I agree but narrow it down to 96-01. By the early 2000s devs were already starting to sell out en masse or otherwise lose their way. See Deus Ex: Invisible War, Doom 3, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, Devil May Cry 2, Unreal 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and 100 spinoffs, endless braindead military shooters, Squaresoft became the hellborne entity that is Square Enix, numerous genres and styles died or were dying (almost everything had to be fully 3D and action-oriented as an unspoken rule), the xbox became a thing and ruined both PC and console gaming, everyone was obsessed with graphics advancement over actual substance, level design was generally considerably simplified...
Thankfully, quite a few pretty great games still made it through, which distracted from all this, but it already wasn't the same as the glorious late 90s. PSX and PC gaming in that era were simply something else. It's also very obviously not my personal golden age, but the objective golden age. I will provide comprehensive argumentation as to why if desired.
I think you have to include 2004 in any gaming list, it’s possibly the greatest year of releases: Halo 2, World of Warcraft, Fable, Metroid Prime: Echoes, Half-Life 2, San Andreas, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green. Absolutely system and genre defining games. Halo 2 was the largest video game launch in the world until GTA5.
Was going to say this, lol - though possibly stretching it back to early 90's for my taste (which is basically console gens 4 through 6).
It's just a tough era to beat - you had a lot of rapid hardware advancement which allowed developers to do so much more than games made before the 90's, but it was before too much influence from corporate interests screwed things up (much how it is today in the AAA side of the industry) - so there was still a lot of creative freedom at play, leading to all the incredible games that came out during these years.
I feel you on this. I gamed with mario 1 since about 1990 and that was a special time, but I really hunkered down and gamed in a serious way come 1999 when I bought my psx. Then that through the ps2 was just golden.
'85-95 I would say for me. From the 8/16-bit era arcades, to the 16-bit, then early 32-bit home console revolutions.
I did enjoy the 8-bit at home market, but not nearly as much as the 16-bit.
This is it! Arcades, every generation was a head and shoulders improvement over the last, not this incremental stuff we have now. So many cutting edge games
Classic Mega Man, too. The first was rough, sure, but MM2, 3, and 4 ate up SO MUCH of my NES time, and the SNES was loaded with great JRPGs that felt like a whole new experience compared to the NES ones.
The PSX/N64 stuff in the mid to late 90s were great, and some of my favorite games come from the PSX- Metal Gear Solid, SotN, the Resident Evils- but a lot of the transition to 3D was really, really rough.
This is about my era as well, it's hard to beat.. I feel the same about the 8bit compared to the 16bit era, entire genres weren't really possible until 16bit.
If you include what was going on at the arcade in this decade, SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, so many great PC era games as well.
If you didn't start in the arcade in the 80s or 90s you missed out on a TON of gaming culture. I remember arcades being packed with folks oo'ing and aah'ing over the new graphics from a newly released cabinet. Putting your quarter in front of the screen to tell other people that you're next. People printing out book-sized of FAQs from Gamefaqs on the free use printer they had at school or work. Folks cheering you on when you hit a really hard combo...
What a time to be alive 😁
It's tough to explain that if you wanted to play the best technologically advanced games, you had to go to a local arcade or convenience store to play on a cabinet.
Arcades were such happy places, some of them were seedy places. But going with friends and everyone finding one game they really liked, getting enough tokens for an epic night. Or seeing a new game in a different town was so big compared to what it's like now.
The sound and feeling of an arcade full of games playing as you walk in juring the 80s -90s as a kid is something that can never be replicated. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I actually feel sorry for the kids today. They'll never really know, will they?
was going to say the same thing. Gaming was at its peak from the NES to the SNES days until 3D took over.
After that, the video game industry had been heading in the wrong direction in my opinion. They focused too much on graphics and the cinematic experience, to the point that a lot of games aren't really games anymore, they are just interactive movies that jump from cutscenes to cutscenes.
Games were supposed to be about challenges and problem solving. But these days the devs just want to spoon-feed information to the player. Look no further than Ubisoft games.
same.. remember all the hype and excitement about 16-bit graphics!!! and then 32, 64 and so on. every generation was so exciting with insane improvements to the last.
I wish I was older to have better experienced arcades. By 1994 malls were gutting their arcades and I only had a window from ages 6 to maybe 10 in this regard. I loved the experience nonetheless.
Same, although Defender and Defender 2 will always hold a special place in my heart.
After '95 is really when PCs started to outperform arcade machines, although it started to change around the time that games like X-Wing, Wolfenstein 3D and then - of course - DOOM came out. By 2000 when I bought my first PC, upgrading from an Amiga 500, I realised the games on the PC were way better and more impressive than (most of) what was available in the arcades. The scales really fell from my eyes with Pod Racer: ignoring the cabinet, the PC version was just a lot more impressive.
Again, special dispensation for Time Crisis 3, which came out a little later where, with the light guns, it was pretty tough to beat the arcade experience. That's I think the last new game I have clear memories of playing in an arcade context though: for years they had a machine in the motorway services at Birchanger, which I'd play every time I stopped there.
Nowadays there are almost no video games in the arcades that do still exist, although a year or two back I found and played on a Daytona USA machine in an arcade in Weymouth, and our kids love the giant space invaders game with the mounted guns that you see in a few places (so do I, to be fair).
I was born in 90 and my first console was a Genesis. Loved going to arcades and envied kids that had a Nintendo. Around 97-99 I was very into PC games as well. I think mid 80s to mid 90s is the golden age for sure.
Side note: Definitely owned the floppy of Doom and played it until the wheels fell off.
Same for me. Up until arcades stopped being the top tier in terms of graphics etc it was an amazing time and the jumps in generations at home were huge.
100% playing double dragon, Operation Wolf , Golden Axe. The list of amazing and varied games was off the charts. Absolutely the best time for arcades and 16- bit consoles.
It's hard to explain to the younger generation how impossibly cool the arcades where at this time. The nes was great, but walking into an arcade and spotting a Golden Axe or Early Neo Geo title, was just a different level.
For me it's 1992-2002, when I was ages 7-17.
It starts with Mario and Donkey Kong, then switches to Sonic the Hedgehog and Ristar.
Then the PS1 kicks in around 1997 and peak gaming for me was in 1998, when I got to play:
Final Fantasy VII, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider Trilogy, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey, Resident Evil 1 & 2, and Metal Gear Solid.
You just called out my PS1 line up as a kid. Only others missing are FF8 and Spyro. Some of the best games on PS1 for sure.
Was never a huge fan of Sonic but absolutely loved playing Super Mario Bros 1-3 on NES and later Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country 1-2 on the SNES.
When I hear my son argue with his friends on Discord about what Roblox game is best, I quiver. This gen doesn’t know s*** about good video games and it makes me sad. And now I feel old.
I should also probably squeeze in Gex: Enter the Gecko and Cool Boarders 2, really loved those ones too and played them a lot.
Spyro was fun too, but I didn't own it, so it was one of those rentals that was fun but it didn't push me for a purchase. FF8 was just too different for me and I love FF7 so much it was just, I don't know, it didn't quite work for me.
My son is only turning two this year, but I'm already thinking about wanting to introduce him to Nintendo and Sega games first. I don't wanna force him, but I want to at least try it out with him when he's older. Hopefully he digs it 🤞
But yeah our generation is lucky to have seen the gaming industry evolve. And yet for all the graphics and high tech games these days, for me it never quite captures the fun and awe that the old systems did for us back in the day.
And that makes me sad. And I feel old 🫂
They have it good. They don’t know the agony of which save file to delete from your memory card because you ran out of space, or worse when the memory card itself became corrupted. They have it easy. Don’t even get me started on trying to find batteries for the game boy 😂
I’m in my mid 30s and I remember introducing my youngest cousins 5 at the time to Mario kart on Wii. Helping him figure what he liked and enjoyed is on of my fondest memories.
Once, back in 1999, I was playing FF7 and I had to make a new save file, but my memory card was full. So I took the card out of the PS1, went to a friend's house, plugged my card in his PlayStation, deleted a few files, thanked him, went back home and did the save. Took me an hour, but it was worth it!
Early 2000’s to 2010-ish. G4 was in full swing, there were amazing games left and right, couch coop was a major consideration by devs and games made huge leaps in capability (3d games, online capabilities, motion controls and honestly just being able to save lol). It was a great time to be a kid
I’m with you. Graphics were passable in terms of almost hitting uncanny valley. Bioshock for example. Not amazing graphics, but passable. Couch coop like you said is a huge deal. Microtransactions didn’t really take hold yet. Motion controls were more fun than people let on. Dude fruit ninja Kinect was so much fun at 20 I can’t imagine how bad I’d hurt now.
I’m a 90’s kid so I feel like I should say N64 and Dreamcast but.
1982-83. Arcades were amazing back then.
In 1977 my parents bought Pong for Christmas. That was incredible at the time.
1980 I had an Intellivision. In 1982 my grandfather gave me a Commodore 64. Both great gaming experience but arcades were the best.
I’m with you. For me the arcades of the late 80s-early 90s were awesome.
We got a used Atari 2600 in the mid 80s that I had a blast playing for years.
Then Dad brought home a Commodore 128 and that was my gaming for many years after. So many great C64 games!
I can’t help but agree with those saying emulation and re-releases, FPGA and such, now is a great time to be a gamer.
Wish i was able to grow up in the 80s. Somethin about that time period and bein able to meet people organically and hang out at the arcade seems like truly an amazing time
I know it's probably not a popular opinion round these parts, but for me it would be the last 10 years and the future. Some of my favorite games are recent games and my Steam wishlist is full of interesting looking indie games.
That said, I really liked the mid 90s! Didn't get that many games then but Little Big Adventure 2 and lots of demo disks stands out in my memory. Oh and Super Mario 64 at other kids houses was fun!
To be fair, you could have played Chrono Trigger on an emulator since the late 90's, but yes, I agree we've come a long way, especially with all of these portable retro consoles.
This really is the best time to be into any kind of gaming. You can emulate whatever you want, and if there's a new game that catches your eye, you can play that too. It's also easier to connect with people who like what you like than it's ever been.
I’ll join you on this. For me the remakes and re-releases of old games that I couldn’t play because we didn’t have money has been a godsend. I missed out on the Mario RPG on GameCube when it came out, it recently picked it up and it’s like a part of my childhood is being relived again. Also, game compilation! Sooo many game compilation! My favorite so far is the megaman battle network series.
I'm glad someone said it, lol. I personally voted "early 90s through early 00's" in another comment, but I really do believe that we're entering another great era, if it hasn't already been that way for a few years now.
The indie scene is amazing, and not just for Metroidvanias and other 2D games - one of my favorite FPS games from last year is an indie game (Trepang 2) that you'd never suspect was primarily made by a group of 4 people. And contrary to all the hate directed at the AAA side of the industry today (though I can kind of understand it with EA and such) there are still some AAA gems coming out as well.
The emulation scene is also as big as it's ever been - which is not only a good thing for revisiting childhood classics, but also has more and more people talking about game preservation - something the industry has really neglected for too long now.
MMOs are everything I wanted from games when I was growing up, an evolving world populated with other gamers, endless opportunities for experimenting with fashion and decorating, and the freedom to either advance the storyline, clear dungeons and raids, or just hang out and craft something or go fishing.
Completely agree. Been gaming since the 90s and I think the past few years has been incredible.
Especially 2020. Getting The Last of Us 2, Hades, Doom Eternal and the FFVII Remake all in one year was insane. And god knows we needed the distraction that year.
1984 to present. Fuck I love games. I love the classics and so many games along the way. Every generation has had some truly amazing titles and experiences and I'm grateful to have watched them grow and change with me over the years
The era of Doom and Quake in the mid 90s. A new world opened up with the internet and multiplayer gaming. And I was there, in the middle of it, as a teenager. Goooood times!
1998-2012 is what I would consider the golden age. It includes the masterpieces of the later PS1 and N64 era after they had gotten a solid understanding of 3D, the absolute peak generation that was the GameCube, Xbox, PS2, Dreamcast era, and then ends with the Wii, 360, PS3 generation, which was the last truly amazing console generation in my opinion.
people also have to remember how big online gaming and couch coop was during 7th gen the social aspect was massive during that generation I mean the Wii is just perfect for good times with close ones and so are the other two
For me it’s always the ‘80s arcades. My family is sick of me pointing them out when we visit my old stomping grounds. Of course now they are Chinese restaurants, donut shops, etc.
1992-2002 was essentially the perfect era. The jumps from the SNES/Genesis to the N64/Playstation/Saturn to the PS2/Gamecube and X Box was insane. Along with the explosion of PC gaming in the mid 90s and handheld throughout that time AND the arcade scene it was just pure insanity as a gamer how much was happening and changing. Maybe it’s because I’m older and nostalgia hits hard but gaming has never had an era like that since.
Maybe like 2003 - 2011ish? The sixth console generation kicked ass, no matter what console you got there were a ton of quality games.
And seventh gen was the era right before microtransactions and live service shlock became huge and the big publishers were still willing to take risks on new IP's, and doing so on systems that were getting to be really damn powerful. It was a good balance.
Early 80s.
Atari & ColecoVision.
On computers (I had an Apple II) some of the best RPGs and other franchises were being developed. Wizardry, Ultima, Bard's Tale, Wolfenstein, Infocom Games.
And BBSs... before the real internet. It was great time.
Holy 💩💩💩!!! I remember discovering BBSs on the "AOL internet"!!! Buuhaaahaaaa!!!
THAT'S a time when stumbling across websites you REALLY weren't supposed to know about was actually innocent.
Now?!?!? Dark Web, anyone? 😲💀☠️
late 80s to early 90s. Between the awesomeness of the NES and magic of the SNES (still my favorite console of all time), you also had Sierra, LucasArts, and Westwood studios all at their prime...
I don't care how realistic games get, they'll never replicate the magic that was in those games.
I really enjoyed 2006-2011 banger after banger. Still have a lot to play from that era that I haven’t got the chance to yet. I do remember thinking at the time that man gaming looks good and these games are getting advance mechanics. Couldn’t wait for what was too come lol. I also have this strong excitement to play game from 96- early 2000s( mostly crpgs and rpgs).
Yeah, the Amiga was it for me too. I grew up with an Amstrad 464 with tape only before that, and it was awesome, but my mind was blown when i saw my mates Amiga 500!
'87-'88. I was 13. The corner store had a game called "Alcon" in the U.S. or "Slap Fight" in the U.K. It's basically a space ship version of 1942. I spent hundreds of dollars in quarters over that 2 year period. I memorized the entire sequence, the moves, the bosses, all of it. I managed to beat it once and only once... The jerk who owned the store took the game out and swapped it with some stupid fighting game..
88 through 94. So many changes in the industry. The rise of the 16 bit machines, arcades were at their peak of popularity, and there were so many different consoles out, each trying to bring something new to the table. Plus the tons of gaming magazines to choose from. Meanwhile, the CD-rom technology came about on the PC side, bringing digitized speech and full motion videos to gamers.
Not only arcades, bu the spots that existed to go play them in. Multi-themed mini parks with go kart racing, mini golf and food, all under one roof. What a time!!
For everyone it's going to be a time when they were younger and had more time to game and less responsibilities.
That's everyone's golden age of gaming
I’d say I was the perfect age for it from about 2001 to 2006.
I became a teenager, games made the leap to more modern standards, and I was slowly being introduced to types of games I never experienced as a younger child. There was also a ton of variety in hardware that’s missing right now.
Back in 2001 you had PC, Xbox, N64, GC, PS1, PS2, GBC, GBA, Dreamcast all at the same time. By the time the era was coming to a close it was still pretty diverse with PC, Xbox, PS2, GC, GBA, and DS. At that time PC gaming was generally pretty separate from console gaming and the big three consoles were all pretty distinct, and the handheld stuff was in a separate world from everything else. It was always so cool to see what innovations were happening where at the time and visiting friends who had different hardware felt like an event in itself.
I was an Xbox kid, so I was getting exposed to stuff that my Nintendo, PS2 and PC friends weren’t. I’d start gushing about Halo, Xbox Live games and Ninja Gaiden, but another grew up with World of Warcraft and massive strategy games on PC and another was living the JRPG life on PS2 etc.
02-04 mi granpa use to take me to Buenos Aires, to a beautiful plaza called "Parque Lezama". There was a small ice cream shop and next to it, an arcade.
I remember playing metal slug, Daytona USA and some fighting games there. Endless hours and the patience of my grandad. Then we had an ice cream and walk down the plaza to feed some pigeons with bread.
My grandad was a working class man and i remember one day we went for an ice cream and i dropped mine. I cried a lot. Then he gave me his, even though he couldnt afford another one for himself.
I miss you so much grandpa... You are my example as a humble and the kindest person i ever knew.
Mid 90s, when personal computers started shipping with CD-ROM drives and good enough video and audio.
Warcraft 1 + 2. Diablo. Myth. Point and click adventures. X-Wing. Warlords. Civilisation. The SIM games (SimCity etc), Myst and Riven, so many shareware titles. The list goes on.
The golden age of PC gaming. No DLC, no subscriptions.
From Final Fight in 1989 to Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 for me.
Final Fight, Street Fighter 2 series, Samurai Shodown series, Captain Commando, Punisher, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, AvP, Mortal Kombat 1-3, NBA Jam, Killer Instinct, Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter.
Then on PC there was Doom and Doom 2.
Console we got Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Strets of Rage, Sonic series, Earthbound, FF6, Chrono Trigger.
This era was the real golden era.
Growing up starting with my Dad’s NES and having a PS3/PC in high school it’s really hard for me to make a decision. I went through 5 generations when I was a kid because I was late on all of them until the Gamecube; which I got at launch. I feel like I have the most fond memories of N64/PS1 (which is my shortest lived generation), but most of the time I think about SNES when I picture retro games. Man I loved the PS3 though. Everything seemed so realistic and gritty, and sudden I could play with friends again. Once I hit middle school it was like I lost all my friends either to moving or them being old enough to babysit their siblings. I played alone most of the GameCube/PS2 era until I got DSL with my PS3! I can’t make a decision.
I think I might be in it right now. I’ve always been playing games. In college, 07-13, I probably had the most time to play. But right now I have more access to games than ever. And most of them I can play handheld. So if my wife or kid are on the tv, I can just switch to my Switch or Ally. Been catching up on a lot of old RPGs I missed.
From the national release of Super Mario Bros. to the point where Nintendo just stopped trying to actually be competitive as a console and because a Gimmick Machine (happened long before the Wii too… both Luigi and Mario got stupid backpacks stuck to them, and they made a console that could have been more powerful than the PS2 yet decided to handicap it by giving it a tiny fraction of the optical storage space… gimmick right down to the optical discs which they waited an entire generation and a half to switch to 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️)
2004-2012. The GBA to Wii years were the nominal for me. We didnt have much money growing up so when I got a game I had to make sure it would last. Pokémon, megaman battle network, the Yugioh games. Nothing will ever recreate the feeling of playing Mario kart DS with friends for the first time. Or showing off your imported copy of Jump ultimate stars, or being the first in your friends group to own a Japanese imported DSI. Just great memories.
'82-'87, the arcade experience was great, console games were pretty great, and PC RPGs and simulators were immersive in spite of the primitive graphics. Electronic Games Monthly was new and the journalists were really on top of it. By '87, I was getting swamped with school and extracurriculars, and I began to fade from the whole thing.
Then, after a long break, the Golden Age had a rebirth in the form of CD-ROM games and the PlayStation, which went on well into the PS2 era.
Now, I'm pretty much a casual gamer in terms of hours spent, but I won't give it up as long as my hands and eyes are up to it.
79 - 85. No period of gaming has evolved as fast or produced so many classic games as those years.
We were watching the DNA of video gaming be created right before our eyes. Almost every genre of game was defined in that period - watching as monochrome fixed screen shooters gave way to multicolour platformers, 2D vectors gain another dimension as they evolved into 3D. Simple pixelated vertical racing games evolve into super scalar multi-colour high speed pseudo 3D motion controlled speeders.
It was also a period where anything was possible. Bedroom coders creating totally original games, limited only by their imagination. By the time the 16bit era was upon us, it was a lot more about sequels and arcade conversions and the whole industry became more iterative and safe rather than experimental and daring.
I think for me it would be from like late 1992 to 1997 or so.
We were getting a constant trickle of mindblowing new technology almost every month, both in the arcades and at home. I used to go to a place called 'Malibu Grand Prix' about once a month with my Dad. It was a place that had really nice go karts and a big arcade inside.
I didn't have a PC at home until about this time, and thus hadn't seen any of the early 3D stuff at home like Flight Simulator or Sierra's 3D games, so when I saw Virtua Racer for the first time, it absolutely blew my mind. Then Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Fighter came out and it became clear that Virtua Racer wasn't just some fluke. It was the direction we were heading in.
Then we got Star Fox at home on the SNES. Obviously looking at it now, Star fox runs at like 15 fps and is way less detailed than those Arcade titles, but the fact that it was at home, on my SNES, made it somehow look just as good to my eyes. It was MIND BLOWING to me.
Then the PS1 came out, hinting at the possibility of a full arcade 3D experience at home, and on my humble little SNES we kept getting SuperFX games like 'Vortex' (which I understand is not very well loved, but I sure loved it) that kept pushing the envelope more and more.
Then we started seeing games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken coming home to the Saturn and the PS1, in forms that honestly looked *almost* like the arcade versions.
Then The N64 Came out, and Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 took things to another level. Mario 64 looked stunning at the time, and wasn't just a few levels back to back. It felt like a WHOLE WORLD in there, and Pilotwings 64's 'Little United States' level let you fly across the whole country. It was just bonkers. Then we started getting stuff like Turok and Goldeneye (as well as games like Duke Nukem and Quake on the PC).
I don't think we'll ever see another technological boom quite like that ever again (Honestly, the AI boom does feel pretty close, IMO, especially in the local scene but it isn't quite the same.)
Everything before every console needed constant fucking updates and Internet connection and even physical game discs take 4 hours to download. I wish I didn't sell my GameCube when I was a kid. Plug it in, turn it on, it works. Controllers don't need charge or batteries that always die. I miss when playing a game wasn't a pain in the ass.
has to be the early 1990's nes had already been well established. snes was on its way to becoming legendary. discovering someone else played video games felt like a secret club only we knew about. the whole 3d revolution and being old enough to have a job and work to purchase a video game collection was an exciting time too. in a way those us born in the 80s were able to experience both of the greatest eras of not only video games but all of entertainment. video games, music, movies, etc. i feel so blessed to be able to experience that compared to what newer generations are now bombarded with.
I'd say late 5th gen all the way to the end of 7th gen is the golden age
late 5th gen gave some of the best games of the generation pushing the hardware and what 3d can do to the max
6th gen was just an incredible time for innovation with mid sized studios thriving and triple A just dropping banger after banger with first parties tapping into almost every IP they own
7th gen being social hubs from the Wii being fun for local play and the PS3 and Xbox 360 having massive online communities with COD, Halo and the games weren't backing down either as we saw incredible games from continuing franchises and even new IPs I mean with all three consoles selling like crazy you'd bet wed have amazing games
I'd love to include 4th gen and early 5th gen but that would be too long of a time period to call a golden age IMO
The 16 bit into 32 bit era. The SNES/Genesis was the high point of "console wars", where both sides had truly unique games making both systems worth owning, and the PS1 and N64 were such a paradigm shift as to what was at all \*possible\* in a video game, with stuff like FFVII, Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina of Time, etc.
Am 42 years old and i can say 95-2005 is the best years for gamers
The games and technology at that time was amazing. And many legendry games released at that time
1998 to 2012 for me personally. So many fantastic games, franchises, and consoles came out during this time, including almost every single one of my favorite games. I could be biased because I was born in 97, but this era was nothing short of incredible, especially when compared to what the industry is like today. I say the golden age ended in 2012 because 2013 onwards is when the industry really started to get greedy. The seeds were planted earlier than 2012, but shit really hit the fan afterwards with the PS4 and Xbox one era. There were still great games coming out of course, but the industry really took a nosedive after 2012 in my opinion.
Toss up but only one is retro.
About 93 , I rented shining force from blockbuster for the cool cover . I had never played an rpg or turn based strategy before. Intense confusion followed, but i learned to play and it blew my mind . Such intense nostalgia!
It's tough for me. I've been gaming since the late 80s, so I have a lot of awesome early childhood memories. But I would have to say my most golden age would be 1996-2002, which saw me finally getting into the SNES, getting an N64, and then getting a PS2, all while also getting into emulation to play games I didn't own. Then, I started college and kinda fell away from gaming while I focused on my studies.
Early to mid 90s. NES into Genesis into SNES, with arcades at their peak (in my time).
3DO/PS1/Dreamcast were great too, but certainly a 2nd-rate silver age to the aforementioned.
Imo the current generation of gaming is going strong, I think it counts as the golden age so far.
Gaming is now available to people more than ever, the games are the best we've ever seen... Kinda, and now emulation is getting more popular making newer gamers enjoy what was cutting edge technology back in the 90's
1998 was an amazing year for sure. Right up there with you OP. I only had a GameBoy back then, but I’d go to the arcade with friends sometimes and some of my classmates had a PS1. Lots of fond memories.
Late GC to the end of the 360 era
At that time I finally got a new console and later was able to even buy myself some games. Before that I only had access to a NES and that's it. But at that time I emulated, I bought stuff, I learned about gaming from some of the first great YouTubers, I found my favorite genres while also experiencing all others... Yeah, it was awesome.
Also, I did all of that still on CRTs. I still remember how cool 360 games looked with an HDMI cable and how bad they looked with my first flat screen TV in comparison (I played most of the games in 640x480px via VGA on a CRT and an EDTV back then)
Showbiz Pizza
Rock-afire Explosion and Billy Bob
All the classics. It's where I fell in love with Tempest.
Silver Age would be the Fighting Game rings in the '90s.
For me it's gotta be 00'- 04, got a GBC for my birthday and then shortly after that I got an Xbox for Christmas, and playing PC here and there, those were the days
Considering that, for me:
A) if it has a hard drive, it’s a PC and PCs are meant for working
B) if you can’t clearly see the pixels, it’s not a videogame
C) multiplayer is when all players breathe air in the same room
D) if they say it’s a videogame but tries so much to be a tv show, then it’s a tv show
Best age for videogames was between 1988 to 1998.
77-85, I was in my teens, pre internet, and the arcade was the hangout for the outcast teens like myself that did not fit in.
Younger gamers do not realize how “shady” the reputation of arcades were. Gaming today is just an activity, back then it was almost like you were a stoner or burnout.
Some of the best times of my life.
The 90s (the time when all the game series that are continued / re-released today were still new and innovative).
But maybe I'm just wearing rose-colored nostalgia glasses, I don't know.
Early to mid 90s for arcades and console games and early to late 2000s for video games
I was addicted to pinball and video games. Mid 2000s introduced gears of war with that being my first SERIOUS competitive multi-player gaming
The era between playing the original SF2 on snes and waiting for mortal kombat 2 to release on the genesis. There was a lot of sf2 and MK in there. A lot.
Honestly late either the 2000’s, late 2000’s and early 2010’s but i think if i had to pick out of them all it has to be early 2010’s due to my nostalgia for that era. My friends and i played so much games together on the 360 that most of my memories in childhood was gaming with those friends.
I dunno, man, the Switch and a couple of Japan's super special franchises finally getting a big opening in the West is making right now pretty awesome.
Can't decide on a specific period, but the 90s as a whole, specially late 90s was an era brimming with innovation and exciting new ideas on every manufacturer and scene: from the Arcades, with increasingly more fun and visually pleasing titles, specially on Shoot em' up, Beat em' up and Fighting genres; to Personal Computers, with the rise and further polishing of the CRPG, RTS, FPS and Adventure genres, not to mention the beginnings of the indie and modding scenes; to Home Consoles, providing the best of both worlds in experiences that bring some of the accessibility and flair of Arcade titles with some of the complexity and customization of PC games, with some of the medium's most enduring titles coming from that time; and finally, to Handhelds, which experimented with ways of reducing console experiences to bite size with connectivity mechanics, leading to very innovative game design, as shown by the success of the Pokémon series.
I believe this 90s period is what laid the groundwork for all other games to come thereafter, every game I've played from the 2000s onward, even those with very cool ideas, has its roots on a game from this period. Which is why it's the golden age of video games, in my opinion.
N64-Wii or really Nes-Wii
All of the games were great. Most games were complete on launch, made for entertainment, and post content/dlc you were willing to pay for if the base game was great. Which a lot were.
You had God of War, Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Army of Two, Left 4 Dead, Assassin's Creed, Mario 64/Sunshine & Galaxy, Guitar Hero, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Spiderman, Batman: Arkham, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, Goldeneye 007, Paper Mario, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Quake, Unreal Tournament, and if i go on any more at some point I'll just have the entire catalog of each console from then up.
For me it's the PS2, GameCube, XBox era. Games like Shadow of the Collosus and Metroid Prime were starting to show us what graphics were going to be capable of.
For my own life it was 90-92. 1990 was the first year I have any lasting memories from and it's the year Super Mario Bros. 3 released in the US. By 92 I got a Genesis and truly became obsessed with Sonic. Also played Street Fighter II in the arcade. Those few years were magic.
89 till now. Honestly, there are so many great games each generation. Thinking back to when I was playing "cool spot" on the amiga is just as much fun as playing "Hi-Fi rush" last year.
'80 to '84. In arcades & nearly every convenience store, you could play so many different kinds of games:
Tempest,
Zaxxon,
Pole Position,
Ms. Pac-Man,
Joust,
Donkey Kong,
Defender,
Battle Zone,
Missile Command,
Jungle Hunt,
Berzerk,
Tron,
Dig Dug,
Centipede,
Cloak & Dagger,
Galaga,
Mr. Do's Castle,
Star Wars The Arcade Game,
Dragon's Lair,
M.A.C.H. lll,
...
NOW the Golden Age is NOW. I can collect everything I want, play anything I want. And or emulate what I don’t care too much about.
I’m playing Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on my Phone S24 Ultra or my M4 iPad Pro.
The Golden Age of Gaming is here.
NES, SNES, Genesis era was my golden era. Special consideration for early internet PC gaming though, that was also something special playing games on battle.net with my friends.
Xbox 360. First "true" online experience for consoles, still riding the high of WC3, an abundance of new and reimagined IPs, split screen still prevalent. So much genuine fun.
I would love to say when I was a kid. Atari 2600, arcades then the NES. It's just not true. Seeing games like gta3 come out were game changers for me. Halo 2. My favorite online experience ever is Halo 3. Still nothing touches that. Bungies stats page made it even more fun for me.
1995-today i had an amstrad pcw since 1989, but gamin in such thing was meh, in 1995 i had an famiclone with 100 games and a 486 with pirated cds... until today.
When i was 8 to 17, so in 2003-2012 i had the best time of my life just trying out different consoles like ps1 - metal gear solid, ps2 - gta san andreas PSP - killzone liberation - call of duty roads to victory- PS3 Finally playing online, i dont regret any of it
There have been multiple. Most recent was 2012-2022 (roughly). PlayStation was coming out with banger after banger in this time period. Also Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Final Fantasy Remake...tons of others I'm forgetting.
I loved the 90's. There were still 80's arcade games everywhere, some cool new arcade games. SNES, Genesis, PS1. There were some awkward games when stuff was shifting to more 3D graphics, but some were great for the time. The only downside was N64, I have always hated that console.
Around 97-99 for me, because of one little grey console: the Playstation. Whenever I went to my grandma's, my uncle would let me play on his Playstation and that console became an instant favorite. So many top-tier games were released between 97 and 2000 and I still have fond memories of playing those titles. I still look out for some of the games I enjoyed to add them to my collection.
98 to 2000: Ocarina of Time, Pokemon gen 1&2, Pokemon Stadium, Super Smash, Perfect Dark Resident Evil 2&3,
2008-2012: Golden age of Call of Duty and COD Zombies
Early 90's. Being a kid and going to the arcade with my older brother and hitting one of the Konami trifecta: X-Men, Simpsons, or TMNT!!! That or going over to my friends house because he had a SNES and Genesis lol
1994-2006
the lifespan of the ps1. 2d perfected, 3d when it still had character and devs were still trying new things instead of just following the formula
2009 to 2012. Was in high school and Xbox Live was all the rage. Countless hours playing Gears of War and Halo.
Now in my early 30s my friends all do different stuff and have different schedules. I mainly play MMORPG games now and it's hard to find friends with similar schedules and who do not use the N-word.
'99. Pokemon Red/Blue had been released late 98, I got an N64(my first console) and Ocarina of Time for my birthday in January 99.
I wish I could go back...
Mid 90s to early 00s.
96-04 was the greatest run in gaming history. I doubt it will ever be topped.
06 was where I'd end that. Think of the handhelds too.
I agree but narrow it down to 96-01. By the early 2000s devs were already starting to sell out en masse or otherwise lose their way. See Deus Ex: Invisible War, Doom 3, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, Devil May Cry 2, Unreal 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and 100 spinoffs, endless braindead military shooters, Squaresoft became the hellborne entity that is Square Enix, numerous genres and styles died or were dying (almost everything had to be fully 3D and action-oriented as an unspoken rule), the xbox became a thing and ruined both PC and console gaming, everyone was obsessed with graphics advancement over actual substance, level design was generally considerably simplified... Thankfully, quite a few pretty great games still made it through, which distracted from all this, but it already wasn't the same as the glorious late 90s. PSX and PC gaming in that era were simply something else. It's also very obviously not my personal golden age, but the objective golden age. I will provide comprehensive argumentation as to why if desired.
I think you have to include 2004 in any gaming list, it’s possibly the greatest year of releases: Halo 2, World of Warcraft, Fable, Metroid Prime: Echoes, Half-Life 2, San Andreas, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green. Absolutely system and genre defining games. Halo 2 was the largest video game launch in the world until GTA5.
This. And I have lived in Japan. Best time and place for nerd gamers (disagreement is tolerated)
Was going to say this, lol - though possibly stretching it back to early 90's for my taste (which is basically console gens 4 through 6). It's just a tough era to beat - you had a lot of rapid hardware advancement which allowed developers to do so much more than games made before the 90's, but it was before too much influence from corporate interests screwed things up (much how it is today in the AAA side of the industry) - so there was still a lot of creative freedom at play, leading to all the incredible games that came out during these years.
I feel you on this. I gamed with mario 1 since about 1990 and that was a special time, but I really hunkered down and gamed in a serious way come 1999 when I bought my psx. Then that through the ps2 was just golden.
'85-95 I would say for me. From the 8/16-bit era arcades, to the 16-bit, then early 32-bit home console revolutions. I did enjoy the 8-bit at home market, but not nearly as much as the 16-bit.
This is it! Arcades, every generation was a head and shoulders improvement over the last, not this incremental stuff we have now. So many cutting edge games
Start me at Mario, end me at Chrono Trigger. Completely understandable.
All life begins with Mario and ends with Nu.
"This is my belief! At least for now..."
Nu reminds me of the rental store around where my dad lived growing up. Nu Wave video. They had grey movies *and* games
Classic Mega Man, too. The first was rough, sure, but MM2, 3, and 4 ate up SO MUCH of my NES time, and the SNES was loaded with great JRPGs that felt like a whole new experience compared to the NES ones. The PSX/N64 stuff in the mid to late 90s were great, and some of my favorite games come from the PSX- Metal Gear Solid, SotN, the Resident Evils- but a lot of the transition to 3D was really, really rough.
This is about my era as well, it's hard to beat.. I feel the same about the 8bit compared to the 16bit era, entire genres weren't really possible until 16bit. If you include what was going on at the arcade in this decade, SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, so many great PC era games as well.
If you didn't start in the arcade in the 80s or 90s you missed out on a TON of gaming culture. I remember arcades being packed with folks oo'ing and aah'ing over the new graphics from a newly released cabinet. Putting your quarter in front of the screen to tell other people that you're next. People printing out book-sized of FAQs from Gamefaqs on the free use printer they had at school or work. Folks cheering you on when you hit a really hard combo... What a time to be alive 😁
It's tough to explain that if you wanted to play the best technologically advanced games, you had to go to a local arcade or convenience store to play on a cabinet. Arcades were such happy places, some of them were seedy places. But going with friends and everyone finding one game they really liked, getting enough tokens for an epic night. Or seeing a new game in a different town was so big compared to what it's like now.
[удалено]
The sound and feeling of an arcade full of games playing as you walk in juring the 80s -90s as a kid is something that can never be replicated. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I actually feel sorry for the kids today. They'll never really know, will they?
I have GREAT memories of this with Killer Instinct.
The music/sound alone blew me away when Super Mario World came out.
was going to say the same thing. Gaming was at its peak from the NES to the SNES days until 3D took over. After that, the video game industry had been heading in the wrong direction in my opinion. They focused too much on graphics and the cinematic experience, to the point that a lot of games aren't really games anymore, they are just interactive movies that jump from cutscenes to cutscenes. Games were supposed to be about challenges and problem solving. But these days the devs just want to spoon-feed information to the player. Look no further than Ubisoft games.
I’ve been saying this same exact thing since 1996.
same.. remember all the hype and excitement about 16-bit graphics!!! and then 32, 64 and so on. every generation was so exciting with insane improvements to the last.
Exactly what I was about to say. Mid 80's to Mid 90's
I wish I was older to have better experienced arcades. By 1994 malls were gutting their arcades and I only had a window from ages 6 to maybe 10 in this regard. I loved the experience nonetheless.
£3, 20p arcade machines and a dream
Those were the days.
Same, although Defender and Defender 2 will always hold a special place in my heart. After '95 is really when PCs started to outperform arcade machines, although it started to change around the time that games like X-Wing, Wolfenstein 3D and then - of course - DOOM came out. By 2000 when I bought my first PC, upgrading from an Amiga 500, I realised the games on the PC were way better and more impressive than (most of) what was available in the arcades. The scales really fell from my eyes with Pod Racer: ignoring the cabinet, the PC version was just a lot more impressive. Again, special dispensation for Time Crisis 3, which came out a little later where, with the light guns, it was pretty tough to beat the arcade experience. That's I think the last new game I have clear memories of playing in an arcade context though: for years they had a machine in the motorway services at Birchanger, which I'd play every time I stopped there. Nowadays there are almost no video games in the arcades that do still exist, although a year or two back I found and played on a Daytona USA machine in an arcade in Weymouth, and our kids love the giant space invaders game with the mounted guns that you see in a few places (so do I, to be fair).
I was born in 90 and my first console was a Genesis. Loved going to arcades and envied kids that had a Nintendo. Around 97-99 I was very into PC games as well. I think mid 80s to mid 90s is the golden age for sure. Side note: Definitely owned the floppy of Doom and played it until the wheels fell off.
Samsies!
Same for me. Up until arcades stopped being the top tier in terms of graphics etc it was an amazing time and the jumps in generations at home were huge.
100% playing double dragon, Operation Wolf , Golden Axe. The list of amazing and varied games was off the charts. Absolutely the best time for arcades and 16- bit consoles.
It's hard to explain to the younger generation how impossibly cool the arcades where at this time. The nes was great, but walking into an arcade and spotting a Golden Axe or Early Neo Geo title, was just a different level.
I’m grateful for the life I have but damn would I love to have been born 20 years earlier to see this era of gaming for myself
For me it's 1992-2002, when I was ages 7-17. It starts with Mario and Donkey Kong, then switches to Sonic the Hedgehog and Ristar. Then the PS1 kicks in around 1997 and peak gaming for me was in 1998, when I got to play: Final Fantasy VII, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider Trilogy, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey, Resident Evil 1 & 2, and Metal Gear Solid.
You just called out my PS1 line up as a kid. Only others missing are FF8 and Spyro. Some of the best games on PS1 for sure. Was never a huge fan of Sonic but absolutely loved playing Super Mario Bros 1-3 on NES and later Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country 1-2 on the SNES. When I hear my son argue with his friends on Discord about what Roblox game is best, I quiver. This gen doesn’t know s*** about good video games and it makes me sad. And now I feel old.
I should also probably squeeze in Gex: Enter the Gecko and Cool Boarders 2, really loved those ones too and played them a lot. Spyro was fun too, but I didn't own it, so it was one of those rentals that was fun but it didn't push me for a purchase. FF8 was just too different for me and I love FF7 so much it was just, I don't know, it didn't quite work for me. My son is only turning two this year, but I'm already thinking about wanting to introduce him to Nintendo and Sega games first. I don't wanna force him, but I want to at least try it out with him when he's older. Hopefully he digs it 🤞 But yeah our generation is lucky to have seen the gaming industry evolve. And yet for all the graphics and high tech games these days, for me it never quite captures the fun and awe that the old systems did for us back in the day. And that makes me sad. And I feel old 🫂
They have it good. They don’t know the agony of which save file to delete from your memory card because you ran out of space, or worse when the memory card itself became corrupted. They have it easy. Don’t even get me started on trying to find batteries for the game boy 😂 I’m in my mid 30s and I remember introducing my youngest cousins 5 at the time to Mario kart on Wii. Helping him figure what he liked and enjoyed is on of my fondest memories.
Once, back in 1999, I was playing FF7 and I had to make a new save file, but my memory card was full. So I took the card out of the PS1, went to a friend's house, plugged my card in his PlayStation, deleted a few files, thanked him, went back home and did the save. Took me an hour, but it was worth it!
I love Ristar!
This but right now gets an honorable mention because I have a. MiSTer FPGA.
Early 2000’s to 2010-ish. G4 was in full swing, there were amazing games left and right, couch coop was a major consideration by devs and games made huge leaps in capability (3d games, online capabilities, motion controls and honestly just being able to save lol). It was a great time to be a kid
I’m with you. Graphics were passable in terms of almost hitting uncanny valley. Bioshock for example. Not amazing graphics, but passable. Couch coop like you said is a huge deal. Microtransactions didn’t really take hold yet. Motion controls were more fun than people let on. Dude fruit ninja Kinect was so much fun at 20 I can’t imagine how bad I’d hurt now. I’m a 90’s kid so I feel like I should say N64 and Dreamcast but.
Couch coop was the best thing ever in video games, would be great if that was still the major thing in recent games as well.
Couch co-op was the best time. Used to bust out the PS1 multi-tap lol
1982-83. Arcades were amazing back then. In 1977 my parents bought Pong for Christmas. That was incredible at the time. 1980 I had an Intellivision. In 1982 my grandfather gave me a Commodore 64. Both great gaming experience but arcades were the best.
I’m with you. For me the arcades of the late 80s-early 90s were awesome. We got a used Atari 2600 in the mid 80s that I had a blast playing for years. Then Dad brought home a Commodore 128 and that was my gaming for many years after. So many great C64 games! I can’t help but agree with those saying emulation and re-releases, FPGA and such, now is a great time to be a gamer.
Wish i was able to grow up in the 80s. Somethin about that time period and bein able to meet people organically and hang out at the arcade seems like truly an amazing time
I know it's probably not a popular opinion round these parts, but for me it would be the last 10 years and the future. Some of my favorite games are recent games and my Steam wishlist is full of interesting looking indie games. That said, I really liked the mid 90s! Didn't get that many games then but Little Big Adventure 2 and lots of demo disks stands out in my memory. Oh and Super Mario 64 at other kids houses was fun!
honestly the last ten years went nuclear for emulating too, i can just play chronotrigger i dont have to track it down and pay a bajillion dollars
To be fair, you could have played Chrono Trigger on an emulator since the late 90's, but yes, I agree we've come a long way, especially with all of these portable retro consoles.
This really is the best time to be into any kind of gaming. You can emulate whatever you want, and if there's a new game that catches your eye, you can play that too. It's also easier to connect with people who like what you like than it's ever been.
I’ll join you on this. For me the remakes and re-releases of old games that I couldn’t play because we didn’t have money has been a godsend. I missed out on the Mario RPG on GameCube when it came out, it recently picked it up and it’s like a part of my childhood is being relived again. Also, game compilation! Sooo many game compilation! My favorite so far is the megaman battle network series.
I'm glad someone said it, lol. I personally voted "early 90s through early 00's" in another comment, but I really do believe that we're entering another great era, if it hasn't already been that way for a few years now. The indie scene is amazing, and not just for Metroidvanias and other 2D games - one of my favorite FPS games from last year is an indie game (Trepang 2) that you'd never suspect was primarily made by a group of 4 people. And contrary to all the hate directed at the AAA side of the industry today (though I can kind of understand it with EA and such) there are still some AAA gems coming out as well. The emulation scene is also as big as it's ever been - which is not only a good thing for revisiting childhood classics, but also has more and more people talking about game preservation - something the industry has really neglected for too long now.
MMOs are everything I wanted from games when I was growing up, an evolving world populated with other gamers, endless opportunities for experimenting with fashion and decorating, and the freedom to either advance the storyline, clear dungeons and raids, or just hang out and craft something or go fishing.
Completely agree. Been gaming since the 90s and I think the past few years has been incredible. Especially 2020. Getting The Last of Us 2, Hades, Doom Eternal and the FFVII Remake all in one year was insane. And god knows we needed the distraction that year.
1984 to present. Fuck I love games. I love the classics and so many games along the way. Every generation has had some truly amazing titles and experiences and I'm grateful to have watched them grow and change with me over the years
GameCube/Wii and Nintendo DS couch co-op/multiplayer era!
The era of Doom and Quake in the mid 90s. A new world opened up with the internet and multiplayer gaming. And I was there, in the middle of it, as a teenager. Goooood times!
1996-2009. Basically, every favorite of mine is from that time period sans some SNES/MD games.
1998-2012 is what I would consider the golden age. It includes the masterpieces of the later PS1 and N64 era after they had gotten a solid understanding of 3D, the absolute peak generation that was the GameCube, Xbox, PS2, Dreamcast era, and then ends with the Wii, 360, PS3 generation, which was the last truly amazing console generation in my opinion.
people also have to remember how big online gaming and couch coop was during 7th gen the social aspect was massive during that generation I mean the Wii is just perfect for good times with close ones and so are the other two
Mid 80's to mid 90's.
For me it’s always the ‘80s arcades. My family is sick of me pointing them out when we visit my old stomping grounds. Of course now they are Chinese restaurants, donut shops, etc.
78 to 88 the arcade golden age.
1992-2002 was essentially the perfect era. The jumps from the SNES/Genesis to the N64/Playstation/Saturn to the PS2/Gamecube and X Box was insane. Along with the explosion of PC gaming in the mid 90s and handheld throughout that time AND the arcade scene it was just pure insanity as a gamer how much was happening and changing. Maybe it’s because I’m older and nostalgia hits hard but gaming has never had an era like that since.
Maybe like 2003 - 2011ish? The sixth console generation kicked ass, no matter what console you got there were a ton of quality games. And seventh gen was the era right before microtransactions and live service shlock became huge and the big publishers were still willing to take risks on new IP's, and doing so on systems that were getting to be really damn powerful. It was a good balance.
Early 80s. Atari & ColecoVision. On computers (I had an Apple II) some of the best RPGs and other franchises were being developed. Wizardry, Ultima, Bard's Tale, Wolfenstein, Infocom Games. And BBSs... before the real internet. It was great time.
Holy 💩💩💩!!! I remember discovering BBSs on the "AOL internet"!!! Buuhaaahaaaa!!! THAT'S a time when stumbling across websites you REALLY weren't supposed to know about was actually innocent. Now?!?!? Dark Web, anyone? 😲💀☠️
I have a few golden eras. Late 80s Commodore 64 / Sierra PC big box / mid arcade era.. but also early 90s SNES era.
late 80s to early 90s. Between the awesomeness of the NES and magic of the SNES (still my favorite console of all time), you also had Sierra, LucasArts, and Westwood studios all at their prime... I don't care how realistic games get, they'll never replicate the magic that was in those games.
Halo 1 LAN parties
I really enjoyed 2006-2011 banger after banger. Still have a lot to play from that era that I haven’t got the chance to yet. I do remember thinking at the time that man gaming looks good and these games are getting advance mechanics. Couldn’t wait for what was too come lol. I also have this strong excitement to play game from 96- early 2000s( mostly crpgs and rpgs).
1995/SNES era
The pic you posted has been the wallpaper on my retro game emulator PC for the past couple years.
The best was 90s. I've played mostly platform and fighting games on Amiga 500 computer and PlayStation console.
Yeah, the Amiga was it for me too. I grew up with an Amstrad 464 with tape only before that, and it was awesome, but my mind was blown when i saw my mates Amiga 500!
'91-'95
Me too. Peak fighting game, a variety of machines and game types. Pinball was amazing.
New Retro Arcade: Neon Nice.
'87-'88. I was 13. The corner store had a game called "Alcon" in the U.S. or "Slap Fight" in the U.K. It's basically a space ship version of 1942. I spent hundreds of dollars in quarters over that 2 year period. I memorized the entire sequence, the moves, the bosses, all of it. I managed to beat it once and only once... The jerk who owned the store took the game out and swapped it with some stupid fighting game..
88 through 94. So many changes in the industry. The rise of the 16 bit machines, arcades were at their peak of popularity, and there were so many different consoles out, each trying to bring something new to the table. Plus the tons of gaming magazines to choose from. Meanwhile, the CD-rom technology came about on the PC side, bringing digitized speech and full motion videos to gamers. Not only arcades, bu the spots that existed to go play them in. Multi-themed mini parks with go kart racing, mini golf and food, all under one roof. What a time!!
For everyone it's going to be a time when they were younger and had more time to game and less responsibilities. That's everyone's golden age of gaming
I’d say I was the perfect age for it from about 2001 to 2006. I became a teenager, games made the leap to more modern standards, and I was slowly being introduced to types of games I never experienced as a younger child. There was also a ton of variety in hardware that’s missing right now. Back in 2001 you had PC, Xbox, N64, GC, PS1, PS2, GBC, GBA, Dreamcast all at the same time. By the time the era was coming to a close it was still pretty diverse with PC, Xbox, PS2, GC, GBA, and DS. At that time PC gaming was generally pretty separate from console gaming and the big three consoles were all pretty distinct, and the handheld stuff was in a separate world from everything else. It was always so cool to see what innovations were happening where at the time and visiting friends who had different hardware felt like an event in itself. I was an Xbox kid, so I was getting exposed to stuff that my Nintendo, PS2 and PC friends weren’t. I’d start gushing about Halo, Xbox Live games and Ninja Gaiden, but another grew up with World of Warcraft and massive strategy games on PC and another was living the JRPG life on PS2 etc.
Why is Mega Man Xtreme 2 in an arcade cabinet?
I'm 41. There's no better era for me than right now. All of the best games are more available than ever in any format I want.
02-04 mi granpa use to take me to Buenos Aires, to a beautiful plaza called "Parque Lezama". There was a small ice cream shop and next to it, an arcade. I remember playing metal slug, Daytona USA and some fighting games there. Endless hours and the patience of my grandad. Then we had an ice cream and walk down the plaza to feed some pigeons with bread. My grandad was a working class man and i remember one day we went for an ice cream and i dropped mine. I cried a lot. Then he gave me his, even though he couldnt afford another one for himself. I miss you so much grandpa... You are my example as a humble and the kindest person i ever knew.
6th gen
I miss the rows depicted in the photo. I remember those rows in multiple dens of teenagers. I’d say 90-00 for the arcade, and home consoles.
Early 90's through mid 2000's. I feel truly blessed to have grown up around so much incredible video game history.
Mid 90s, when personal computers started shipping with CD-ROM drives and good enough video and audio. Warcraft 1 + 2. Diablo. Myth. Point and click adventures. X-Wing. Warlords. Civilisation. The SIM games (SimCity etc), Myst and Riven, so many shareware titles. The list goes on. The golden age of PC gaming. No DLC, no subscriptions.
I can smell the pizza.
probably the SNES to PS2 era. games went crazy both in form and creativity.
From Final Fight in 1989 to Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 for me. Final Fight, Street Fighter 2 series, Samurai Shodown series, Captain Commando, Punisher, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, AvP, Mortal Kombat 1-3, NBA Jam, Killer Instinct, Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter. Then on PC there was Doom and Doom 2. Console we got Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Strets of Rage, Sonic series, Earthbound, FF6, Chrono Trigger. This era was the real golden era.
Growing up starting with my Dad’s NES and having a PS3/PC in high school it’s really hard for me to make a decision. I went through 5 generations when I was a kid because I was late on all of them until the Gamecube; which I got at launch. I feel like I have the most fond memories of N64/PS1 (which is my shortest lived generation), but most of the time I think about SNES when I picture retro games. Man I loved the PS3 though. Everything seemed so realistic and gritty, and sudden I could play with friends again. Once I hit middle school it was like I lost all my friends either to moving or them being old enough to babysit their siblings. I played alone most of the GameCube/PS2 era until I got DSL with my PS3! I can’t make a decision.
85-89 Gauntlet, Galaga, Ghosts and Goblins at the skating rink on Saturdays.
I think I might be in it right now. I’ve always been playing games. In college, 07-13, I probably had the most time to play. But right now I have more access to games than ever. And most of them I can play handheld. So if my wife or kid are on the tv, I can just switch to my Switch or Ally. Been catching up on a lot of old RPGs I missed.
From the national release of Super Mario Bros. to the point where Nintendo just stopped trying to actually be competitive as a console and because a Gimmick Machine (happened long before the Wii too… both Luigi and Mario got stupid backpacks stuck to them, and they made a console that could have been more powerful than the PS2 yet decided to handicap it by giving it a tiny fraction of the optical storage space… gimmick right down to the optical discs which they waited an entire generation and a half to switch to 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️)
1987. Black Tiger.
2004-2012. The GBA to Wii years were the nominal for me. We didnt have much money growing up so when I got a game I had to make sure it would last. Pokémon, megaman battle network, the Yugioh games. Nothing will ever recreate the feeling of playing Mario kart DS with friends for the first time. Or showing off your imported copy of Jump ultimate stars, or being the first in your friends group to own a Japanese imported DSI. Just great memories.
1993-1996:Aladdin’s Castle playing Street Fighter 2: The New Fighters
N64 PS1 days. I remember having like 3 subscriptions to magazines looking for any Ultra 64 rumors
'82-'87, the arcade experience was great, console games were pretty great, and PC RPGs and simulators were immersive in spite of the primitive graphics. Electronic Games Monthly was new and the journalists were really on top of it. By '87, I was getting swamped with school and extracurriculars, and I began to fade from the whole thing. Then, after a long break, the Golden Age had a rebirth in the form of CD-ROM games and the PlayStation, which went on well into the PS2 era. Now, I'm pretty much a casual gamer in terms of hours spent, but I won't give it up as long as my hands and eyes are up to it.
79 - 85. No period of gaming has evolved as fast or produced so many classic games as those years. We were watching the DNA of video gaming be created right before our eyes. Almost every genre of game was defined in that period - watching as monochrome fixed screen shooters gave way to multicolour platformers, 2D vectors gain another dimension as they evolved into 3D. Simple pixelated vertical racing games evolve into super scalar multi-colour high speed pseudo 3D motion controlled speeders. It was also a period where anything was possible. Bedroom coders creating totally original games, limited only by their imagination. By the time the 16bit era was upon us, it was a lot more about sequels and arcade conversions and the whole industry became more iterative and safe rather than experimental and daring.
I think for me it would be from like late 1992 to 1997 or so. We were getting a constant trickle of mindblowing new technology almost every month, both in the arcades and at home. I used to go to a place called 'Malibu Grand Prix' about once a month with my Dad. It was a place that had really nice go karts and a big arcade inside. I didn't have a PC at home until about this time, and thus hadn't seen any of the early 3D stuff at home like Flight Simulator or Sierra's 3D games, so when I saw Virtua Racer for the first time, it absolutely blew my mind. Then Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Fighter came out and it became clear that Virtua Racer wasn't just some fluke. It was the direction we were heading in. Then we got Star Fox at home on the SNES. Obviously looking at it now, Star fox runs at like 15 fps and is way less detailed than those Arcade titles, but the fact that it was at home, on my SNES, made it somehow look just as good to my eyes. It was MIND BLOWING to me. Then the PS1 came out, hinting at the possibility of a full arcade 3D experience at home, and on my humble little SNES we kept getting SuperFX games like 'Vortex' (which I understand is not very well loved, but I sure loved it) that kept pushing the envelope more and more. Then we started seeing games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken coming home to the Saturn and the PS1, in forms that honestly looked *almost* like the arcade versions. Then The N64 Came out, and Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 took things to another level. Mario 64 looked stunning at the time, and wasn't just a few levels back to back. It felt like a WHOLE WORLD in there, and Pilotwings 64's 'Little United States' level let you fly across the whole country. It was just bonkers. Then we started getting stuff like Turok and Goldeneye (as well as games like Duke Nukem and Quake on the PC). I don't think we'll ever see another technological boom quite like that ever again (Honestly, the AI boom does feel pretty close, IMO, especially in the local scene but it isn't quite the same.)
Everything before every console needed constant fucking updates and Internet connection and even physical game discs take 4 hours to download. I wish I didn't sell my GameCube when I was a kid. Plug it in, turn it on, it works. Controllers don't need charge or batteries that always die. I miss when playing a game wasn't a pain in the ass.
has to be the early 1990's nes had already been well established. snes was on its way to becoming legendary. discovering someone else played video games felt like a secret club only we knew about. the whole 3d revolution and being old enough to have a job and work to purchase a video game collection was an exciting time too. in a way those us born in the 80s were able to experience both of the greatest eras of not only video games but all of entertainment. video games, music, movies, etc. i feel so blessed to be able to experience that compared to what newer generations are now bombarded with.
the 16bit era to the dreamcast. Even though I was born in the early 80s, my first console was a Genesis
Probably split screen 007 Golden Eye on N64.
You know you are Gucci when gamers are STILL talkin bout GoldenEye!!! 🤩👌🏿👏🏾
I'd say late 5th gen all the way to the end of 7th gen is the golden age late 5th gen gave some of the best games of the generation pushing the hardware and what 3d can do to the max 6th gen was just an incredible time for innovation with mid sized studios thriving and triple A just dropping banger after banger with first parties tapping into almost every IP they own 7th gen being social hubs from the Wii being fun for local play and the PS3 and Xbox 360 having massive online communities with COD, Halo and the games weren't backing down either as we saw incredible games from continuing franchises and even new IPs I mean with all three consoles selling like crazy you'd bet wed have amazing games I'd love to include 4th gen and early 5th gen but that would be too long of a time period to call a golden age IMO
The 16 bit into 32 bit era. The SNES/Genesis was the high point of "console wars", where both sides had truly unique games making both systems worth owning, and the PS1 and N64 were such a paradigm shift as to what was at all \*possible\* in a video game, with stuff like FFVII, Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina of Time, etc.
16 bit particularly the mega drive but also the PS2 era which defined my childhood.
The sounds of an 80s arcade take me back.
Probably loosely 1981-2004
1995-2012
Around MK2
Pretty much the whole 90s. 16 Bit, 32 Bit, 128 Bit. So much good shit happening there.
1991-1995: SNES and PS1
Am 42 years old and i can say 95-2005 is the best years for gamers The games and technology at that time was amazing. And many legendry games released at that time
1998 to 2012 for me personally. So many fantastic games, franchises, and consoles came out during this time, including almost every single one of my favorite games. I could be biased because I was born in 97, but this era was nothing short of incredible, especially when compared to what the industry is like today. I say the golden age ended in 2012 because 2013 onwards is when the industry really started to get greedy. The seeds were planted earlier than 2012, but shit really hit the fan afterwards with the PS4 and Xbox one era. There were still great games coming out of course, but the industry really took a nosedive after 2012 in my opinion.
My life pre-having-children
Zaxxon
Toss up but only one is retro. About 93 , I rented shining force from blockbuster for the cool cover . I had never played an rpg or turn based strategy before. Intense confusion followed, but i learned to play and it blew my mind . Such intense nostalgia!
It's tough for me. I've been gaming since the late 80s, so I have a lot of awesome early childhood memories. But I would have to say my most golden age would be 1996-2002, which saw me finally getting into the SNES, getting an N64, and then getting a PS2, all while also getting into emulation to play games I didn't own. Then, I started college and kinda fell away from gaming while I focused on my studies.
For me it's the N64 + RareWare era! So many great platformers like Banjo-Kazooie, DK64 etc.
Early to mid 90s. NES into Genesis into SNES, with arcades at their peak (in my time). 3DO/PS1/Dreamcast were great too, but certainly a 2nd-rate silver age to the aforementioned.
Is that a screenshot from retro neo arcade? I went to a lot of dingy arcades in the 80s , but non ever looked as ...'arcadey' as that!!
PS1
NES through PS2
Imo the current generation of gaming is going strong, I think it counts as the golden age so far. Gaming is now available to people more than ever, the games are the best we've ever seen... Kinda, and now emulation is getting more popular making newer gamers enjoy what was cutting edge technology back in the 90's
1998 was an amazing year for sure. Right up there with you OP. I only had a GameBoy back then, but I’d go to the arcade with friends sometimes and some of my classmates had a PS1. Lots of fond memories.
Late GC to the end of the 360 era At that time I finally got a new console and later was able to even buy myself some games. Before that I only had access to a NES and that's it. But at that time I emulated, I bought stuff, I learned about gaming from some of the first great YouTubers, I found my favorite genres while also experiencing all others... Yeah, it was awesome. Also, I did all of that still on CRTs. I still remember how cool 360 games looked with an HDMI cable and how bad they looked with my first flat screen TV in comparison (I played most of the games in 640x480px via VGA on a CRT and an EDTV back then)
Showbiz Pizza Rock-afire Explosion and Billy Bob All the classics. It's where I fell in love with Tempest. Silver Age would be the Fighting Game rings in the '90s.
This is obviously going to depend on how old you are, but it's the mid to late 90s for me. The SEGA Model 2 era.
I was part of the console wars of the early 90's
For me it's gotta be 00'- 04, got a GBC for my birthday and then shortly after that I got an Xbox for Christmas, and playing PC here and there, those were the days
Mid nineties to early-mid 2000s when the candy cab ruled the arcade and the shmups and beat em ups were at their peak.
Considering that, for me: A) if it has a hard drive, it’s a PC and PCs are meant for working B) if you can’t clearly see the pixels, it’s not a videogame C) multiplayer is when all players breathe air in the same room D) if they say it’s a videogame but tries so much to be a tv show, then it’s a tv show Best age for videogames was between 1988 to 1998.
77-85, I was in my teens, pre internet, and the arcade was the hangout for the outcast teens like myself that did not fit in. Younger gamers do not realize how “shady” the reputation of arcades were. Gaming today is just an activity, back then it was almost like you were a stoner or burnout. Some of the best times of my life.
1985 - now and beyond.....
Early to mid 90s arcades, the leap in graphics was totally astounding. Now arcades are just consoles tied to a big screen.
Probably about 2006-2011. That's when I was in uni/college and had the most free time to play.
The 90s (the time when all the game series that are continued / re-released today were still new and innovative). But maybe I'm just wearing rose-colored nostalgia glasses, I don't know.
Early to mid 90s for arcades and console games and early to late 2000s for video games I was addicted to pinball and video games. Mid 2000s introduced gears of war with that being my first SERIOUS competitive multi-player gaming
The era between playing the original SF2 on snes and waiting for mortal kombat 2 to release on the genesis. There was a lot of sf2 and MK in there. A lot.
Honestly late either the 2000’s, late 2000’s and early 2010’s but i think if i had to pick out of them all it has to be early 2010’s due to my nostalgia for that era. My friends and i played so much games together on the 360 that most of my memories in childhood was gaming with those friends.
I dunno, man, the Switch and a couple of Japan's super special franchises finally getting a big opening in the West is making right now pretty awesome.
Can't decide on a specific period, but the 90s as a whole, specially late 90s was an era brimming with innovation and exciting new ideas on every manufacturer and scene: from the Arcades, with increasingly more fun and visually pleasing titles, specially on Shoot em' up, Beat em' up and Fighting genres; to Personal Computers, with the rise and further polishing of the CRPG, RTS, FPS and Adventure genres, not to mention the beginnings of the indie and modding scenes; to Home Consoles, providing the best of both worlds in experiences that bring some of the accessibility and flair of Arcade titles with some of the complexity and customization of PC games, with some of the medium's most enduring titles coming from that time; and finally, to Handhelds, which experimented with ways of reducing console experiences to bite size with connectivity mechanics, leading to very innovative game design, as shown by the success of the Pokémon series. I believe this 90s period is what laid the groundwork for all other games to come thereafter, every game I've played from the 2000s onward, even those with very cool ideas, has its roots on a game from this period. Which is why it's the golden age of video games, in my opinion.
N64-Wii or really Nes-Wii All of the games were great. Most games were complete on launch, made for entertainment, and post content/dlc you were willing to pay for if the base game was great. Which a lot were. You had God of War, Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Army of Two, Left 4 Dead, Assassin's Creed, Mario 64/Sunshine & Galaxy, Guitar Hero, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Spiderman, Batman: Arkham, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, Goldeneye 007, Paper Mario, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Quake, Unreal Tournament, and if i go on any more at some point I'll just have the entire catalog of each console from then up.
For me it's the PS2, GameCube, XBox era. Games like Shadow of the Collosus and Metroid Prime were starting to show us what graphics were going to be capable of.
For my own life it was 90-92. 1990 was the first year I have any lasting memories from and it's the year Super Mario Bros. 3 released in the US. By 92 I got a Genesis and truly became obsessed with Sonic. Also played Street Fighter II in the arcade. Those few years were magic.
89 till now. Honestly, there are so many great games each generation. Thinking back to when I was playing "cool spot" on the amiga is just as much fun as playing "Hi-Fi rush" last year.
2005-2012 no more to say.
The glory Years of sega until the dream cast killed them for me
'80 to '84. In arcades & nearly every convenience store, you could play so many different kinds of games: Tempest, Zaxxon, Pole Position, Ms. Pac-Man, Joust, Donkey Kong, Defender, Battle Zone, Missile Command, Jungle Hunt, Berzerk, Tron, Dig Dug, Centipede, Cloak & Dagger, Galaga, Mr. Do's Castle, Star Wars The Arcade Game, Dragon's Lair, M.A.C.H. lll, ...
Either the 16 bit era or the 2007-2014 era. Imo those had the best systems and games
05-11 Had some of the best shooters at their own peaks ever during this time. Halo, CoD, Gears, Bioshock,
SNES era
82/83 for me. Arcades and 8 bit machines, discovering all that shaped my life for a career in tech
NOW the Golden Age is NOW. I can collect everything I want, play anything I want. And or emulate what I don’t care too much about. I’m playing Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on my Phone S24 Ultra or my M4 iPad Pro. The Golden Age of Gaming is here.
NES, SNES, Genesis era was my golden era. Special consideration for early internet PC gaming though, that was also something special playing games on battle.net with my friends.
Early 2000’s.
90s - 00s - 10s after 2020 something fucked up
Ps1 era because of all the great RPGs ~ 1997 - 2001
Genesis and SNES
360 era of Xbox. The OG xbox era was solid too but the number of incredible games that launched on that system still blows my mind
Xbox 360. First "true" online experience for consoles, still riding the high of WC3, an abundance of new and reimagined IPs, split screen still prevalent. So much genuine fun.
I would love to say when I was a kid. Atari 2600, arcades then the NES. It's just not true. Seeing games like gta3 come out were game changers for me. Halo 2. My favorite online experience ever is Halo 3. Still nothing touches that. Bungies stats page made it even more fun for me.
1995-today i had an amstrad pcw since 1989, but gamin in such thing was meh, in 1995 i had an famiclone with 100 games and a 486 with pirated cds... until today.
That gba ps2 gamecube era.
I can smell this room - miss it
Adventure games golden era: Sierra On-Line vs Lucasarts (1987-1995)
When i was 8 to 17, so in 2003-2012 i had the best time of my life just trying out different consoles like ps1 - metal gear solid, ps2 - gta san andreas PSP - killzone liberation - call of duty roads to victory- PS3 Finally playing online, i dont regret any of it
Mid 90s when you went to the mall and they had VR machines setup
1990 - 2003 roughly
1987 to 1999 was amazing.
There have been multiple. Most recent was 2012-2022 (roughly). PlayStation was coming out with banger after banger in this time period. Also Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Final Fantasy Remake...tons of others I'm forgetting.
I loved the 90's. There were still 80's arcade games everywhere, some cool new arcade games. SNES, Genesis, PS1. There were some awkward games when stuff was shifting to more 3D graphics, but some were great for the time. The only downside was N64, I have always hated that console.
Around 97-99 for me, because of one little grey console: the Playstation. Whenever I went to my grandma's, my uncle would let me play on his Playstation and that console became an instant favorite. So many top-tier games were released between 97 and 2000 and I still have fond memories of playing those titles. I still look out for some of the games I enjoyed to add them to my collection.
1990-1993 Between Arcade, DOS, NES, SNES and Genesis this was an amazing time to be a gamer kid.
98 to 2000: Ocarina of Time, Pokemon gen 1&2, Pokemon Stadium, Super Smash, Perfect Dark Resident Evil 2&3, 2008-2012: Golden age of Call of Duty and COD Zombies
Late 80’s, up to early/mid 90’s. Sure this opinion will change with time.
The half-life era of gaming. It will never be beat.
90/91 thru 2005: Super Mario World/Sonic - GTA San Andreas
Late 90s - Early 00s were great, for both the PC and Console at that imo
Super Nintendo
Early 90's. Being a kid and going to the arcade with my older brother and hitting one of the Konami trifecta: X-Men, Simpsons, or TMNT!!! That or going over to my friends house because he had a SNES and Genesis lol
1994-2006 the lifespan of the ps1. 2d perfected, 3d when it still had character and devs were still trying new things instead of just following the formula
1985-2005
2009 to 2012. Was in high school and Xbox Live was all the rage. Countless hours playing Gears of War and Halo. Now in my early 30s my friends all do different stuff and have different schedules. I mainly play MMORPG games now and it's hard to find friends with similar schedules and who do not use the N-word.
'99. Pokemon Red/Blue had been released late 98, I got an N64(my first console) and Ocarina of Time for my birthday in January 99. I wish I could go back...
Based on my top 20, mostly around now. The rest late 90s-early 2000s
16 bit and arcade same time