10 Best Consoles to Collect Physical Games For

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X Best Consoles to Collect Physical Games For (1)

Published Jul 10, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT

Eric Warner is a contributor at DualShockers with over seven years of journalism and multimedia production experience across print, online, radio, audio, and video publications. He has been writing professionally since 2017 and covering games since 2019, with work spanning lists, news, features, and guides.

Before joining DualShockers, Eric wrote for HN Entertainment and GameRant, worked as a News Fellow for WSHU Public Radio, and served as a Reporter for The Goshen News, where he produced written, audio, and video stories. He holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Multimedia Production from Sacred Heart University.

Physical games have been a hot topic lately, ever since Sony announced that they would cease disc production for their PlayStation consoles in 2028 to "adapt to consumer trends."

This announcement sparked widespread frustration among gamers, developers, and business owners, with the "Don't Kill the Disc" petition having reached over 200,000 signatures as of this article's writing, calling for Sony to reverse their decision.

While the PlayStation 6 may launch without a disc drive and physical games, people can still look back at previous console generations and begin collecting games for various consoles, with many offering enthralling gaming libraries, fun console and controller variations, and white whale titles that can be fun to hunt for.

10 Sega Dreamcast

Sega's Final Console

Brand Sega

Original Release Date September 9, 1999

Original MSRP (USD) $199, £200

Weight 3.3 lbs.

Hardware Versions Sega Dreamcast

With all the layoffs, studio closures, and console price hikes surrounding both PlayStation and Xbox, many have become concerned that the next generation may be the end of Xbox and PlayStation, similar to how Sega stopped producing consoles following the Sega Dreamcast.

Originally released in 1998, the Sega Dreamcast launched between the Fifth and Sixth console generations before being discontinued in 2001 due to being seen as a commercial failure, largely due to competition with the PlayStation 2.

Despite having a fairly short life, the Dreamcast saw the release of many standout exclusive titles, such as Sonic Adventure, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Soulcalibur, and Seaman to name a few, making the Dreamcast a fun niche console for gamers to collect physical games for.

9 Atari 2600

The Definitive Console of the 1970s

Date Founded June 27, 1972

Parent Company Atari Games

Headquarters Sunnyvale, California, United States

Long before Xbox or PlayStation were even thought of, Atari, Inc. reigned supreme as the dominant home console producer in the 1970s up until the video game crash of 1983, introducing millions of people to the concept of gaming beyond arcades.

While many of the Atari 2600's most famous games, like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Pitfall! have been re-released in modern collections, there are countless 2600 games that have been abandoned on the console, making collecting every 2600 title a fun challenge.

For example, one of the first DC Comics games ever made was 1979's Superman for the 2600 and remains one of the most rare Atari titles to find these days, while E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, widely regarded to be one of the worst games ever made, is less rare but is a fairly important piece of gaming history due to how it was a major factor in the crash of '83.

8 Wii U

Nintendo's Forgotten Console of the 2010s

Someone playing New Super Mario Bros Wii U from the Wii U concept trailer.

Brand Nintendo

Original Release Date November 18, 2012

Original MSRP (USD) $299 Deluxe Sets: $349

Weight 3.3 lbs

The Wii U is widely regarded to be Nintendo's worst console of the 21st century, with the successor to the Nintendo Wii only selling less than 14 million units worldwide, but it's due to that commercial failure that makes the Wii U actually relatively easy to collect its entire physical library.

Only about 200 games were released physically for the Wii U, including the original versions of Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Bayonetta 2, but there were several exclusive games for the Wii U that remain stuck on the console, such as ZombiU, Devil's Third, and the first Splatoon.

On top of these games, the Wii U also had a view rare console variations released that can be fun to hunt for, such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker edition of the Wii U featuring a unique Wind Waker-themed Gamepad.

7 Xbox

Microsoft's First Home Console

microsoft xbox original console titlecard and games backdrop

Brand Microsoft

Original Release Date November 15, 2001

Original MSRP (USD) $299, £299, €479

Operating System Proprietary, Windows NT-based

Processor Custom 733 MHz Intel Pentium III "Coppermine-based" processor

Resolution 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i

2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox console and the Xbox brand overall, and while Microsoft hasn't really done much to celebrate this anniversary yet, fans could celebrate this milestone by striving to collect games for the original Xbox.

Microsoft has done a relatively good job of implementing backwards compatibility for its consoles over the years, but only a few original Xbox titles are backwards compatible for the Xbox Series X|S, like Halo 2 and Star Wars: Battlefront II, leaving most of its library stuck on the console itself.

Some great co-op games that remain stuck on the original Xbox, for instance, are Spy vs. Spy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, and Shrek 2, while there are several other great exclusive games that Xbox fans should try out, like MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf and Jet Set Radio Future.

6 PlayStation 4

The Best Console of the Eighth Generation

Brand Sony

Original Release Date November 15, 2013

Original MSRP (USD) $399.99, €399.99, £349.99

Operating System Orbis OS

Processor Semi-custom 8-core AMD x86-64 Jaguar APU

Resolution 480p - 4K UHD

HDR Support Yes, HDR10

The PlayStation 5 has been a fairly controversial entry in Sony's long history of consoles, but the PlayStation 4 was undoubtedly the most successful home console of the Eighth generation thanks to its easy-to-use system and extensive library full of generation-defining games despite not featuring PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility.

What makes collecting PS4 games far more engaging than collecting for PS5 is the fact that most PS4 titles, like Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Marvel's Spider-Man had most of their game data on the disc itself and can be easily played offline, unlike most modern PS5 titles.

On top of great exclusive games, there were many great limited edition versions of PS4 consoles and controllers that would be fun to try and collect, such as the rare Kingdom Hearts III PS4 Pro, Uncharted 4 PS4, and Dragon Quest XI PS4 Slim.

5 Nintendo DS

A Handheld of Two Generations

Brand Nintendo

Original Release Date November 21, 2004

Original MSRP (USD) $149.99

Weight 9.7 oz

Despite being a handheld console, the Nintendo DS turned out to be one of the most popular and financially successful consoles of all time, selling over 154 million units worldwide and having over 3,000 titles released on the dual-screened handheld.

This success is thanks in part to its backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance titles, allowing gamers to play both new DS games like Mario Kart DS, Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Pokémon Platinum, and old GBA games like Pokémon Emerald, Metroid Fusion, and Wario Land 4 on a single console.

Only recently have some GBA and DS games been ported to the Nintendo Switch 2's digital library, and it's unlikely that most GBA or DS titles will be ported to the modern mobile console, so collecting games for the DS remains a fun and exciting hobby to do on top of trying to find limited editions of DSs like the rare Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars DS.

4 Sega Genesis

Sega's Most Popular Console

8 Little Known Sega Genesis JRPGs From Famous Developers

Date Founded June 3, 1960

CEO Hajime Satomi

Headquarters Shinagawa City, Tokyo, Japan

The Sega Dreamcast was Sega's last home console ever produced, but in the 1980s, Sega was a major player in the home game console scene as they stood toe-to-toe against the Super Nintendo Entertainment System with their most successful console, the Sega Genesis.

The Genesis shared many of the same third-party games as the SNES, but it featured exclusive hardware add-ons and titles, such as the Sega CD and 32X, which featured hard-to-find games like Night Trap, Jurassic Park, and Ecco: The Tides of Time.

Much of the Genesis' library has been ported to other consoles via remastered collections and even mini, emulated versions of the Genesis, but there still are many games and components of the console that get left out of these remastered collections, making game hunting the only viable option to find and play these games.

3 Nintendo 64

Diving Into a New Dimension

Brand Nintendo

Original Release Date September 29, 1996

The Nintendo 64 is lovingly remembered by thousands of gamers as, for many people, it was their first exposure to 3D games that featured exciting, open levels as seen in titles like Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and GoldenEye 007.

However, due to the N64 using ROM cartridges instead of discs, game development for the console was notoriously difficult, resulting in less than 400 titles being produced but also making the N64 a relatively easy console to collect games for.

Sure, many of the N64's most popular titles did receive remasters and even remakes on future consoles, like the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Nintendo Switch 2, but there are still several games stuck on the console, such as Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, StarCraft 64, and Super Smash Bros.

2 PlayStation 2

Sony Games At their Peak

Brand Sony

Original Release Date October 26, 2000

Original MSRP (USD) $299, £299

Operating System Proprietary

Processor MIPS III R5900-based "Emotion Engine"

Resolution 256×224 to 1920×1080

Despite being 26 years old, the PlayStation 2 still remains the best-selling home console of all time, having sold over 160 million units worldwide, and is still highly regarded as the best console Sony ever produced by many.

While the PS2 shares many third-party games with the Dreamcast and original Xbox, it's home to countless generation-defining exclusive titles like God of War, Sly Cooper, Kingdom Hearts, and Devil May Cry to name a few.

Many of these games did go on to receive remasters and digital ports for future consoles, but there are still many games that are stuck on the PS2 that only collectors can play, such as Haunting Ground, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented, and The Getaway.

1 Xbox 360

Microsoft's Greatest Console

Brand Microsoft

Original Release Date November 22, 2005

Original MSRP (USD) $299, £209, €299

Operating System Proprietary, Windows-based

Processor 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon

Resolution 480i - 1080p

Storage 20 GB Detachable HDD (original)

Arguably, the Xbox 360 was not only the best console of the Seventh generation, but was also the best console Microsoft ever made as it was home to a wide variety of exclusive titles and experimental ways to play games via the Kinect and unconventional controllers like Tony Hawk: Ride's skateboard controller.

Breakout exclusive games like Halo 3, Gears of War, and Forza Horizon have since been made backwards compatible or were remastered for future consoles, but there are several fun games that can only be played on the 360, such as Kinect Star Wars, Kinectimals, Blur, and NBA Jam.

Unlike the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, there were several fun variations of the Xbox 360 console released that avid fans of the console should try to find, like the Star Wars Xbox 360 S (featuring R2-D2 sounds), the Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 S, and The Simpsons Movie Xbox 360 Pro.

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