Nintendo because they finished the gaming crash in the 80's and revived video games with the big success of the NES and their quality control of games.

Nintendo for me as I cannot conceive of gaming without them, their contributions are immense and beyond any other single company.

Sony made gaming a hobby not just for kids and older males and made it a huge audience that anyone could play a video game. Just look at console sales before the PS1/2 and you can see that.

i personally think it goes to Nintendo & Sony joint as both did a lot. however MS did push the online movement and that big too. Just not as big as what N & S have done.

my first point should be added under Sony btw

Nintendo created the start for gamers, Sony took over the rest of the show with their methods increasing the reach of the gaming industry to a larger demographic and then Nintendo came back by exposing non-gamers to simpler gaming.

Its basically a tug of war between Nintendo and Sony really.

Yup, Sony really pushed for a new market back in the days and thus expanded the market dramatically. That really did a lot for gaming, it drove the sales which allowed higher budget and bigger games.

Sony also brought multimedia to consoles, something Nintendo refuses to do until this very day. It started with CDs, but today on a PlayStation 3, you can do just everything you like. If the hardware is capable of something, it's a sure bet that Sony will implement some function. That way, consoles no longer were locked up inside kid's rooms. they became the center of the living room.

Let's also not forget the games. Nintendo did a lot back in the days, creating legendary games like Mario, Zelda and oh so many more. But in most recent years, they kinda slowed down on that. Nothing really new to be seen, just new iterations of known series. Sony on the other hand pushed new IPs from the very beginning. They looked for innovative games, they brought us the games by Team Ico, Heavy Rain, The Last of Us and a lot of other games no other publisher would have thrown money at. It's quite surprising that a giant company like Sony doesn't always go the route of secure profits.

But in the end, it's really hard to compare games as it's mainly a question of personal opinion. Altogether, I think Sony has the edge, if only slightly. Nintendo was there earlier and kinda saved gaming in the 80s. but since the 90s, Sony is always pushing the boundaries of gaming and delivers quality games. They also support their systems way longer than other companies, so their not forcing you to upgrade too soon. Even if Sony got out of touch a little when PS3 launched, overall I think they really have gamers in mind when it comes to PlayStation. Nintendo kinda betrayed their core fanbase with the Wii and are continuing to do so with the Wii U by just don't bringing any friggin' games.

Tough decision, I gotta go with Sony myself. Microsoft is out of the question.

TBH i kinda respect Nintendo for making a system that is a gaming console first and foremost and not an entertainment machine

Iv been gaming since the NES and ill give my vote to Nintendo since afterall if it wasnt for them then we could all kiss gaming goodbye.
MS also did a great job mixing PC and Consoles togother, plus pushing Online gaming by a mile. Those arent little things to do.

Nintendo = Saved the gaming industry.
Sony = Blended mainstream and hardcore gaming.
Microsoft = Defined online gaming for consoles.

-First console with a memory card

Neo-Geo.


-First free online service

SEGA did it earlier with the Dreamcast, and they weren't even the first.

"Really brought back gaming after the big crash with the NES"

All I needed to read. Many developers believe the industry is headed for another crash (I think this is why there are so many experienced indies now), the guys at Nintendo are still around and remember. That's why their method of game development is so conservative. It's frustrating to those of us who want them to appeal to a specific demographic with their games (us), and why they're so fixated on quality.