Best/Worst Generation of Consoles?

[Baloo]

Unrestricted shovelware isn't going to sell the system forever, Nintendo.

BETTER? LOL

Nope, because there isn't really any shovelware on the Wii, lol. How about this?

One Mario, Zelda, Metroid title every once in a while along with Super Smash Bros. isn't going to sell the system forever, Nintendo.

[Sonicwolf]

Nope, because there isn't really any shovelware on the Wii, lol. How about this?

One Mario, Zelda, Metroid title every once in a while along with Super Smash Bros. isn't going to sell the system forever, Nintendo.

Exactly. They are so slow with major releases. Its now over a year since their latest major first party killer app.

[Baloo]

Not really if you consider Punch-out a killer app to old school fans.

But at least they announced a new Zelda, Mario, and Metroid. I'm looking forward to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

[A Black Falcon]

Nintendo's winning with casual gamers, not the hardcore. Thus, the soon-upcoming Wii Sports Resort is absolutely huge...

I am a Nintendo fan though, so if I owned one of the three major consoles this gen it'd be a Wii for sure.

[erik]

Just thought I would get back on topic....

I feel that the 16-bit Era was the best with an incredible catalog of games from the Genesis and Super NES. Who could complain with games like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Sonic and Gunstar Heroes? Pure Gaming Nirvana!! The PSOne/N64 generation comes in at a close second IMO.

I would have to say that the current generation we are in is the worst. It seems to me that games have been 'dummied down' gameplay-wise to appeal to casual gamers at the expense of hardcore gamers like us. However, I do like the fact that we can download older generations of games on the Wii-VC and XBLA. Playing a blur-free, 480p N64 game on the Wii-VC is just what the doctor ordered!

[Flack]

Best: 16-bit

Worst: Current-gen

^^

Nailed it.

[Baloo]

Looks like just about everyone is in agreement that 16-bit era was the golden-age of video games.

[AB Positive]

8-bit was great, but 16-bit just has.... so many hits. It's just hard to deny... RPGs hit their stride, 2D fighters shone, some great action/adventure titles - Sports took a big leap forward. It seemed to be the generation that actually delivered on the promise of "next-gen".

Then the first real "next-gen" hype started after that and... well it started a bit of a slide. It's interesting to see if we'll have almost a bottom-out period then another breakthrough.

[j_factor]

My vote for worst goes to the generation immediately before NES. Colecovision, Atari 5200, and Vectrex. Getting into any of these systems today is a pain in the ass, and more expensive than they should be. Colecovision and 5200 both have pretty bad issues with the controllers. And the generation was too short-lived, with only the Colecovision amassing a really substantial library, and the Vectrex library being absolutely tiny. There are some great games, especially for the Coleco, but it just doesn't stand out, particularly in light of its many issues.

Best would be the 16-bit era, with 32-bit following.

[520xyz]

best last gen
worst the gen before that

:o:o:o:o

maybe

[sidnotcrazy]

Sounds like most people prefer the generation they really got into video gaming. For me that would be the 8-bit era. Even though it had some great games the Playstation 2/Gamecube/Xbox era is my least favorite.

[jcalder8]

Worst: 16 bit

Best: Current Gen
Close Second: 8-bit

[drogosan]

Best: the PS1 era. I can never forget FFVII. No game on earth has ever gripped me that much.

Worst: PS2. Talk about generic. 90% of PS2 games are either racing or FPS.

[alexkidd2000]

The master system has the most impressive 1st party lineup of all time. 90% of the games released in North America were made by Sega. Making that many games themselves its surprising how great quality they were.

[erik]

I must also comment on some comments made about the PS1-Era. Many of you are listing it as the worst era because the graphics have aged badly. Indeed they have in most games. I however, feel that it is second only to the 16-bit era in terms of greatness.
Case in point:
The PS1 is a console with so many classics it is mindblowing. There are great RPGs such as FFVII, Chrono Cross, Suikoden II and adveture games like Resident Evil 2 and Metal Gear Solid. There are also great racing games such as Wipeout XL, R4 and Gran Turismo. Then there is Castlevania:SotN, and some great 2-D SHMUPS like Einhander, R-Type Delta and G-Darius and Klonoa in "2.5-D". Crash, Tomb Raider and Tekken do kinda suck now though.
The N64 had Mario, the Zeldas, Goldeneye, Starfox, Waverace, Paper Mario and more. MK64 does kinda suck in hindsight. Just be sure to play these on the Wii-VC if you don't wish to vomit from the horribly blurry graphics. Don't say I didn't warn you....
The Saturn had a slew of unique classics like Panzer Dragoon, Guardian Heroes, Nights, Dragon Force, Panzer Saga, Bomberman and imports like Radiant Silvergun. Overall, this console generation is every bit as good as the 16-bit era. Just don't use these machines to only play mediocre 3-D games and you will remember it fondly.



And, yes I do feel that the Current Generation we are in does suck. When the biggest thing I am looking forward to is Majora's Mask being released on the Wii-VC or the Wii remake of Klonoa on the PS1, there is definitely something wrong here. What about us hardcore gamers???

[Sonicwolf]

When the biggest thing I am looking forward to is Majora's Mask being released on the Wii-VC or the Wii remake of Klonoa on the PS1, there is definitely something wrong here. What about us hardcore gamers???

Majoras Mask IS on the Virtual Console now. Has been for a couple months

[erik]

Yes, I know. I was just pointing out that I only had those two upcoming releases to be excited about at that time.

[c0ldb33r]

Worst: 16 bit
What? really? why?

SNES vs. Genesis was the absolute best.

Now you're playing with power.
Sega does what Nintendon't.
Awesome.

Throw in the Turbografx 16 for good measure and it was fucking epic.

[Volcanon]

As everybody else, it seems,

best 16 bit
worst 32 bit.

The Playstation1 generation games haven't aged well, and load times are HUGELY annoying.

[Retsudo]

It's hard for me to pick a best...but I'll say 16 bit
As for worst, This Gen.

[j_factor]

Can someone give me specific examples of 32-bit games that "haven't aged well"? I own a large number of Playstation and Saturn games and I just don't see it.

[c0ldb33r]

Can someone give me specific examples of 32-bit games that "haven't aged well"? I own a large number of Playstation and Saturn games and I just don't see it.
Battle Arena Toshinden

As for the worst gen, I'd pick the current one. Nothing is particularly interesting, and all the consoles have unreliable hardware. Xbox 360s RROD, my Wii gets very hot when in standby mode, and the PS3... we'll I don't own one, but I'm sure it's got issues too.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Best will always be 16-bit for me. Genny, TG-16 and SNES will always have a place in my home.

Worst would be this cycle. First time I've been satisfied with only one of the available home consoles. Then again, it might also be because the DS (mostly) and PSP help fill the gaps of the missing 2nd console. That and there is no clear 2nd choice to be made.

[Baloo]

Can someone give me specific examples of 32-bit games that "haven't aged well"? I own a large number of Playstation and Saturn games and I just don't see it.

What about games like:

Tekken
Mario Kart 64
Sonic the Fighters
Mortal Kombat 4
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro the Dragon

Those early 3D games didn't really translate all that well, and some franchises suffered for it. Have you played Mario Kart 64 recently? The game has aged so badly when compared to the rest of the Mario Kart games (except for Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which also aged horribly) that it's borderline unplayable.

[jcalder8]

What? really? why?

SNES vs. Genesis was the absolute best.

Now you're playing with power.
Sega does what Nintendon't.
Awesome.

Throw in the Turbografx 16 for good measure and it was fucking epic.
I can see why people love the 16 bit era but it has never done anything for me.

For me though there just aren't many games that I want to play. I have tried to get into it but I just can't.

[Baloo]

I can see why people love the 16 bit era but it has never done anything for me.

For me though there just aren't many games that I want to play. I have tried to get into it but I just can't.

That's interesting, because the 16-bit era probably has the MOST diverse library of games between the Genesis, Sega CD, 32x, SNES, and Turbographx-16.

[AB Positive]

I'd still like to say my argument for 32-bit generation being the worst is because of it's included bretheren.

For every Playstation there was a CD-i
For every Saturn was an Atari Jaguar


It's not just the best systems of that generation - it's the *whole* generation. In a math sense it's like it averages out to a lower score - greatly hindered by that damn CD-i :D

Now just to add a fun side argument -> where do we place the TG-16 generation wise? 8 or 16-bit

*dons asbestos suit*

[Black_Tiger]

16 < 8 < 32 < PS2/DC/Wii/etc < 360/PS3

I'm not going to try to rank the pre 8-bit era, it's not part of the same flowing evolution and it spans 10+ years and a huge variety of hardware from the Odyssey to the SG-1000.



That's interesting, because the 16-bit era probably has the MOST diverse library of games between the Genesis, Sega CD, 32x, SNES, and Turbographx-16.

Yeah but how many waggle or instrument games are there? ;)




Now just to add a fun side argument -> where do we place the TG-16 generation wise? 8 or 16-bit

8-bit obviously. Just look at the games, they have 8-bit quality aesthetics, gameplay and design.

[Baloo]

16 < 8 < 32 < PS2/DC/Wii/etc < 360/PS3

I'm not going to try to rank the pre 8-bit era, it's not part of the same flowing evolution and it spans 10+ years and a huge variety of hardware from the Odyssey to the SG-1000.




Yeah but how many waggle or instrument games are there? ;)


There's always the Miracle Piano and Outback Joey.

[c0ldb33r]

Now just to add a fun side argument -> where do we place the TG-16 generation wise? 8 or 16-bit
Oh God dude. Don't start this!

Anyway, we all know it's 16 bit.

[theknod]

What about games like:

Tekken
Mario Kart 64
Sonic the Fighters
Mortal Kombat 4
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro the Dragon

Those early 3D games didn't really translate all that well, and some franchises suffered for it. Have you played Mario Kart 64 recently? The game has aged so badly when compared to the rest of the Mario Kart games (except for Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which also aged horribly) that it's borderline unplayable.

mk64 aged about as badly as super mario kart
sure the newer versions are great
but both are very well balanced
and still playable

[Baloo]

mk64 aged about as badly as super mario kart
sure the newer versions are great
but both are very well balanced
and still playable

I've never played Super Mario Kart, so I wouldn't know how it is in comparison, but when I go back to Mario Kart 64 after playing Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart Wii for so long, it can't light a candle to the superiority of the later versions in terms of control, replay value, amount of tracks, quality of tracks, and did I mention control?

[j_factor]

Battle Arena Toshinden

That game was absolute garbage. It hasn't aged poorly, it's just a piece of crap.


What about games like:

Tekken
Mario Kart 64
Sonic the Fighters
Mortal Kombat 4
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro the Dragon

Those early 3D games didn't really translate all that well, and some franchises suffered for it. Have you played Mario Kart 64 recently? The game has aged so badly when compared to the rest of the Mario Kart games (except for Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which also aged horribly) that it's borderline unplayable.

I thought Mario Kart 64 sucked to begin with. I never understood why that game was so popular. It controls poorly, most of the tracks are dull, and it's very cheap.

Same goes for most of the games on your list, actually. Tekken was Virtua Fighter's weak cousin. I did like Sonic the Fighters (what a weird mention, it was never popular), but I realized it wasn't really a great game, it's just shallow fun. I never played MK 4, but I thought MK Trilogy was the last one anyone cared about. The first Crash Bandicoot was rather poor and only popular due to marketing (although I did like the third one). I rented Spyro when it first came out and I found it slow and boring.

[ButtonMasher123]

I actually think the original Crash Bandicoot has aged well compared to other PS1 games like Tomb Raider and Twisted Metal. In general the games that were going for a more realistic look back then don't look so good now while the more colorful cartooney type games have survived. This is part of the reason why 16-bit games have aged much better than the early PS1 games also.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

Looking at it 12 years later:

Best generation: As far as the overall game experiences, the 7th generation (what Wiki calls the 6th): PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Dreamcast era. There was such a wide variety of games available in this era because the midsize, "indie" developers still had more of a chance in the market. Nowadays it seems that due to the colossal budgets required for a triple-A game, the same few genres are done to death by a handful of developers. This was also the last generation where online wasn't an integral part of most games. It was the pinnacle of the "buy a game at the store and fire it up" mentality; all you needed was the console, a controller, the game, and maybe a memory card.

Worst generation: The last one, the 9th (Wiki 8th). What did we add with this generation? By this time, you'd often buy a game, you'd need a 10, 20, even 50 gigabyte download. Your console also has to be connected to the internet. So, you buy a game, you get it home, you have to wait half an hour or more to play it. And it's probably some game that's the same genre as 467 others that came out that same year. After constant progress from the 1970s through the 2000s, the 2010s has seen a backslide. No, I don't want a 37 gigabyte patch. No, I don't want to have to play online. The one good thing is that consoles have hard drives now, but that was in the previous generation as well. This generation added nothing meaningful, unlike every generation before it.

I know the 6th generation (Wiki 5th) gets a lot of flack, but it introduced a lot of features that improved the gaming experience. 3D, for one. I know the early 3D often looked ugly, but it progressed quickly; most of the later 6th gen (1998 and later) games looked significantly better than the early (1995 to 1997) ones. (And I'm talking about the true 6th gen consoles, PS1, N64, and Saturn) There are certain game genres that hugely benefited from 3D. I know many will disagree with me but 3D is almost a requirement for RPGs, and I enjoy the 3D platformers more than 2D ones. Also, analog sticks, CD storage (which facilitated longer and more complex games), much more widespread game save features, and a myriad of other things. It was a quantum leap in just a few years.