| Description: | Most modern NES gamers say that they love the console for its retro feel and the simplicity of its games, though simplicity doesn't necessarily mean that they were easy. It took a real talent to play many of the old NES games, especially because not all of them allowed you to save your progress. The NES is particularly notable for the Super Mario Bros. games, which are credited with introducing side-scrolling games, and The Legend of Zelda, which helped to drive a switch to battery-powered saving mechanisms. From the original Zelda games on the NES to GoldenEye 007 on the N64 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2, we take a look at the consoles of choice for retro gamers across America.
You never forget the first time you completed Super Mario Bros. You never forget the first time you held the iconic Playstation 1 controllers. And you never forget when the best way to troubleshoot a game was to blow the cartridge.
Times have changed and new consoles have come and gone, but there's still something to be said about those iconic gaming systems that we were raised on. Their games have a unique charm that no amount of fancy graphics can make up for, which is why we turn to emulators and why original NES games still in their boxes go for thousands of dollars on eBay.
The infographic below shows the most popular retro consoles by state based on the number of games, controllers, and systems sold in each state from 1999 to 2019. More than 2.5 million retro games in all. All in all, it's a pretty clean sweep for the Playstation 2, taking the top spot across 40 of the 50 states (80%). That's followed by the NES (12%), the Nintendo 64 (6%) and the Game Boy Advance (2%), which came out on top in just one state: South Dakota.
But we're not surprised that the Playstation 2 came out on top. After all, it's more powerful than many of the other consoles on our list and it also has the advantage of some of the most iconic titles of our time. Don't believe us? Just take a look at this list of the ten bestselling Playstation 2 games. |
