Best year to be a gamer

[guyjin]

Best year to be a video gamer in the country where you were?

inspired by https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=1350.msg87873#msg87873

[nat]

I picked one year and one year alone:

1989. For me, this was the height of my personal "golden age" of video gaming. The NES mania was in full swing. And then the TG-16 was released. I would get one the following Christmas, but man, THOSE were the days. If I could go back to one year, that would be it.

If I had to pick two more I guess it would be 1990 and 1991 since those were the years that followed....

[Alt-Nintega]

I picked 1994. Why?

Arcade fighting games were at the peak of their popularity with SSFII Turbo and King of Fighters '94 and amazing RPGs were released in the US such as Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy III (VI), Roboterk, Ogre Battle, Illusion of Gaia, Phantasy Star IV, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, Vay, and Popful Mail. Working Designs, Squaresoft, and Enix were on a roll that year.

[SignOfZeta]

I picked 2008 because even though I haven't played a single game released this year, all the old shit from the past is still out there. Every day is better for gaming that the one before it because there are more games to play.

[jboypacman]

The early 80's because of the Atari 2600 and the early 90's pre-PS1.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I picked '91 for much the same reasons that nat chose '89, except I went with the Duo's release date.  SuperCD games were a big improvement, and the Duo made a bigger impact (in my life, anyway), not to mention it looks so much sexier.

[Turbo D]

I voted 2007. That is the year I could afford to buy a jack load of turbo games. Those other years I was too young and poor

[PCEngineHell]

1993 for me. This was a sweet spot year where some of the best titles for all the 16-bitters were being released. My birthday and Christmas of this year were prob the best I ever had gaming wise as a kid/teen.

[Keranu]

1982 - Nothing is cooler than early 80's arcade action.
1987 - NES is hot and coming home to play some games on it is rad to the max.
1992 - Excellent year for the Turbo with the Duo being released with some really top titles at this time and a good time for 16-bit in general.

[Joe Redifer]

Hard to pin it down for me.  Can I just say 1988-1994?  The latter part of the 8-bit and the entire 16-bit era was the best because there was so much exciting stuff coming out everywhere.  I might even extend the years to about 1997 or 98 but the 32-bit generation wasn't *quite* as exciting.

[ccovell]

Just like Stephen King wrote, the best year of your life is when you're 12.  That may be true, along with games as well: 1990 had some of the best games on many new(ish) systems (NES, GB, TG, Gen) along with the much-anticpated Super Famicom's release.

[Sparky]

ya i hear ya Joe Redifer.

1988 to 1990 for me, ending of the 8bit and into the 16bit consoles, this period with its big changes and up and coming consoles like the genny and the tg16 i found it to be very exciting.

i jumped in late to the Sega Master System in '88 and kinda wish i had waited and bought something else but i got to play some of the great rpg's such as Phantasy Star & Y's, and still to this day i can remember so much about these games. still fire up Phantasy Star from time to time and take on DarkFalz , he can still hand me my ass at times

[esteban]

I was tempted to steal Zeta's move and choose 2008 (because then I could have it all!)

I can't pin it down to a year, though. Sorry.

Can I choose 1979-1993?

[ApolloBoy]

I voted for 1989, not just because it was my birthyear but also because there was so much good stuff out at the time. You already had the NES, SMS, 7800 and the 2600, and coming out were the TG-16, Genesis, Game Boy, and the Lynx. I'm kinda unlike most people here in that I prefer the "8-bit" era of gaming, despite the fact that I wasn't alive for much of it. After all, I started out on the NES and Game Gear, compared to most people my age who started out on the SNES or the PlayStation.

[TR0N]

Voted 1992 that's when 2d had reached it's peak with the TG16,NeoGeo,Genesis and SNES.

Second place would be 1982 that's when arcades rule the scene and i did get to enjoy it.

Kind of sad though these days 2d is now the niche and 3d is the mainstream.

Sure 2d it's hanging on with handhelds,but it's not much of a market for consoles these days 

[Ceti Alpha]

I went with '94. The TG/Duo had really figured out what the system was actually capable of, and "lots" of games (there should have been more, but that's another story). Also, there were the next gen consoles coming out, so you had the best of both worlds.

Though, I almost went with nat's reasoning - '89-'91, as the NES was in full effect and the TG was released. 

[SNKNostalgia]

1994

That was the year I got to enjoy 16 bit gaming at its fullest. Games like Final Fantasy 3, Super Metroid, Lunar 2, Snatcher and Samurai Shodown 2 (MVS at arcade). What a great year, especially when you own a SNES. This year just seemed to roll out with great games left and right for the Genesis/Sega CD and SNES. This was when arcade games were at their best for 2d. Well atleast up to 96 or so, but 94 was when arcade games just got really good.

My other picks would be 1990-92 for NES gaming at its best. As well as me owning my TG-16.

Then 1997 for owning my first Neo Geo. Also, PS1 and Saturn games were getting damn good.

2001 was also great for next gen gaming with the RE remake on Gamecube and Metal Gear Solid 2. This is when good polygons made my jaw drop once in a while.

[td741]

Can't be sure but voted '94.

Was having a blast with my Duo, 3D0, Amigas, PC, SNES.

[TJ]

1983 - Arcades were packed with everything from Atari Football to Dragon's Lair. It was the height of the mania just before the crash.
1991 - 16-bit became king as the Super NES came out in the US and the Genesis was hitting its stride. Plus Street Fighter II was in arcades, creating a mini arcade renaissance for a while.
1999 - With games like Zelda: Ocarina, Metal Gear Solid, and Panzer Dragoon Saga coming out in 98, 3D gaming really started realizing its potential. I should have voted 98 but I missed and clicked 99. Oops.

[nat]

1999 - With games like Zelda: Ocarina, Metal Gear Solid, and Panzer Dragoon Saga coming out in 98, I started realizing this early 3D gaming really started realizing its potential really looked like ass. I should have voted 98 1989-1994 but I missed and clicked 99. Oops.

Fixed.

[rag-time4]

1987 - Got my NES in 87, Street Fighter and Double Dragon came out in the arcades. Perestroika in the Soviet Union.
1991-1992 - Ignoring the part that said this was about console and portable games, these years were huge for Street Fighter 2 in the arcades... ahh the good ol' days.

[VestCunt]

I picked one year and one year alone:

1989. For me, this was the height of my personal "golden age" of video gaming. The NES mania was in full swing. And then the TG-16 was released. I would get one the following Christmas, but man, THOSE were the days. If I could go back to one year, that would be it.

If I had to pick two more I guess it would be 1990 and 1991 since those were the years that followed....

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly.  Marketing was still hit or miss and gaming magazines weren't widely read so every game carried an air of mystery about it.  Everyone read the shitty Jeff Rovin books without any pictures.  Retailers went crazy stocking games and I also found tons of loose titles at odd little second-hand shops my mom frequented.  Not only did the two video stores in my town start renting games, but so did the movie theater and the mom-and-pop appliance shop that no one had previously patronized except to buy a washing machine.  The local Radio Shack even had a game-trading service where you could bring in a used game and take one from their meager selection for $5. 
My favorite was 92 when I took home the annual EGM with the system reviews and couldn't believe how awesome everything looked.  I saved up and bought a SMS 2 and my first TG16 later that year.

[nat]

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly.

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Me and my friends would ride our bikes around town and when we got tired we'd go home and play some SMB2. If you ask me, that was the real video gaming "golden age." Though I wouldn't get one until the following year, I remember reading about the TG-16 in a magazine. It became my one goal to bug my parents constantly until they got me one for Christmas.

[Ceti Alpha]

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly.

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Me and my friends would ride our bikes around town and when we got tired we'd go home and play some SMB2. If you ask me, that was the real video gaming "golden age." Though I wouldn't get one until the following year, I remember reading about the TG-16 in a magazine. It became my one goal to bug my parents constantly until they got me one for Christmas.

Aww...the good old days. BMX, Nintendo and harassing your parents for a Turbografx. 

...I miss my BMX...