The trouble with the this thread is that the OP didn't really qualify the term 'best'. There is no way that Wii is the best gaming console over what they will do in the future. Look at it this way, if Nintendo had offered the SNES and the Wii at the same price back in the 1990s, which would you have bought? 20 years from now, the Wii with its new style of gaming will look ancient, along with anything else offered now.

Now, if best is what system that you feel you liked the most during its time, I'd go with the SNES. If best is sales, it is looking like the Wii will be best.

If best is what is best for the video game industry, best was NES, pretty much saving it, most would agree. But Wii could become the closest to that, if it brings in a ton of new casual gamers that then go on to play next generation consoles as well. Especially, the non-traditional ones of female and older gamers. And of course, to those new gamers, almost by definition, Wii is the best.

its depending on the games that will come out from now on out

statistically, the DS will be their 'best' console, but gameplay wise i think the SNES was their best, just so many great games were born or defined on it, and the incredible support from Square will never be repeated.

Theres time for the DS to beat it on that score too, but it will never have the same lineup of Square games , simply because Square themselves cant repeat their own performance anymore.

Maybe one day. too early to call.

It definately has the potential to be Nintendo's best console ever, but it has a long way to go before it can claim that label. Right now, it'd put it behind NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gamecube N64 and DS just because we haven't seen enough games for it yet. Developers have yet to unleash the potential of motion sensing and the balance board capabilities.

IMO, the N64 was the best Nintendo console.

As it stands, it is definitely on pace to become their best selling home console ever. And that must mean something. This is how I break it down, however:

It is not fair/impossible to compare current generation gaming to previous generation gaming. Thee impact and "freshness" of the era of gaming plays a huge role in how one feels about greatest console. I see a lot of SNES answers as though Genesis did not exist. It rivaled SNES in every possible way with a controller that had half the buttons (standard). I never include hand held consoles in thee equation as they are plays differently and thee expectations are drasitcally different.

In terms of game selection, the SNES/Genesis era of gaming is unmatched for home consoles.

In terms of game quality ratio, the Neo Geo AES is without a doubt the console with the greatest amount of quality titles to shit titles. Even greater than the Nintendo 64. Go ahead, try to name ten crappy games for the system without looking it up.

In terms of innovation, I believe the Nintendo 64 is the console that took the biggest leap in innovation from one generation to the next. Both from a technology and game play standpoint.

As far as most nostalgia, SNES is the console that brings back the most memories. Playing Kirby's Superstar, Ogre Battle, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Legend of Zelda, Star Fox (what a big freaking deal that game was back then), Donkey Kong Country, and so many others makes it the most nostalgic system ever.

As far as mainstream appeal, NES is the system that broke open all the doors.

But everyone will have their own opinion. I missed out on thee Atari generation as I was born just two full years before NES was released. And looking at it, if I were to have been alive for that generation of gaming, my opinions would be drastically different.

Thank you for reading this.

I'd say in terms of mainstream appeal, the Wii is definitely going to be the most successful console that Nintendo has ever released. They've become snyonymous with video games in America at large, which is no small feat when you consider the last time they did that (back in the late 1980s; I still have a few Nintendo paraphernalia from that era).

My favorite console is the Gamecube, the games on it were just great.

It isnt the best selling lifetime selling console yet so its a bit too soon to say it will be.

As for wether i think its their best console i would have to say no, the motion controls are far too simple at the moment but if they expand on that and make a more real life feeling motion control that futur console might be the best console they ever made.

As for third party support the ps2 had a lot more so far and the ds still has, its third party support so far is still somewhat small, though it might end up with the most at the end of its lifetime.

I would however say that i think the ds will both sell more and appeal more to casual gamers then the wii and i think it will reign supreme this generation,

As for futur consoles no one knows what they will make so its hard to talk about wether it will be better then anything they ever make in the futur.

Sales doesn't mean the best else PS2 takes the cake. I'll stick with the snes since is still the console I have played the most all-time. I personally take the 360 and PS3 over the wii any day. Basically the motion control thing is just mainly having to hold two controls on separate hands is just not for me.