Did Nintendo save gaming with the NES?

[UnderwaterFunktown]

JapaneseGamesLover said:
No, looking back NES sales are subpar to PS1. Play Station saved gaming overall.

What kind of argument is that? By that logic the PS2 and NDS are the saviors of gaming, no reason why a companies first console would only count.

And if you mean to look at sales at the context of the time then the NES destroyed previous sales records selling more than twice the Atari 2600. The PS1 never even held the number 1 spot because of the Gameboy.

Don't get me wrong, the PS1 was a fantastic console, but the gaming market was pretty healthy at the time. It can't save gaming if it's doing fine already.

To answer the thread question, I would say to an extent. I certainly don't think gaming would have faded into obscurity without the NES, but it might not have gotten as big as it is today.