RetroGamingUK
Member
Indeed
PS360 era was when the rot set in for gaming.
HD increased game dev times dramatically and every console having internet connectivity built in led to patches and unfinished games.
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The 90's; IMO the most influential decade in gaming
- Thread starter VGEsoterica
- Start date
Indeed
PS360 era was when the rot set in for gaming.
HD increased game dev times dramatically and every console having internet connectivity built in led to patches and unfinished games.
RetroGamingUK
Member
Outside of the NES and Sega, Capcom and Konami’s arcade games the 80s were largely endless trash.
Wildebeest
Member
Weeaboo detected.
RetroGamingUK
Member
Aesius
Member
Gaming had an embarrassment of riches in the 90s.
It was awesome when each console had its own attitude and flavor.
The SNES vs Genesis wars were pretty epic, and then the PlayStation came along and felt like something from 20 years in the future. I just remember being so impressed by how "cool" it seemed at release. The startup sound was mysterious and even a bit foreboding. Unlike previous gens, I wanted to play every single game released for it just to experience them. They all seemed like technological wonders, even though many of its early releases were actually pretty awful. Plus, it just completely captured where culture was heading at the time.
Then the N64 just felt like a more polished version of the PS1 (although it had its own unique limitations, of course), but with some of the greatest games of all time in its library. Large 3D worlds finally felt possible and the ridiculous amount of pixelation and warping textures that plagued PS1 games weren't an issue anymore. Not to mention the joy of platforming with its controller.
And finally, the decade closed out with the Dreamcast, which looked INSANE at the time. The PS2 was looming on the horizon, but 1999 and early 2000 in a vacuum were a special time in gaming. The PS2 is a legendary console, but IMO it was the first step towards "modern" gaming. It changed things, so it's appropriate that it released in late 2000, leaving the 90s as its own time capsule of the medium.
Can't forget the PC gaming landscape at the time, either. For many people, PC gaming beyond rudimentary stuff was out of reach because the cost of a PC with a graphics card was astronomical. You could buy four 3DOs for the price of a single high-end gaming-caliber PC. But if you had access to a top-of-the-line computer in, say, 1997 and could play Tomb Raider at 640x480 and at a decent, consistent framerate? It was otherworldly.
It was awesome when each console had its own attitude and flavor.
The SNES vs Genesis wars were pretty epic, and then the PlayStation came along and felt like something from 20 years in the future. I just remember being so impressed by how "cool" it seemed at release. The startup sound was mysterious and even a bit foreboding. Unlike previous gens, I wanted to play every single game released for it just to experience them. They all seemed like technological wonders, even though many of its early releases were actually pretty awful. Plus, it just completely captured where culture was heading at the time.
Then the N64 just felt like a more polished version of the PS1 (although it had its own unique limitations, of course), but with some of the greatest games of all time in its library. Large 3D worlds finally felt possible and the ridiculous amount of pixelation and warping textures that plagued PS1 games weren't an issue anymore. Not to mention the joy of platforming with its controller.
And finally, the decade closed out with the Dreamcast, which looked INSANE at the time. The PS2 was looming on the horizon, but 1999 and early 2000 in a vacuum were a special time in gaming. The PS2 is a legendary console, but IMO it was the first step towards "modern" gaming. It changed things, so it's appropriate that it released in late 2000, leaving the 90s as its own time capsule of the medium.
Can't forget the PC gaming landscape at the time, either. For many people, PC gaming beyond rudimentary stuff was out of reach because the cost of a PC with a graphics card was astronomical. You could buy four 3DOs for the price of a single high-end gaming-caliber PC. But if you had access to a top-of-the-line computer in, say, 1997 and could play Tomb Raider at 640x480 and at a decent, consistent framerate? It was otherworldly.
Grildon Tundy
Member
I didn't even know what "ping" meant so I just assumed the server where I had the highest number ping was the best
This made me laugh. I don't know how I learned what ping meant, my first encounter with it being Counter-Strike: Source, but high = better just makes sense!
Loved how every single year you'd see something visibly new, visibly improved. Not "improved" as in "it looks slightly better if I put two screens side by side and carefully analyze frame by frame", no, but a substantial difference that anyone could see just by looking at it.
The 8bit gen, then the 16 bit gen, then the poly games at the arcades, then getting those poly games at home for the first time ever, then internet (for many people, anyway). For computer users getting games to work on MsDos, Workbench or whatever from a dozen floppies, then Windows, then CDs (still under Windows, of course)...
That without getting into the million wild accessories and devices, most of which failed to be honest, but were still hell of cool to see.
A magical decade indeed.
The 8bit gen, then the 16 bit gen, then the poly games at the arcades, then getting those poly games at home for the first time ever, then internet (for many people, anyway). For computer users getting games to work on MsDos, Workbench or whatever from a dozen floppies, then Windows, then CDs (still under Windows, of course)...
That without getting into the million wild accessories and devices, most of which failed to be honest, but were still hell of cool to see.
A magical decade indeed.
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JimmyRustler
Member
I mean read nerds with the real original meaning. Aka people who really loved and spent an exceptional amount of time with a hobby.
So not today where they think just putting on some funny clothes makes you a nerd...
JimmyRustler
Member
I think nowadays we forget just how magical it was to talk and write to people outside of local enviroment... It's so normal nowadays. It used to be anything but.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
I mean... you did see a bit of that towards the tail end of the decade, though it didn't come at the expense of other genres at that point.
IAmRei
Member
Some kind of agree, there are lot of things, invented in 90s, and lay out better foundation in industry if compared with 80s.
80s are when we found lot of rough invention, especially foundation of the genres and technology. Parallax, mode7, pseudo 3D, action adventure, shoot em up, beat em ups, fighting, rpg and arpg, strategy, adventure, many things found and invented at this point.
At 90s, we saw polishing of further inventions, and rise of early 3D, which open many new possibilities. 3D camera, lock on, story telling, early cinematic, voice acting, and better music
And at 2000s, we saw genres and technology maturing and drew more gamers, and some of them are defining the industry soon after. Some of new genres, and online capabilites rose. MMO also rose here to mainstream.
Post 2010, is mobile games and gaas era and yeah you know how...
I can write in details,
but i'm too lazy for that : ))
80s are when we found lot of rough invention, especially foundation of the genres and technology. Parallax, mode7, pseudo 3D, action adventure, shoot em up, beat em ups, fighting, rpg and arpg, strategy, adventure, many things found and invented at this point.
At 90s, we saw polishing of further inventions, and rise of early 3D, which open many new possibilities. 3D camera, lock on, story telling, early cinematic, voice acting, and better music
And at 2000s, we saw genres and technology maturing and drew more gamers, and some of them are defining the industry soon after. Some of new genres, and online capabilites rose. MMO also rose here to mainstream.
Post 2010, is mobile games and gaas era and yeah you know how...
I can write in details,
but i'm too lazy for that : ))
Feel Like I'm On 42
Member
Totally ...not to mention the arcades were in their prime, RPG's blew up, and Fighting Games kept getting better and better. Shmups peaked took. Mario 64 was the wildest gaming moment seeing 3d done well for the first time. FF7, followed by MGS1, followed by Ocarina of Time was the holy trinity for me and pretty much influenced every AAA game since.
consoul
Member
The 90s were insane.
I still remember the first time I walked into an arcade and saw Tekken (1). There was a fully polygonal fighter with a jaguar head wearing a tie that was blowing in the wind. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then there was Soul Edge which just took it all up a notch and I got absolutely hooked on it.
The speed at which games improved was mind boggling. 3D appeared in arcades, next minute we were playing Ridge Racer and Sega Rally at home. Then it was Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII. The quality and variety were going through the roof.
Ridge Racer 1 and Ridge Racer Type 4 on PlayStation look generations apart. There's only 5 years between them on the same hardware! See also Tekken 1 vs Tekken 3.
Sega's home console was Genesis in 1994. By 1998 it was Dreamcast. The leaps were unimaginable. Truly the golden age.
I still remember the first time I walked into an arcade and saw Tekken (1). There was a fully polygonal fighter with a jaguar head wearing a tie that was blowing in the wind. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then there was Soul Edge which just took it all up a notch and I got absolutely hooked on it.
The speed at which games improved was mind boggling. 3D appeared in arcades, next minute we were playing Ridge Racer and Sega Rally at home. Then it was Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII. The quality and variety were going through the roof.
Ridge Racer 1 and Ridge Racer Type 4 on PlayStation look generations apart. There's only 5 years between them on the same hardware! See also Tekken 1 vs Tekken 3.
Sega's home console was Genesis in 1994. By 1998 it was Dreamcast. The leaps were unimaginable. Truly the golden age.
lakitu1982
Member
Seven years difference....
1992:
1999:
And we loved them both!
awwr999999
Member
PS2 era things were already edging towards downhill in terms of game dev costs/time and diminishing ROI.
Konami's massive game output for PS1 and PS2 shrank down for PS3 and culminated with their exit in 2015.
PS2's 1-2 year turnaround for AAA games is the sweet spot for quality and sustainability.
Gp1
Member
Seven years difference....
1992:
1999:
1999 we were already at the next gen with Dreamcast, pc gamers already had access to Geforce 256, TNT 2 etc.
In 1996 we had this at arcades, when we barely entered the 3d graphics era with the PS1 and Saturn at home.
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StereoVsn
Gold Member
There was certainly a lot more hope. Soviet Union fell and then opened. Germany re-united and even China opened up.
Technology was developing at break neck pace from gaming to communications to computers and of course Internet. We had dial up modems in the early to mid 90s and I was on cable Internet with 100mbs by the end of it.
It was a heady time to experience. It all went to shit afterwards with 9/11, wars, private equity and “for the shareholders” mentality unfortunately.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Yeah, I think best gaming years were up to 2005 and Xbox360 release basically when games could be turned around often enough that you could have multiple titles from “AAA” (at the time) developers in a generation.
Angry_Megalodon
Member
The absolute cultural peak of our society was in that decade. The doom sayers were right about the 2000 being the end of the world, though not in the same way they predicted.
Great Auk
Member
Early 90s I played on the original NES only at a friend's house, I personally only had the Genesis. I was obsessed with Sonic.
Then I went to another friend's house in 1996 and saw Resident Evil on the PS1 for the first time and I was blown away. I didn't even know how to move the character properly, I had no reference for how to move a character around in a 3D envornment.
It felt like a massive leap in technology.
Then I went to another friend's house in 1996 and saw Resident Evil on the PS1 for the first time and I was blown away. I didn't even know how to move the character properly, I had no reference for how to move a character around in a 3D envornment.
It felt like a massive leap in technology.
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Laptop1991
Member
Yeah it was great, when i got into gaming, Doom and all the 1st person shooters, RTS games and Tomb Raider were new back then3dfx Voodoo cards and the Creative Soundblaster audio cards, i loved it, it was an exciting time to be a gamer, and then there was the Consoles as well like the Playstation, great era.
awwr999999
Member
PlayStation's best selling consoles are famous for only having finished games.
In the rush to become a PC the PS3 lost most of what made the PS/PS2 consoles great.
PSN should enforce the same constraints that studios have historically had with PS/PS2 by not allowing updates on single player games.
It's better for studios, users and the platform to get only 100% finished games.
Having a virtual repo system that's no different from the PS2's physical disc system would bring a modern platform closer to the PS2's level of excellence.
Shipping a game on PSN would be a permanent thing that's taken as seriously as having a disc pressed.
Making it impossible to patch single player games once they've shipped would guarantee that QC is as thorough now as it has been in the past.
This would ensure that PlayStation games are better than games on other platforms where updates are allowed.
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ResurrectedContrarian
Suffers with mild autism
mind-blowing time
And all the big genre-defining games were made by absolutely tiny teams compared to today, which to me is the biggest difference and reason for the brainless mediocrity of gaming today. Small teams of passionate guys who came together spontaneously to make something (eg. DOOM) is what you want; armies of distributed 9to5 workers with a ton of middle-managers and layers will always create mediocre soulless garbage.
And all the big genre-defining games were made by absolutely tiny teams compared to today, which to me is the biggest difference and reason for the brainless mediocrity of gaming today. Small teams of passionate guys who came together spontaneously to make something (eg. DOOM) is what you want; armies of distributed 9to5 workers with a ton of middle-managers and layers will always create mediocre soulless garbage.
Durin
Member
Growing up in the 90s was special for gaming because we saw huge upticks in hardware powering whole new experiences than just slightly shinier cosmetic visuals.
I would still say my actual favorite decade period of time for games is 1996-2006, because that was when 3d gaming started as the most transformative change for the medium that we won't beat until VR + good haptics make me feel close enough to a holodeck experience.
Budgets were also still reasonable for that time, arcades were still a thing, consoles and pc had more unique hardware back then, local multiplayer was still thriving along with online gaming starting, and we saw more genres flourish (arcade racing, RTS, rhythm games). Even the music was generally better in bigger games because they didn't have the capability to be too cinematic yet with rote orchestral scores.
I would still say my actual favorite decade period of time for games is 1996-2006, because that was when 3d gaming started as the most transformative change for the medium that we won't beat until VR + good haptics make me feel close enough to a holodeck experience.
Budgets were also still reasonable for that time, arcades were still a thing, consoles and pc had more unique hardware back then, local multiplayer was still thriving along with online gaming starting, and we saw more genres flourish (arcade racing, RTS, rhythm games). Even the music was generally better in bigger games because they didn't have the capability to be too cinematic yet with rote orchestral scores.
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MacReady13
Member
Spot on OP. Having grown up playing Coleco then migrating to an NES, the leap in graphics was good. Real good. Jumping to the SNES was pretty massive for the time. Seeing Super Mario World was a pretty big deal at the time and I thought, where do we go from here???
Flash forward a few years later and I saw a demo kiosk of Super Mario 64 and my mind was completely blown away! How did Nintendo achieve this? What was going on? I will admit, seeing many PS1 games before this time was also an eye opening experience (Metal Gear, Gran Turismo etc...) but seeing a fully 3D Mario in a 3D world was something I never thought I'd see.
The leaps since then have been huge in terms of graphics but I still consider that leap from 16 bit to 32/64 bit to be the biggest and most amazing gaming leap I'll ever likely see. You just had to be around to see Mario 64 to understand how huge it was at that time. It quite literally changed gaming forever.
Flash forward a few years later and I saw a demo kiosk of Super Mario 64 and my mind was completely blown away! How did Nintendo achieve this? What was going on? I will admit, seeing many PS1 games before this time was also an eye opening experience (Metal Gear, Gran Turismo etc...) but seeing a fully 3D Mario in a 3D world was something I never thought I'd see.
The leaps since then have been huge in terms of graphics but I still consider that leap from 16 bit to 32/64 bit to be the biggest and most amazing gaming leap I'll ever likely see. You just had to be around to see Mario 64 to understand how huge it was at that time. It quite literally changed gaming forever.
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.001
Ocarina of time level of openness was enough turns out it wasn’t. Yeah the 90s is when they came up with a lot of what we have today.
PUNKem733
Member
Underrated comment. This is one of the biggest things from that time. Devs would experiment, push boundaries.
VeganElduderino
Member
I was born in 81, I saw the evolution , kids today will never have that satisfaction
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
Huge shoutout to home consoles rivalling arcade games en masse and then surpassing the arcades even. Taking home Mortal Kombat, SFII/Turbo, Daytona, Tekken, Simpsons and others is core memories indeed. Compared to Atari doing it first that 90s/early 2000s era was something else entirely. Going 4 players with Bomberman, Turtles, NBA Jam, Mario Party/Kart, Halo LAN/local/coop etc was literally my local communities childhood. We shared that shit after school, at sleepovers and rented/swapped the ever-living-fuck out games and consoles to try them all.
nial
Member
Yep, based.
Some people even mentioning 2005 is eye-rolling at this point.
ResurrectedContrarian
Suffers with mild autism
For what it's worth, that rapid evolution of tech in just a few years is something I'm still experiencing right now... but in my old beloved genre of text adventures, suddenly having a tech surge all these years later.
I used to play hours of interactive fiction, and I loved how sophisticated and natural the language parsers become in TADS, Inform7, etc. But in the past few years... we can legitimately have an AI draw entire narratives, run complex dialogue, anything... AI Dungeon was a first taste, but even on your own with a character-type AI or some managed context you can have the amazing feeling of open ended text adventuring today. Truly an unbelievable shift from just a few years ago.
I used to play hours of interactive fiction, and I loved how sophisticated and natural the language parsers become in TADS, Inform7, etc. But in the past few years... we can legitimately have an AI draw entire narratives, run complex dialogue, anything... AI Dungeon was a first taste, but even on your own with a character-type AI or some managed context you can have the amazing feeling of open ended text adventuring today. Truly an unbelievable shift from just a few years ago.
existensmaximum
Member
Of course it was, how could anyone even think differently? Well one could maybe argue that the 80's was even more influential but as much as I adore many of the games releases in the 80's which hold up brilliantly even today, the 90's was still even more influential both on the console side and the PC side.
It’s something that honestly makes me kind of sad; I really do feel like we got to experience the “Golden Age” of gaming. All the major publishers insist on pushing political or social commentary, or even just “heavy” stories where everything has to be cynical or take itself seriously.
I dunno, maybe I just need to go on some sort of “gaming pilgrimage” and experience more non-mainstream games and see if anything ignites that sense of excitement again.
But man, I feel like I’ve just been chasing the high of the first couple Mega Man X games, and there hasn’t been anything in like 15 years that even came close to it.
I dunno, maybe I just need to go on some sort of “gaming pilgrimage” and experience more non-mainstream games and see if anything ignites that sense of excitement again.
But man, I feel like I’ve just been chasing the high of the first couple Mega Man X games, and there hasn’t been anything in like 15 years that even came close to it.
Catphish
Member
I've thought about this quite a bit, actually.
Gamerguy84
Member
The first couple of games I played that were 3d was Warhawk, and Tomb Raider. I was floored.
I played so many games during the back half of the 90s. Then the PS2 came out and games like SSX and I thought graphics could never advance from that point.
I played so many games during the back half of the 90s. Then the PS2 came out and games like SSX and I thought graphics could never advance from that point.
Long Far Gone
Member
Seven years difference....
1992:
1999:
Jesus Christ, the level of progress was mind boggling. From primitive 2D sprites to full 3D.
Could you even imagine being a video game programmer from 1990 to 2000? The amount of cocaine required to keep on top of all that work must have been insane. These dudes were in the Zone for over a decade...
MrCunningham
Member
Everything evolved so quickly in the 90's, that it was kind of head spinning, really. In 1990, Sega was breaking Nintendo's foothold on the gaming market in North America with the Genesis.
By 1991-1993, there was a push for CD based consoles, the Phillips CDi, The Laser Active, the CD32, the Sega CD add-on, the TG-16 CD-ROM, The Neo-Geo CD and CDZ, the 3DO, and the Atari Jaguar and CD attachment, the PC-FX. With all that chaos and confusion, nobody saw Sony as a threat when they announced the Playstation.
By 1995-1996, there was the Playstation domination, that crushed the 3DO, Saturn and Jaguar. Mario 64 and the N64 was a big event in 1996. There was also the rise of 3D accelerator cards in 1995-1996, followed by the GPU cards.
Nintendo tried their hand at VR with the Virtual Boy. Sega had the flop add-on: the 32x.
There was the Game Boy Color, the rise of Pokemon, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color. The Dreamcast capped off the decade in 1998 and 1999. Also the end of Sega as a hardware manufacturer.
Things totally leveled out by the 2000's, when the console market paired itself down to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. The gen 7 console generation felt like to dragged on for an eternity.
Things really plateaued. The craziness of the 90's game industry is long gone. These days, we are more into the digital platform game. Valve tried to shake up the hardware industry with the Steamdeck. Which lead to many other competitors. Mobile gaming is still a thing. There were some attempts at streaming devices like the Stadia. The Evercade is a neat diversion.
By 1991-1993, there was a push for CD based consoles, the Phillips CDi, The Laser Active, the CD32, the Sega CD add-on, the TG-16 CD-ROM, The Neo-Geo CD and CDZ, the 3DO, and the Atari Jaguar and CD attachment, the PC-FX. With all that chaos and confusion, nobody saw Sony as a threat when they announced the Playstation.
By 1995-1996, there was the Playstation domination, that crushed the 3DO, Saturn and Jaguar. Mario 64 and the N64 was a big event in 1996. There was also the rise of 3D accelerator cards in 1995-1996, followed by the GPU cards.
Nintendo tried their hand at VR with the Virtual Boy. Sega had the flop add-on: the 32x.
There was the Game Boy Color, the rise of Pokemon, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color. The Dreamcast capped off the decade in 1998 and 1999. Also the end of Sega as a hardware manufacturer.
Things totally leveled out by the 2000's, when the console market paired itself down to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. The gen 7 console generation felt like to dragged on for an eternity.
Things really plateaued. The craziness of the 90's game industry is long gone. These days, we are more into the digital platform game. Valve tried to shake up the hardware industry with the Steamdeck. Which lead to many other competitors. Mobile gaming is still a thing. There were some attempts at streaming devices like the Stadia. The Evercade is a neat diversion.
MrCunningham
Member
The model 1 arcade machines were cool, for their time, a definite leap over the previous Atari Games stuff like Hard Drivin' and Steel Talon. Even though, I still love Hard Drivin' . Not long after Virtua Racing there was Ridge Racer and Daytona USA. Daytona USA on model 2 was pretty mind blowing, given that it was running at 60fps, has textured mapped graphics and perspective correction. Model 2 was a beast. It was also eclipsed by Model 3. I remember seeing Sega GT for the first time at an arcade in a movie cineplex, and having my mind blown:
The early reports that the Dreamcast would have an arcade perfect port had me excited. Though, there was never a port. The Dreamcast seemed to struggle with Model 3 arcade ports in general, even though there was a claim that NAOMI was better hardware. The Dreamcast was still a beast in its own right for 1998 hardware.
Sega was really pushing the bleeding edge of arcade hardware back in the 90's with the Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3 boards and their 'stepping' counterparts too. Naoimi was nice hardware too, but really more of an arcade version of the Dreamcats system.
No BBC=Anger
Member
Totally agree with OP and to be fair some wild stuff happened during the 2000s. The PSP was nuts as a proper 3D handheld from 2004. The Wii is sometimes joked about now but those motion controls were quite a different experience and a change up from control pads. The GameCube had the first wireless controller (third party) and original Xbox was the first console to have an internal hard drive.