How many games make a console 'worth it'

[VeloZer0]

We've all seen the discussions: "Oh, I don't want to get a 'x', it doesn't have that many games I like" or "I am buying a 'x' for 'y' and 'z'".

My question to you:
How many games does it usually take to make a console 'worth it' for you?
Do you just look for a few triple A releases and then buy it? Do you need a dozen or more releases before you buy?

I personally don't own more than 12 games for any console I have ever bought. Usually if there are only 4 games I really want to play that is enough to justify buying a console. (Or if my PS2 breaks I buy a PS3 to play FFT on..... and don't actually buy a PS3 game for 4 months)

[BarelySeeAtAll]

Well, I got a psp purely for Crisis Core (not sure what other games TO even get), but it's worth it because I keep various music on it, and can use it for the internet. For me, the psp isn't that great for games, or at least I need to be introduced to some more

I think, in the future though, for my bank account's sake, I'd have to make sure I was buying a console which I'd already seen some good decent games for it. I doubt it'd matter how many, really, just the quality of the games. I hate the ones you can do easily then never want to go back to :/

[The Space Pope]

Quality over quantity. I'd rather buy a system with the intent of getting 5 games that'd I'd really enjoy than one with 20 that I thought we're kinda sorta okay.

I also factor in how easily the system in question can be emulated and the hackibility of the system itself, which is why I never bothered getting a Nintendo DS despite it having some great games and got a PSP instead...which I ended up using as an MP3 player. ;I

Well, I got a psp purely for Crisis Core (not sure what other games TO even get)

FFT: War of the Lions and Disgaea - Afternoon of Darkness if strategy RPGs are your thing. The Castlevania games are also worth it if you're into Action/Adventure.

Also, that Prinny standalone game, forget the exact title, is awesome.

[VeloZer0]

"Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?". An excellent platformer, but don't get it if you aren't up for a challenge. You die a ton (you start with 999 lives), but there is a checkpoint every minute or so and you re spawn almost instantaneousness so dying several times a checkpoint isn't as aggravating as in regular games.
Jean D'arc is also a very good and often overlooked as a strategy game. It isn't quite as good as FFT (the best game ever made) or Disgaea, but that is comparing it against a very tough field. And don't forget the tons of PS1 games.

Funny thing about the DS is that it just sits on my shelf and I play all my DS games on my computer with a proper game pad. And yet I own the most games for it of any of my current gen consoles.

And that is one battery pig of an MP3 player

[NorthernChaosGod]

I'd say it really is a mix of quality and quantity, at least for me. I'd be fine with getting a console for only a couple of games if they were really awesome games, but the poorer the quality, the higher the quantity should be.

[Bunny]

Quality over quantity. I'd rather buy a system with the intent of getting 5 games that'd I'd really enjoy than one with 20 that I thought we're kinda sorta okay.

[Rad Bromance]

One.

I only bought my PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4, originally. Had no other game worth playing on the PS3 ever came out, I wouldn't regret it.

[Rase]

Probably like five, but even then there are times where I just didn't wanna spend the money to buy a system and the games I wanted on it. Same thing goes for time - I don't have a PS3 or PSP because between life, my Wii, my DS, my PC, and my 360 I have no time left for more games. Hell, I still regularly get games months later not due to price, but due to just not being able to give them the time they need at their release. If I hypothetically had enough dispensable income to buy them I would stick with five - any less and I question the ROI I'm getting from my $300+ purchase.

[Levian]

Whichever platform gets an exclusive Silent Hill/Resident Evil/Numbered Final Fantasy. Mario and Zelda are enjoyable as well, but not games I desperately need anymore. The Wii and my PC tend to get games in the genres that I like. PS3 and Xbox gets many games I like as well, but most games released on one of those consoles are also released on the other, so no need for both.

I ended up with Wii/PS3 and it's been a winning combo for me the last years, there are hardly any games I want that I can't play.

[Meat Puppet]

If there were another console with L4D on it, I would buy it for completion. Unless it were the Wii.

[xXsarahXx]

I bought my PS3 specifically for Disgaea 3.
I regret this decision now as the Xbox has the better game selection and i barely use my ps3.

[Bolivar]

NorthernChaosGod hit it on the head w/ a mix of quality and quantity. I want to own Gears of War 1 & 2, try Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, possibly dip into Mass Effect, and play the crap out of Splinter Cell: Conviction. But my interest in those games is not beyond manageable; none of those titles challenge the boundaries of the medium we call video games. I'll probably wait until the 360 is $60 used like I did with the Gamecube and N64 to give those games a shot (provided they actually make a reliable SKU by then.)

Metal Gear Solid 4, on the other hand, was personally something I needed to play. Easily one of my favorite games ever and one of the best entertainment experiences I've ever consumed. I honestly can't wait to play it again.

Honestly, though, the PS3 wasn't worth it for the exclusives I thought I was going to get this generation. Ironically, it's the games I wasn't expecting that have totally made the console surpass my expectations. I've never really followed Sony's first party studios. But Little Big Planet, Uncharted, God of War, and Killzone are just a few examples of the insane quality and passion for gaming I never could have expected.

Honestly, you only need one "must have" game. PS3 and 360 have enough stellar multiplatform games and time-passing supplements to satisfy any gamer.

My favorite series are Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, and Grand Theft Auto. PS3 is the only place I could get all 3. So the top-tier media features and first party games were a sweet surprise, indeed.

[Masamunemaster]

I originally bought a psp a while back just for dissidia(I had the idea for years of how great it would be), and now i am 108hrs into it(boredom alot haha)....but now I have others Im glad I bought; including Castlevania: Dracula X cronicles, MGS:PW, Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite.....and if I could ever find it again the sega genisis chronicles or something along those lines. Now though its mainly used for music, it saves me from paying another 200 or so for a mp3 player.

I always wanted a 360, and a work buddy was selling his old one cheap with a few games, so of course I bought it. The same thing happened with my PS3....except it was 70 movies with it to lol

[Nominus Experse]

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Momiji]

I wouldn't even care about the Xbox 360 if it didn't have Mushihimesama Futari, ESPGaluda II, and DeathSmiles.