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[nkarafo]

I think so, yeah. It was the last gen that targeted gamers and not the casual crowd or non-gamers. It was also the last gen that pushed 60fps with 3D graphics. After that, the frame rate standards took a nosedive back to the PS1/N64, a huge regression. This was also the last gen where we enjoyed the CRT technology at it's peak, most mature point, with zero display lag and perfect motion clarity, before they got replaced by the shitty, early gen HD displays the next gen consoles targeted.

So yeah, i believe gaming took a lot of steps back after the 6th gen ended. And it never really recovered.

 

[93xfan]

Halo 3
Zelda TotK
Starfield

But I see your point OP, as Socom 2 is peak gaming.

 

[anthraticus]

Mainstream gaming went downhill around 05/06 when all the AAA nonsense got going and they really started trying to appeal to everybody and their grandmas. Dark times.

At least we started getting some relief as we got into the 2010s, in the form of indies....as far as new stuff goes anyway.
(fyi...I'd be perfectly fine with just playing the classics, mods.. the rest of my life if there were no modern indies and it was only AAA)

 

[Hypereides]

7th gen was pretty good too. But, otherwise, I agree with that sentiment. You just gotta accept modern gaming isn't what it used to be.

It is what it is.

 

[TheBROgamer]

It did peak during that time as budgets were not crazy high, games came out more frequently from major studios, tech was a huge improvement over the prior gen, dual joysticks standard, and many advancements such as online gaming with Xbox Live took place.

This picture sums up gen 6 nicely.

 

[RagnarokIV]

The perfect storm of matured tech, creative freedom and the bean counters staying in the office.

It's only been downhill since.

Like Roger Daltry said - when the bean counters decided to get hands on and got involved with the bands - music died.

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

Nah, you're right

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Maybe?

 

[Represent.]

7th Gen. There were massive improvements in game design in that gen over the 6th. Also a significant graphics boost. And Story driven games were taken to new heights.
Open worlds got better. Third person shooters got better.
The games at the mid-to-end of the 7th gen set the bar and laid the foundation for all the games we play today. Hasn't been an improvement since.

 

[Robb]

I won’t disagree. DS and PSP also got released within this gen which were both amazing as well.

 

[March Climber]

I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that a large part of gaming ‘peaked’ for you that gen because you were younger and had more time.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that a large part of gaming ‘peaked’ for you that gen because you were younger and had more time.

That kinda sounds logical but in this case it's not the nostalgia speaking. I never even had any of those consoles as a kid. I had a shitty old PC that literally blew up one day when I was 14 and because I was raised in literal poverty, the next gaming system that I was able to buy was PS3 when I was old enough to work for my own money.

I only managed to catch up on all those 6th gen games when I was in my early twenties and I still think that these are some of the greatest video games of all time.

 

[Sophist]

gaming peaked before online 'cause you had no friend to play with.

 

[Drizzlehell]

gaming peaked before online 'cause you had no friend to play with.

Actually, you bring up a good point because back in those days the only way to play games with your friends was to actually gather around with some chips and brewskis and play the damn game together in couch co-op or versus.

Check-mate.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

in my eyes, the 6th gen was nintendo's true fall from grace and led them to becoming a different company.

the n64 stumbled (5th gen), and the cartridge format damaged 3rd party relations... but the n64 still got knock out titles, was innovative (analog stick, rumble), had good 3rd party support, and retained decent market share.
nintendo, at that time, still high off the success of the nes and snes, was a juggernaut and "the one to beat".

but the gamecube is where they truly tarded out and damaged themselves:
#1 - purple
#2 - a controller that clearly wont work with a number of genres
#3 - late to market AGAIN
#4 - no mario game at launch
#5 - miyamoto thought the gamecube would ABSOLUTELY CRUSH the ps2 in sales, and everyone who bought a ps2 would also buy his purple little dingleberry console too
#6 - proprietary disc that only held 1.5gb of data vs ps2's max. of 8.5gb (dual layer)... esp. a crazy decision when they lost so much 3rd party support with the n64 due to storage limitations (did you learn nothing, nintendo??!) (ps i know they did it primarily due to piracy concerns)

after the ps2 absolutely bitch slapped the gamecube in sales and coolness, nintendo basically abandoned trying to be the biggest and baddest, and retreated into a corner where they'd release budget hardware and largely focus on 1st party games.

of course, the wii was a huge success commercially, but it was also the most popular among old people and filthy causals, moving nintendo further away from that "biggest and baddest" image it cultivated from the nes-gcn era.

old nintendo is dead (maybe hibernating). wonder if we'll ever get it back.

 

[March Climber]

Early 20s is college age. I guessed right.

 

[Palabragrís]

Can't change what's correct

 

[Drizzlehell]

Early 20s is college age. I guessed right.

I never went to college, I was already working my ass off at the time.

KEEP TRYING

 

[Bonfires Down]

You’re wrong.

Convinced yet?

 

[lame gag1990]

There are good games to be found still but I will agree and say that the 6th gen was the peak of gaming. Every console brought their A-game and their were 4 of them, 1 sadly being the end but it burned incredibly bright and still has a place in my heart. Every single genre had great games, yes, including sports (can't say the same now). The big companies were generally daring and experimented which in many cases lead to many great new IPs. That was the boom and I'm happy I can say I was there.

 

[Moriarty1889]

For me the 360/PS3 gen was the height of gaming. So many incredible new franchises like Mass Effect, Borderlands, Gears of War, Uncharted, Bioshock and so many others. It was the HDTV era and devs were continually putting out great game after great game with many surprises here and there like Dark Sector, The Darkness, Stranglehold and many more. Some quirky and fun and some just incredibly enjoyable. Graphics were cutting edge in many of those great new games and it seemed like you were so absorbed in a new game and then something else dropped the next month or two later that just took you by surprise. Now gaming has reached a point where it takes forever to get a new game that’s any good. Budgets and costs have skyrocketed and slowed a lot of the progress on the dev cycles. To many games try to be PC and check boxes rather than just being a good game. Yes the landscape has changed a lot and isn’t the same anymore.

 

[March Climber]

I never went to college, I was already working my ass off at the time.

KEEP TRYING

Too young to be in upper level positions or managing others at work.
Too young to have a ton of kids.
Too young to have double or triple the responsibilities.

You could have been married, but even marriage itself is expensive so I have a high percentage of doubt.

College or no college, working in your 20s(in a much better economy) with much less on your plate other than rent, and buying a cheap PS2, Xbox, and GC to play games? Sounds like fun. This is assuming you didn’t pirate of course, which if you did then you had a much better time.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Ahhhh... a nostalgia thread.

Anyways, No. Disagree.

I give itt the 5th gen. All the things we love about 6th gen and every other gen that followed... truly started in the 5th gen.

And more importantly, the 5th gen was when gaming, truly became mainstream and spearheaded the death f Arcades. The 5th gen was so successful, that MS decided to get in on the act.

 

[Drizzlehell]

in my eyes, the 6th gen was nintendo's true fall from grace and led them to becoming a different company.

the n64 stumbled (5th gen), and the cartridge format damaged 3rd party relations... but the n64 still got knock out titles, was innovative (analog stick, rumble), had good 3rd party support, and retained decent market share.
nintendo, at that time, still high off the success of the nes and snes, was a juggernaut and "the one to beat".

but the gamecube is where they truly tarded out and damaged themselves:
#1 - purple
#2 - a controller that clearly wont work with a number of genres
#3 - late to market AGAIN
#4 - no mario game at launch
#5 - miyamoto thought the gamecube would ABSOLUTELY CRUSH the ps2 in sales, and everyone who bought a ps2 would also buy his purple little dingleberry console too
#6 - proprietary disc that only held 1.5gb of data vs ps2's max. of 8.5gb (dual layer)... esp. a crazy decision when they lost so much 3rd party support with the n64 due to storage limitations (did you learn nothing, nintendo??!) (ps i know they did it primarily due to piracy concerns)

after the ps2 absolutely bitch slapped the gamecube in sales and coolness, nintendo basically abandoned trying to be the biggest and baddest, and retreated into a corner where they'd release budget hardware and largely focus on 1st party games.

of course, the wii was a huge success commercially, but it was also the most popular among old people and filthy causals, moving nintendo further away from that "biggest and baddest" image it cultivated from the nes-gcn era.

old nintendo is dead (maybe hibernating). wonder if we'll ever get it back.

On the other hand, I still remember vividly when my brother's friend brought his GameCube to our house one afternoon and while they were busy doing something else, I grabbed that weird gamepad and started playing Resident Evil 4. I think it was a watershed moment for me because it made me realize that having an allegiance to one system is dumb because great games are present on all kinds of systems. Then he showed me Rogue Squadron 2 and I think it took me about a week to find the socks that were blown off my feet at that moment.

I was so bummed out that my mom couldn't afford to buy me any of those consoles and that one fateful afternoon is all the experience that I had with that generation for many years, lol. It's pretty much why I have such fondness for that strange little console.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Too young to be in upper level positions or managing others at work.
Too young to have a ton of kids.
Too young to have double or triple the responsibilities.

You could have been married, but even marriage itself is expensive so I have a high percentage of doubt.

College or no college, working in your 20s(in a much better economy) with much less on your plate other than rent, and buying a cheap PS2, Xbox, and GC to play games? Sounds like fun. This is assuming you didn’t pirate of course, which if you did then you had a much better time.

Bro, can't you just take an L? You're starting to annoy me.

Why the fuck is everyone around here so reluctant to admit it when they were wrong...

 

[veterangamerUK]

I don´t even have an idea which generation we´re at right now ..

The shittiest one

 

[veterangamerUK]

Not sure what gen but playing on the Amiga was my personal peak

 

[Drizzlehell]

Not sure what gen but playing on the Amiga was my personal peak

I had a C64 when I was like 8, and I think I had more fun learning BASIC than playing games on that thing, lol. I'm glad those times are over.

 

[March Climber]

Bro, can't you just take an L? You're starting to annoy me.

Why the fuck is everyone around here so reluctant to admit it when they were wrong...

I’m having too much fun guessing though. Did I maybe hit a correct point based on this response?

 

[jshackles]

If you're just talking about AAA stuff, then yeah you're probably right.

But a lot of modern indies shit on the best PS2 era games from great heights.

 

[simpatico]

Absolutely agree. We're still remaking the games born in that generation.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I’m having too much fun guessing though. Did I maybe hit a correct point based on this response?

Keep dreaming.

 

[TheBROgamer]

Ahhhh... a nostalgia thread.

Anyways, No. Disagree.

I give itt the 5th gen. All the things we love about 6th gen and every other gen that followed... truly started in the 5th gen.

And more importantly, the 5th gen was when gaming, truly became mainstream and spearheaded the death f Arcades. The 5th gen was so successful, that MS decided to get in on the act.

Graphics were too primitive, frame rates were sub 20, and controllers were awkward (N64 and dual joysticks not standard).

 

[TheBROgamer]

If you're just talking about AAA stuff, then yeah you're probably right.

But a lot of modern indies shit on the best PS2 era games from great heights.

Such as...?

 

[March Climber]

Keep dreaming.

I’ll take that as a yes.

 

[Drizzlehell]

You’re wrong.

Convinced yet?

 

[Drizzlehell]

I’ll take that as a yes.

You better take a hike instead.

 

[qbxwhi]

peaked during ps3 and xbox 360 era.
when devs were really pushing things to the limit and doing some great things.

 

[TGO]

I can't argue with that, 7th gen was a fumble with Japanese games and Sony.
Which affected a lot of IP's although a lot of good still came from it.
The 8th Gen everyone was back on track and kinda perfected what they was doing in the 7th gen but it was also the dawn of the Woke Era which had a decline in output due to creators departing from studios leaving them nothing to do but Remaster the same game 2 twice in the same decade and completely sucking all the fun out of the existing IP with their woke agendas.
But Japanese Devs came back with a vengeance.
9th gen is more of the same and some smart developers realise exactly what you did and started to look back to go forward.
And the Era of Remakes was born to hopefully get us back on track.
Although the Woke muthafuckas are still pushing the same shit.

jk/

 

[Sophist]

Absolutely agree. We're still remaking the games born in that generation.

It is because gaming has improved much that we are remaking video games from then, otherwise it wouldn't worth it. Never forget that.

 

[jshackles]

Such as...?

Hades, Stardew Valley, Inscryption, Hollow Knight, Vampire Survivors, Monster Train, Bug Fables, Rogue Legacy, Ori, Bloodstained, Tunic, Grim Dawn, Shredder's Revenge, Wizard of Legend, Slay the Spire, Cuphead, Disco Elysium

Just some of my personal favorites. If I had to pick between either this list, or a list of my top 15 PS2 games - I'd pick these!

You'll notice that I've mostly picked single player / offline experiences (or, in some cases, couch co-op!). As others have said online multiplayer, GAAS, microtransactions, and always online DRM have nearly ruined the hobby on the whole. For me, the best games coming out these days are the ones that fundamentally mimic the experience of the 6th gen - but have better gameplay, better graphics, and better QoL features. It's why I can still get really hyped for stuff like the new Mario Wonder game.

I would put a lot of the AA output from big publishers in the "modern is better" camp - things like Plague Tale, Life is Strange, Neir Automata, Hi-Fi Rush, etc. are all pretty great lower-budget games that feel like they could have come out in an alternate reality where online gaming never existed and the PS3, PS4, and PS5 were just better and beefier versions of the PS2 (and nothing more).

 

[rhodesianshepard]

Its all relative. I grew up in the 90's, and it seemed like every few months a game would be released and change what you thought games could be. The generational jumps between consoles were so massive. And its not like gamers weren't enjoying games just as much back then either. The PS2/Xbox generation was so great because developers had pretty much free will to experiment and make the game they wanted to on hardware that really expanded what games could be. Games cost so much less back then to produce too. Nowadays, a AAA studio could go bankrupt if one game is a failure because the production costs are so expensive. Which means publishers are much conservative with each project is green lit

 

[TheBROgamer]

Hades, Stardew Valley, Inscryption, Hollow Knight, Vampire Survivors, Monster Train, Bug Fables, Rogue Legacy, Ori, Bloodstained, Tunic, Grim Dawn, Shredder's Revenge, Wizard of Legend, Slay the Spire, Cuphead, Disco Elysium

Just some of my personal favorites. If I had to pick between either this list, or a list of my top 15 PS2 games - I'd pick these!

You'll notice that I've mostly picked single player / offline experiences (or, in some cases, couch co-op!). As others have said online multiplayer, GAAS, microtransactions, and always online DRM have nearly ruined the hobby on the whole. For me, the best games coming out these days are the ones that fundamentally mimic the experience of the 6th gen - but have better gameplay, better graphics, and better QoL features. It's why I can still get really hyped for stuff like the new Mario Wonder game.

I would put a lot of the AA output from big publishers in the "modern is better" camp - things like Plague Tale, Life is Strange, Neir Automata, Hi-Fi Rush, etc. are all pretty great lower-budget games that feel like they could have come out in an alternate reality where online gaming never existed and the PS3, PS4, and PS5 were just better and beefier versions of the PS2 (and nothing more).

 

[jshackles]

You do you man, I like what I like.

 

[mykedo0909]

No, Totk didn't release during 6th gen, neither did ff6 or chrono trigger

 

[angrod14]

Gaming peaked with the PS5 patch of Part II.

 

[kevm3]

Ps2 was one of my least favorite generations. Gaming is as good as it has ever been

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Graphics were too primitive, frame rates were sub 20, and controllers were awkward (N64 and dual joysticks not standard).

But everything that became what we now consider modern gaming...started then.

Analog sticks, online gaming, rumble, true 3D gaming... hell, even the first `cinematic` games.

The stuff you mention, graphics and framerates... has nothing to do with actual gaming.

That was the generation where we had the first 100M selling console... consoles even became a thing in Africa then. It cant be overstated how important the 5th gen was to gaming as we know it today.

 

[Crayon]

Right now is the best it's ever been. My personal rose-colored favorite was the 32bit era but it can't match the breadth and depth of what releases today.

Okay the 100 million dollar games are made for a broader audience and not just for us. But back then there was no 100 million dollar games because that huge audience did not exist at all. The market has expanded but it's not like we're being left out. It's so off the mark to be sitting here with these amazing games coming out just to whine about the team shooters and busted wrecks that are made for normies anyhow.

 

[AGRacing]

I was in my 20s. I "grew up" with 4th and 5th gen. But 6th was the best. We has it REALLY GOOD back then.