Games that "sold" you on a gaming console

[ryoken]

i guess everyone must have a particular game that pretty much cemented the purchase a of a new gaming console (or maybe even upgrading a computer just to play that ONE game); thought it would be a nice topic to discuss.
I had a NES in my childhood, but i went full PC (including using an emulator to run original PS1 games) till my teen years, whereupon I got a PS2 because, of all things, "Xenosaga: Episode 1"
My PC got a massive upgrade because of "Dreamfall", which is flat out strange.
When it came to the next genration, neither new consoles managed to catch my eye, and I was quite adamant about the 360...untill I saw Mass Effect.
A PSP and a DS then became purchased because of Castlevania games (The PSp Dracula X chronicles pretty much lives i my PSP, and the DS has Devil Survivor always inserted).
Stalker, Telltale Adventure games and Dragon Age dragged me back at the PC as well.
Now Im dreading the release of Heavy Rain and the eventual PS3 purchase...Demon Souls isnt helping things either.
How about you guys/gals?

[nekkerbee]

I used my '08 Economic Stimulus check on an XBox 360 and Grand Theft Auto 4. I'm a PC gamer so I tend to steer clear of consoles, but I was so eager to play GTA4 that I invested in a console. I still vastly prefer computers, though.

[Rene (Mr.Eko)]

I chose a PS3 because of it's internal wireless internet capability and free online play. If there's a game that sold me on it, it would be Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

[Hundred]

I got a Wii for Smash Bros. I do not regret this decision.

[Dr Syn]

Shenmue and Soulcalibur sold me on getting a Dreamcast (that's about all I bought for it)

GTA3 and MGS2 made me want a PS2

Twisted Metal and Tomb Raider for the original Playstation.

I think co-op on Halo sold me on the Xbox.

While Oblivion and Crackdown and the GTA4 did it for me and the 360

[ryoken]

Originally Posted by Dr Syn

Shenmue and Soulcalibur sold me on getting a Dreamcast (that's about all I bought for it)

Weird, the only times i've been wanting a Sega Console (never have owned one) were Guardian Heroes with the Saturn and Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast; got to play both games at friend's houses, but still...the urge was there.
Hell, if Sega got back on the console game and annouced a console with massive "DLC" saturn and dreamcast games, i'd buy it on release day.*


*This also applies to an xboxlive version of guardian Heroes.

[Umami]

Super Metroid & Zelda: A Link to the Past sold me on SNES. Best console purchase ever, I still wear that fucker out 15 years later.

Soul Calibur sold me on Dreamcast. The DC was a pretty awesome console that never had much of a shot at success, & that's a damn shame.

Metal Gear Solid 2 (plus the DVD player function) sold me on PS2.

[Princess Kate]

N64: Super Mario Kart/Shadows of the Empire
PS2: Ability to play DVDs and MGS1(which I'd never played before)/MGS2
Gamecube: Rogue Squadron ( I only ever bought two more games for the system)
XBOX: DeusEx2
Game Boy Pocket: Pokemon Red Version
Game Boy Color: James Bond:007(I'm aware it's a black and white game)
Game Boy Advance: Mario Kart Advance (Only game I ever bought for it)


And the super embarrassing one.....(though it turned into a great purchase eventually)

XBOX360:Superman Returns: The Official Videogame of the Motion Picture

[Richard Dickson]

I've always judged consoles on the console itself, not the games I could play on it. Although not being a fan of Mario, Zelda or Metroid pretty much steered me away from a Wii.

[Rene (Mr.Eko)]

Super Mario World and F-Zero had me pestering my Dad for a Super Nintendo. I never did get F-Zero, but Super Mario World, and Mario Paint were so much fun. I still have it hooked up.

Resident Evil and Tekken 2 had me begging for a Playstation.

The Playstation 2 seemed like a no brainer purchase. Devil May Cry saw to that as well as Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Neglected to mention that having the PS3 be a Blu-ray player as well factored in on my purchase. Finding a backwards compatible 60GB at a pawnshop solidified the purchase.

[The Rain Dog]

GTA3 sold me on my PS2, but the first game I played on my 360 made me realise I was utterly in love with it. Getting on your horse in Oblivion, riding to the top of a rise and looking out over the simply sumptuous vista below you as the sun rises was one of my best gaming geekouts of many a year. I'm not normally a graphics fanboy, but that game looked so god damn beautiful I fell deeply in love with the 360 I'd borrowed so much so that my poor briother had to wait over two years before he could wrench it from my grasp.

[Black_Dahlia]

Shadow of the Beast convinced me to get an Amiga 500.

[A-COD]

Kung Fu sold me on Nes.
I bought the Super Nintendo and N64 the days they came out.
Resident Evil 2 convinced me I needed a PlayStation
Gears of War convinced me to go Xbox 360.
I'm still waiting for the game that makes me buy a PS3, I thought it was going to be Kill Zone or Metal Gear but they came and went and I don't get the sense I really missed anything.

[Nexus-7]

Playing Mario 64 on a Toys R Us demo unit sold me on the N64 more than any game has ever sold me on a system.

Much like Dr. Syn, playing Halo co-op sold me on the first Xbox.

[John Ritter]

The only time I've bought a console solely because of a game was when I bought the 360 right after GTA IV came out. Not a decision I regret at all. I'd for sure have bought the Wii for Smash Bros. and and Galaxy if my old roommate didn't have one already.

[Yeroc7890]

I caved in and bought an Xbox 360 for Bioshock. Turned out to be a great decision.

[Poulsonator]

Originally Posted by Richard Dickson

I've always judged consoles on the console itself, not the games I could play on it. Although not being a fan of Mario, Zelda or Metroid pretty much steered me away from a Wii.

I'm similar. The only time I've purchased a console for a game was the PS2 for GTA. Every other time it was because it was the best (NES, SNES), or because of other reasons (the biggest being what my friends owned). Eventually, the dust settled on the Xbox/Xbox 360 being my 'main', and the Wii being the secondary (as I cannot get enough Mario/Zelda/Metroid/etc.!).

The only reason I'd buy a PS3 is for the Blu-Ray, and I have zero interest in that at the moment.

[duke fleed]

I bought the Wii for...Tatsunoko Vs Capcom! I am a huge fan of...Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.

[JGButler]

The first game I played on the first XBOX was SSX Tricky and it made me HAVE to have one (I already wanted one, but playing that convinced me.)

I totally skipped the PS2 altogether until Guitar Hero came out, then I bought the PS2 and the GH Bundle all on the same day.

And while it wasn't the first game I ever played on a 360, COD4 completely kicked my ass the first time I played it and was what prompted me to get off my ass and go buy the console.

As far as PS3, I still don't have one, but my interest in it was lukewarm until I played LittleBigPlanet. Now the PS3 is a must-own as well.

[Shen Annigans]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. It's the only reason I'm not ever getting rid of that console.

[Brad Millette]

Mass Effect was probably the ultimate reason for me getting a 360.

[Mintadon]

Black Dahlia, it was Shadow of the Beast that sold the Amiga to me as well. I had gone into the store with my heart set on walking out with an Atari ST, but the sales guy showed me Shadow Of The Beast on the Amiga and I changed my mind on the spot. Made his day as well (but not my dad's) as they were about 100 pounds more expensive.

The next "holy shit I gotta get me one of those" moments was Wipeout 2097 on the PS1 (called Wipeout XL in the US I think?) - I'm stil pissed I can't get a Wipeout game for my 360, and have even resorted to playing Fatal Inertia to try and scratch my future racing itch..

[Jcassady]

MarioKart 64 and GoldenEye for N64.

[Justin Clark]

Super Mario Bros sold me on the NES.

At the time, the HOLYSHITLOOKATTHATGODMYNESSUCKS! versions of Strider and Batman sold me on a Genesis.

Splatterhouse almost sold me on Turbo Grafx, but ended up having to choose between that and the Genesis, and the TG 16 lost.

Sonic CD, Terminator CD, and the arcade perfect Final Fight port sold me on the Sega CD. Though, admittedly, at the time, I though full motion video was pretty fucking impressive.

Much as I love Mario, Castlevania IV and Street Fighter II were the ones that lured me to buy an SNES.

First console port of Doom and the ability to unload some shovelware at Electronics Boutique and purchase the system for $50 sold me on a 32X.

Toshinden was enough to get me to buy a PS1. Thinking about it, thats probably the only game I'll list here that doesn't hold up to this day.

Night Warriors, and the mere promise of a Beyond Oasis sequel eventually sold me on a Saturn, and I never even ended up buying either of those games for it.

Goldeneye sold me on the N64.

The trick, at the time, was finding reasons to NOT buy a Dreamcast.

The Resident Evil remake and the promise of a Metroid FPS made me break down for a Gamecube.

GTA Vice City forced me to throw down for a PS2.

Ninja Gaiden, Jet Set Radio Future, and ALL THE GODDAMNED HYPE AROUND HALO 2 made me throw down for an original XBox.

Pretty much everything released between September and December of 2007 made me buy a 360, but if anything really cemented the fact that I'd made the right choice, it was that first wonderful night with The Orange Box.

Honestly, Demon's Souls is the first game to really justify my PS3 as a gaming system in my house.

I still don't own one, but Rayman Raving Rabbids and Wario Ware Smooth Moves made a damn strong case for me throwing down the money for a Wii once.

Portable systems have this weird habit of just finding their way into my possession, so nothings really "sold" me on one, but if I didnt already have one that day, I would've run out and bought a DS within 5 minutes of playing Trauma Center.

[Mark T]

Jet Set Radio Future sent me into the loving arms of the Xbox, although I still believe its natural home should have been the PS2.

[El Gray]

Atari 2600 - I already wanted one, but when I saw the Empire Strikes Back game, I went nuts. Was very happy to receive that with my console on Christmas morning.
NES - The Legend of Zelda. Still love that game.
PSX - I think I was most excited about Gran Turismo and FFVII
Dreamcast - I really only bought it because it was cheap-- $50 when they started clearancing them out. Loved Soul Calibur, though.
PS2 - DVD player and SOCOM were big draws for me.
GBA - I just wanted one because I never had a GB, but I bought Castlevania:COTM at launch, and loved it hard.
New PC, 2003 - Star Wars Galaxies! Heh. That was pretty fun for 6 months.
DS Lite - New Super Mario Bros. and Phoenix Wright!
Wii - No good reason, but Galaxy and Brawl eventually made it all worth it.
New PC, 2009 - L4D, Bioshock, and the promise of The Old Republic beta.

[Justin Clark]

Originally Posted by mark t

jet set radio future sent me into the loving arms of the xbox, although i still believe its natural home should have been the motherfucking Dreamcast.

ftfy.

[Mark T]

Originally Posted by Justin Clark

ftfy.

I'm still in the "bargaining" phase of the Dreamcast grief process.

[Princess Kate]

Dream cast always seemed offputting to me, the games were all so strange. I think that may have factored in to many people's decision not to purchase the console

[Dr Syn]

Originally Posted by Black_Dahlia

Shadow of the Beast convinced me to get an Amiga 500.

Not that I had any choice in the matter (since I was like 4 or 5) but playing Test Drive and FA/18 Interceptor on the Amiga 500+ (whoaaa 1mb memory) that my dad brought home in the 80s for me and my older brother was all I needed (FA/18 Interceptor especially)


Later games like Alien Breed, Populous, It Came from the Desert and Lords of the Rising Sun made me love the Amiga.

[Nexus-7]

I only talked about launch games, but GTA III and Vice City sold me on the PS2, even though the one I owned I immediately sold*. Got the games, and San Andreas on Xbox. PS2 had, other than SSX, mostly awful games for like a year.

*Bad idea in retrospect. Other than the SNES I feel the PS2 had the best selection of games ever. I may have to rebuy one, Still haven't played Shadow of the Colossus, MGS3, and the PS2 Contra, and have only had limited time with the first 2 God of War games.

[jameson]

It's hard to imagine somebody picking up a console for anything other than a specific game or two unless there's a secondary reason (blu-ray/dvd)

-Blade Runner made me upgrade my PC, and then Unreal Tournament made me upgrade again.
-PS1 because of FFVII
-N64 because of Goldeneye and WCW vs NWO world tour
-PS2 due to MGS2
-XBox for KOTOR1 & Splinter Cell
-360 for Oblivion
-PS3 for MLB The Show

[Ken Savage]

Goldeneye for the N64 sold the console for me.
Vice City made me buy a PS2,
Halo 2 made me swap the PS2 for an XBOX as i was house sharing and we had some wicked system linked multiplayer.

But the 360 was an engagement present from the wife.

[Jmacq1]

NES - The Legend of Zelda

SNES - No particular game (NES as a whole sold me on SNES)

PS1 - A combination of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Final Fantasy VII

PS2 - No particular game (PS1 as a whole sold me on PS2)

XBox - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

XBox 360 - The promise of future Bioware efforts in general.

[Kent]

Originally Posted by Brad Millette

Mass Effect was probably the ultimate reason for me getting a 360.

Seconded.

[Egg]

I wanted an NES when I saw they had a version of Ghosts n' Goblins. Ghouls n' Ghosts made me get a Genesis. Super Ghouls n' Ghosts was the first game I got for the SNES.

I got all three of these games on the Capcom collection for the PS2 a couple years ago and have no idea how I ever had the skill or patience to finish these games.

[Nexus-7]

You need a PSP now Egg, to keep the trend going...

[Jeremy Jochman]

I've usually wanted a system long before I purchased one, so some of these are just the first games I bought since I was late to the party:

Sega Master System: Ghostbusters
Super Nintendo: Super Empire Strikes Back
Genesis: Alien 3 and Mortal Kombat
Power Macintosh: Tie Fighter (although the computer was purchased for school. One does not buy a Mac as a gaming platform unless you're in to four year old ports)
Playstation: Spider-Man
Xbox: Tiger Woods 06 and Crimson Skies
PC: Jedi Outcast
PS2: God of War, Shadow of the Colossus and Guitar Hero
360: Gears of War
Wii: Mario Kart
PS3: Uncharted

Do many of you still have your older systems? Outside of my current Wii/PS3, every earlier system was sold for the next.

[Nate K]

I got a PS2 after seeing GTA 3 in action and I'm fairly sure my brother bought a SNES simply to play Mario Kart.

[Egg]

Originally Posted by Nexus-7

You need a PSP now Egg, to keep the trend going...

I've got a PSP. I'm just waiting for the time when I don't mind whipping it across the room in anger to complete the series.

[ryoken]

Originally Posted by Egg

I've got a PSP. I'm just waiting for the time when I don't mind whipping it across the room in anger to complete the series.

How about whiping an Iphone?

[Nexus-7]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Jochman

Do many of you still have your older systems? Outside of my current Wii/PS3, every earlier system was sold for the next.

I sold my PS2, and have no games for my NES(sold em) or PS1, but yeah, I've hung on to everything(else).

[ryoken]

Originally Posted by Nexus-7

I sold my PS2, and have no games for my NES(sold em) or PS1, but yeah, I've hung on to everything(else).

Ive mostly traded games I dont really play or haby attachements to, but the systems stay ( I found my dust covered NES on the basement a few weeks, and it still works! The fact that some NES cartridges were still there, including my golden Zelda cart had me take the poor little cosnole to my room for safekeeping), had I traded or sold my PS2 when I got my 360 I would have shoot myself when Persona 3 and 4 were released (and God Hand...dearly, beloved God Hand).
Pkus, retro compatibility means no more using emulators for my original PD1 games anymore.
However, one day i will figure out who was the thieving bastard who took my dearly beloved "Strider 2" PS1 game, hunt him/her down and kill him...it had a great port of the opriginal game as well, so no jury would find me guilty.

[Egg]

Originally Posted by ryoken

How about whiping an Iphone?

Jesus. I think I'd have better luck finishing one of those games with my feet than smearing my thumbs around an iPod screen.

[Timothy Q]

Afterburner on the Sega Master System. I don't know why I was making a connection between the big machine that took TWO quarters at the arcade and the home console thing, but I was steadfast in my interest in the Master System over Nintendo because of Afterburner as a young buck.

The tri-fecta of the original Sonic, Madden Football and NHL Hockey sold me on the Genesis. Played them at my dad's girlfriend's sister's house and that was it. Needed to have Genesis as an tweener.

The Toshinden reviews in EGM seemed to hold great sway with me. Before then I was all about the (eventually multi-times delayed) "Ultra" 64 that was due out and and Sega Saturn because I was a Sega guy till then. Plus, "Play Station" just sounded gay to me. That review sold me that the system was legit, traded in 10 Genesis games for $100 off at EB and that was that... never looked back.

That's about it, I was never really "sold" on a system by an exclusive any other times. I've had many more but they all came along because they were better, or I was a glutton and wanted a second system or my friends already had one and we wanted to play online.

[Brad Millette]

I have a feeling God of War III will finally get me to get a PS3.

[Bobby Bear]

Goldeneye 007 for the 64.

[mongycore]

Atari 2600 - Asteroids
Sega Master System - Aztec Adventure
NES - Legend of Zelda & Duck Hunt
Genesis - NHL Hockey
PS1 - Final Fantasy 7
Dreamcast - Shenmue & Crazy Taxi
N64 - Ocarina of Time
Gamecube - Wind Waker
Xbox - Splinter Cell
Xbox 360 - Ghost Recon and Oblivion
PSP - Loco Roco and Lumines
Wii - Wii Sports...that the wife had to play.
PS3 - Valkyria Chronicles

[Rheokhu]

The Legacy of Kain series sold me on Playstations 1 and 2. I was in my goth phase.

[Nabster]

Tekken and Toshinden on the PS1 blew me away. I knew I had to have one very soon. For its time I don't think I've ever been so impressed with a console as I was with ps1 seeing those two games being played in a store.