Has there ever been a "must have" console add on?

[Bam Neeley]

I watched a video about the Sega CD and it got me thinking, has there ever been a really succesful console add on? One that would have comparable amount of sales/games to the base console, possibly even making it difficult to get games to the console without owning one.

The closest thing I can think of is N64 memory expansion/rumble pak, but those are really small additions.

[BorneAgain]

I know in some circles the Wavebird wireless controller was considered a must have.

[Joe Neglia]

ColecoVision's Expansion Module, which allowed it to play the entirety of its competitor Atari's 2600 library.

[DiBiase is Good]

The N64 memory expansion was must-have. Without it, you couldn't play Donkey Kong 64, Majora's Mask or most of Perfect Dark.

[Brandon Walsh is Insane.]

32x. Virtual Racing baby!

[Push R Truth]

a beating stick for playing Mario Kart with your friends

[Perd]

May 15, 2017 20:21:59 GMT -5 DiBiase is Good said:

The N64 memory expansion was must-have. Without it, you couldn't play Donkey Kong 64, Majora's Mask or most of Perfect Dark.

This is what I was going to say.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

May 15, 2017 20:21:59 GMT -5 DiBiase is Good said:

The N64 memory expansion was must-have. Without it, you couldn't play Donkey Kong 64, Majora's Mask or most of Perfect Dark.

Yeah, there were tons of games taht did not work without it and a bunch that ran much better with it as well.

I remember the N64 gauntlet game could only be played like 2 player without it.

[Von Wagner's Brownies]

A glove whenever you play Mario Party 1.

[Welfare Willis]

May 15, 2017 21:15:52 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

a beating stick for playing Mario Kart with your friends

"F!*# you and your blue turtle shell!" *whack*

[xCompackx]

May 15, 2017 20:14:23 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

I know in some circles the Wavebird wireless controller was considered a must have.

The Wavebird was life-changing for me. I didn't use it to play games at the kitchen table like the ads suggested, but gaming became so much more comfortable.

On topic, I'd actually put PlayStation VR up there. I can play games without disturbing others; it's pretty damn handy.

[Dr. T is an alien]

May 15, 2017 20:15:23 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

ColecoVision's Expansion Module, which allowed it to play the entirety of its competitor Atari's 2600 library.

Not only that, it played the Atari games BETTER than the 2600 did. Games like River Raid taxed my 2600 but ran smoothly on the Colecovision.

[HisRoyalGreeness]

May 16, 2017 0:20:54 GMT -5 Welfare Willis said:

May 15, 2017 21:15:52 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

a beating stick for playing Mario Kart with your friends

"F!*# you and your blue turtle shell!" *whack*

I've spit in a man's face over that. I regret nothing.

[Fundertaker]

Well, Wii Fit sold millions so I guess the Wii Balance Board...

EDIT: But yeah, no real add-ons, just peripherals. The most successful ones were either the Sega CD or the N64 Rumble Pack, as they actually did something good and people liked them (to an extent). To a point one could argue that the CD add-on for the Turbographx could be the most important one (being the first CD console and having a boatload of kickass games) but since the Tgfx sold like a bag of rocks, it wasn't successful.

[Dr. T is an alien]

May 15, 2017 20:27:51 GMT -5 Brandon Walsh is Insane. said:

32x. Virtual Racing baby!

As much as everyone dumps on it, the Star Wars game was pretty damned fun on the 32X.

[Gerard Gerard]

Wii Motion-Plus add-on before they built it into every new Wiimote.

You couldn't play Skyward Sword without it.

That's not the worst thing in the world, frankly.

[No Longer a Produceman]

The Activator

*runs and hides*

[Juice]

Hd dvd on 360 was a selling point to a few friends of mine

[Powerline]

I'm stunned we're this far into the thread and nobody has mentioned the Gamecube's Game Boy Player. For the systems it covers (GB, GBC and GBA) and the functions it has, being able to use the GameCube/Wavebird controller is much more comfortable than holding the portable systems, no worry about battery life, not to mention making games for that system easy to stream/record, it's SO worth hunting down. Just remember to find the "player disc" that goes with it, or else it won't work. And there are some real dicks that split those two apart and sell them separately.

The Sega CD wasn't must-have, and there's some truly awful games on it. But there were a decent amount that were really good. Sonic CD would have a claim to the "Best 2D Sonic game ever" title if it wasn't so short. Dragon's Lair FINALLY got an arcade port with all the Don Bluth animation instead of...whatever the hell THAT was on the NES. And Snatcher is a one-of-a-kind piece of work, but good luck finding it without breaking the bank (not to mention, seeing as how it's more of an "interactive comic" than a game, you can get the damn-near full experience watching a playthrough on YouTube). It also had the definitive version of Earthworm Jim, as close to an arcade-perfect Final Fight as you could get, and Lunar 1 and 2. Knowing as much as I do about videogames now, and for how long I kept my Genesis until I got my next system (a Nintendo 64), I wish I would've asked for a Sega CD as a kid for my birthday/Christmas.

32X on the other hand, I'm less optimistic about. Hell, I even have one of those now, and I have no desire to get any games for it. It's just sortof a cool little "thing" to go with my Genesis.

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Super Game Boy