Judging the best launch lineups is an incredibly difficult endeavor. By what measure do you decide which one is the best? Is it more important to have a larger quality of games or just one game that changes the course of the medium? The following list has both.

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The introduction of the PS5 and Xbox Series X also muddies the waters. Are all the backward compatible games worth including? Either way, they certainly help give the new consoles value most other platforms lacked in their respective releases. While most launch titles quickly age, a few of them remained vital throughout the entire console's life.

10 Xbox

Halo: Combat Evolved promotional image

The original Xbox had a small handful of launch titles, but the only one that really mattered was the original Halo. It changed the industry by finally giving console gamers a PC-quality first-person shooter they could enjoy in their living room. Microsoft is incredibly thankful for it, too, since it almost single-handedly saved the console from obscurity. The single-player campaign is great, but the multiplayer is legendary, and it came before the days of Xbox Live.

9 Nintendo 64

Mario 64 Main Hall with Mario at the center

The Nintendo 64 only had two games upon release; Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64. The latter was a decent enough time, but Super Mario 64 changed everything. The 3D graphics and intuitive gameplay ushered in a new era of gaming. It would take years for other titles to catch up when it came to 3D gaming. A lot of franchises did not survive the transition into the third dimension, but Super Mario got it right on the first try.

8 Nintendo Switch

riding shield breath of the wild copy

Technically, the only exclusive launch title for the Nintendo Switch was 1-2 Switch, which most people would rather not talk about. The big game to come out alongside the console was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which also released on the Wii U. The game renovated the legendary Zelda franchise and the open-world genre as a whole. Everything about the gameplay and discovery feels so organic, rather than the checklists and cluttered maps people are so used to in the genre.

7 Xbox Series X

Series X Will Be Delayed To 2021 (False)

Things get weird with this entry. The Series X really lacks convincing launch titles, and none of them are actually exclusive. However, the console comes out of the box able to play a significant amount of the prior consoles' titles, going all the way back to the original Xbox. Maybe it is unfair to consider these launch titles, but their playability and the improvements they get from running on the new hardware certainly gives a lot of value to the console from day one.

6 NES

Super Mario Bros With Bricks

The NES had a lot to prove upon its release. The previously popular consoles like the Atari 2600 had faded away into obscurity and video games in general were considered a fad. The whopping 17 titles helped change people's minds, however.

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A lot of them were arcade ports or simpler titles with little depth, but among the crowd was the first Super Mario Bros., a game which showcased a new potential for the medium. Nintendo's enduring legacy was born in this moment.

5 Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance Cover

The prior Game Boy and Game Boy Color were massively successful, but the new handheld's power allowed for significantly larger adventures. It was almost like having an SNES in your hands. The ports of older games like Rayman and Super Mario Bros. 2 helped show just what this little system could do. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was a particularly impressive launch title, containing 3D graphics and playing from an isometric perspective. The biggest mark against is all the best games being ports of older titles.

4 PS5

Demons souls 4-1 first fog door
Demons souls 4-1 first fog door

Even though the backward compatibility only goes back one generation, PS5 edges out the Xbox Series X in terms of launch titles with a couple of exclusives and PS4 games which also came out on PS5.

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The big one most players had to have was Demon's Souls, a remake of FromSoftware's PS3 cult classic. Additionally, the lack of load times in games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales definitely helped players feel like their money was well spent.

3 Dreamcast

sonic adventure dream cast copy
sonic adventure dream cast copy

While the Dreamcast had a tragically short lifespan, it is not due to a weak launch lineup. It had a pretty solid spread of titles spanning different genres. Sega's mascot Sonic was there to greet gamers with Sonic Adventure, and fighting game fans received a great port of Soulcalibur. Power Stone is also a notable mention, along with House of the Dead 2. Unfortunately, the PS2 released shortly after, stealing any momentum the Dreamcast might have had.

2 PS2

Timesplitters PS2 shooting an enemy with the blunderbuss
Timesplitters PS2 laucnh title

The PS2 is home to some of the greatest games of all time, and this library starts off strong. The launch lineup is huge, with a handful of golden gems among them. For first-person shooters, TimeSplitters is the cult classic spiritual successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. SSX is a great extreme sports game, Tekken Tag Tournament was a great fighter, and Unreal Tournament was a solid port of the PC game, though the lack of multiplayer was a point of criticism.

1 SNES

Mario hitting block with vine, goombas, and bullet bill coming at him in Super Mario World

The SNES only had five titles when it launched in the United States on August 23, 1991, but they were all heavy hitters. Gradius 3 and SimCity were the bottom of the pack, which goes to show just how quality the launch lineup was. Super Mario World was the game everybody had to have, and the main reason to own the console in its early life. F-Zero also did a great job at showcasing the system's capabilities, presenting a racing game the NES did have a single hope of running. If you bought all these games, you'd be set for several months until more games came out.

Next: 5 PS3 Launch Titles That Still Hold Up Today (And 5 That Don't)