Which year was the best year for Video Games?

[Hungry Friend]

I only speak for myself but I think the "golden age" of gaming was between around 1986-2001. This is a tough one but if I HAD to pick one single year it would be 1995 because Chrono Trigger, my favorite game was released then but '94 saw the release of FF6 and 1999 had Suikoden 2 so it's very close. Mid/late 80s to early 00s was the real golden age imo, at least post crash because I'm too young to have any sort of memory of or nostalgia for the 2600 or the arcade games released back before the crash. Basically, NES-PS2/GC/DC/Xbox, before online play and DLC started to become games' main selling points. Online support is great and all but unfortunately most companies abuse it and fill their games with DLC & microtrans scams.

There were plenty of really shit games back in the "golden age" but at least the good ones had to be complete, although even high-end ones like FF6 had tons of bugs. Still, the mid 90s and 1995 in particular was one helluva year if you owned a SNES, especially if you were a kid like I was. There was so much experimentation going on in the late 80s-early 00s and brand new genres were being created left and right. Good times.

edit: Gotta give you props for this thread, OP. Good idea.

 

[ComeTurismO]

I honestly feel as if from the 1990s to the present had good games. Each generation had worth playing games, and I plan to upgrade to the current generation to play the worth playing games now.

 

[Blaze163]

Gonna have to go with the crowd and say 97/98 as well. Pokemon, FF7, Lylat Wars, Ocarina of Time, etc. All games that I continue to play to this day nearly 20 years later. It was the point where my gaming went from 'rescue princess/run to the right really fast' to having actual stories and characters. Conveniently timed when I myself was growing up and looking for more out of life. I'm certainly biased but you can't deny those were quality years for gaming.

 

[DarkFlare69]

2001. Lots of great PS2 games, but mostly because the GBA and GCN were released this year.

 

[VinsCool]

Mid 90' and early 00'
Great games, great consoles.

 

[HaloEffect17]

2001 was a pretty good year for games. We get some hidden gems from the last games coming off the previous generation (pushing its graphical limits) and are struck in awe from the new launch games on the latest consoles at the time.

Edit: I look back at all the previous posts and notice I'm not the only one. LOL.

 

[Chary]

1994: Sonic 3, Final Fantasy VI, Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, Shaq Fu

1996: Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Persona, Donkey Kong Country 3, Kirby Super Star. Bubsy 3D.

2009: Mirrors Edge, Burnout Paradise, Assassin's Creed II, Batman Arkham Asylum, Muramasa, Borderlands, Dragon Age Origins, Uncharted 2.

The timeframe of the mid 90's to mid 00's just about contains most of my favorite games.

 

[Vipera]

2010s

Emulators are all over the place, the rarest games have all been dumped and correctly emulated, I can play your childhood on my phone, I can buy a game from my console, I can use my console as a media player, I can choose between playing AAA games or games made by one person, in the same platform.

Every year is now the best year.


But if we really have to dig into the past, I'd say:

1984 The year that a lot of truly great games got released. I'm talking about Pacland, Pitfall II, Balloon Fight and Tetris
1994 PS1's release date. The console that nailed how 3D games should be made and where they should be put in (CDs)
2004 DS's release date. The handheld that nailed portable gaming

Why was 2014 so boring in comparison?

 

[HaloEffect17]

1894 The year that a lot of truly great games got released.

If 1894 had video games, I learned something today.

 

[Vipera]

If 1894 had video games, I learned something today.

It's 5am. Go play Pacland and give me some slack

(fix'd. thx)

 

[jDSX]

98-04 for me, had the best games released in that time frame.

 

[linkenski]

2006. Not sure why.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2006.

My pick would be 2011. Arkham City, Skyward Sword, Skyrim. Great fucking games.

 

[Muffins]

The best year for video games?

This year, in perpetuity. Meaning that next year, that year will be the best year for video games.

You see...

Video games are a wonderful, tangible asset. Every single year we compound everything that has come before with what is now present, creating a brilliant miasma of past and present. At this moment, I can play the best (or worst) games from any year from the late 1970s all the way up to the latest releases. It provides me with options unsurpassed at any other point in time, and I absolutely love it. Sure, I could toss out a year where a fantastic game like Super Metroid or Final Fantasy XII was released, but the thing is... those games are still there. They never went away, so their greatness is something I can still experience. The fact is that at this point in time I can not just play those games, I can discover classics I had not happened upon back then, and still look forward to the future.

Long live this year.
And next year.
And every year after that.
Long live gaming.

 

[The Minish LAN]

My favourite year for gaming? Every year.