Best era for video game systems

[Psycho Fox]

What is the best era for video game systems?

Late 70's: The very early years, the Atari 2600 dominates the market.

Early 80's: The C64 and Atari800 makes this a good era for computer gaming while new gaming systems like the Atari 5200 and Colecovision failed to attract many buyers before the video game crash.

Late 80's: Nintendo Entertainment System revives the gaming system industry yet Nintendo through questionable practices crushes Sega's system.

Early 90's: Sega and Nintendo fight to a draw while Neo-Geo prices it-self out of the general market on purpose.

Mid 90's: Alot of new system CD32, CD-I, Jaguar, 3DO, 32X, Sega CD none of them have much of a life span.

Late 90's: Playstation dominates followed by the brief bang of the Sega Dreamcast at the tail end of the 90's that fizzles out shortly after the release of the PS2.

Now: Well the present.

[guerillacropoli]

I'd say early to mid 90s. The SNES was making the best platform games in history (most notably, SMB4) some of the best RPG's (Chrono Trigger, FFII-III[IV, VI]), and videogames were not yet being blamed for school shootings.

Also, there was finally some competition from the Sega Genesis, who also supported an amazing platformer (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and RPG (Phantasy Star IV). Gamegear and Gameboy sustained portable gaming, and arcades were still incredibly popular, thanks in part to the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter series.

[Humble]

For me it would have to be the early 90's. Only a few newer games can make me experience the same level of telepresence I got from playing older games like Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I still haven't stopped playing that thing. :p
-Humble

[Captain Harlock]

As much as I love the SNES / Genesis era, I was like 8 at the time and couldn't appreciate it now as much as I do retroactively. The best ERA for me was the late 90's with the first Playstation. Ps1 always had a wide array of games that I'd love to play and never get bored. However, this current generation seems to suffer from a lack of good games. That's not to say they don't exist, just the time spent waiting from game to game has become longer.

[sdp]

The SNES was the pinnacle of 2d gaming so i chose early 90s, 3Dis good but after all is said and done it looses something that 2d gaming has.

[Zach]

I chose late 80's, but early 90's is great, too.

[Juu-kuchi]

early 90's and right now.

[Kevin the Geek]

I voted early 90's since a lot of good games came out for the SNES and Genesis back then.

[Invader_Spooch]

Late 90s. I still stand by the fact that the Playstation One has the best variety of really creative games of all genres, plus was the home for a bunch of new ones. Video games really changed from a medium that only Japan seemed to truely take seriously (for all ages) and became a true arena for ART. While the new generations of systems may be better from a visual standpoint, most modern games don't really hold my attention the way a slew of PSone games did (with the exception of a few games like MGS, Silent Hill, Ico etc.)

I own about 40 some odd PSone games, which about as much as my collection of current gen games combined.

[Saiko]

I voted early 90's since a lot of good games came out for the SNES and Genesis back then.
Defenitly the early 90's. I still love nintendo to this day. I don't have one anymore but I still own a SNES and yeah I play it with pride. I'm surprised it still works. I'm just a huge Mario fan too, so. But the only thing sega really did for me was the sonic the hedgehog and only the originals. I don't care for these new ones they've come out with.

[Simpler Simon]

Late 90s. I still stand by the fact that the Playstation One has the best variety of really creative games of all genres, plus was the home for a bunch of new ones. Video games really changed from a medium that only Japan seemed to truely take seriously (for all ages) and became a true arena for ART. While the new generations of systems may be better from a visual standpoint, most modern games don't really hold my attention the way a slew of PSone games did (with the exception of a few games like MGS, Silent Hill, Ico etc.)
Agreed, except replace Playstation One with Nintendo 64, which didn't have the crutch of extra storage space and thus took really creative approaches to programming and getting epic titles to shine. What I love about the late 90's is how you still had to use your imagination and suspension of disbelief to get sucked into titles, whereas current-gen titles are so glossy and pre-packaged that you're basically spoon-fed the experience.

The early 90's was great too, I'd probably appreciate it more if games hadn't been so expensive back then, and I could've built up my library.

[Invader_Spooch]

Agreed, except replace Playstation One with Nintendo 64, which didn't have the crutch of extra storage space and thus took really creative approaches to programming and getting epic titles to shine. My problem with that statement is that I can count the number of memorable/innovative titles on one hand.

Super Smash Bros.,LoZ, Mario 64, Golden Eye 007, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart..... Killer Instinct maybe? What else, I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

I can list at LEAST 20-30 influential and just plain awesome games for PSX, but the N64 dealt with the same problems the GC does now (to a lesser degree) which is awful 3rd party support.

[Mynd Hed]

Give me the mid-90's any day. The 16-bit era was in full flower, and the Super Nintendo was receiving some of its crowning late-generation jewels. Sure, there were a lot of false starts to the 32/64 bit generation happening all the time that had a tendency to tank horribly, but if you had the good sense to ignore them, it was a golden age of 2D gaming.

[Tak Mazé]

Early to mid-nineties :) What with all the classic RPG's, Mario All-Stars, SonicCD and countless other top-notch titles you just wouldn't find in a market where graphics are what matter.

[Psycho Fox]

Agreed, except replace Playstation One with Nintendo 64, which didn't have the crutch of extra storage space and thus took really creative approaches to programming and getting epic titles to shine. What I love about the late 90's is how you still had to use your imagination and suspension of disbelief to get sucked into titles, whereas current-gen titles are so glossy and pre-packaged that you're basically spoon-fed the experience.

The early 90's was great too, I'd probably appreciate it more if games hadn't been so expensive back then, and I could've built up my library.Carts is a reason behind games being expensive back then. Sega, NEC and Neo-Geo were right to invest in CD techonology back in the early 90's as back then your were talking about 500 megs of storage for far less then the cost of a 512k cart.


Give me the mid-90's any day. The 16-bit era was in full flower, and the Super Nintendo was receiving some of its crowning late-generation jewels. Sure, there were a lot of false starts to the 32/64 bit generation happening all the time that had a tendency to tank horribly, but if you had the good sense to ignore them, it was a golden age of 2D gaming.

It is also the era of FMV games with horrible acting and worse gameplay, Lieberman's attack on videogames, the death of Atari and the death of computer gaming systems like the Falcon and Amiga.

[Jade_GL]

Early 90s. I would say that I had the most fun with games during that time period. I loved the NES, which I was still using in the earliest part of that decade, and then the SNES came, and that literally blew my young mind.

I still don't think we've surpassed games like the early Final Fantasy games, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, even the sheer fun and kitsch of Zombies Ate my Neighbors.

I mean, I certainly love my PS2 and my GBA, but the SNES was always on at my house. Man, I loved that console.

[Bubblegum Girl]

I have to say early & mid 90s cause that's when SNES and Sega regin surpreme. :D

[Punisher]

I'm going to have to say mid-90s like everyone else. I had the Genesis, and the brand new Saturn had just come out. Those were the days, beating any of the Sonic the Hedgehog games and then going on to NiGHTS...

[Artimus Gigan]

Now

You can buy the compilations of the majority of great games of ages past for a mere fraction of what one of them costed alone. You also have excelent high quality games that come out more than one per month rather than once in a blue moon like the 8-16 bit era(this month for example on the consoles we had Fire Emblem, Shadow of Colossis, and Soul Calibur 3).

[Kurtman]

Early-Mid 90's. I'm a Sega Genesis freak. Phantasy Star 4 and Sonic 2 were the very first video games i've ever played. Then I got hooked on more Sega games on the Sega Channel. Especially Streets Of Rage 2,Awesome Possum and Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

[Lazyboi13]

Now. Theres a lot more oringatilty and playabilty. Allthough the early/mid 90s had a lot of great 2D platformers. Next I'd say late 90s, allthough tbh I find that alot of the earlly 3D games abit ******. Not to mention painful on the eyes :shrug:. Still some classics from then though, like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Time Crisis. Then the late 70s and earlly 80s. Allthough not very substanial Pacman and Space Invaders are still great fun. Then the late 80s... not really a great era for gaming imo. I think really the limitations were to bad.

[Psycho Fox]

Now

You can buy the compilations of the majority of great games of ages past for a mere fraction of what one of them costed alone. You also have excelent high quality games that come out more than one per month rather than once in a blue moon like the 8-16 bit era(this month for example on the consoles we had Fire Emblem, Shadow of Colossis, and Soul Calibur 3).
You have a point and you can also pick up the old systems and games cheaper except for the rare titles that cost more.