What's your fave Console Generation?

CAS FAN

Outstanding Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Messages
35,564
Reaction score
8,662
Points
5,584
Location
York
Just something a bit different from - "what's best, the PS2 or X-Box?" or even "what's your fave console or game ever?".

I was just pondering this and I guess there have been 6 main generations of consoles over the past 30+ years or so. It would be interesting to hear which generation of machines that people have enjoyed the most - to date.

I would say that the generations line up as such (there are obviously consoles like the DC and N64 which are almost in between generations to an extent but this doesn't need to be exact):

1st Gen---1972-1976---TV games like Pong, Grandstand etc

2nd Gen---1977-1984---Atari 2600, 5200, Colecovision, Intellivision

3rd Gen---1985-1988---Master System, NES, Atari 7800

4th Gen---1989-1992----Megadrive, PCEngine, SNES

5th Gen---1993-1997----Saturn, PS1, N64, Jaguar

6th Gen---1998 to Present----Dreamcast, PS2, X-Box, Gamecube

Obviously that's not an exhaustive list of the console ever made (there's another thread for that) but it gives a reasonable idea of the separate generations.

Looking over the list, there have been classic, defining games in each generation. Personally I would say that the 4th Generation is my favourite period for the reasons listed below:

- True arcade quality gaming comes to the home
- The 2 main consoles in Europe (Megadrive & SNES) are both fantastic with stacks of classic games on each machine.
- Streetfighter2, Bomberman, Mario Kart, Thunderforce IV, Gunstar Heroes, Afterburner, Outrun, Gauntlet IV, Ghouls & Ghosts, Strider, NHL Hockey, Super Probotector, Herzog Zwei etc..
- Cartridges were great at the time - just stick em in and bingo there's your game - no loading times etc!
- The CD format was first seen during this era with the Mega CD, giving us a glimpse of the future potential of the medium.
- Games were on the whole were great new original titles and there wasn't the mountain of annual updates from EA etc. Back in this era EA games were actually fresh and exciting with the first Madden, NHL, FIFA games hitting the market!
- Because gaming wasn't a mass market media format at this time, it felt more special to me. Everything wasn't as much profit driven and new ideas hit the shelves all the time.

So that's mine - I do like the other generations and would put the last 2 generations up there quite highly as well. For me though it's the MD & SNES all the way! :clap:
 
4th gen too, I still remember the joy of plugging my SNES, (bought on it's first day of UK release for £300 with one game!), into my TV, and the stunning polyphonic piano sounds of Super Mario World starting up, bliss. I thing the step from 3rd to 4th gen was the biggest in terms of quality, ie the most noticable graphical update, going from blocky, pixellated graphics to (for the time) stunning mode 7 and the like. :D :thumbsup:
 
same here, 4, 5 or 6. I loved my dreamcast and still have a couple.
SNES, megadrive also classics.
PS1 and N64. At that time I spent all my time on 2 games. FFVII and Mario 64.
Those were the days!
 
The DC is my fav console so I suppose 6th gen!
 
Gotta love the 4th Gen consoles also. They were a big jump for technology.. Sonic and John Madden 92 on the Megadrive.... Mario World and Streetfighter II on the SNES.. Fantastic.
 
This is a difficult question to answer, obviously at the time, technological ability made the current system avilable, my favourite. for example, in 1995, the N64 would have been my favourite console, however, in 2000 the GC was my favourite, since I've discovered Xbox (a couple of years ago) now that is my favourite, obviously when the next generation of console are released my preferences will change again. I look back to games I played on the N64 e.g. MarioKart, Goldeneye etc etc and in 1995-ish I thought wow, these games are so much better than the stuff I played on the megadrive or the Snes, Now I'm playing Halo1/2, Pro Evo 4 etc etc, I look back to, for example Goldeneye, and I think well the frame rate is terrible, the graphics are blocky and without detail, there is no comparison with Halo...

Don't get me wrong, I still play Goldeneye, cos it's fab, but hey, horses for courses !
 
4th and 5th gen were brilliant.
So many 2d shooters to choose from and all the classic Sega arcade ports on the Saturn.
Shame we never got another proper 2d console generation after the MD and SNES. Sega obviously wanted this to happen with the Saturn but Sony pushed the 3d agenda before the technology was mature enough IMO.
The Saturn could have given us loads of hi res 2d stuff like Guilty Gear or Neo Geo games with enough 3d grunt for developers to cut their 3d teeth.
 
For me it has to be 5th Gen, I loved playing on my mega drive, but when I got my PS on launch day with a copy of tekken and Ridge racer and Wipeout, the difference in quality simply blew my mind. I loved Ridge Racer so very much, not many tracks or all the bells and whistles of today's games but as far as gameplay went, it ruled and tekken up against mortal kombat or super street fighter super tubo, super delux!!! was in a class of it's own. Of course there is also the small matter of taking home my xbox on launch day with a copy of Halo !!! but no I'm sticking with the 5th Gen :hiya: :clap:
 
Some interesting views. I personally would say that most of us (that were into gaming at the time) would have played the home computers (speccy, C64 etc) instead of the NES & Master System. It wasn't really until the Megadrive that consoles started to become more popular in the UK than home computers.

MrBlofeldt said:
This is a difficult question to answer, obviously at the time, technological ability made the current system avilable, my favourite. for example, in 1995, the N64 would have been my favourite console, however, in 2000 the GC was my favourite, since I've discovered Xbox (a couple of years ago) now that is my favourite, obviously when the next generation of console are released my preferences will change again. I look back to games I played on the N64 e.g. MarioKart, Goldeneye etc etc and in 1995-ish I thought wow, these games are so much better than the stuff I played on the megadrive or the Snes, Now I'm playing Halo1/2, Pro Evo 4 etc etc, I look back to, for example Goldeneye, and I think well the frame rate is terrible, the graphics are blocky and without detail, there is no comparison with Halo...

I know what you mean, but I guess the point of this "look at things" is to get a feel of what peoples fave periods in console gaming have been so far. This is obviously relative to the time but I must say that I found gaming much more enjoyable & exciting back in the 16 bit console days, when everything was a lot more fresh & new! Games are obviously far better now on a technological level but 95% of the time you get the feeling that you've seen it all before. PES4 is one of my all time fave games but I was much more impressed when I first played ISS Pro Evo on the PS1. Since then each game has gradually improved graphically & in terms of gameplay (although the basic mechanics of play remain the same) but I loved ISSPE much more than PES4 when I first played each game (even though PES4 is by far the best game).

Games will always get better & better technologically, bluring the lines between Video games & Reality. If we go back to the 8 bit days then you have the largest amount of new ideas but production values were rather lacking in those days. For me the 16 bit generation was the perfect marriage of new ideas and a huge leap forward in terms of technology & quality. I don't think we'll see the likes of those days again.
 
In that case I guess my favourite period has to be the 5th Generation, Sitting up all night with college housemates trying to get the top score on MarioKart only to discover somebody had knocked you off the top spot while you were out at a lecture ! :rolleyes:
 
Whatever the current generation is.

I suppose the holodeck will become my favourite console generation! :laugh:

Oh what endless fun I will have on one of those in the virtua playboy mansion! ;)
 
Games Guru said:
Whatever the current generation is.

Naturally i'd rather play on my X-Box than my Megadrive now, but which was your fave generation at the time when each generation was the latest thing.

A holodeck would settle it though, I guess you could have my 16 bit memories in exchange for one of those :D .
 
4th gen was definitely the most memorable. My Mega Drive doesn't even work anymore through overuse! Having said that I also loved the Saturn and the Dreamcast. None of the current 3 consoles excite me to the extent those I just mentioned did.
 
I still play my SNES & DC the most but I'm gonna go for 4th & 5th
 
2nd generation for me, although IMHO that generation was dominated by the 8 bit home computers and not consoles.
 
The current generation for me...purely for Resident Evil 4 tbh

Although Halo, MGS2 and 3, Ico, Rez, VF4, Zelda, F Zero GX, Monkey Ball and PGR2 are also responsible for making this my favourite generation yet.
 
4th or 5th. I still remember first getting a MD with sonic and mortal kombat I was about 6-7. Getting a playstation was just amazing. wipeout, ridge racer resident evil etc. was about 10 years old notihing comes close to how much of a leap that was.
 
i went from an amiga to a £400 jap playstation after seeing Toshinden, Ridge Racer, Winning eleven and the demos of wipeout. I think your age is a big factor also, i definately got more excited re games in my youth. The leap in quality to playstation has never been matched imo. It seems more gradual now. Live is a big factor now but cannot forget excitement of Wipeout, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Tekken for first time. Also lover multiplayer N64 with Mario Kart battle and Goldeneye. (Loved my amstrad and Amiga also)

Ill go for Playstation generation.
 
Just thinking about this gives me goosebumps. :blush:

I'd have to say that i'll never love games again the way i did when i first played FF7

4th Gen.
 
yeah your right FF7 = WOW :thumbsup:, I suffered a serious injury in a bike crash and was off work for 4 months, FF7 got me through it. As for the leap I've allready voted for the PS era, but i'd forgotten Toshinden, I bought that. But boy did I love RRRRRRRidge RRRRRacer, used to love knocking over those cones in the tunnel !!! god I miss that, oh and Time Crisis
 
Funny isnt it? With all the power of todays consoles, most of us preffer the older consoles like the PS and N64!

Just goes to show the poor state things are in now! I doubt they will get any better.
 
4th gen for me. In the days of the Megadrive and SNES my whole life was just games. Mario Kart, Bomberman, Sonic, Gunstar Heroes, Streetfighter, ISS, Ranger X (anyone? :) ) the list goes on. My late nights :zonked: & blistered thumbs period :zonked:

Ico and Final Fantasy 7 ( my favorite ever game no question) are my highlights of the most recent generations but the 16bit era is the one for me.

The transition from the 4th to 5th generation was, for me personally, the most exciting period in gaming though. The Playstation vs Saturn arguments in school, Ridge Racer vs Daytona, Tekken vs Virtua Fighter. Man those were the days.
 
I would also say 4th gen. IMO nowadays games are too deep and not pick up and play like sonic and super mario. Sometimes i regret selling my Snes
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom