Has a game ever sold you a system?

[The Mole]

A lot of the gaming media talk about system sellers, games that encourage gamers to buy the system just to play that game. I just wanted to get some opinion from you guys on this subject.

Do you think 1 game can ever be enough to sell a system?

Have you ever bought a console primerily because of 1 title?

The reason i ask is some websites have been implying that Resident Evil 5 was and is a system seller, this got me thinking. I personally do not think 1 game can sell a system no matter how good and other factors influence the purchase of a console.

Am i totally wrong here? Can one game be strong enough to sell a system? Does it change from region to region?

[Stormtec]

I don't think I've ever bought a console solely for 1 title. I mean, I half-joke about it a lot of the time, but I really only buy a console for at least one or two other titles that I know I want. Realistically, the closest is 2 or 3 titles will make me want to get a console.

I think a single game will sell a system to those ignorant enough (with more money than sense perhaps) to spend the money. Or, y'know, fanboys XD

[buster_broon]

i bought a PC Engine just for Splatterhouse

then after that i realised that it had a smashing back catalogue of games

guess i'm an ignorant fanboy

[ShadowDancer]

I bought a Duo-R to play Dracula X. I too experienced a wonderful back catalog.
I even bought a PCE to play HU cards after I sold my Duo.

I guess there is such a 'game' as a system seller, but you would have to be one fussy bastard if nothing else appealed to you!

[Darwock]

I got a Dreamcast for Soul Calibur.

It's kind of an irrelevant point though because everybody buys a system knowing they are buying into a choice - it will never be only one game. Unless you are talking about a retro console that will never have another game released ever again I suppose.

[112]

Street Fighter 2 on the snes sold me the console, but back in the day - it was exclusive to the snes for AGES.........

I think i got a Saturn for Virtua Fighter 1 and a Dreamcast for Virtua Fighter 3 lol.......... Virtua Fighter 5 eventually made me get a PS3 lol.............

I remember wanting to buy a PSX for Biohazard, but held out and it eventually turned up on the Saturn and began a new luv in my life lol......... a luv for survival horrors..........

No one game has made me take the plunge and buy a 360 yet......... don't think one will to tell you the truth......... Dead Rising nearly did mind

112

[mekanor]

i got a 360 just to play soul calibur 4

[Holio]

I must be a right eejit then, I think all my console purchases have been over one game at the outset, I may have picked up others, but it was one game that made me get it.

NES : Super Mario Bros, played it at my cousins all the time and then the NES came with it packed in, all for a paltry 80 quid!

MegaDrive : Madden Football 92, being a massive American Football fan, when I saw this game I just had to play it, bought the MD 2nd hand of a fella, he then tried to sell me Altered Beast rather than throw it in the box as he had got it, I told he no ta, and waited for Madden to be released

SNES : That StreetFighter II pack in was the 100 quid deal for me from Woolies, happy days, even though I was and still am rubbish, there was lots of fun times to be had in the Vs mode with mates.

Saturn : Daytona USA, got my Saturn at 300 and picked up Daytona for 30 quid, in my younger eyes,this was Arcade perfect! Oh how wrong I was but you told yourself that

N64 : The GoldenEye pack in, such a winner, this was the pinnacle of post pub gaming, though Mario Party Bumper Balls gave it a run for its money and Mario Kart

PlayStation : As the Saturn died, even after I got my machine chipped and switched, I got a PS with Colin McRae Rally and TOCA and so in effect I bought them for those games and Soul Blade

Dreamcast : Sega Rally II, bought on launch day and it was game on, trying to get faster times and changing lots of things trying to finish the career mode.

GameCube : Rogue Squadron II, the magazines got me all excited for the Star Wars game which looked simply devine, the thought of getting to fly so many ships and do the fashion bits from the movies, and also the awful escort missions.

PS2 : PES, a fateful day when I decided to give ISS PE one more go on the PSX before trading it in led to a light bulb coming on and suddenly everything clicked, so after PE2 on the PSX the first next gen PES got me buying the PS2.

XB360 : PGR3, after spending in excess of 100 hours online racing on PGR2, the launch title of PGR3 meant I was always going to get this at launch, it never did grab me like PGR2 did and I blame the poor online racing structure for part of that.

PS3 : Not for a game, but making sure I could at least play some of my PS2 games on it, managed to get a 60Gb machine.

[Zaki]

Incentive to buy a console? Well, these are the games that made me want the consoles at launch (or close to launch).

SNES: Mario World

Playstation: Ridge Racer

N64:Mario 64

Dreamcast: Sonic Adventure

PS2: Ridge Racer 5 (great game despite the reviews)

Gamecube: Luigi's Mansion

360: Gears of War

Wii: curiousity more than anything (but Mario Galaxy is definitely a console seller for me!)

PS3: Bought mainly for backwards compatibility (before they were discontinued), but MGS4

[kernow]

Bought a 3DO for SSF2X and a SNES for SF2

apart from that, hmm, a GB for tetris.

[Welrain]

SNES: Star Fox

Playstation: Mate was selling it cheap, RE2 was perhaps the game at the time.

Dreamcast: Sonic Adventure

PS2: Dunno!

Gamecube: Rogue Squadron 2 then Resident Evil 4

Xbox: Halo

360: No specific game.

Wii: Wii Sports

[Darwock]

i got a 360 just to play soul calibur 4

Funny to see people listing games that aren't even platform exclusives! Can they be counted as system sellers when you have a choice of systems?

[prinnysquad]

I got a 360 just to get Oblivion.

Although, there were a few games I fancied before then; an increasing cumulative effect. Oblivion came out and sold the system to me, it was the game that decided a 360 was the right buy at the right time. It's not all black and white.

[_y_]

I always think it's a silly question, because you never really buy a console for one game. I remember when Halo came out and people would ask whether it was worth the price of an Xbox; and the answer is that if it was a PC game then it obviously wouldn't be worth £350, but in the sense that it's an amazing piece of work and it's likely there will be further excellent games on the platform then - yes, it is worth buying an Xbox to play Halo.

[Eps]

Yeah, this has happened to me a few times:

PS2: Initially FFVII. Then, for my second PS2, Gradius V

Gamecube - Rogue Leader. Saw it moving, knew I had to have it.

Wii - Super Mario Galaxy, even though it wasn't out when I first got a Wii. Everything before it felt like a warm-up.