Whenever a new video game console is announced, the company making the hardware often states how innovative it is, and how it can do things that are simply impossible to do on outdated hardware. Considering most game consoles in the same generation have similar abilities and functions, which generation of video game consoles was the most innovative?

I think it's between the N64 & the Xbox 360/PS3. You have the N64 that really introduced 3D gaming with Mario 64. Then you have the 360/PS3 that introduced DLC, instant streaming, cloud saving, patch support, system storage upgrades, and most importantly, really paved the way for online gaming.

After seeing Dead Rising 3 preview it looks like next gen will bring a lot of innovation. Zombies hearing your own sound in your room and reacting is pretty crazy.

Also PC is getting the Oculus Rift which might head to PS4 and Xbox One.

2nd generation.

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For consoles.

I voted third generation. The NES had a lot of experimentation going on. Wireless controllers, the power pad, the power glove. And if we're going with the japanese consoles, the famicom included a microphone built in to the second controller.

And ROB is still the coolest peripheral ever.

It is?


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Enemies hearing you isn't anything new at all. Many games have used it, including practically every stealth game ever made. The original Metal Gear game on the MSX/NES had enemies that could hear you if you made too much noise.

Anyway, I voted for the PS1/N64 generation. That is when games went from 2D to full 3D.

The NES and SNES were great, but they were basically just refinements of previous generations. Super Mario Bros was a refinement of Mario Bros and Super Mario World was a refinement of Super Mario Bros.

Going from 2D to 3D was a much bigger deal than going from Atari 2600 to NES to SNES.

And as such, going from PS1 to PS2 to PS3 wasn't as big a deal as going from 2D to 3D. PS2 and PS3 really just made 3D prettier.

I don't think you get the "hearing your own sound in your room" part....

You mean they actually hear YOU and not the in-game character? How would that even work and what purpose would it even serve? Do they crawl out of the TV and attack you like Samara in The Ring?

I agree. 2D to 3D and sprites to polygons was the biggest fundamental change in console gaming

That seems more gimmicky than innovative to me.

I think you're overly simplifying the difference between the two consoles:



NES games were gorgeous and a huge step up from the Atari.

And done a decade ago. Crazy.


Same for all the heart rate hoopla:

Yes, NES was graphically much better than Atari, but it was just basically a graphical refinement.

Likewise, PS2 looks much better than PS1, but its still just a graphical refinement.

Going from 2D sprites to 3D polygons wasn't just a refinement. It was something entirely new.

Look at it this way: Atari 2600 had Mario Bros. NES had Super Mario Bros. SNES had Super Mario World. Each one looked better than the other, but they were still just refinements of the 2D sprite. When Mario 64 hit, it was something completely new. It was 3D polygons with an entirely 3D world.

I voted for 4th generation. Not for the jump to 16-bit, but for the advent of CD-ROM games.

Yeah I totally agree. Ignoring the fact that first generation technically invented console gaming, fifth generation is imo easily the most important to the future of gaming, at least until 4D roles around

I think that is true. However, on the whole, I think the last generation brought more innovation to the table with entirely new control schemes (wii, kinect), new distribution methods for games (I know that xbox had some arcade games, but it wasn't close to what we had this generation), expansion of consoles as media centers, full control over the console with standard wireless remotes, wide distribution of indie games, achievements, friends list integration with games like Pinball FX, etc.

Also don't forget in the next gen Call of Duty Ghosts -- when you are in the water you will scare fish and they will swim away from you

IT IS UNBELIEVABLE TO SEE HOLY COW

The most innovative gen also had the worst games. Devs are caught up in learning new things and neglect to make the games fun/playable. Try playing those early 3-D games now - practically unplayable.

NES imo, the number of peripheral devices alone.

5th generation for me. As mentioned above, the shift from sprites to polygons fundamentally changed everything.

Well, it's not Generation Eight. 720p --> 1080p plus more polygons and higher resolution textures. Meh.

Seeing/playing things like Mario 64 and Battle Arena Toshinden was the first and only time I've really felt like something "different" was happening. As has been said, the rest of the time it just feels like upgrades to existing ideas.

What about the innovation in DRM?

Fixed.