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[MrOogieBoogie]

I don't think it can be argued, and I'm sure after only a few posts you'll begin to agree (if you don't already).

I'll start with a random one:

GOG's revitalization of classic PC gaming.

Older PC games have always had this "dark ages" stigma I think, which was only perpetuated by how inaccessible many had become after running their course. I think with GOG and Steam (and other DDs, but mainly these two), PC gaming has never felt more "complete" and accessible. In fact, I appreciate so much that companies recognize the demand for older titles, which is why I love services like GOG and PSN and Virtual Console (which, admittedly, has far more potential, but whattayougonnado?).

 

[Your Excellency]

Portal fucking 2.

 

[butter_stick]

The only GoG game I bought didn't work properly.

This gen ;_;

 

[Keyser Soze]

Facebook, iPad/Phone, Wii gave gaming mass exposure

 

[catapult37]

I'm going to say Just Cause 2. And Uncharted, and the proliferation of awesome indie titles. And my finally having built a gaming PC.

 

[Bumhead]

Yellow light of.. no.

Red lig.. no.

Retailer exclu.. no.

On disc downl.. no.

Day one pa.. nope.

The lack of a Timespli.. arrhghh.

Ok, I'll play nice. This generation gave me BioShock and Arkham Asylum, so its up there certainly.

 

[Zabka]

Guardian Heroes HD for 10 bucks.

 

[Stumpokapow]

GOG's revitalization of classic PC gaming.

If you count "backwards compatibility" or "completeness", each generation is better than the last, and the next will be better than this, so the whole conversation is moot.

I think this generation holds its own on the quality of new games. I've elaborated several times, most recently when I dropped a bomb in response to "Is eccentricity in modern console game design dieing?"

 

[Fallout-NL]

Facebook, iPad/Phone, Wii gave gaming mass exposure

I'm not sure whether this was a good thing.



Anyway, as for my game of the generation, I think it's Gears of War (the first one, not the samey sequels). That was some truly revolutionary shooter gameplay. Looked beautiful too. It was just 'better' than the shooters in the generation before it.

My favorite gaming gen though remains mid to late nineties PC gaming, with the odd PS1 / N64 title mixed in for good measure.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

The evolution of open world role playing adventure with Fallout 3/NV, Oblivion and Skyrim.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

The return of simple arcade games.

 

[Like the hat?]

Nintendo DS.

 

[Princess Skittles]

XBLA/PSN/WW hasn't been mentioned yet? But Uncharted has?

Anyway, digital distribution platforms allowed games to be made that would never have been made in the exloding budget retail space. Geometry Wars, Pac-Man and Galaga CE, the PixelJunk series, Konami's Rebirth series, etc. So many awesome bite-sized (and sometimes bigger) games for ~$10 a pop? Yeah, that's what this generation means to me.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Yellow light of.. no.

Red lig.. no.

Retailer exclu.. no.

On disc downl.. no.

Day one pa.. nope.

The lack of a Timespli.. arrhghh.

Ok, I'll play nice. This generation gave me BioShock and Arkham Asylum, so its up there certainly.

You managed all that and didn't mention Horse armo...?

Spoiler

They were not on the disc

Deep discounting and the death of the B game. What I mean is, games have never been cheaper.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

If you count "backwards compatibility" or "completeness", each generation is better than the last, and the next will be better than this.

Sure, but I never thought it would be on such a grand scale. Did you?

Hell, we've even got a bunch of HD collections. I remember prior to the God of War HD collection many people speculated whether or not other developers would follow suite. Sales were strong enough that they would, of course, but it's just awesome to actually see an idea like this materialize and blossom.

 

[Noogy]

Numerous platform options (handhelds, iOS, consoles, PCs), all of which offer fantastic opportunities, and the resurgance and quality of indie titles.

The former in particular has been great for me. I can play the best looking games in the world on my PC, and when I'm away from home my iOS offers smaller treats. It's hard to think back to the days when my NES would sit in front of the TV with a single cartridge that I would change out once a week.

 

[Orgun]

The inclusion of Power into a video game

But seriously...because the current stuff is the newest shit? I'm sure the next generation will be even better.

 

[PairOfFilthySocks]

In terms of the industry, we've seen some horrible shit creep in(dlc abuse, drm, etc.).

In terms of actual games, this gen is easily one of the most diverse and highest quality.

 

[nincompoop]

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

You managed all that and didn't mention Horse armo...?

Spoiler

They were not on the disc

Deep discounting and the death of the B game. What I mean is, games have never been cheaper.

Yes, oh my god yes. I have never agreed with the complaint that games are supposedly more expensive now than ever before for consumers. I have spent less for so much more this generation than I thought possible.

IN THE LAST TWO DAYS I GOT:

Wii Remote Plus - $8 (with a free game)
Just Cause 2 - $2.50 (automatically downloaded to my computer)

Just amazing.

 

[Zwei]

I cant think of one

 

[Princess Skittles]

the death of the B game.

Um, no, this actually is the shittiest thing to happen this generation.

 

[legacyzero]

I'll stick with last gen as my favorite. There wasn't as much BS back then.

Although Xbox Live gaming is great.

 

[Gattsu25]

Not a great gaming generation, IMO

;_; ...so sad


can someone please make a full list of all the studios that died this gen?

This is definitely not a complete list, but I have a partial one:

GSC
Factor 5
Ascaron
Pandemic
FASA
Ensemble
Carbonated Games
RedOctane
Luxoflux
Rebellion Derby/Core Design
Krome
Juice
Rainbow
Heavy Iron Studios
Kaos
Blue Tongue
THQ Australia
EA Chicago
Bright Light
Realtime Worlds
Flagship Studios
Underground Developments
7 Studios
Bizzare Creations
Budcat
Shaba Games
Wolfpack
Flight Plan
Game Republic
Cing
Propaganda Games
Black Rock
Codemasters Guildford
Square Enix Los Angeles
UTV Florida
Midway Austin
Rockstar Vienna
NCSoft Austin
Acclaim
Hudson Entertainment
Bedlam Games
Play Well Studios
Capcom Studio 8
Clover
Midway Games
Midway Austin
Midway Newcastle
Midway Los Angeles
Midway Australia
Bionic Games
GRIN
Sega Racing Studio

A few of those might be end of last generation depending on how you want to count it.

There's also stuff like Free Radical and Planet Moon which I'm not sure how to categorize.

 

[mxgt]

Demon's/Dark Souls

 

[daviyoung]

7 years.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Call of Duty
iPhone gaming

 

[bede-x]

Download games have made 2D gaming more viable commercially on home platforms. The reason why I love PC, Xbox 360 and IOS gaming.

 

[The Hermit]

XBLA/PSN/WW hasn't been mentioned yet? But Uncharted has?

Anyway, digital distribution platforms allowed games to be made that would never have been made in the exloding budget retail space. Geometry Wars, Pac-Man and Galaga CE, the PixelJunk series, Konami's Rebirth series, etc. So many awesome bite-sized (and sometimes bigger) games for ~$10 a pop? Yeah, that's what this generation means to me.

this associated with VC and finally being able to play Rondo of Blood= best gen ever. Resurrection of fighting games (or at least their return to mainstream), 2d platformers still being relevant, PC gaming having games that in any other gen it would be exclusive to consoles (ex: Sonic Generations) are also good reasons.

 

[Gustav]

Indie games breaking through to the mainstream gamer through Steam, XBLA, PSN.

 

[m.i.s.]

Nintendo DS.

Is't that last-gen?

Anyway -

RE4 Wii Edition. Will not play this game any other way.

Pro Evolution Soccer Wii (take your pick of the years) - this is probably the single most advanced way of playing footie that I've ever come across. Part strategy, part action and flawless control. Will not play football any other way.

Super Mario Galaxy / 2. Much, much prefer the second game. A fantastic game and one reason to believe that Nintendo can still pull it off (when they try).

Skyward Sword - a fine return to form. Takes some adjustment but this is a solid entry so far.

 

[Blue Submarine No. 6]

I think that I'm mostly appreciative of this gen because of the huge number of retro games that have been made available via PSN, XBox Live and the Nintendo eShop and on retro disc compilations... Also, having access to CFW on my PSP that lets me run great emulators for the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, and fanscenes that have translated treasures like Policenauts, I've been swimming in a sea of old-school video gaming goodness for much of this gen. We've never had it so good in terms of easy access to an enormous pool of classic games... It's an embarrasment of riches, really...

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Um, no, this actually is the shittiest thing to happen this generation.

It would be, but thankfully, it hasn't happened at all.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

The proliferation of incredibly inexpensive games is the best part of this generation. I don't mean iPhone games, I mean Just Cause 2 on sale for $2.50, Indie Bundles that give you five games for pennies, AAA blockbuster titles dropping down to $30 a month after release, high-quality free-to-play stuff everywhere, GoG, Amazon, Steam, etc.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Sure, but I never thought it would be on such a grand scale. Did you?

Well, yes? Emulated compilations at retail existed before this generation, and emulation with ROMs got from the internet existed before this generation, so the idea of combining them and monetizing buying ROMs was a no brainer. GOG is basically a branded storefront for DOSBox, which again is just an emulator. If anything, I'm disappointed that no one has plugged the Win3.1/Early W95 donut hole of software compatibility, or provided a bridge layer for 16-bit stuff on 64-bit computers (Civ 2 is a great example of a game that is not and will not be playable on a modern computer because of this).

Hell, we've even got a bunch of HD collections. I remember prior to the God of War HD collection many people speculated whether or not other developers would follow suite.

Again, this has existed for 20-odd years. Dragon Quest's Famicom installments got remade on the Super Famicom. Super Mario All-Stars is a famous example we had in the west. That companies are continuing to do it was inevitable, especially because the ease of porting is higher than ever.

*shrugs*

 

[Yoshichan]

HD Remakes (FFX, MGS, SotC/ICO, GoW, SH etc).

Again, this has existed for 20-odd years. Dragon Quest's Famicom installments got remade on the Super Famicom. Super Mario All-Stars is a famous example we had in the west. That companies are continuing to do it was inevitable, especially because the ease of porting is higher than ever.

*shrugs*

I didn't get to play my favorite PS1-games in PS2-resolution during that era... that's all that counts!

 

[panty]

We've had many great games this gen that's for sure, but there's still that list of killed studios.. yeah.

Ps. How many threads have you made in the past week? 200?

 

[ULTROS!]

1. Console, PC, and portable DD became great.
2. Related to 1, rise of the indies.
3. Related to 1, old games are ported/remade/rereleased and become easily accesible (achievements and trophies are a plus).

 

[Midou]

Some amazing franchises started up this gen, Witcher, Batman, Assassins Creed, Fallout (different enough), oh the list goes on.

My biggest gripe with this generation is the 'near' death of the console JRPG.

 

[Yes Boss!]

iOS, DS system, and games like the Galaxys and the Uncharteds (at the two extremes) make it the best. I do appreciate that corporations are recognizing the value of their back-catalogs, finally.

 

[Princess Skittles]

It would be, but thankfully, it hasn't happened at all.

It's happening. Don't expect games like Nier next generation. They will not exist. You'll take Uncharted 6 and Call of Duty 2015 AND YOU'LL LIKE IT.

Did you miss that list of studios that closed? It was only a screen tall.

 

[xxczx]

Persona 5 isn't here yet so it's not so great.

 

[X26]

nah

I mean while personally I've had for more fun with games this gen than any other the snes, ps1, and ps2 had ridiculous libraries for their time that are still amazing by today's standards

 

[Gravijah]

Is't that last-gen?

i would still consider it a part of the current ps3/360/etc generation, so it would be fair to call it current gen.

 

[Celine]

1. Console, PC, and portable DD became great.
2. Related to 1, rise of the indies.
3. Related to 1, old games are ported/remade/rereleased and become easily accesible (achievements and trophies are a plus).

Yeah, pretty much this is the biggest achievement this gen.

 

[blurrygil]

In terms of the industry, we've seen some horrible shit creep in(dlc abuse, drm, etc.).

In terms of actual games, this gen is easily one of the most diverse and highest quality.

This.

 

[The_Monk]

Instead of giving negative reasons I'll try to grab the good ones since it was the purpose of this thread.

-Great selection of games (I miss the PS2 Library but it's okay).
-Great Prices, games go down in price sometimes 2 months only after release.
-HD Remakes gave a chance to play or replay some of the greatest gems of last gen.
-If you are a Indie lover or a indie dev this was a good year for opportunities.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

It's happening. Don't expect games like Nier next generation. They will not exist. You'll take Uncharted 6 and Call of Duty 2015 AND YOU'LL LIKE IT.

Did you miss that list of studios that closed? It was only a screen tall.

They will be here, only on different distribution channels/platforms. In fact, I'd say we'll be seeing more and more of them.

Sure, the list of studios that have gone under is dreadful, but I could make you a similar list for the previous generation and it wouldn't look any nicer. Besides, much of the talent remains in the industry, that list should be accompanied by the list of newly opened studios.

 

[panty]

Persona 5 isn't here yet so it's not so great.

They're gonna do it like P4.

 

[Stumpokapow]

I didn't get to play my favorite PS1-games in PS2-resolution during that era... that's all that counts!

Reflected about this for 2-3 minutes, I'm sure this isn't exhaustive:
Resident Evil -> Resident Evil GC
Metal Gear Solid -> The Twin Snakes
Tomb Raider -> Tomb Raider Anniversary
Tony Hawk 1/2 -> Tony Hawk 2X
Kingdom Hearts CoM -> Kingdom Hearts RE:CoM
Spider-Man PS1 -> Spider-Man DC
Soul Reaver -> Soul Reaver DC
Conker BFD -> Conker L&R
Tales of Everything -> Tales of Everything Released Slightly Later Now With Voices.

*shrugs* Maybe it's new for Sony exclusive games to get remade for newer Sony exclusive systems, but there's plenty of instances of "HD remakes" for every generation.