Golden Age Of Gaming?

[zinfamous]

up up down down left right left right b a start.


I challenge anyone to beat that era.

 

[ControlD]

up up down down left right left right b a start.


I challenge anyone to beat that era.

I'll take the golden age of arcade gaming over the golden age of console gaming any day. But yeah, for consoles you pretty much nailed it.

 

[futurefields]

Why is that the golden era?

 

[Lil Frier]

Why is that the golden era?

Because it's all nostalgic subjectivity, and people are just throwing out what they like.

 

[futurefields]

Right and stating them as if easily observable facts.

In my opinion the best games from the 80's are a joke compared to the best games of today. There is more gameplay variety and polish in GTA5 than the entire NES catalog.

 

[zinfamous]

Right and stating them as if easily observable facts.

In my opinion the best games from the 80's are a joke compared to the best games of today. There is more gameplay variety and polish in GTA5 than the entire NES catalog.

...which is the 5th version of that game, and there are maybe a handful of other highly-franchised content that make up the bulk of the revenue in the game world that simply recycle the same game over and over and over again.

 

[ghost03]

For me it's SNES in the mid 90s. They did so much with so little.

These days we have a bunch of HD 3D 4k VR motion control technology infused stuff that is lots "more better" but not necessarily lots "more fun." I realize I'm getting older and each new generation is going to be less new than the last was, but I honestly believe I'll play games like Super Mario World 30 years from now and I'm not sure if I can say that about any 7th or 8th gen games.

 

[Lil Frier]

For me it's SNES in the mid 90s. They did so much with so little.

These days we have a bunch of HD 3D 4k VR motion control technology infused stuff that is lots "more better" but not necessarily lots "more fun." I realize I'm getting older and each new generation is going to be less new than the last was, but I honestly believe I'll play games like Super Mario World 30 years from now and I'm not sure if I can say that about any 7th or 8th gen games.

I disagree. Nostalgia beats down the doors of every generation. I don't expect CoD's watered-down existence to be well-loved in that same vein down the road, but I think we'll see a lot of franchises like Kingdom Hearts, GTA, The Witcher, Halo, and so on be replayed by those who grew up on the games in a couple of decades. Part of that might even be the fact those games are going to be more-easily acquired, as opposed to trying to get a 70-year-old copy of Mario that works, while also dealing with input questions on a 32K TV, or whatever we're on that doesn't go over well with component cables from the Stone (or Golden) Age of gaming.

 

[Z15CAM]

The 90's - Duke Nukem, Quake III Arena and War Birds running on a Win98SE OS PC platform with a MS Force Feed Back stick with an Athlon 3200XP running at 2400Mhz and a 17" 120Hz Crt with say an ATi 2900XT Pro AGP.

Intel and nVidia where out to lunch back then.

I even liked DOS games such as Sky Roads and B52 Bomber on an i386.

Of course I'm PC - Not Counsel.

Arcade Gaming competition in a Pub was hilarious on who's going to buy the next round. I was particularly good at Space Commander and Defender Arcade games in a 90's Pub.

Today Gaming has taken on a whole different meaning where Money and Candy is at hand - Star Citizen for example and an 80's or 90's Pub is just a memory with a Live Band.

I would pick either War Birds or MS Flight Simulator as being one the best and challenging games.

I still have an Apollo Via ASUS P3V4X with a Flip Chip Intel Single Core Celeron 1300 running at 1800Mhz's WinSE Box in the closet with an ATi 2900 XT loaded with 90 games and you're making me itch.

 

[Z15CAM]

Sorry but not be offensive to Counsel Gamers as I did buy an Atari System for my Kids but once they got hooked on PC - Never looked Back, mainly because the alternatives a PC has to offer.

Gotta admit BF4 isn't bad and challenging on a 27" 2560x1440p IPS LED 100Hz display but not that much different then the 90's Quake III game on a 120Hz 17" Crt running Win95B or 98.

 

[Sulaco]

This is mostly a nostalgic circle jerk.

Well, yes and no.

It's no secret that too many folks use these types of discussions to indirectly "brag" about how 'old school' they are, how long they've been playing games, how they used to walk up hill in snow both ways to play their Colecovision, etc. But some of the gripes and observations are true.

Because gaming is not one 'monolithic' entity. I mean, you can sort of average everything out and say, 'in totality, the trend seems to be X", but I don't think anyone who cares about games lumps them all together like that.

Broken down by game genres, for instance, it's very obvious to see certain highs and lows in the industry. It's hard to argue that the heyday for survival horror games, for instance, wasn't around the turn of the century (PS1 into PS2 era). The quality, originality, and quantity of great, ground-breaking survival horror games at that time simply haven't been touched, before or since. As someone who adores a good survival horror experience, and count it as one of my favorite genres, yes, that will effect my view of the current gaming climate and how much enjoyment I'm getting from games.

For those who liked flight sims, or deep 4x strategy games (although both have seen a very recent resurgence), it would be hard to argue that up until very recently (2012 and onward), both of those genres had seen a dramatic dip, and were at their peak in the mid-to-late '90s and early 2000s.

Other, more popular genres like the classic JRPG of Chrono Trigger, FFIV/VI, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, Super Mario RPG, et al hasn't really been rivaled, save for the PS1 era abundance of great JRPGs. But nothing really comes close to those eras for fans of those styles of games.

Of course, certain (many) genres and styles of games have gotten stronger and better. Multiplayer FPS, and western RPGs for instance, are at an all-time high. Not to mention the indie scene. So if you have a nice, diverse palette, you'll appreciate the pros along with the cons.

But there definitely are, I believe, legitimate claims to be made for certain genres and styles of games for having specific "happy times" that I think fairly effect someone's opinion of what a "golden age" truly is.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Right and stating them as if easily observable facts.

In my opinion the best games from the 80's are a joke compared to the best games of today. There is more gameplay variety and polish in GTA5 than the entire NES catalog.

You are drunk right? You had to be drunk when you wrote this. Although I'm going to really assume you are just fairly young, so then it would make sense. GTA3 really was the 'best' GTA. At that time it was the only thing around like it. It was groundbreaking. GTA4/5 just made it prettier and really have not advanced beyond anything else trying to copy it since then.

This is also why you hear older people talk about how CoD sucks since 4. It is because while there was a point where games got better and looked better and gameplay changed drastically from game to game due to changes in technology and moving beyond simplicity. There was also a point where they stopped really being anything more than prettier...and what (in my opinion) started to change to 'play forever to win' styles rather than just jump in and play. The games themselves haven't evolved in any substantial way because they hit what works for them and won't alter the formula too much because now gaming is so mainstream it is all about the most sales and everyone knows if you majorly change something, you tend to lose customers. People don't like change. (which comes full circle to many of us older people...we don't like the changes )

 

[Lil Frier]

You are drunk right? You had to be drunk when you wrote this. Although I'm going to really assume you are just fairly young, so then it would make sense. GTA3 really was the 'best' GTA. At that time it was the only thing around like it. It was groundbreaking. GTA4/5 just made it prettier and really have not advanced beyond anything else trying to copy it since then.

Opinion is opinion.

I mean, to mean, picking the "best GTA" is like picking the best STD. None of them are something I'd want to actually be stuck with.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Opinion is opinion.

I mean, to mean, picking the "best GTA" is like picking the best STD. None of them are something I'd want to actually be stuck with.

I was only referencing it because he never stops talking about how awesome GTA5 is. It was something he could relate to. You'll note best is in quotes.

 

[Lil Frier]

I was only referencing it because he never stops talking about how awesome GTA5 is. It was something he could relate to. You'll note best is in quotes.

His point is somewhat valid though, even if I generally don't care for his opinions.

People like to tear down modern gaming for bugs, but rarely take the time to recognize that older games lacked it because of how basic those games were--and they'd STILL have bugs, like Mario and Pokemon games. Games like BF4 and Unity, they were colossally broken and deserved ridicule. Games like Skyrim and Fallout, they can be borderline, but expecting perfection in the levels of complexity is unreasonable, IMO.

Point being, the argument that games need patches at launch isn't really fair because:

1. The games of the past couldn't even get them when they were needed.
2. The games of the past took just as long to make and were far short in the level of detail and complexity necessary.

Part of my modern argument is, I'm sure, the bias of not being around at the origins of consoles and gaming as a whole. However, I think it's also just an ability to appreciate what we're getting now, it's almost insane some of what we get. The Division looks incredible. We have MMOs in a state where they're almost stale in their widespread availability. We can play anything and everything under the sun from the past and present, and the experiences can be more varied than ever.

 

[Harrod]

For me I'd definitely say the 90's, probably my favorites from that time were:

Super Mario World
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Kart 64

I chose these due to the step up from the previous games on the previous systems. I wish I had known about Chrono Trigger back then, I never played it, and now it just doesn't look like something I could get into unless someone comes out with a decent port for my S3 phone.

On another note, I was watching my nieces and nephews yesterday playing Lego Star Wars and I thought it would be cool if they made a Lego Contra game. I think that would be pretty cool if they ever made it, I'm sure alot of people would pick it up.

 

[Zenoth]

Indeed, I suppose that we all have our own preferred / memorable "golden age" period of gaming.

For me, it started with the SNES and the Genesis (essentially the 16-bit era), and stopped with the release of the original XBOX (November 2001).

I definitely understand it if it started with the NES for many (I.E. millions) out there. Unfortunately for me, I was too young when the NES was "the thing" to own. The NES was indeed my first ever console (which I owned that is, because I did play games occasionally at my friends' places, one notable console that introduced me to gaming per se was none other than the Sega Master System), but I got it late in its life span; sometime in late 1991 if I recall correctly (and soon followed by my SNES during summer of 1993). So what I consider the golden age of gaming consist mostly of the 1990s (8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit mostly). The peak of it would have been between 1992 to 1996, four years of a real palpable "war" that to this day never happened again (not to that degree); during which some of the best games to have ever been created came out. With the release of the N64 in 1996 I'd say that the face of video gaming changed very significantly (obviously, it was the arrival of "mainstream" / standardized 3D gaming in full force, excluding the few examples of it we saw years earlier in various forms such as with the FX chip on the SNES). Even though I do consider the N64 part of the "golden age" (along with the first PlayStation as well) I could genuinely see back then already (not just by looking at it in retrospect) that gaming was going somewhere new and that I would soon start talking about the "good old games" already.

I will always cherish the 1990s until I'm gone.

 

[mizzou]

My golden age was 1997 when sid meiers gettysburg and Ultima Online came out. I played both games to death and back and it's probably my favorite time gaming all the way up to now.

Several other years come close, but that one captured the wonder and awe of gaming.

Do I need to mention 97' included the release of:
-Mario Kart 64
-Final Fantasy VII
-Dungeon Keeper
-X-Wing vs Tie-Fighter
-Carmageddon
-Goldeneye 007
-Hexen II
-Fallout
-Total Annihilation
-Dark Forces II
-Age of Empires
-Curse of Monkey Island
-Quake II
-Wing Commander Prophecy
-Grand Theft Auto



Come to think of it, 1997 was THE golden year of gaming!

 

[purbeast0]

i agree that COD4 (modern warfare) was the peak of COD. it's been all downhill from there. that franchise has become a joke now.

that game was incredible when it came out and i remember whoring the beta and those same 3 maps all weekend long. that was probably the last FPS that i actually enjoyed playing multiplayer. that and halo 2 are the best online console FPS imo.

the subsequent COD games and over saturation of the FPS market is pretty much why i no longer really care for FPS anymore.

 

[ElFenix]

wasn't the original team fortress around in 1997?

Q2 CTF, starcraft, and ultima online basically kept me occupied the entirety of 1998.

 

[Lil Frier]

i agree that COD4 (modern warfare) was the peak of COD. it's been all downhill from there. that franchise has become a joke now.

that game was incredible when it came out and i remember whoring the beta and those same 3 maps all weekend long. that was probably the last FPS that i actually enjoyed playing multiplayer. that and halo 2 are the best online console FPS imo.

the subsequent COD games and over saturation of the FPS market is pretty much why i no longer really care for FPS anymore.

I look back on MW with less fondness than I had at the time. Black Ops, to me, exposed a lot of flaws in the gameplay. Granted, it and MW2 had probably the best map sets in the franchise, but weapon balance and Perks were out of control. The M16 and Stopping Power was absurdly overpowered, as was the Riot Shield. I remember watching a guy stand in the open with the shield while an Attack Chopper was wailing on him with bullets, but unable to do damage. Stopping Power and Juggernaut were just awful, as was the M16. It was a bit better in MW2, but that had its own series of problems (FAL under-barrel, Commando Pro, Grenade Launcher).

BO2 was the end of the line for me. I skipped Ghosts, AW was crap, and BO3was the nail in the coffin, once I played its beta and witnessed the drunken love child of AW and Titanfall.

 

[Fallen Kell]

HAHA. My most furious moment ever was finally beating Super Ghouls and Ghosts only for it to tell me I hadn't found the chalice and had to start from the beginning. I didn't even know I was looking for a chalice!

Bahahahaa....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JpMJFoP5c

 

[cmdrdredd]

I really got into gaming about mid-way or 3/4 through the NES lifespan. About a year after I finally got an NES the Genesis came out and I got that. Then a while later an SNES. That was probably the best time for me. Street Fighter 2 was in the arcades and rumors started floating around about it being made for SNES and it was a huge deal for me. I'd read EGM and GamePro religiously for any info. Then Mortal Kombat and again the rumors of it being worked on for consoles at home and the excitement went through the roof for my friends and I. I remember getting it on Friday when it was supposed to release Monday because the guy at KB Toys put it out for display by mistake. So I did a little begging, and my birthday wasn't far off, and got my dad to buy it for me. I'll never forget mastering the moves and then going to the arcade and destroying most of the opponents waiting in line to play. Then for a few years I stopped playing games. I started back up with the Playstation in high school. I almost got a Saturn but the initial price was a definite factor.

 

[purbeast0]

I look back on MW with less fondness than I had at the time. Black Ops, to me, exposed a lot of flaws in the gameplay. Granted, it and MW2 had probably the best map sets in the franchise, but weapon balance and Perks were out of control. The M16 and Stopping Power was absurdly overpowered, as was the Riot Shield. I remember watching a guy stand in the open with the shield while an Attack Chopper was wailing on him with bullets, but unable to do damage. Stopping Power and Juggernaut were just awful, as was the M16. It was a bit better in MW2, but that had its own series of problems (FAL under-barrel, Commando Pro, Grenade Launcher).

BO2 was the end of the line for me. I skipped Ghosts, AW was crap, and BO3was the nail in the coffin, once I played its beta and witnessed the drunken love child of AW and Titanfall.

mw2 was when the cod series started to decline to me,because like you said it had way too many perks and all this shit going on. it was so much better in mw than mw2 because it was more limited and there weren't as many. it felt special when you got them. not so much in mw2. i also thought the maps in mw2 sucked compared to mw.

oh and i don't consider treyarch cod game "real" cod games. they have always been garbage to me.

 

[poofyhairguy]

But there definitely are, I believe, legitimate claims to be made for certain genres and styles of games for having specific "happy times" that I think fairly effect someone's opinion of what a "golden age" truly is.

Amen, well said.

As a JRPG fan there can be no way that today is my favorite era. The only JRPGs left are on mobile or are Indy titles. Even worse, they are going back and "remaking" classic JRPGs like FF6 and FF7 in ways that ruin the game (ESPECIALLY 7).

The SNES era will always shine bright to me as the pinnacle of the JRPG.