Mid-to-Mid.

[Aswald]

Decade, that is.

The question "which was your favorite decade for (fill in the blank)" has been asked before, of course. Including video gaming.

But what if someone asked you what time period you would choose from the mid-point of one decade to the mid-point of the next?

XXX5 through YYY4.


In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.

[Jibbajaba]

Definitely 85-94. That takes me from third grade to my junior year of high school. Lots of good memories there. Lots of bad ones too but whatever.

Chris

[Aswald]

Oops...

I meant for video gaming. Arcades, home scene, that sort of thing. You'd be limited to the time period you choose.


My choice was because there were a number of games from the late 1970s that I liked, too. And almost all of my favorites were from 1980-1984.

An obvious cheat would be to simply end up in the present, due to emulation- but you can't do that here.

[Synergy]

'85 thru '94 for me as well. Ah, the good old days of seeing NES games in stores for $60.

[Jibbajaba]

Oops...

I meant for video gaming. Arcades, home scene, that sort of thing. You'd be limited to the time period you choose.


My choice was because there were a number of games from the late 1970s that I liked, too. And almost all of my favorites were from 1980-1984.

An obvious cheat would be to simply end up in the present, due to emulation- but you can't do that here.

I know what you meant. In that span of time, I got my NES, GB, and Genesis, and got into computer gaming as well. As far as I am concerned, then best games ever made came out in that 10 year span.

Chris

[jajaja]

I agree. 1985 to 1994 was the best time span for gaming, atleast for me :) NES all the way. I also started playing some PC in 90/91. Played it at friends house. We got our first computer in 94 i think. Still got it ;)

[McBacon]

I don't think mines happened yet, but I am looking foward to this next generation, everything looks so amazing and the Wii is so different. I think Xbox 360 + Wii and PSP + DS is a killer combo, and could be the best gaming I've ever had (I'm young, so I grew up with the SNES, but I never owned one so only got to play Super Mario Kart, until now :P)

[Synergy]

In that span of time, I got my NES, GB, and Genesis, and got into computer gaming as well. As far as I am concerned, then best games ever made came out in that 10 year span.

Swap GB for SNES, then it's the exact same for me. I remember my first PC with Windows 3.1 and the shareware version of DOOM on CD-ROM. About a year before that, I played Sid Meier's Pirates! on 5.25 floppies on my brother's PC. That was the *very* first PC game I ever played.

Fast forward to the release of The Ultimate DOOM. I received it for my birthday and played the hell (no pun intended) out of it. If that wasn't enough to solidify my love for PC games, I had friends in my neighborhood with The Need For Speed, Rise Of The Triad, and One Must Fall 2097 too.

Good times. 8-)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.
On this we're in complete agreement - I know there's a lot to be said for the late 8 and 16 bit eras, but there was nothing like the sheer rush of innovation that took place from the mid 70s to mid 80s. If you were there to witness it, it was one hell of a ride.

[Hammy]

87-96

[Pantechnicon]

In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.
On this we're in complete agreement - I know there's a lot to be said for the late 8 and 16 bit eras, but there was nothing like the sheer rush of innovation that took place from the mid 70s to mid 80s. If you were there to witness it, it was one hell of a ride.

Thirded: Although my more narrow range of personal fond recognition would run from about 1978 to 1984.

[ROBOTNIK666]

1985-1994 was definitely the Golden Age of video games.
Just look at all the great franchises that were established during this time period:

Super Mario Bros.
Double Dragon
Sonic the Hedgehog
Gauntlet
Mega Man
Final Fantasy
Castlevania
Ninja Gaiden
Metroid
R-Type
The Legend of Zelda
Gradius
Bomberman
Mario Kart
Contra
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Tetris

[cyberfluxor]

1985-1994 was definitely the Golden Age of video games.
Just look at all the great franchises that were established during this time period:
...

The list you have is no where near the length of 75-85. There were just so many things ranging from home gaming to the arcades and all around. There were floods of choices of what to buy and play. It's considered the golden era of gaming for gods sakes!

Now, since I wasn't born til '84 I wasn't able to experience first person what went on before then but will say it was the decade that's my favorite. As for memories and growing up I'm more atoned to the 8-32bit games of '85-95, tis why I collect the most of those.

BTW: My mom won't play games NES and newer & the old Atari units and Pong machines are the only games my grandparents ever played. They don't touch these new "gadgets". LOL

[nebrazca78]

In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.
On this we're in complete agreement - I know there's a lot to be said for the late 8 and 16 bit eras, but there was nothing like the sheer rush of innovation that took place from the mid 70s to mid 80s. If you were there to witness it, it was one hell of a ride.

There was a lot of innovation in those days but the games are too simplistic. I remember being disappointed with Atari 2600, the first console I ever played, when I was younger. The first time I played SMB it was "this is what video games are all about". My brother and I actually *broke in* (the door was unlocked) to a friends house to play SMB when he wasn't home. A couple short years later I found Sega and everything was great until the Saturn died...

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

There was a lot of innovation in those days but the games are too simplistic.
Not gonna try to change your mind there, but I'm noticing that those who are backing Aswald's vote of early-70s-to-early-80s seem to belong to a certain age group. I think this one can be chalked up to "you had to be there" for the whole range of years he's talking about.

[Aussie2B]

I'd say it it's more a case of "you had to be young" than "you had to be there". "You had to be there" implies that if everyone was alive and gaming between 1975-1984 that that would be their choice for favorite era with no exceptions, and in the end, that's just a way for older gamers to snub their noses at younger gamers who grew up with the NES or some later system and prefer its games as if that preference is purely based on ignorance (an ignorance that can't even be overcome with going back and playing pre-crash games and systems because... "you had to be there").

It's really comes down to age. Those who were children or teenagers between 1975 and 1984 are more likely to look at that as the "golden age", while those who were children or teenagers during the 8-bit or 16-bit years are more likely to view that era as the "golden age". If you look at most who were adults (18+, for simplicity's sake) between 1975 and 1984, chances are they lost interest in gaming, despite how much fun they may have had at the time. Children are very impressionable, so gaming is likely going to make the biggest impact on a person before they hit 18. It also sets the grounds for feeling of nostalgia in later years, so its all just logical.

So when a gamer who grew up on Atari looks at later games from the 8 and 16-bit eras with less interest and a younger gamer who grew up on NES looks at pre-crash games with less interest, it's the exact same thing; it's not a matter of one era's games being inherently better than the other.

Incidentally, I prefer 1985-1996 and I was born in '82, so there you go. A classic example.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I wasn't trying to be ignorant, arrogant, or anything else ending in -ogant. But this:

I'd say it it's more a case of "you had to be young" than "you had to be there".
...probably explains what I was trying to say better than I managed myself. :)

[nebrazca78]

I'd say it it's more a case of "you had to be young" than "you had to be there". "You had to be there" implies that if everyone was alive and gaming between 1975-1984 that that would be their choice for favorite era with no exceptions, and in the end, that's just a way for older gamers to snub their noses at younger gamers who grew up with the NES or some later system and prefer its games as if that preference is purely based on ignorance (an ignorance that can't even be overcome with going back and playing pre-crash games and systems because... "you had to be there").

It's really comes down to age. Those who were children or teenagers between 1975 and 1984 are more likely to look at that as the "golden age", while those who were children or teenagers during the 8-bit or 16-bit years are more likely to view that era as the "golden age". If you look at most who were adults (18+, for simplicity's sake) between 1975 and 1984, chances are they lost interest in gaming, despite how much fun they may have had at the time. Children are very impressionable, so gaming is likely going to make the biggest impact on a person before they hit 18. It also sets the grounds for feeling of nostalgia in later years, so its all just logical.

So when a gamer who grew up on Atari looks at later games from the 8 and 16-bit eras with less interest and a younger gamer who grew up on NES looks at pre-crash games with less interest, it's the exact same thing; it's not a matter of one era's games being inherently better than the other.

Incidentally, I prefer 1985-1996 and I was born in '82, so there you go. A classic example.

That was so insightful it just might kill this thread.

[Nesmaster]

1991 - 2000, why? because I started gaming in 91 and never looked back since :P.

EDIT: or, since the question is which mid to mid, 95 - 2004. ps1, n64, ps2, dreamcast, ds, gamecube, among others ;)

[dreamcaster]

1995-1999

I found this to be an era of massive change and where many tried and succeeded, and many more tried and failed.

In 1995 you're already starting to see the failures that are CD-i, Jaguar, CD32 and 3DO, Mega CD and 32X are starting to be shown up as the useless piles of junk they are, the Saturn and PSX are just making their mark (and it seems that they may be on the right track) and the N64 is being mega-hyped as the ultimate gaming system.

Add to that the solid and well bred SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy and Game Gear, and you have more choice than other gaming era, and so many things going right and wrong. It was the truest example of games winning over fancy technologies.

3D gaming was also starting to become a solid reality and was looking like it was here to stay. For those of us (such as myself) who were impressed and fascinated by 3D, were in for a fun ride - no matter how dodgy it may have been in SO many aspects.

In this era so many of my favourite games came to be. 1999 rounds on with the western release of the Dreamcast, the first step in a new generation.

I just find this sub-era so exciting and so much more varied and action packed than any other.

EDIT: For reference, I was born in 1985 and started gaming in 1989 on a 286PC.

[dreamcaster]

sorry double post

[Aswald]

Much of it had to do with the fact that it was all new, and any innovation was something.

In the beginning, there were the simple Pong-style games. ANY variation was something, even the one with the 3 bouncing "paddles" for each side. At "Zip's," there was a crude chase game called "Escape." But man, did we flock to it!

Then came the color games, and games like Space War...

You have to remember that it was absolutely impossible for games back then to hide behind graphics- just look at these games at KLOV. Therefore, the programmers HAD to use a lot of innovation in the gameplay to come up with something new. On the one hand, everything was new, so any variation was something, but, to REALLY have something...

And quite frankly, in spite of the cruder technology, there was much more variety back then. But the later lack of variety was not limited to video games, sad to say.

[7th lutz]

88-97

I started gaming a little bit late. I didn't remember playing games before 88. I should've got my start when the crash happened or when the nes first came out in the states, but there videogaming was dying in stores at the time, and I didn't have a computer until 1994. I started with my dad playing with an intelivsion 2, but got an atari 2600 jr. in jan. 88. This time period was when I first took advantage of buying games at flee markets like purchasing 2600 games for 50 cents. In that time, I played games for the 2600,7800,nes, genesis, 32x and christmas of 97-the ps1.

I saw advancements in gaming and I played different genre's for the first time and some that still like today.

In that time period, I saw the beging of 3d fighting games, head to head fighting games being mainstream, the begining of the rating system, nintendo starting to fall from grace. The self-destruction of sega as a console maker. I remembered how nintendo rallyed to be the genesis because of hyped games like Star Fox, and Donkey Kong Country and sega screwing up. I see cd based consoles being sucessful and here starting to beat cartridge based consoles with ps 1. It was the only time period I rented games. I saw how unsuccessful atari,nec,3d0 to name a few companies in the game console market. That time I played gb and game Gear at a store. I didn't like gg because the screen was blury and Game Boy was that great for me for see games on a screen either. In this time, I never saw a game system being writen negative before vb. Gameinformer, didn't like the system before it released on they tried before the public did, didn't like how difficult it was to gameboy in terms of playing on road trips and the colors that vb had on screen.

[Anthony1]

I've said it numerous times before, but I honestly feel that the best 7 year gaming period in History is late 1989 to late 1996. If I need to add 3 more years, to make it 10 years, then I would make it 1987 to 1997. But I really think the key time frame was 1989 to 1996, and I personally think 1994 was maybe the most exciting. Or maybe 1995. 1992 was a really good year too. Especially the back half.


The thing about 1995 thats so incredible is the huge number of systems that were competing at that time. If I did the research on it, I could probably name like 15 different platforms that were existing in 1995. Sure, some of them are pretty obscure, and might have been near death, but man, just alot of interesting shit going on in 1994 and 1995.

[DeputyMoniker]

Decade, that is.

The question "which was your favorite decade for (fill in the blank)" has been asked before, of course. Including video gaming.

But what if someone asked you what time period you would choose from the mid-point of one decade to the mid-point of the next?

XXX5 through YYY4.


In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.

1985-1994.

I'm about to throw a negative spin on this so move to the next one if you arent in the mood...

I prefer life the way it was when the previous generation was in charge. I was a teen and I had responsible adults to look up to. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to become. Now the world is so mixed up I dont even know where I belong in it. Hard to explain and it sounds like I'm depressed but thats not the case...I just think the world is in a real shitty position right now and I dont know who the hell kids are looking up to these days. It's like people have stopped maturing...adults listen to the same hip hop as teens, they dress the same, they speak, talk and move the same. They drive the same cars. I'd hate to have to grow up right now. At least when I was young we had some adults to look up to.

[Iron Draggon]

'89-'98 That covers the entire lifespan of the Sega Genesis.

[Aswald]

Decade, that is.

The question "which was your favorite decade for (fill in the blank)" has been asked before, of course. Including video gaming.

But what if someone asked you what time period you would choose from the mid-point of one decade to the mid-point of the next?

XXX5 through YYY4.


In my case, it would be 1975 through 1984.

1985-1994.

I'm about to throw a negative spin on this so move to the next one if you arent in the mood...

I prefer life the way it was when the previous generation was in charge. I was a teen and I had responsible adults to look up to. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to become. Now the world is so mixed up I dont even know where I belong in it. Hard to explain and it sounds like I'm depressed but thats not the case...I just think the world is in a real shitty position right now and I dont know who the hell kids are looking up to these days. It's like people have stopped maturing...adults listen to the same hip hop as teens, they dress the same, they speak, talk and move the same. They drive the same cars. I'd hate to have to grow up right now. At least when I was young we had some adults to look up to.


Gotta disagree with you there.

Look at what I grew up under- 2 generations like the WW2 and Baby Boomers. The former had such an obsession with Communism, they supported anyone who "opposed" it: including the terrorists of Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein (Iran was "supported by the commie Ruskies").

As for the Baby Boomers- this is a hopelessly self-absorbed bunch. The fact that they turn 60 this year is world-shaking news, clearly. It's always about them, them, them. A local radio station advertises that if you don't like your kids' music, turn it off and crank up theirs.
Except that it's a 60's and 70's station. They still think that parents are Baby Boomers, when in fact it's mine (1970s/1980s) and maybe yours. Let's not forget the sexual revolution, the drug culture, and the crime wave.

And any generation that calls itself "Greatest" because of some stupid book by that damn fool Brokaw is just as self-absorbed and conceited.

In spite of Reagan's hopelessly simplistic rhetoric, he was voted in by an overwhelming majority.

In 8 short years, our country was over $4 TRILLION dollars in debt.

And we would've been another trillion deeper if they had their way and that stupid "Star Wars" defense was set up- a monumental fraud, and it showed that that "mature" generation had absolutely no regard for the SALT treaties. Like brats, they felt that rules were only meant to be obeyed by "others."

And, do you see these generations taking the least bit of responsibility for the now $10 TRILLION dollar debt? Our dead economy? No- they are just going to take what little is left for themselves, and leave us with the deadly results.

And it was under them, and their mergermania and deregulation, that our popular culture became the sewage that it is now. It was under them that any notion of corporate responsibility to society died.

[Aswald]

And let's not forget what happened back in 1984- the way they kept insisting that "video gaming was dead, etc." This was based on what THEY thought- not on what my generation, the one playing the games, wanted. They never asked, and when we told them, they ignored us.

Nintendo did not. And that's why they brought over the NES; they knew video games were NOT dead with us.

And those oh-so-mature generations responded to Nintendo's success with name-calling Japan-bashing, rather than admitting that they ruined the industry here.