left to judge the consoles besides the games? and when you pick one of them up, you are basically going to have the same selection in games. ps2 and xbox had completely different libraries, and n64/ps1 were completely different consoles and had completely different games. so yeah, i agree 100%.

i just want to focus on the last thing you said. about the wii. why would you judge it based on how much third party support it has? does the company that made the game really matter? if it has x amount of good games, it has x amount of good games. 

if the wii has 50 games that are great, i dont care if all 50 are made by nintendo, or if 35 were made by nintendo, and 15 were made by 3rd parties, or if 15 were made by nintendo, and 35 were made by third parties. good games are good games. judge the system based on how many quality titles are on it. and ill tell you right now, it has a ton.

ugh..

honestly, i knew this was going to come up, and i honestly dont have an answer. it would be #6, but unfortunately, this is a top 5 list. i couldnt see putting ps2 above any of the other consoles. maybe it could take the wii's spot at #5. that would be fair. but i feel like the wii is better. i can totally see how people would think ps2 is, but the difference for me is that the wii offers a multiplayer experience that the ps2 cannot match. its just impossible. i can go into detail about this, but ill leave it at that for now.

the ps2 is a great console, but i couldnt put it past the ps1, which has better games and had more of a hand of shaping this industry, the NES which started gaming as we know it, the N64 which has 2 to 3 of the top 10 games ever made, or the SNES which is simply the best console of all time. 

it was a dilemma for me, and i know it doesnt seem right.. but i dont see how i could put it past those four consoles i just named. i just cant do it. it makes #5 at best.

If we don't count in 8th gen, then my list would be:

1. PS2, well come on it's STILL amazing
2. Xbox 360/PS3, yes, in my opinion 7th gen was very interesting and so much different from the ones before
3. PS1 (this is where i'd put PS4)
4. PSP/DS
5. NES

Alsdo honorable mentions N64, Wii and Xbox

1- Xbox 360
2- PS1
3- SNES
4- PS2
5- Wii

1. Dreamcast
2. PS1
3. Genesis
4. Turbografx-16
5. Saturn

Honorable mentions go to the Neo Geo and Wii U. If I include handhelds, then also the 3DS and the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

The SNES was central to my childhood, and I'm still a big fan of Super Star Wars and Killer Instinct, but honestly in retrospect there wasn't much lasting quality to its library outside of Square's RPGs and DKC2. Nintendo franchises like Mario Kart, Star Fox, and F-Zero reached their potential after the SNES.

My sentiment towards the PS2 and its extensive library is similar. Its early titles like FFX, MGS2, and ICO started it off great, and I loved DQVIII. But, I felt the games it became best known for (the GTA series, God of War, DMC, Shadow of the Colossus, RE4, Okami, etc) were all extremely overrated.

I just love this assertion that the PS2 "objectively" belongs in any top five because of the number of games in its library.

It's entirely possible that other people think the best games on other consoles > the best games on PS2. There is NO "objective" view on something like this.