The Best Gaming Hardware of All Time is revealed as the PC at the Golden Joystick Awards

The PC has been crowned Best Gaming Hardware of All Time at this year's Golden Joystick Awards 2021.

To celebrate 50 years of gaming, the Golden Joystick Awards introduced two special new categories for this year's awards: Ultimate Game of All Time and Best Gaming Hardware of All Time. After a closely fought vote, we're delighted to reveal that the PC is your choice for hardware. 

As you can see from the list below, there was a real tussle for the title, with beloved consoles such as the PS2, SNES, Dreamcast, and Wii all vying for the crown. However, there could only be one winner, and in this case, it was the mighty PC.

You can see the full nominees below:

  • PC (Winner)
  • PlayStation 2
  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox 360
  • Wii
  • Dreamcast
  • Nintendo 64
  • Nintendo DS
  • Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
  • GameCube
  • Genesis / Mega Drive
  • Game Boy
  • Game Boy Advance
  • Amiga 500
  • Saturn
  • ZX Spectrum
  • Commodore 64
  • Atari 2600

As you can see from that voting order, Sony shouldn't feel too miffed, as 3 of their consoles all make the top 5, while Nintendo's SNES represented a big win for the retro vote. However, there's an undoubtedly strong case to be made for the PC, which has always been at the forefront of gaming. 

Of course, this award isn't the only way we've celebrated this year's 50th anniversary of gaming. We've taken a look back at gaming throughout the years in a special documentary featuring John Romero, Trip Hawkins, David Breban, and more; while the Golden Joystick Awards also kicked off with a 10-minute musical medley that highlighted the soundtrack of our gaming lives.  

For more on this year's show, visit Golden Joystick Awards 2021 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Ben Tyrer
Contributor

Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as GamesRadar+ (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.

Read more
Lenovo Legion Go S, Razer Blade 16, Nvidia RTX 50-Series, Hyperkin Competitor, and Shure microphone on a yellow background
GamesRadar's Best of CES: our 9 favorite announcements of 2025's show
Acer Predator Orion X review of the PC next to another ITX chassis
The best gaming PC 2025: Take the pre-built route to greatness
Ayaneo AM01 mini PC on woodgrain table sitting next to Xbox controller
This adorable mini PC looks like a tiny Mac, and it has completely changed the way I play games in the living room
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
The 25 best PC games to play in 2025
Evercade Alpha closeup with Ryu from Street Fighter on screen
Best retro game consoles 2025: my favorite ways to play classic capers
A screenshot of protagonist Lucia from GTA 6
What to expect from PC gaming in 2025: more breakout hits and a GTA 6-shaped elephant in the room
Latest in Adventure
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will allegedly introduce 27 new Mega Evolutions, leakers claim, and we can only hope Flygon gets its chance this time
Minecraft Vibrant Visuals
16 years after Minecraft first released it's getting a modern visual upgrade with a retro lighting trick that Mojang hasn't seen "in any other game"
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Putting cigarettes in fish mouths in Thank Goodness You're Here
Thank Goodness You're Here's developer says it was trying to design a game normally before realizing "we're s**t at video game design"
Pokemon TCG Pocket Shiny Cards
How to get Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's director appears to be a Xenoblade Chronicles fan, and I'm now feeling very validated about a tiny detail I spotted in the upcoming RPG's gameplay trailer
Latest in News
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 is Steam's latest viral hit – an open-world drug dealing simulator with 98% positive reviews, co-op, and a free sample to get you started