Of the "big three", who, overall, do you think has had the biggest impact on gaming?

Nintendo cause without Nintendo you would have never gotten the Playstation.

Microsoft since the original Xbox, Sony/Sega for the decade prior to that, and Nintendo for the decade before that.

Overall, I think gaming as it is today, is mostly defined by what Xbox has done in terms of the online, social, and content push that was defined by the original Xbox Live.

Nintendo set the standards.

MS for online infrastructure on consoles.

MS is the leader in innovating in gaming.

All time? Nintendo.

It's very hard to argue otherwise.

10 years ago I might have said Nintendo, now I'm not so sure ....I think they all brought a lot of interesting stuff to the table honestly. Who had more of an impact, I really don't know.... Lot of things to consider and know about. I'll have to bow out of this thread and let the more experienced posters tell us who's who :)

May I suggest approaching it from your own personal opinion? No need for a definitive, objective answer here, as one of that nature may not even exist.

This gen? Neither. Of all time, definitely Nintendo but many of you probably don't remember the gaming crash of 83. You couldn't give games away and home gaming had a very bad reputation. Nintendo changed all of that, they made people want to play again.

Sony just upped the ante with PS1, it was an evolution, not revolution. It's significance lies in the excellent library of titles it had, the better use of CD rom and decent hardware that wasn't a nightmare for developers. That's the only differences between the PS1 and Sega Saturn, neither changed the gaming landscape, it just evolved and Sony took credit only because of it's library.

Out of the three, I'd pick Sony for the sheer amount of awesome games they've published over the last 20 years. Second for dual analog sticks.

That said, Sega had a bigger impact than any of them. First disc based system. First memory card. First online console. First color handheld. Many awesome games that were and would still be considered risks. Allowing gore in their games (Mortal Kombat).

Sony made gaming popular/cool. Sony expanded the gaming market the most. Sony dominates worldwide every gen.

@reduc_ab_: How come none of these ever include Atari? Out of the current list Nintendo got my vote for their role in saving the game industry, but it was Atari that put games in the living room to begin with. Not saying Atari should be declared the victor, but they deserve a seat at the table when it comes to this discussion.

Also, like others, Xbox comes in second imo for the way their ideas from the original Xbox shaped the current industry standards. Sony has great cosoles, but everything they've done was copied from someone else, there's no real innovation there, just expansion on everyone elses ideas.

All time? It's Nintendo, and it's not close.

In terms of online multiplayer/interaction on consoles and modern console architecture, it's Microsoft.

Sony's decision to switch to discs and use discs was also super important.

But overall? It's Nintendo. They literally saved the industry.

Nintendo for software, Microsoft for hardware (although PCs drive most of it)

Overall, it's...

Oh, don't get me wrong. Atari is/was the biggest innovator of all. But they're not really in the game anymore, as it were. I just made the cutoff point at NES.

@reduc_ab_: I'd say Nintendo then since they were there first and a lot of their high-profile 1st party games had exemplory gameplay and level design, so they set the bar at first.

I think that Microsoft has had the biggest impact on gaming from the time that they first entered the console market until now. Microsoft pretty much created the blueprint for modern gaming.

However, in terms of all time impact, nobody can beat the impact that Nintendo has had on gaming over the past 30 plus years. Without Nintendo, there might not even be a video game industry today.

I don't think Sony has been very innovative. Sony generally likes to play things safe and stick to what they know works and then copy ideas from others that they see are successful.

Nintendo but it's not the 80's anymore and these days Nintendo isn't innovating shit.

Overall? Probably Nintendo, followed by Sony, followed by MS. I think all 3 have contributed significant things, though.

It shouldn't even be a question. Nintendo by miles.

The only answer is Nintendo.

Ask 100 people on the street to identify Mario, Kratos and Master Chief.

>90 will get Mario, 10 will get Master Chief, 5 will get Kratos... maybe.

It should probably be Nathan Drake instead of Kratos. Just saying.

Kratos has better brand recognition. Drake is just another white guy with a gun.

Nintendo and Playstation are equals in my eyes. Nintendo totally saved console gaming in the 80's and none of us would likely be in a big budget web site funded by a multibillion dollar industry were it not for Nintendo.

That being said, it took Sony having a bigger and better vision for gaming outside the philosophy that restrains Nintendo even on its best days, to grow gaming into what it is today. They took the legacy of the NES and SNES, and carried that flag onward to great things.

It's hard to make a case for MS right now. Perhaps, one day, they will change their fortune, but it sure as hell didn't take the other two as long to make something out of gaming as it has Microsoft. I feel justified in questioning their vision and intent with gaming at this point.

Uhh. Isn't Call of Duty "White Guy With a Gun: The Videogame"?

Nintendo. Any other answer is factually wrong.

What does that have to do with anything? I think of Kratos when someone mentions Sony long before Drake.

Then again, I actually had a PS2 and played the God of War games on it. Most modern Sony fans don't even know what a PS2 looks like.

It was Nintendo and now it's Microsoft and Sony always just rode the wave others created.

Overall, it's Nintendo.

Microsoft trailblazed the modern console standard with the Xbox 360.

HDD, built in wireless connectivity, streamlined only connectivity, game updates and DLC, game demos, videos and music, apps, XBLA & indie games, achievements, friends list and party chat.

All three have contributed immensely to gaming. However, I would say that Nintendo's impact would be the biggest simply for how long they've been impacting the industry. From saving video games back in the day to the ridiculous sales and inclusiveness of the Wii, they've been making big impacts for longer than either Sony or Microsoft. Whether those impacts were good are not is subjective, but that's not what this topic is about.

Nintendo BY FAR its not even close

Nintendo. Playstation had some good games, but I suppose their main contribution is making use of marketing on a massive scale like no other.

Interesting that there's no choice for "HP" or "Dell" or "IBM" or "Alienware" - why is that? I think it is because PC is not a real platform, it's a pseudo-platform.

Nintendo with Super Mario 64 was one of the biggest moments in 3D era of gaming. That alone makes Nintendo a winner so i vote for them them aside other reasons like they saved NA market with NES , they are way more years in console market , they released some of the greatest games/handhelds ever etc ..

With that being said though i really think the last few years , Nintendo isnt close to the oldschool Nintendo in terms of ...well ... everything.

There are far worse examples than SONY on marketing tricks that led people , massive amount of people , buy utter BS

Nintendo because they saved the industry

Nintendo.

Nintendo. It's not even close. Microsoft and Sony have had their impact, but fundamental game design would be completely different in a world without Nintendo.

Microsoft for the last 10 years or thereabouts. Nintendo hasn't done much of anything for 10 years. Sony just copies Microsoft.

Yep, otherwise Kratos wouldn't be seen in Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat and *shrug* Shovel Knight.

Nintendo, Nuff said.

Indeed and introduced the world to the pillar of SONY, the PlayStation Brand.

Nintendo is the correct answer. The NES saved the gaming industry. The Game Boy paved the way for mobile gaming. They have produced so many revolutionary and influential games and they have arguably the most well known catalog of IP in the world other than Disney.

Too bad they seem to have to clue what they're doing these days though.

Both are great comments. Long Live Sony.

Its a two way tie between PlayStation and Nintendo. Coolyfett may have to give the edge to Nintendo mainly because they are the reason PlayStation exist. They created their own rival.

Nintendo without a doubt, the other two aren't even close.

Without Nintendo, the console market may not have recovered after Atari helped it headlong into a crash and Sony would never have entered.

Pretty obvious answer here. Nintendo saved gaming. We owe Nintendo for pretty much everything we have today.

Gaming would be basically a little niche thing done on computers if Nintendo didn't show that gaming didn't have to be gimmicky and could appeal to a broad base of people rather than just kids.