The Subjective Scientific reTROview Console Tier List - 2024 Edition

 

It has been a shocking 5 years since I first launched the Subjective Scientific reTROview Console Tier List in 2019 to little fanfare. Given that I have played a few video games since that time, I wanted to revisit my list and see what has changed. I have been playing a decent mix of modern and retro stuff since 2019, so there should be quite a bit of churn here as a few consoles go up the list, and a few go down. There is even a new console that did not exist back in 2019 that will make an appearance (the PS5). 

I will stick with mostly the same rules as last time:

• The game must be something I would still be interested in playing in theory. So Madden '05 was massively important for me back in 2007, but I would never pick it up now. Thus, it does not exist on the tier list.
• The game will appear on whichever console it first appeared on, unless it appeared on several in a short time span, in which case I will place it on whichever console I experienced it on. As a rough rule of thumb, if the game was still in its lifespan and receiving current updates on a console, it's fair game to include there. Example: Slay the Spire original appeared on PC, but came to PS4 soon after, which is where I experienced it. Thus, for the purposes of this list, it is a PS4 game. However, when I experience Secret of Mana on my Switch for the first time, I still count it as an SNES game.
• I must have had enough experience with the game to give it a fair ranking. I'm only one guy, and my time and money are limited. Getting 392 games together that I have real opinions about is a feat in and of itself. I'm also cheap, and so I don't invest in expensive games, which hurts the prospects of consoles like Saturn, TurboGrafx-16, and Dreamcast. So if your favorite game doesn't appear, or your favorite console gets put into the trash tier, it's entirely my fault!
• I use console loosely - the operational definition used here is closer to "gaming platform". Arcade, PC, and mobile are not consoles, but they make an appearance on the list, as do handheld systems. 
• I'm dropping the "I must rank the console if I own it" rule from last time. I had consoles with 0 points on the list because of that, which was silly. 

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did making it!

- TRO