When did having more than one system become common?

[Rev]

One thing I always kicked myself for was selling my older consoles for newer consoles. I remember selling my sega genesis and all my games for 6 bucks at Funcoland. I was stupid....

[Shapur]

I remember it starting with the Nintendo 64 with a lot of kids in my school getting the N64 just to play Mario or Ocarina of Time but keeping the PlayStation as their primary system. Honestly though, any data on how common it is even today? I would guess there are probably still a big chunk of people who choose one system per generation and stick with it.

The last time I only had one system was 1990 when my family got the NES. After that I got the Genesis and my older brother got the SuperNES.

[jon]

I also think it was the N64 and PS1 generation. It was hard to only have an N64 because of the lack of new releases, I mean it was a joke, at times there were so few new games being released. That made it really tough, so you had to have a PS1. And also, the PS1 was released earlier and everyone had one by the time the N64 finally got released. I remember it got delayed it was going to be called the "Ultra 64", and everyone was talking about it but it took forever. That's another reason why the PS1 did so well. I mean, if they both got released in late 1995, with Mario 64 going head to head with the PS1's offerings, I think things could have been a lot different.

[Herschie]

I also think it was the N64 and PS1 generation.

I agree with this, but for different reasons. For me, it's the different kind of games that each system has. Even nowadays, I need a Wii U to play all the Nintendo-made games out there, and I need either a PS4 or Xbox One for sports games and such (MLB: The Show saw to it that I'd get the PS4). Since the '64, sports games have been a joke on Nintendo systems. But then with the NES and SNES, that wasn't the case.

[Herschie]

I was talking to a Sony rep when I was playing a Best Buy demo of MLB 15: The Show (I know, I'm basically obsessed with that game), and he said that Sony doesn't consider Nintendo to be a direct competitor like they do Microsoft. For me, there isn't nearly enough to justify having both a PS4 and Xbox One, but there's plenty to justify a PS4 and Wii U.