The Golden age

[Lee]

Everything has a golden age, whether it is Holywood, Comics or even wrestling. So I thought I would open the debate on what you think gamings golden age is.

For me it is one of two generations:

1) The fourth generation

Here we have the Megadrive and the SNES both consoles essentially dominated the world. With Mario v Sonic as well as the door opening to more 'adult' games such as Mortal Kombat. If I go back and play the fourth generation the graphics don't annoy me whereby with the third and fifth they do.

2) The sixth generation

I think in the grand scheme of things this generation will go down as being the most revolutionary. What Sega did with the Dreamcast was incredible, we had internet console gaming brought to the masses, then we had Sony dominating with the PS2 with adding DVD, the hard drive of the X Box and the highly under rated GameCube.

 

[Phoenix]

I would say that the Golden Age is 3rd-4th Generation. Why go for two? Because they were the age when gaming really had the foundations for its future success were laid down.

Firstly, handheld gaming. This was one of the items that saved Video Gaming from going under and this really sparked a wave of interest that still hasn't died. If anything is true to say about the Golden age is that Handheld gaming, came, saw, conquered and still dominates today, the one constant that isn't going to go away. Nearly a good 20 years have existed of handheld gaming and it's not going to stop.

Next you got the NES/SNES and Megadrive. These three were the golden age, you either had a NES or SNES or a Megadrive. You either had Mario or Sonic, you either had Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, you had Super Mario Bros 1 & 3. The best description of the golden generation was, it was 8-bit and dominated the 90s. If anything, we're always more likely to go back to the games from that decade and play with fond memories. I still play the likes of SMB and Megaman today more than the other generations (partly cause I decided to send my PS2 back home) and when we think of classic old school gaming, Mario-mania and Sonic were running wild and everyone was loving it.

That's why I feel the 3rd-4th Generation is the Golden Age of Gaming, it was the one that brought gaming to another level before 3D gaming was even considered.

 

[Rip]

I wouldn't narrow it down to one or two generations. I would narrow it down to the 90s. I would say the 80s, but it didn't REALLY get going until half way through the 80s, after NES was released.

No... both as a PC gamer and console gamer the 90s was a crazy time. Think of all the franchises that started in the 90s... think of all the classics. When it comes to PC gaming, the 90s were teh l337z.

 

[Lee]

No... both as a PC gamer and console gamer the 90s was a crazy time. Think of all the franchises that started in the 90s... think of all the classics. When it comes to PC gaming, the 90s were teh l337z.

Like what? I'm intrigued to think of which franchises started in the 90s that didn't start in the 80s.

Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil, Doom, GTA.

Compare that to the 80s classics of

Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, street fighter.

There weren't that many classic franchises started in the 90s when compared to the 80s.

 

[Dave]

I honestly think that while the games of the past have been really, really good. the games that are coming out are just far superior and gaming has never been more affordable or accessible to anyone. I am of the impression that the Golden Age of gaming is the age that we are currently in. Gaming has become better than ever and will continue to do so for a long time after this. The Golden Age of gaming is still upon us and will continue to grow into the future. Sure, games will never be as simple as the original Mario games and it wint be as intuitive as some of the games that were released 10-15, even 20 years ago but they are getting better and more advanced by the year.

i think and I may be alone here, that gaming is evolving quickly. More quickly than ever and will continue to grow. In 5 years time, we might look back on this year and think that it was a big year in the golden age of gaming, then again, gaming might have evolved drastically by then and we might look back on it as being a very mundane age.

 

[Leafy]

I haven't seen this but I have to say the current 7th generation consoles. In this generation plenty of classic games have hit the market and the way we play video games is also being challenged. We've seen Gears of War, Modern Warfare, and even the most casual games like Wii Sports have reached a wider audience.

With the Wii and the upcoming Natal, the video game world will be gaining new members everyday from the young to the old. This shows a golden age that will mark a turning point in video games.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I would have to say the Golden Age of video games was from 1985 until 1995. These ten years gave us such amazing systems (for their time) that for the most part have stood the test of time. NES, SNES, and Game Boy all came during this time. This was when games were a good mix of "fun to play" VS "good graphics" (for their time). Nowadays it's too much about the graphics and not enough about the gameplay (except for the wii, I still don't like wiimotes.) Many games from the decade of 1985 to 1995 are still a lot of fun to play today, and they will continue to stand the test of time.

 

[Blade]

I'm gonna have to go with the 5th generation on this. Pretty much everyone will go for earlier generations, but the 5th generation holds such a special place in my heart.

1) 3D Becomes Mainstream.

Remember the mid 90's, when 3D gaming seemed like the future, but it hadn't been done properly. But then Nintendo came along with a little game called Super Mario 64 and completely changed everything. This game wrote the rulebook for future 3rd person games. Nintendo expanded on it with the superb Ocarina of Time, which showed us all how huge and epic 3D world could be. Meanwhile Rare took the progress made by Doom and Wolfenstein and perfected the art of the First Person Shooter with the incredible Goldeneye. This era of games are what made games like Call of Duty and Assassins Creed possible.

2) Great Franchises Getting Greater.
The 3rd generation made gaming huge, with the NES and Sega coming into prominance and companies with former househole name value and cult followings such as Atari going for one last shot at glory. This generation created some amazing franchises, including Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog. The fourth generation expanded on those franchises, pushing the limit of 2D gaming, adding characters, and making spin offs.
So, just when you think the 5th generation couldn't get any better... We're given Mario 64. We're given Ocarina of Time. We're given Virtua Fighter 2. Metal Gear Solid. Need I go on....?

3) Sony Come in to Take Over the World
Just when Nintendo though it was safe to say they were on top again... They'd just gotten rid of the threat put forward by Sega when all of a sudden they realise that the Sony console that started out as a joke within the industry had become a big fuckin' deal. While I'm not exactly the biggest Playstation fan, their impact on the industry has been astromical and it helped make the video game industry the powerhouse it is today.

4) The Future Looks Bright.
While this may not exactly fit into being the 5th generation, it was still when 5th generation consoles were around. But there was never a time where games fans were more excitied than when awaiting the 6th generation. Nintendo and Sony had opened up a world of possibilities with improvements in graphics, gameplay and features and people couldn't wait to play their new consoles. And Microsoft were preparing to take their first steps into the video game console world. Just an exciting time for video games.