Support NeoGAF

[Hip Hop]

So, with the PS4 and X1 coming this month and the Wii U being released last year, the transition to the 8th generation of consoles is coming to an end.

To everyone out there, what did you think of the 7th Generation of consoles?

Did it bring wonderful new IP's that you enjoyed? Did you want more out of it? Was it totally expected? Biggest letdown of it?


If you were to give it a score out of 10, what would it be and why?

 

[Fracas]

Good, not great. Brought some all time great games but also established some truly terrible design choices as standard.

 

[Like the hat?]

Wii was my second favorite console ever and it taught me the only person whose tastes should matter to me are my own.

 

[USC-fan]

7.5

 

[Waylon Drums]

Wii was my second favorite console ever and it taught me the only person whose taste matters is my own.

I like you. You're smart.

 

[Sethos]

 

[BlackBuzzard]

7/10

Too many shooters not enough JRPGS or platformers.

 

[shadyspace]

I really like my Wii U man can't even imagine how much I'll love the thing come the 22nd

 

[dreamfall]

7.5

Baha.

I don't know yet!

We gotta play things ourselves, I just want to interact with the new systems for awhile and then make some preliminary judgments!~

Ah, but you were speaking of the current gen. My mistake- must think deeply on this!

 

[enzo_gt]

Great. So many technological and service advances in a short period of time, and so many gaming gems to go with it on all 3 platforms, many of which rank with the greats of all time. Gaming did good.

 

[RaikuHebi]

5/10. Too much Killzone.

Real answer: Was no PS1 or PS2 era but it did bring some classics that I will play years from now. (UC2, 3, Portal 1, 2, GTAV, Rayman Origins & Legends).

And the Indie Revolution was amazing. So too were HD Classics.

 

[Soulflarz]

8. Relatively good w/ some issues imo

Edit: mental love blocked out dlc and other stuff
7.5

 

[Jamix012]

It was a weird one because each platform has something unique and interesting to offer me, which hasn't really happened before hand. On the other hand the overall quality was still love. 6.5/10

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

DLC
Ten Year Cycles
FPS stagnation

And worst, the death of several talented studios. Bleak times, though we did get some fantastic titles.

 

[Linkark07]

7/10

Too long. Too many shooters. Many interactive movies. Some developers were abusing with DLCs. Still, there were great games this gen and most of them were fun.

 

[waggabond]

It's the generation that made me come back to consoles from a long hiatus, mainly due to exclusives.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Online on the 360 was a game changer for me. I now like to play everything I can against a human.

Also, linear games are dead to me, I like open worlds almost exclusively but I can handle some linearity if a game nails everything else.

 

[breakfuss]

Yeah, I'd give it about a 7-7.5. Online multiplayer and digital content being the highlights.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

A generation too complex for me to simplify; full of both wonderful and absolutely terrible and everything in between.

A generation where developers ignore incredibly popular underpowered hardware with a weird control scheme for years before lining up to get a bite out of a different incredibly underpowered hardware when an even weirder control scheme, developers close as the mid tier video game disappears from the market for no reason based in actual statistics, and a market where self-published games might make or break the next generation.

A generation which gave us some of the most incredible experiences in the medium while also homogenizing and narrowing in other regards. A generation which birthed the best online capabilities, terrible anti-consumer policies and the worst network screw-ups within the same breath. A generation with social growth, DLC, wringing our wallets for every cent, releasing and patching terribly buggy games, and creating some of the greatest online worlds the industry has seen yet. A generation where the entire landscape changed overnight, continuously, each and every year. A generation where the consumer became powerless and then made their opinions heard.

A generation which included pushing hardware to the limits, sometimes to the detriment to the gameplay, and sometimes with an outlet on other platforms. A generation which included ME TOO that went nowhere, and innovation that did. A generation which championed both empty spectacle and the greatest of systemic simulation. A generation which included Civilization V and Uncharted 2, somehow still considered the same medium. A generation which included FTL and Gone Home. MineCraft and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Dark Souls. Opposites, parallels, convergence and divergence. A generation with technology from yesterday and a decade ago. A generation of choice, missed chances, opportunities, and everything and anything else you can think of.

I can't give it a number. I would give it every number. There's just too goddamn much to cover, and I've barely even touched on any of it.

 

[EMT0]

The only generation to ever make me take a break from video games. 6/10.

 

[Dragonborn]

Overall I'd say

Xbox 360: 8/10 - Great first three years, pretty bad afterwards since MS just started doing their Gears/Halo/Forza cycle and it's been pretty much dead all this year.

Ps3: 8.5/10 - Slow first two years, but Sony really delivered on the first party front. The multiplat issue was eventually fixed and/or lessened for the most part and 2013 has been epic so far.

Wii: 8/10 - I wish I had given the Wii a better chance from the get go, so this score is just based on what I did play. Hopefully I can get around to the rest eventually, but really awesome exclusives, even if they weren't HD.

Overall - 8.5 out of 10, really good gen, but it did drag quite a bit. Honestly, I had so much fun with all 3 consoles. The PS3 ended up being my favorite overall, but that's just because of Sony's amazing first party, particularly ND. MS just kind killed Halo and Forza for me with the constant releases. Halo 4 wasn't that good, and though Forza is still alright, I'm just tired of it. I may be alone on this, but Halo 5 just doesn't have that same must get feeling I got when I went out and bought an Xbox for Halo and a 360 for Halo 3. Definitely not buying an X1 just for Halo anymore.

 

[DietRob]

I've been around for all 7 of these console lifecycles. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed this last console cycle the most. Granted it was a few years too long. There were some really great games this gen. I started off with a 360 but moved over to PS3 after my first brush with RROD. So most of my gaming time this gen played out on PS3.

We got a great trilogy from Naughty Dog, along with a new IP that is also pretty great.

Mass Effect started off really great but let me down a little more with each release.

WipeOut HD/Fury and Wipeout 2048 have been my most played games over the course of this gen.

I didn't participate in many FPS games but the rise in popularity of them brought our gaming culture into the mainstream.

360, PS3, and Wii all have impressive libraries and sales numbers. I'm fully ready to say goodbye to this gen though. I can't wait to find out what this new gen has in store for us!

 

[Timeaisis]

8.8 / 10

 

[Doffen]

I have yet to play a next ten game so I can't talk about that.
But I do feel that my hype was stronger with the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii launch.

 

[Coffee Dog]

This is probably one of the worst generations ever. The death of the B game ruined so many fucking genres it's ridiculous. If you don't love AAA gaming and the hype machine this generation most likely alienated you, hard.

If I had to put a number on it, maybe a 4 or 5. It's not lower mainly because of Valve resurrecting PC gaming and indies finally getting a proper foothold in the industry. Also, the handhelds were both fucking fantastic. The DS, man. The DS.

 

[Regiruler]

This jiff will become a legend.

Probably 10/10 as I have nothing to compare it to. For all intents and purposes my first generation.

 

[Terbinator]

2007 will never be topped.

#truthfact.

 

[Nakazato]

I think we got some really good games this gen. But it wasnt as good as ps2 gen.


7,8

ill give it an 8.5 if we are counting handhelds

 

[titusandronicus]

Best generation by far, easily. Huge diverse range of games, amazing online experiences, huge leap between visuals because of HD, indie games became very important and some evolved in to multi million dollar franchises, touch screen and motion control gaming, new experiences and audiences through games like Wii Sports, Brain Training, digital distribution of games/updates/expansion packs, social media, amazing user generated content experiences through games like Halo 3, Little Big Planet, consoles offering loads of services like Netflix and offering way more features than what they launched with, OS updates, 2D/platform games became a 'thing' again, peak of music games, and SO MUCH MORE.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Probably about a 6.5. This is one of my least favorite generations ever. Looking at my collection there is a very low amount of games I will ever go back and replay.

The best part about it was the DS. But I assume you meant consoles only. If we are talking handhelds I'd bump it up to a 7.5.

 

[natureboy46]

I think this might have been my favorite generation, and I've been gaming since the Atari days.

Just by the sheer number of amazing games I played: Uncharted Series, Skyrim, Fallout 3 & NV, TLoU, Mass Effect Trilogy,Saints Row 3 and 4, Red Dead, La Noire, GTA V, Ratchet Future, Fable 2, Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Bioshock and Infinite, Far Cry 3, Burnout Paradise and probably loads more that I'm forgetting.

Each of these games would likely be in the running for my Top 10 of all time. This was a fantastic generation of games.

 

[inner-G]

7/10


The broad disappointment was the lack of great Japanese software.

Loved Red Dead, Yakuza 3/4, Vesperia and Xillia, Lost Odyssey, the CC2 Naruto games also looked amazing. Enjoyed the wacky stuff like Oneechanbara and Afrika. Rock Band and Wii Sports were great games for parties. DS was a JRPG powerhouse, the DQ games were the highlight for me.

The move to HD caused many problems, killed developers and made more genre-like 'template' games that all felt similar. I have high hopes that creativity will once again shine in the 8th gen. Hopefully it will be the SNES to the NES or the PS2 to the PS1 as developers are more accustomed to new technologies and both platforms are working hard to ease development.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

360 6/10 - Excellent out of the gate, in the latter years it sort of withered as MS focussed their energies on Kinect which I loathe. Knocked off 1 point for RROD which I had to deal with, twice.

Wii 7/10 - Great experiences being drunk with my mates playing Wii Sports. Sort of withered towards the end as Nintendo moved resources over to HD development for the Wii U. SMG was the true stand out title of the generation for me though. Playing Wii Sports for the first time in 2006 was also a revelation, that was when people did the actual sports actions rather than just wrist flicking/waggling the Wiimotes. Kind of shat up TP though, should have got the Cube version with no added waggle.

PS3 8/10 - Expensive, terrible third party games and poor selection of first party games and it missed out on key third party titles like Bioshock and Mass Effect. Two years of hell, 5 years of awesome. PS+ has revolutionised gaming for me personally, so many new experiences from it that I would not have had. Just sad that we didn't get a Team Ico game much earlier because of the bastarding architecture and Japan Studio's technical incompetence. ND really defined the PS3 for me though. Special mentions for GoW 3, Puppeteer, Flower, Journey, Heavy Rain and WipEout HD Fury. Dishonourable mention to Heavenly Sword, Lair and Haze which were all horrible. Sad to not get a title from SCE Cambridge and that London wasted all their time on Home and Wonderbook when not helping out other studios via the ATG.

 

[MonaKyshu]

some lame monetization practices, some faulty hardware, some pretty good gaming experiences

 

[Devilgunman]

7/10

Too many shooters not enough JRPGS or platformers.

This, but I'm not as nice as you. 4/10 for me. Worst generation of gaming I've experienced. There is 0 game from Japan that I would call "masterpiece" despite the fact that this is the longest generation. Very disappointed.

 

[AzaK]

Overall I'll give it a 6. I owned a Wii mostly, and it had some amazing gems like Wii Sports that got so many of my friends and family gaming that it was priceless really. However it didn't last and I felt like I missed out on tonnes and tonnes of really good games because they just didn't come to Wii.

I eventually got a 360 and play some games on that now which is nice and I had a PS3 for a while until it blew up - twice. I'm a bit bummed with how shooters became so prevalent and even TPS is starting to get a little stale, but indies seem to be fixing that a bit.

In the end I expect the 8th generation to be the better and more interesting especially with indies having a resurgence on consoles and the SteamBox REALLY interests me. It's going to be a tumultuous ride I imagine, given all the changes in the industry that will be coming.

 

[MonaKyshu]

it missed out on key third party titles like Bioshock

to be fair, it got it like 11 months later,

and in the grand scheme of things, owning only a PS3 did not ending up meaning that you'd have to go without mass effect.

 

[MilkBeard]

Probably somewhere in the 7-8 out of 10 range. It was a good generation, and provided some genuinely fun moments, but as a fan of JRPGs and old school platformers, I didn't take well to the focus on shooters and western titles that didn't really appeal to me.

There was more variety on PS3/360, but surprisingly, Wii still provided me with some of the best experiences this gen. Which is proof enough for me to buy a Nintendo console, because when Nintendo gets it, they really get it.

Now, I just hope the development environment for the new generation will make things easier for developers over all, and we will see more consistency overall. Also, I want to see less of a focus on set piece hallway shooters/beat-em-ups, and more of a focus on sandbox, exploration and platforming. The technology is in place, and I would like to see the gameplay become more intricate.

 

[MonaKyshu]

This, but I'm not as nice as you. 4/10 for me. Worst generation of gaming I've experienced. There is 0 game from Japan that I would call "masterpiece" despite the fact that this is the longest generation. Very disappointed.

you didn't think the mario galaxy games were masterpieces?

 

[jgmo870]

It ended better than it started. So there's that.

 

[Coffee Dog]

A lot of disappointed people here rating on the 7-10 scale

 

[zomgbbqftw]

to be fair, it got it like 11 months later,

and in the grand scheme of things, owning only a PS3 did not ending up meaning that you'd have to go without mass effect.

Yeah, that's a good point, but at the time it felt like Sony were just phoning it in when it came to good third party support.

The attitude change when Kaz got his people in was really massive. Getting Harrison out for Yoshida was a masterstroke by Kaz and leaving Shu there when he vacated the President position on becoming CEO and promoting Andy House was another great move as it left Shu to get on with what he is great at.

 

[oconnomiyaki]

5/10. Too often gameplay took a backseat to narrative aspirations, and the general themes and motifs of gaming has been bland. Return of investment was more important than innovation, too.

 

[Chezzymann]

You mean 3rd gen?

 

[Devilgunman]

you didn't think the mario galaxy games were masterpieces?

Not for me. Never like Mario since he's gone 3D and made noise. My last Mario game is Super Mario World.

 

[Manmademan]

Better than Generation 6, hands down.

1.) greater competition all around. We got to see what Nintendo, Sony, AND Microsoft would all do with a large, active userbase. All three gave us different experiences and this isn't really something that's happened before. Typically there's one overwhelmingly dominant console that dictates where the industry is going to go, and a couple of also-rans to make you wonder "what if."

2.) MUCH greater variety in games, thanks to mature online networks in PSN and Live. Cry about JRPGs all you want, but I'll take smaller experiences like unfinished swan, double dragon neon, journey, Dragon's Crown, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, The Walking Dead, Afterburner Climax, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Solder X-2, etc over them any day. none of these games would have seen a full retail release on PS2, nor at the very reasonable price points they came in at.

3.) We got to revisit classics that never would have seen a full retail release (see above). Final Fight, Daytona USA, X-men arcade, Dungeons and Dragons: TOD and Shadow over Mystara(!), Mortal Kombat Kollection...etc. again, these probably wouldn't have merited full retail releases last gen.

4.) Rock Band! Really, that's it's own category right there.

5.) Motion control gaming was sort of a gimmick, but hey- some people liked it.

 

[Yes Boss!]

I'd give it a 9.5.

My second favorite generation after the 16-bit, which I'd give a 10(nothing will top SNES-Neo-Genesis-PCE).

Has my favorite Nintendo console of all time...with all that great VC and GCN backwards compatibility.

Has a strong shmup collection on 360.

Has my favorite Sony system. Really the first time I acually jumped all-in on a Sony system. And lots of cool classics made available on PSN.

 

[Coffee Dog]

Better than Generation 6, hands down.

1.) greater competition all around. We got to see what Nintendo, Sony, AND Microsoft would all do with a large, active userbase. All three gave us different experiences and this isn't really something that's happened before. Typically there's one overwhelmingly dominant console that dictates where the industry is going to go, and a couple of also-rans to make you wonder "what if."

2.) MUCH greater variety in games, thanks to mature online networks in PSN and Live. Cry about JRPGs all you want, but I'll take smaller experiences like unfinished swan, double dragon neon, journey, Dragon's Crown, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, The Walking Dead, Afterburner Climax, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Solder X-2, etc over them any day. none of these games would have seen a full retail release on PS2, nor at the very reasonable price points they came in at.

3.) We got to revisit classics that never would have seen a full retail release (see above). Final Fight, Daytona USA, X-men arcade, Dungeons and Dragons: TOD and Shadow over Mystara(!), Mortal Kombat Kollection...etc. again, these probably wouldn't have merited full retail releases last gen.

4.) Rock Band! Really, that's it's own category right there.

5.) Motion control gaming was sort of a gimmick, but hey- some people liked it.

Have I stepped onto negative earth?

 

[Derrick01]

3/10. It was by far the worst generation I've experienced and in many ways it made me hate this hobby. Every other generation before it was great for its time. Between the massive focus on casual gamers which diluted gameplay down into a really generic and boring pile of shit and publishers fragmenting games and nickel and diming everyone I really had a hard time finding memorable games.

Steam's one of the few bright spots of this past generation but it's just a store front with community features. When the games are still so disappointing it can only do so much.

 

[Manmademan]

Have I stepped onto negative earth?

something wrong with my points you disagree with? because I listed why I felt it was better than generation 6.

if you see no value in greater competition, variety in games and systems, or robust online networks then say so, but there are plenty of people that disagree.