One of my favorite experiments on VGChartz involves offering several hypothetical options, and asking people to identify the one they like the most. It's interesting to see what people prioritize and what they're willing to sacrifice.

In this instance, I jumbled up 12 consoles from the past four generations. In each option, you'll find three systems -- one from Sony, one from Nintendo, and one from Microsoft. And the three systems in each grouping will be from different generations.

One thing to keep in mind when making your choice: backward compatibility, whether physical or digital, is excluded. You can't play Gears of War 3 on Xbox One; you can't play Viewtiful Joe on Wii; you can't play Monster Hunter World on PS5; and so on. EDIT: virtual console services are also excluded.

OK, here are your options. If you could only play games released on these systems, and no other platforms, which would you choose and why?

Option #1
PlayStation 2
Wii
Xbox One 

Option #2
PlayStation 3
Switch
Xbox

Option #3
PlayStation 4 
GameCube
Xbox Series

Option #4
PlayStation 5
WiiU
Xbox 360

Ps5, Wii U and 360. You can get most of Sonys old stuff on there, plenty of indies and now Series X games and older Xbox titles are coming so it's the most important item on those groupings. Such a wonderful machine with great potential still in it.

Tough one.

I gotta go with PS3/Switch/Xbox.

PS3 is in my opinion the peak of Playstation, with tons of great games both first and third party.

Switch is, for me, the second greatest console of all time, only topped by the SNES, thanks to an absolutely massive library packed with gems.

Xbox is the second best Xbox after the 360.

@bold: thank you for saying that I tried really hard to make the options as competitive as possible, placing beloved consoles with some unpopular systems. We'll see if that's reflected in the final results...

Pretty competitive list. I'll break it down and pick. No BC is a game-changer.
#1
This is a very attractive option. Wii has some great games, as does PS2. And because Xbox One is a modern console, its digital library is massive.
#2
This is a very attractive option too. Xbox and PS3 have some great libraries and Switch is perhaps my favorite platform ever.
#3
GameCube is a massively nostalgic console to me (first console) with some of the best games ever. And because I'm limited to more consoles than I've played in my life, I can get to a bigger backlog of GameCube titles I've never given a chance. But man, some of the ones I want to play would be $60-$200! PS4 is my favorite PlayStation console with some incredible games. Yeah, PS5 has better specs. In this case, I would of course have a PS4 Pro (like real life) but invest in internal and external SSDs. Yeah, it won't be as fast as PS5, but it'll help. Xbox Series X lacks all personality, but it has an SSD, Quick Resume, and a lot of multiplats.
#4
Wii U drags this down. It's got some good and great Nintendo games, but not enough third-party titles I'm interested in. PS5 is only now starting to really differentiate itself from PS4 after 4 years. Most Xbox 360 games I would want to play have 8th and 9th generation versions. I'm not picking Option #4.

I have to go with Option 3. I get 2 consoles with SSD compatibility, massive libraries, achievement systems, and so on. And GameCube has some great titles to round it out.
I'd rank the other 3 as
2nd place: #1
3rd place: #2
4th place: #4

The one with the Switch

PS3 is okay and Xbox is okay too but with the Switch which is my most favorite Nintendo console, that takes my vote.

Option #4
PlayStation 5
WiiU
Xbox 360.

Points:
Most decent PS4 games got "remastered/remakes/re-releases on PS5.
WiiU's best games are also the Switch's best games as they are all re-releases and remakes/remasters.
Xbox 360 had a stupidly massive and high quality library which defined the Xbox as a platform. (And got squandered in later years.)

No Dreamcast no vote.

I would do option #1, PS2 alone can carry it.

But if you force me to play all 3 consoles, then Option #4.

Playstation 5 has many amazing games, and it isn't stopping now.

Wii U has many of the best Switch games on it, and decent titles of its own.

Xbox 360 had great 3rd party support and a few good 1st party games.

Easy one.

PS3, Switch, XBox. Best games of it’s line, among the best games of it’s line (better than WiiU and GC anyway), and best games of it’s line. You precisely put together the most suitable lineup for me.