Which Decade Had the Best Games?

[retroman]

i would have to say 1985-95....thats just personal pref.

[Anthony1]

Dude, it ain't even about a Decade, it's about a single year.




1994



That whole year, was almost as good as the other decades




So the 90's wins it in a landslide!



And I was there from the 2600, so I'm not some new jack.


The very light eightes was pretty nice, and the late 70's was amazing, but you have to give it up to the 90's. The Golden era of video games was really 1989 to 1997 in my book. That 8 year period rocked like none other.






And we will never, ever, see a year like 1994 again.

[Arcade Antics]

The 90s? THE 90s?!

Puh-leeze. It's all about the 80s. End of story.

I just can't believe so many people don't know what a "decade" means.

Scary, innit?

[Topher2798]

*SIGH* What a DUMB question.
Everyone has their own opinion in regards to this question. Noobs or younglings prior to the "Video game BOOM" in the Eighties are going to say, the Nineties.

However, those of us around, pumping quarters into those machines back in the early Eighties, know the answer to this question. It's obvious.

All you fools saying the Nineties, should know the video game boom had already come and gone since then, so although you *wish* you had some sort of insight into this type of poll, you just don't know.......

I remember SQUEEZING my way past people in the arcades, standing in line to play a game long before your precious Street Fighter II tripe....

You just don't know. Keep pretending though....

Oh , the 1994 freak that posted earlier (Anthony1)... Yeah, I remember how cool DOOM was when it came out, but shame on you. 1994? You should be ashamed of yourself. Don't turn your back on history. If you knew the story of the id guys, you'd know that prior to DOOM, they were trying to catch up to sidescroller and platformers like Super Mario Brothers.

Rethink before you post.....

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Well, it is all a matter of opinion.

And despite my stating the 80s as my answer, I am also currently attempting to learn more and more about the games of the 70s. As innovative as the 80s were, one can't get to Pac-Man without going there by way of Pong. So it really is a matter of perspective, colored inevitably by age.

[Yago]

Hey

As someone that was 19 in 1980 I can definitly remember the difference between what was available as a home console and what was available for a quarter at the local bowling alley.

The 16 bit systems on the 90's started bringing the arcade into your house.

But in terms of the best wow factor the 80's ruled. First time playing Battlezone or Xevious or even pole position was awsome. Only a few games on the coleco brought this same feeling home. Like Zaxxon.

By the time the 90's kicked in the games were much more adanced but there were so many of them that they didn't stand out as much.

I vote early 80's

VJ

Ditto! I am going with this too. If it were not for the games of the 80's, there would be no games of the 90's. All of the original concepts and most popular games of all time came out in the 80's. All the games of the 90's offered were better graphics. But I feel 70% of the games lacked originality. Most games of the 90's were enhanced versions of the 80's predecessors.

[Topher2798]

I have to apologize; I was drinking lots of alcohol last night and was pretty lit when I posted my last message. I hope I didn't offend anyone. And you're right. It's all a matter of opinion.

[Anthony1]

Oh , the 1994 freak that posted earlier (Anthony1)... Yeah, I remember how cool DOOM was when it came out, but shame on you. 1994? You should be ashamed of yourself. Don't turn your back on history. If you knew the story of the id guys, you'd know that prior to DOOM, they were trying to catch up to sidescroller and platformers like Super Mario Brothers.

Rethink before you post.....

Look, it might be unfortunate for you video game historians out there, that the best decade actually occurred not that long ago, but the 90's was easily the best decade by a long shot.

And you must understand that I'm not some young punk gamer that is saying the 90's is the best, because that's all that I know.

I've been in this game since 1977. Back in 1977, I was a 7 year old kid when we got an Atari 2600 for Christmas. So I grew up with the 2600, and the early arcades. Like I said before, I'm not some new jack. I was playing Crystal Castles while most of you were in diapers.

It might be more romantic, to think that the best decade was the 70's or the 80's, but don't let that romaticism get in the way of reality.


The Decade of the 90's saw video games go from being a segment of the toy industry, to being a huge industry all by it's self. You had the ending of the 8 bit era, you had the complete run of the 16 bit era, you had the beginning and middle points of the 32/64 bit era, and at the very end of the Decade you saw the release of the Dreamcast and the very beginning of the modern era.


If you are looking at this strictly from the perspective of how good things were at the Arcades, then yes, maybe the 90's weren't that great. Certainly the 80's and 70's were much better from an Arcade standpoint. But if you look at home video game systems and portable game systems, then the 1990's was untouchable. And it's not like the Arcades didn't have anything going on during the 90's.


Just think about all the video game systems and portable game systems that were battling it out in the 1990's. Just think of all the great games that came out for various systems during the 1990's. I mean, take a look at anybody's top 100 video games of all time list. How many of those games on that list were released in the decade of the 90's?


You can ask me this question in 2050, and my answer will be the same. The 90's was the best, we are never going to see anything like that again, and it was the absolute glory years of video gaming, and that's my take and I'm sticking with it.

Again, I feel that 1989 to 1997 was the best 8 year period in Video Gaming History, and 7 of those 8 years were in the decade of the 1990's. The very end of the 90's was kinda lackluster, but the first 7 years of it more than made up for any lackluster showing at the end of that decade.

[Arcade Antics]

Look, it might be unfortunate for you video game historians out there, that the best decade actually occurred not that long ago, but the 90's was easily the best decade by a long shot.

List of games that back up your claim please?

[Anthony1]

I would have to say that the best years were from the genesis launch to the first year or 2 the playstation came out, would be the best years in my book.

exactamundo!


I totally agree. 1989 to about 1997 were the glory years of video gaming in my book. In 1989, you had the NES at it's peak and you had the arrival of the TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis in the U.S. . The Sega Master System was still alive and kicking in 1989. Didn't the GameBoy get it's start in 1989? Or was that 1990?

Then with the early 90's, you had the twillight years of 8-bit, the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 (what some people feel is the best game of all time), you had the introduction of the Super Nintendo (quite possibly the best video game system of all time). You also had true arcade gaming at home with the release of the Neo-Geo. You had the first CD based games with the TurboGrafx-16 CD unit and the Sega CD. You had the first attempts at beyond 16 bit gaming with the FM Towns Marty and the Atari Jaguar and Philips CD-I and Amiga 32. You had the release of the Sega 32X and the Panasonic 3DO. Then you had the arrival of the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation and the Neo-Geo CD. And in 1996 you had the debut of the Nintendo 64.


I mean the 90's just had so much going on, that it was almost overkill.

[NeoZeedeater]

I mean, take a look at anybody's top 100 video games of all time list. How many of those games on that list were released in the decade of the 90's?

That's not a good way to judge. Top 100 lists tend to biased in favour of newer and mainstream games because the people writing them are usually lacking in gaming knowledge. I know you love the TurboGrafx(as everyone should) but its games almost never show up on the gaming media's top 100 lists.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a top 100 with a majority of games from the '90s(my personal list would have the '90s on top), just that top 100 lists(the media's, I haven't seen too many individual's lists) tend to be sickeningly mainstream, i.e. completely ignoring really old stuff, computer gaming, less popular consoles, the import scene, etc..

[sabre2922]

90's a lot of experimentation combined with so many great games from all systems of that era:

8-bit Super Mario bros 3

16-bit Phantasy Star 2 GEN Super Metroid SuperNes

32-bit Panzer Dragoon Saga SAT Metal Gear Solid PSX

The launch of DREAMCAST= SoulCalibur at the very end of the Decade 9/9/99

[WanganRunner]

1990's.

-Birth of real fighting games
-Birth of 3D Fighting Games
-Birth of the cinematic RPG (FF7)
-Birth of the 3D Platformer
-PC's become serious gaming machines
-SNK/Neo Geo
-Virtua Fighter
-Beginning of online gaming

[Oobgarm]

80's. Without the games released in that decade, plus the advances in hardware technology, we wouldn't be here discussing things as we are right now.

90's were indeed great, but they would have been nothing without the 80's.

[WanganRunner]

80's. Without the games released in that decade, plus the advances in hardware technology, we wouldn't be here discussing things as we are right now.

90's were indeed great, but they would have been nothing without the 80's.

Yeah, but the '80's wouldn't have been shit without electricity, so the best gaming decade of all must've been the 1750's, when Ben Franklin tied a key to a kite.

That logic = p00p

[Arcade Antics]

1990's.

-Birth of real fighting games
-Beginning of online gaming

Both of these items from your list happened in the 80s, not the 90s.

Also still waiting for Anthony1's list of games that make the 90s better than any other decade.

[Arcade Antics]

80's. Without the games released in that decade, plus the advances in hardware technology, we wouldn't be here discussing things as we are right now.

90's were indeed great, but they would have been nothing without the 80's.

Yeah, but the '80's wouldn't have been shit without electricity, so the best gaming decade of all must've been the 1750's, when Ben Franklin tied a key to a kite.

That logic = p00p

Uh oh, here we go...

Actually, your logic is "p00p" as you put it, and Oobie is on target. He's comparing apples with apples. You're comparing apples with the discovery of electricity.

Without the games of any generation (in this case the 80s vs the 90s) to push the hardware and programming envelope, whatever came afterward probably wouldn't have happened. I'll grant you that there's some built in speculation there, but it's a good bet that the beginning of programming wouldn't head straight for 3D rendering if they hadn't gotten basic sprites, sounds, and level design down first.

In any case, it's a moot point. It's a given that the 90s games benefitted tremendously from the developement and history games from every era before it, but that doesn't necessarily affect which games are better or more fun to play.

Isn't that why we're all here in the first place?

[rxd]

As others here have said, the answer is obviously the 80's. Anyone who thinks otherwise wasn't there for it or was too young to appreciate it....

[Poofta!]

without a doubt -- 90s. this decade brought us both, excellent gameplay and beautiful graphics. and since there was so many freaking games, it didnt matter that some were rip offs, you had a whole load of great games to play.

one of the most important things i feel, which made the 90s gaming decade so awesome is immersion and 'feel' for the game. the 70s and 80s were ruled mostly by arcade style games, were skill, timing and practice dictated how good you were at a game and ultimately how much fun you would have.

the 90s brought us games that grabbed you by the throat and dragged you in, it marked the rise of excellent story driven Roleplaying Games (fallout, arcanum, Final Fantasy 6,7, too many to list). this decade gave games depth. strategy games stuck their head out and fighting games were perfected. beautiful driving games started coming out towards the end of that decade and marked so of the best arcades ever. the 90s was also the decade for attitude. it was the decade for mascots with attitude, we had Sonic and Duke Nukem, we had Doom and Mortal Kombat, Mario went 3D and free-roaming gaming started to plant its seeds.


of course this was the decade i played my games in, and i wouldnt trade it for any other. SNES, genesis, Playstation, N64, Saturn, TG16, Gameboy, Game Gear (while some of these didnt come out in this decade, some of the best games for them did). and even teh excitement of ventures into something new: CD-i, 3d0, Jaguar, 32x, SegaCD, Neo-Geo.

i love them all. and one day hope to have them all, complete.



oh and to everyone saying without the 80s, the 90s would have not happened, thats nice and all, but the bottom line is: it doesnt matter. the question is WHICH DECADE HAD THE BEST GAMES, not which decade influenced gaming the most. if you start arguing that 80s > 90s because 80s lead to 90s' design, well the 70s lead to 80s, and without the first game being developed in MIT in the middle of the century, none of that wouldve come to be either. so shouldnt the best decade then be the one with the first game?

We're talking about BEST GAMES, and if you are seriously trying to argue, that Double Dragon (nes) was better than Streets of Rage (genny) or Final Fight (snes), or Final Fantasy 1 is better than 6 or 7, or even that Mario 1 is better than Mario 3 or Mario Land. then seriously we have nothing to argue about... whoever prefers inferior products to their vastly improved counterparts, their mind will never change. sure these games were great when they came out, but the 90s ripped them all a new asshole. incidently this logic cannot be said for the current decade, since todays games are completely different from those of the 90s. all genres went 3D and other design decisions changed the games complete, whereas the early 90s design decisions improved on past designs, and the late 90s brought us completely remodeled and changed games.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

-Birth of the cinematic RPG (FF7)

that's a good thing? I personally hate that every RPG has 2 to 30 minute cut scenes in them now. I just want to play the freakin' game, not watch a half hour worth of CG.