Game Consoles Tier List
Console arguments are really library arguments wearing a hardware costume. Twelve consoles, unranked, across five generations — rank the games first and the specs second, or the list will not survive the decade. Nothing is pre-graded: tiles wait in Unranked until you drag or tap them into S–F. Rows rename in a click and the finished board exports as a PNG.
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 2
Super Nintendo
Nintendo 64
GameCube
Sega Genesis
Game Boy
Steam Deck
Wii
PlayStation 40 of 12 items ranked.
Board saved automatically in this browser. Original.
How this board is built: the 12 tiles are an editorial starting set, not an official roster and not a published ranking — every entry waits in Unranked until you place it. Item tiles are original pictograms or two-letter emblems drawn for this site rather than character artwork, film stills or club logos, so nothing here is licensed material reused from a rights holder. Tiers you set are your own judgement.
What's included in this Game Consoles board
The board arrives with all 12 entries present as tiles and none of them assigned to a tier. That is deliberate: a template that opens with a finished ranking only invites you to agree or disagree with whoever made it, whereas an empty ladder makes you commit to an ordering of your own. Drag a tile onto a row, or on a phone tap the tile and then the tier you want. You can add rows for extra categories, rename the standard ones, and remove any entry you do not recognise — a list you can defend is more useful than a long one you cannot.
How to rank this Game Consoles board
Rank the library first, and rank it on games you would still play rather than games that were impressive at the time. Then weigh the controller. It is the part you actually touch for hundreds of hours, and a bad one caps the whole console. Third, judge how the hardware aged — load times, resolution, and whether the machine still works with a modern television. Finish by separating innovation from execution. A console that tried something new and got it half right is not the same as one that refined an existing idea perfectly, and both deserve credit in different rows.
Using the board without over-thinking it
Most people finish a board like this in a couple of minutes and then reorder the middle rows for another ten. That middle is where the honest disagreement lives, so do not rush it: place the obvious top three and the obvious bottom three first, then work inward. If two entries still feel identical, that is a real observation — say so in a row note or a text tile rather than inventing a difference. When the ordering settles, export the PNG so the arrangement is saved somewhere permanent, and copy the share link if you want someone else to argue with it.
Ranking criteria used here
- library
- controller
- how well the hardware aged
Before you share it
Put your criterion in the board title, so a reader knows whether they are looking at a favourites list or an analytical one. If the subject changes with patches, seasons or releases, add the date. And remember the share link carries tier names, colours and the tile order — uploaded photos stay on your device, so export a PNG when those matter.
All 12 items in this template
Back to the boardPlayStation 5Xbox Series XNintendo SwitchPlayStation 2Super NintendoNintendo 64GameCubeSega GenesisGame BoySteam DeckWiiPlayStation 4Game Consoles tier list FAQ
Should handhelds and home consoles be mixed?
Only with a note. A handheld competes on portability, and that changes what counts as good hardware.
How do I judge backwards compatibility?
As a bonus, not a core criterion — otherwise the newest console always wins for reasons that have nothing to do with its own library.
