3 video game consoles that were ahead of their time

Every home video game console generation introduces new features that players can take advantage of when they play. Whether it's new ways to render games or how people play them, everyone loves to see the new things that consoles bring with them when they are released on the market. However, there are a few standout game consoles that managed to go a step further in what was possible when they came out. They managed to accomplish something that was unique, interesting, and unlike anything anyone had seen up to that point. Those types of game consoles are a step ahead of their own time.

But what does it mean to be ahead of the competition within a console generation? Simply making games look a little better than other platforms isn't enough to truly stand apart from everyone else. They had to offer something people had never seen before, but done in a way that would eventually become a new standard. Here are three video game consoles that were ahead of their time, and we're all better off because of it.

3 TurboGrafx 16

CDs long before it was cool

Not many people remember the TurboGrafx 16 and its library of games. At the time it was released, the console war between Nintendo and Sega began to really take shape and garnered a lot of attention. But the TurboGrafx 16 was still around as an alternative to the two big titans of the era, which ended up being a mild success. It was on that console that players were able to experience games like Splatterhouse, Bomberman, and Castlevania: Dracula X. Still, the console was also doing something that no mainstream video game consoles were even attempting. Playing games off a CD-ROM at home.

This was something that Japan saw in 1989, just before the TurboGrafx 16 made its way to North America. There was a CD add-on released for the console that allowed for more new games to be played, which were different from the cartridge games that were already available. Remember, this was 1989 when the CD accessory was released, which is before Philips had their own CD-based console on the market, the Philips CD-i. And while the TurboGrafx 16 would eventually fade into the background over the years, the concept of games being rendered off a CD on a home console would become the new standard for the industry. Years later, the original PlayStation would become immensely popular with developers and consumers.

2 Sega Dreamcast

Gearing towards online

There is a lot of love for the Sega Dreamcast, especially from those who grew up playing video games in the late 90s and early 2000s. Sega's final console is known for having a great library of titles, many of which have become legendary franchises in the years that followed. But while the games on Dreamcast were beloved, other aspects of the console also stood out. To many, Dreamcast is the first console to really make going online a feature that could be viable for gaming. Being able to play games with other people over the internet was a fairly new concept for home video game consoles, even though PCs were able to do this before. Through the use of SegaNet, games like Phantasy Star Online could bring players together for cooperative experiences.

However, the online capabilities of the Sega Dreamcast weren't limited to playing games online. Having a built-in modem for the console enabled players to download new content for the games they owned, as well as surf the internet with a web browser. In that era, the public's perception of the internet was very different from what it has become, with a lot of things we do online now in their infant stages of development. No other video game console was doing this, except for the Dreamcast. Unfortunately, this would be Sega's last home console release, despite being a pioneer in features that would become the new standard in future game consoles. Without Sega being one of the first companies to have online as a feature on their console, the landscape of the gaming industry would most likely have ended up very different.

1 PlayStation 2

Becoming a multimedia system

The arrival of the PlayStation 2 was a major shift for everything in video games. Not only was it one of the biggest console releases of the new millennium, but also a piece of hardware that would be unlike anything that came before. The PlayStation 2 is arguably the first video game console to become a multimedia unit, where gaming wasn't the only main thing you could use it for. Besides being backward compatible with CD-ROM, allowing it to run original PlayStation games and PlayStation 2 games, the console also has DVD technology built into it. This enabled Sony's console to play DVD movies, effectively opening up a whole new avenue to market the console to consumers.

At that point, the PlayStation 2 wasn't just a video game device, but a multimedia device for the home. Instead of purchasing a game console and a DVD player separately, people could pick up a PlayStation 2 and be able to do both whenever they wanted. It was a very appealing aspect of the console for anyone who wanted to get the best technology for their household and save money in the process. Most people point to this feature of the PlayStation 2 as the main reason why it went on to be one of the highest-selling video game consoles of all time. Afterward, other companies would place a heavier focus on getting their own consoles to play more than just video games, which would lead to other consoles like the Xbox doing similar things. Others, like the Nintendo GameCube, would be stuck needing an extra accessory to run DVDs, as opposed to having the feature already built into the console. In the generations that followed, playing multiple types of media on a console would be a new standard for every platform.

Being ahead of the curve

As technology continues to evolve and iterate on what's come before, more advancements in how we play and interact with our game consoles will continue to occur. Although many of the big leaps in gaming have already passed, there is still progress being made for consoles that push the boundaries of what is possible. Without the consoles that managed to stay ahead of the industry in various ways towards great success, the landscape of video games would be different from what we know now. There's no telling what interesting things players will encounter as new console generations arrive. We'll just have to wait and see who is going to take the first steps towards something unique.