mndtrp

My favorite generation, actually. I've played more games, and a larger variety of games, than ever before. Big hits, independent small games, long lasting sequels, completely new ideas, it's all available without me even having to leave the house. I don't play online with anyone, but if I did, I don't see how this generation could have any negatives. Well, maybe that no one sees another person, but that can be a bonus, too.

Barth

It's almost my favorite generation...a close one anyway. I'm 40 and I can still remember unboxing my 8 bit nintendo on christmas morning and playing Excitebike, Kung Fu, and Super Mario bros. It was such a rush that I think I have to say that was the best for me. When I think about the day I beat Mike Tyson on punch-out or won the super bowl on Tecmo bowl, it still gives me chills.
However, I'm still a hardcore gamer and I have to say this generation kept me going. The AAA releases make me realize how good we got it. Games today are like blockbuster movies and I still get giddy over midnight releases. It's a close second.

RichC2

I think it's an improvement over last gen. The influx of indie games especially, despite my general lack of interest in gaming these days.

terrycloth

My personal favorite generation was the ps2/Xbox/GCN/Dreamcast as it was at the time when I had enough time with no responsibility. to buy all the games I wanted and was able to finish them. My parents always felt vg were a waste of money so my nes/snes/genesis/atari time I spent playing the same 1 or 2 games I was able to score by suckering my sister to buy me.

Ps2 opened me up to so many different genres and franchises...can u believe there was more out there then mortal kombat and Mario!

this generation I have enjoyed I just havent had the time to devote to games as I did in the past. The only thing I am not a fan of is dlc. I don't mind most stuff, but the few examples I remember annoyed me like Mortal Kombat making you pay to unlock items already on the game. which went from a first day purchase to a "komplete" edition hitting under 20$ purchase.

wlj

this is an interesting question, after thinking about it a little bit, I think that the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation is my least favorite. The only very memorable experience I had during that time was Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox.

I am very happy with the current generation.


The NES generation is probably my favorite. It was during the heart of my childhood and it was such a HUGE leap from Atari gaming.

RichC2

You forgot the best JRPG of this gen (technically it could be grouped into last gen but it's from the last few years and just released in the states):

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N7Xc6in86rs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think The Last Story is fairly recent in the US as well

Supermallet

Mod Note: atrium, your conduct in this thread is veering dangerously close to moderator intervention, so I'm going to give you a warning now in the hopes of avoiding it. You started this thread to discuss the merits of this gaming generation. Not everyone is going to agree with you. Michael Corvin's response was an honest response to your original question. There is no need to pounce on him or others who hold a different view. That is how discussion works. If you do not wish for people to comment on your rudeness, then do not be rude.

Supermallet

My favorite gaming generation remains the SNES/Genesis generation. That was the pinnacle of sprite-based gaming, and I still play SNES games on the TV in my bedroom. Those games were also often absurdly difficult. Gaming posed a challenge back then.

The PS1 generation is my least favorite, and when I basically stopped playing video games altogether for a while. Processing power just wasn't there to make the 3D look good enough. Of course the PS1 and the N64 both had good games, but going from grandly artistic 16-bit 2D games to ugly 3D games that often had poor controls was a huge step down in my mind.

I'd say this generation is the pinnacle of what the companies tried to do since the PS1 days. Disc-based, 3D, realistic looking titles. As others have mentioned, there have been plenty of great games, and really cool, interesting new trends and use of tech. There have also been plenty of bad games, nickel and diming, absurd limited editions, and so on. However, for the most part, I think this generation has been very good.

The one thing I do wonder is if this will be the last generation for a while with really huge, hyper-realistic games. They cost so much to make, and with companies wanting to move people towards downloads instead of discs, and competition from mobile games, we may see a host of smaller, simpler games.

brayzie

For me, my favorite era of video games depends a lot on the console. I grew up with the NES so of course that was my favorite era of gaming. Nintendo seemed like the only way to play video games at home at the time and the library was incredible back then. Even the first gen games like Kid Icarus and Super Mario Bros were amazing.

My 2nd favorite era would be the Dreamcast/PS2 era. When I first bought my Dreamcast it was almost the equivalent of getting an NES for the first time. The controller alone was impressive from a design and functionality standpoint. It was a truly memorable experience to play Resident Evil: Code Veronica and more so, Shenmue. The PS2 was a good replacement because of Onimusha, and Konami and Capcom's games.

I'm not too enthusiastic about the PS3 and 360. The designs of the systems don't look that much different from the previous gen. And none of the games seem to be as big a leap as Super Mario was from Atari and Shenmue was from the Playstation.

It seems like more people these days have multiple systems to play all the good games unlike before where it was either loyalty or cash that kept you with one console.

My least favorite era was the 32/64 bit era. I was never a big fan of early jagged polygon games, and the N64 was a huge letdown.

wlj

i don't like it when people bring up the Dreamcast. It makes me all teary eyed. I loved that console. It had such a short life. Picking it up on launch day was so memorable for me. Such great games were on that system -- Shenmue, Soul Calibur, House of the Dead 2, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Quake 3, Phantasy Star Online -- i had some good times with that console

starseed1981

I could not agree more! I'm often tempted to get a complete Dreamcast collection. Great wlj, now I'm getting teary eyed.

RichC2

Yeah the Dreamcast was pretty great. I remember being really impressed with what a big leap forward it was over the PSX/N64. Oddly I think if it would have come out around the same time as the Xbox/PS2 it may have done better, I remember the constant excuse of "I'm waiting on the playstation 2" but by the time the PS2 came out it was old news.

Even though most of the games I loved from the system have since moved on to other consoles, I generally just liked the game collection, even some of the bad games. I had the Asian Dreamcast that could play all regions.

Played the hell out of Ikaruga, House of the Dead 2, Typing of the Dead, Jet Grind Radio, Sakura Taisen: Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2, MDK2, Maken X, Ready 2 Rumble, Red Dog, Silver, Resident Evil: CV, Skies of Arcadia, Seaman, Space Channel, Tony Hawk 2, Shenmue, etc;

Seemed like there were a lot more original titles.

Maxflier

How could the generation that gave us wireless controllers be anyone's least favorite?

PS: Dreamcast

wlj

I remember being so amazed when I went to a Dreamcast kiosk at Babbages about a month before the system came out and they had a demo of Ready to Rumble. That was amazing to see. goddamit i am teary eyed again

fumanstan

This has been my favorite generation since the SNES. Although the lines for me are blurred, since PC gaming isn't as defined by generation as consoles are so I'm not sure where my love of old school adventure gaming fits.

DthRdrX

SNES/Genesis

Simply because we finally got "comparable" graphics to the popular Arcade games. It also fixed the frustrations of trying to get NES games to start or stay on. I was a teen during these years too ....