I assume you're not talking about me, as my gaming roots go back to the Atari 2600.  The NES was the first major purchase I ever made, as I had to buy it on my own with collected Christmas and Birthday money.  It was "mine", whereas the Atari belonged to the family.

As such, some of the arguments about the NES kind of puzzle me.  I mean, seriously, it was the Atari that started the home videogame craze.  Yeah, I remember a few other people who had the other systems but none of them were even close to the scope of the 2600.  It made videogames a household word, and I mean that literally.  Sure, the NES refined and improved, but the market was already known.  Atari just made too many mistakes.

The greatest, in my opinion, is the PS2, but if the question is "most important," then I would say the Atari 2600 in a heartbeat.  And I say that as someone who owned both when they were at the top of the world.

Great story bro, nes rules!

Probably the Wii or PS3, but I'm probably like the most biased person you could ask. Maybe not the most, but I suspect it's more like a subconscious bias against Xbox.

Thanks.  I realize that I went on and on about it, but hey, Danne asked for it.  :P

Tough call. PS2 was awesome but 360 still takes the top spot.

Between the Wii and 60GB launch PS3.

Libraries make consoles.

It feels like you're asking two different questions in the OP.

By logic it would be Magnavox, it's what started this whole charade. Thank you Mr. Baer.

By personal preference it would be psx but i already chose Magnavox.

The Playstation. It was fresh and it was in the generation that saw the birth of 3D gaming.

Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 3, my three favourite games of all time, all on one system.

GC ?

The Gamecube.

There are no valid arguments against this.