The Classic Console 34% Of People Want To Play Again For The First Time

It's impossible to time-travel back to the first time you played your favorite retro console, but nothing's stopping you from dreaming. Of course, for those with more than one beloved blast-from-the-past console, the choice might be difficult. Looper asked 508 U.S. gamers to decide which classic console they'd most like to play again for the first time. Out of the options SNES, Original Xbox, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation 1, one console emerged as the top contender for over a third of participants. 

Cue up the signature "Mario" music, because the Nintendo 64 took the cake with 34.45% of the vote. While the world may never get an N64 Classic, love for this iconic console is still alive and well. From favorites to hidden gems, there are still opportunities to play N64 games today on modern consoles. Of course, nothing beats the joy and nostalgia of remembering that first time playing the N64.

The Original Xbox came in a distant second with 15.75% of the vote. It looks like lifelong Xbox fans can't get enough of the unique games on this classic console. The Sega Genesis got 14.76% of the vote, and it makes sense that this console performed well given the hype that came with the release of the Sega Genesis Mini back in 2019. The PlayStation 1 got 13.58% of the vote, and now that TikTok has discovered the old PS1 trick of listening to games as CDs, this underdog's popularity is only on the rise.

A miscellaneous  "Other" category received 11.61% of votes. While there's no way to say exactly what the respondents were thinking, it's clear that opinions were varied. Last but not least, only 9.84% of gamers surveyed would want to play the SNES again for the first time. Since Nintendo stopped SNES Classic production in 2019, it makes sense that popularity may be down.