Given the emotional and nostalgical value in a lot of people's childhoods, I'd definitely say it's the definitive retro console, because it provided so many people with so many nice memories.
For example, I remember being about 2 years old and playing on an NES clone called Rambo (you could only find those in my youth around here). I kept making my mom mad because I'd make her play through the second level of Super Mario Bros. (the dark one; 1-2), as I obviously lacked the skill to pass that level at that age. I also remember playing Duck Hunt with a cheap plastic rifle (not a zapper, this one was a black, long rifle) that was pretty poorly calibrated.
The console broke eventually, and seeing how brokenhearted I was, my parents bought me an IBM PC, marking the start of my PC gaming passion.