Best Selling Console Does Not Equal Best Console.

[Zanten]

aLkaLiNE said:
To those that argue that sales do reflect on which console is best that gen, I find it highly offensive they you couldn't include the Wii in that argument.

I suppose I'll give it a shot, sorta. o.o

Obviously, none of the devices  are objectively superior across the board, as all have their strengths and weaknesses, and so when talking about 'Best,' it's always going to vary depending on who is making the argument. In a debate on which is best, a lot of the reasons tossed out are going to fall flat because of subjective opinion. Just look at 'List Wars' whenever exclusives get brought up. Some don't want to bring up indies, some don't want to bring up Japanese titles, some don't want to bring up games also found on PC or last gen, etc, etc, and often that's because, to that person, those titles just aren't interesting, or in the case of PC titles, they wouldn't need the console to play them anyway. (Admittedly sometimes it's for spin too. =P )

So in a situation where 'Overall Best' is being brought up, all that can really be argued is which console is subjectively preferable to the greatest number of people... but since we can't exactly run a census, it gets boiled down to sales, usually with the expectation that both sides will have instances of buyer's remorse, multiple console ownership, etc. Heck, in theory anyone who buys one of the consoles and REALLY experiences buyer's remorse ("Oh God, I made such a mistake!") will eventually expand to multiple platforms, or even just sell their first choice and replace it with something else.

Which brings us to the Wii; put simply, for a variety of reasons, it was the superior choice to the greatest number of people. The hair spliting really comes into play when looking into reasons a consumer actually purchased the product, i.e. what their needs were. Those who are interested in core first party titles and franchises (Zelda, Smash Bros, Mario, etc,) are more likely to stick around for the Wii U, whereas those who are seeking more of a one-off purpose- a DVD player in the case of the PS2, a family friendly game box in the case of the Wii- aren't going to line up to buy future iterations. Honestly, even if Sony hadn't screwed the pooch in Year One, I don't think the PS3 would have gotten close to the PS2's sales, unless Blu-Ray player appeal was giving it a similar boost. =P

 

TL;DR. The Wii was the best console for the greatest number of people. And (so far, anyway,) it would seem that the PS4 is the best console for the greatest number of people. ^_^ Trying to determine 'the objective best' beyond that is just silly, as there is no such thing.

Although worth noting that, given what I remember of Jega's previous threads and arguments, I don't think he's necessarily making the 'subjectivity is key' argument. I think he's still determined that the Xbox One is objectively superior, (he seemed to base prior claims of the Xbox One 'catching up' in sales on the idea that the Xbox One was simply better, period, objectively,) and is therefore trying to insist that it's still 'the best' despite not gaining as much sales traction. =P