For me it is definitely the Gamecube. With games like Super Mario Sunshine, two unique Zelda titles, Pikmin 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, 1080, Wave Race, the best F-Zero, Double Dash, Super Smash Bros Melee, some of the best Resident Evil experiences with 1 Remake and 4, and some actual decent third party support (Need for Speed, Soul Calibur, Medal of Honor, etc).

It's too bad that the console didn't sell well, because, in my opinion, that was when Nintendo was at some of their best.

I really loved my Dreamcast. I realize it bombed, but it was a cool console with some great software. RIP Sega.

Sure I gotcha. It's still tough for me to even consider XB360 a console that didn't win since it sold close to 86 mill - though I guess that's technically correct compared to its competitors.

That sure was a weird gen in that all 3 consoles were pretty solid success stories and split relatively evenly in sales - Sony bouncing back from a rocky start and bad PR and still getting second, MS having their most successful console by quite a bit despite virtually no Japanese support, and of course Nintendo rebounding after the GameCube w/the first place console, tapping into a new audience and storming to dominance for at least the first few years.

I guess I'd put XB360 in second after N64 in terms of beloved losing consoles if you do count it.

So I guess it'd be:

1. N64
2. XB360
3. GC
4. DC

Nice idea for a thread. I'd say (in order):

1. PS3
Had nearly all the major core third-party games of the gen with some pretty special exclusives like Metal Gears Solid 4, the Uncharted trilogy, God of War 3 and Last of Us.

2. N64
The N64 really did have some of the best games of the gen not to mention the absolute blast you could have in local multiplayer at the time.

3. PSP
A worthy handheld with some great exclusives/timed exclusives like FFVII, Crisis Core, GTA, God of War, Gran Turismo and had a large PS1 back catalog to boot.

You could be pretty happy with any of those consoles without needing to purchase the "winning" console.

It was closer than most generations but still far from an even split; Wii still outsold PS3/360 by 14-16 million. It remains a unique example of the market supporting three high-selling consoles though, yeah.

Love the PS3. It lost its gen but for me, it had the best exclusives and the best controller.

Intellivision. I enjoyed it for many, many years even after its gen was long over. It had more than enough games and Mattel even expanded it in innovative ways.

Dreamcast, duh.

After 360 I think my runners up are N64 and PS3. Both had a lot of problems but still offered some truly excellent games.

OG Xbox, Megadrive, and Dreamcast deserve mentioning also.