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daTRUballin · May 3, 2017

Everybody always talks about the best years of gaming and a lot of debating goes on and on about which year in particular had the best games. Whether it's 2007 or 1998 or 2004, etc.

But what about the worst? Is there even a way to determine that? What year would you say was the most disappointing or underwhelming in terms of games or just the worst year for the industry in general?

Discuss.

Realeza · May 3, 2017

The year where you have Journey and The Walking Dead winning GOTY awards.

AALLx · May 3, 2017

Nbz · May 3, 2017

Realeza said:
The year where you have Journey and The Walking Dead winning GOTY awards.

The hottest of takes

Ryukori · May 3, 2017

AALLx said:
1983

.

minameissteve · May 3, 2017

2014

Lackluster start for the new generation with hardly any truly great games. On top of that you had Gamergate and countless other controversies that made it feel like the medium regressed.

TheDinoman · May 3, 2017

2008 seemed to be the "year of overhyped disappointments".

SSB Brawl
Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid 4
Spore
LittleBigPlanet

A lot of games that were hyped up but then received the backlash of the century upon release.

2012 was pretty bland, although I loved Kid Icarus Uprising.

NOLA_Gaffer · May 3, 2017

AALLx said:
1983

Gotta second this one. Anyone saying otherwise is probably a young'un.

Torokil · May 3, 2017

Realeza said:
The year where you have Journey and The Walking Dead winning GOTY awards.

2012 was a shitty year. 2014 as well.

23qwerty · May 3, 2017

TheDinoman said:
2008 seemed to be the "year of overhyped disappointments".

SSB Brawl
Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid 4
Spore
LittleBigPlanet

A lot of games that were hyped up but then received the backlash of the century upon release.

2012 was pretty bland, although I loved Kid Icarus Uprising.

LBP a disappointment? Where? Who?

Imp the Dimp · May 3, 2017

Recently 2012 was pretty thin. Overall 1983 sounds like a good answer.

Brashnir · May 3, 2017

23qwerty said:
LBP a disappointment? Where? Who?

game sucked, yo.

hatchx · May 3, 2017

I assume the OP is talking about like, the last 2ish decades?

I don't remember 2008 or 2011 being anything special.

theecakee · May 3, 2017

minameissteve said:
2014

Lackluster start for the new generation with hardly any truly great games. On top of that you had Gamergate and countless other controversies that made it feel like the medium regressed.

I agree with this personally from my experience. If I had to say based on just what I've heard, 1983 looks bad too. Though I wasn't alive then so can't personally attest to it of course.

TheDinoman · May 3, 2017

23qwerty said:
LBP a disappointment? Where? Who?

I actually like the game myself, but I dunno, I've noticed a lot of negative opinions around it here....

Brashnir said:
game sucked, yo.

Ah, there we are.

Strangelove77 · May 3, 2017

I googled the last decade or so and I'd personally say 2006. Outside of Oblivion(which I don't care about) and FF12(I thought it was dissapointing) nothing else sticks out.

daTRUballin · May 3, 2017

TheDinoman said:
2008 seemed to be the "year of overhyped disappointments".

SSB Brawl
Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid 4
Spore
LittleBigPlanet

A lot of games that were hyped up but then received the backlash of the century upon release.

2012 was pretty bland, although I loved Kid Icarus Uprising.

Don't forget Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts!

KZXcellent · May 3, 2017

AALLx said:
1983

Yeah this nails it.

Greatest Ever · May 3, 2017

minameissteve said:
2014

Lackluster start for the new generation with hardly any truly great games. On top of that you had Gamergate and countless other controversies that made it feel like the medium regressed.

2014 was great if you didn't just look at the AAA scene. Lots of smaller games that were so fun came out that year.

hatchx said:
I assume the OP is talking about like, the last 2ish decades?

I don't remember 2008 or 2011 being anything special.

2011 is one of the best years of all time.

digoutyoursoul · May 3, 2017

Triggerhappytel · May 3, 2017

Realeza said:
The year where you have Journey and The Walking Dead winning GOTY awards.

While I think they were both deserving of winning awards, it was a bit of a flatline overall. Dragon's Dogma was amazeballs, but other than that I can't think of any notable games that year.

TheDinoman · May 3, 2017

daTRUballin said:
Don't forget Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts!

That was my most disappointing game of 2008 right there, but, to be fair, it received its backlash way before its launch when it was truly revealed back in May, so expectations were a bit lowered there, lol.

It's not like, say, Spore, which saw tons of enthusiasm and hype before everything turned blood curdling negative upon its release.

Greatest Ever · May 3, 2017

Strangelove77 said:
I googled the last decade or so and I'd personally say 2006. Outside of Oblivion(which I don't care about) and FF12(I thought it was dissapointing) nothing else sticks out.

If anything this is my answer. I haven't played enough games from 2006, but the best that year is probably Gears of War for me. Good game, but not nearly as great today as the best of other years.

I won't jump into the 90s, not too sure of those years (other than 1998 getting by on influence rather than having many games that are still great to play).

tenderbrew · May 3, 2017

2014 I can get behind. Some good titles but just looking at GOTYs can sometimes paint the picture. Mordor in 2014 in a lot of places. A fine game but wouldn't hang in most years.

That was a great year for the Wii U however.

Edit: oh dear lord I just looked at 2012 nevermind. Makes 2014 look like a banner year.

Kart94 · May 3, 2017

1983.

I have two good reasons why

AALLx · May 3, 2017

Alternatively: games are supposedly getting worse each year, so whichever is the current year

Bgamer90 · May 3, 2017

minameissteve said:
2014

Lackluster start for the new generation with hardly any truly great games. On top of that you had Gamergate and countless other controversies that made it feel like the medium regressed.

2014 was very solid IMO. Sunset Overdrive, Wolfenstein, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Forza Horizon 2, Titanfall, Captain Toad, Smash Bros., etc.

I think 2012 was the dullest year for gaming that I've been alive for. 2012 really showed how old the PS3 and 360 was and that it was time to move on.

Inviusx · May 3, 2017

2014 no doubt.

A.J. · May 3, 2017

Bgamer90 said:
2014 was very solid IMO. Sunset Overdrive, Wolfenstein, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad, Smash Bros., etc.

I think 2012 was the dullest year for gaming that I've been alive for. 2012 really showed how old the PS3 and 360 was and that it was time to move on.

It's important to note that not many people owned a Wii U

Geno Breaker · May 3, 2017

Definitely 2008. Can't think of anything I really liked from that year.

Sub_Level · May 3, 2017

2012 was worse than 2014

2014 was actually good for Wii U. 2012 was not good for any platform. The best games of 2012 were indies like Hotline Miami and FTL. I mean wtf happened.

MrT-Tar · May 3, 2017

minameissteve said:
2014

Lackluster start for the new generation with hardly any truly great games. On top of that you had Gamergate and countless other controversies that made it feel like the medium regressed.

Are we just forgetting the fact that 2014 saw Bayonetta 2, DKC: Tropical Freeze, and Super Smash Bros for WiiU/3DS? I would say that those games alone put the year above 2012 and not far off 2009.

Bgamer90 · May 3, 2017

A.J. said:
It's important to note that not many people owned a Wii U

Yeah very good point. I would agree that 2014 was pretty bad if you were a PS4 only owner. I had Wii U and Xbox One. It was the best year for the Xbox One and Wii U in terms of exclusives in my opinion.

BigBeauford · May 3, 2017

2014.

CannonFodder52 · May 3, 2017

For me it was 2013/2014
Spent both years playing exclusively Dota2. It's a great game, but I regret dumping so much time into it.

Toparaman · May 3, 2017

In recent memory, 2012. Lost interest in the game industry that entire year. I know a lot of people love Journey and the X-COM reboot but they weren't particularly interesting to me.

2014 probably comes in second place. Lots of solid high-quality sequels (Smash, Bayo, Mario Kart), but they were all very similar to their predecessors and kind of unexciting as a result. MK8 is a damn nice looking and sounding game though, I'll give it that.

This is completely personal, but I also found last year to be of little interest. This year has been overwhelmingly awesome though. Japan making a comeback this year has been a big part of that.

mindtwang · May 3, 2017

1977.

rochellepaws · May 3, 2017

Will also agree with 2012 and 2014.

Kart94 · May 3, 2017

MrT-Tar said:
Are we just forgetting the fact that 2014 saw Bayonetta 2, DKC: Tropical Freeze, and Super Smash Bros for WiiU/3DS? I would say that those games alone put the game above 2012 and not far off 2009.

Don't forget Mario Kart 8

HvySky · May 3, 2017

AALLx said:
1983

Yep. A year of average video games is one thing, but this is something else entirely.

brinstar · May 3, 2017

Which year was it when E3 was like all kinect and motion control stuff and GAF as a whole was letdown. I still have a ton of gifs saved from that year

Host Samurai · May 3, 2017

2007

Outside Prime 3, Galaxy and GoW2 it was all FPS.

It was also around that time where everything had to be "edgy" running on UE3. I really hated that trend.

Zukkoyaki · May 3, 2017

I'd say 2006 in a heartbeat.

Ordinaryundone · May 3, 2017

2012 was solid. Max Payne 3, Dishonored, Borderlands 2, The Walking Dead, Journey, XCOM, Persona 4 Arena and Golden, Mark of the Ninja, Virtue's Last Reward, Sleeping Dogs. Lots of games I really liked came out that year. I guess it was lacking a big AAA showcase moment since Diablo 3 and Mass Effect 3 didn't really make the splash they were supposed to but past that it was fine.

Vital Tundra · May 3, 2017

Us Wii U owners had a great 2014.

Zalman · May 3, 2017

2014 was an amazing year for Wii U alone. I wasn't a fan of 2015 and 2016 personally.

SgtCobra · May 3, 2017

TheDinoman said:
2008 seemed to be the "year of overhyped disappointments".

SSB Brawl
Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid 4
Spore
LittleBigPlanet

A lot of games that were hyped up but then received the backlash of the century upon release.

One of the best years in my opinion but hey that's what opinions are for!

pineapplepizza · May 3, 2017

That long stretch between snakes and ladders and chinese checkers was tough era for me.

Santiako · May 3, 2017

2014 was absolutely insane if you like RPGs. I'm still catching up to them.

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared · May 3, 2017

2008 was kinda bad. There was some games in it, but not much memorable.

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