Best Year for Video Games?

[Shiodome]

I have accepted I'm old now, so I am now consciously spending my life indulging in nostalgia. Have been trying to settle on 'which was the best year for games ever?', not necessarily the year with the most influential games (hi Doom), or highest grossing games (hi Space Invaders)... the entirely subjective 'best' year.

I'm leaning towards 2002:

Morrowind
GTA 3
BF 1942
Warcraft 3
Medieval Total War
Tekken 4
Metroid Prime
Unreal Tournament 2003 (lol)
Neverwinter Nights

There might be years with more games I enjoyed, or years with better games, but I feel 2002 had the motherload of games I got obsessed with. We all agreed? Good...

[Boltorano]

1994 ranks pretty high up there for gamers in their late 30s.

-Series Beginnings-
Donkey Kong Country
Cruis'n USA
Earthworm Jim
Elder Scrolls
King's Field (Dark Souls probably wouldn't exist without it)
Need for Speed
System Shock
Tekken
Theme Park
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
XCOM

-Notable Sequels-

Doom II
Final Fantasy VI
Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan, released in US in 95)
Lunar 2 (because there isn't enough Sega in this list but it's one of the few ones I can think of)
Mortal Kombat II (console release)
Sonic the Hedgehog III / Sonic & Knuckles
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Super Metroid
Wing Commander III

-One-offs-
SimTower (hardly anybody knows about the sequel)
Transport Tycoon (got an enhanced re-release but no direct follow-up)

edit: I have played not all, but most of these. 1994 is probably my most fun-per-year from the gaming industry not counting EVE or Stellaris, and also IMO one of the top contenders for best / most influential year in the video game industry.

[Jack Coutu]

Oh fuck yes, Earthworm Jim.

If I had a PC in the early 90's I would look for a good year there, but I'm with Shio on this, it's a year I built a PC and started playing Total War games and most of the ones he listed, plus reaching back for games in the late 90's era.

[Hel OWeen]

I have accepted I'm old now, so I am now consciously spending my life indulging in nostalgia.

My son, as you still seem to remember what happen in which year, I can asure you that you're not old.

[rilla]

What about 1998?

- Half Life
- Metal Gear Solid
- Grim Fandango
- StarCraft
- Fallout 2
- Thief
- Baldur's Gate
- Battlezone
- SHOGO
- Unreal
- Railroad Tycoon II

Pretty decent list if you ask me.

[erichkknaar]

The years in which you were 12-15 or so.

[NoirAvlaa]

What about 1998?

- Half Life
- Metal Gear Solid
- Grim Fandango
- StarCraft
- Fallout 2
- Thief
- Baldur's Gate
- Battlezone
- SHOGO
- Unreal
- Railroad Tycoon II

Pretty decent list if you ask me.

Also Ocarina of Time...

[GeromeDoutrande]

1998

[Spartan Dax]

1996

Master of Orion II
Duke Nukem 3d
Quake
Tomb Raider
Diablo
Command and Conquer: Red alert
Resident Evil
Civ II


But TBH there where a lot of good years with innovation back then.

[Lilalaunebör]

Clearly, its 2018:

FIFA 19
COD BLOPS 4
Far Cry 5
AC: Odyssey
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

I'm not even joking, those are all in the top 10 of best selling games for 2018. :wrists:

Serious answer:

1997

Diablo (December 31 1996 doesnt count :P)
Curse of Monkey Island
NFS 2
Xwing vs TIE Fighter
Dungeon Keeper
Final Fantasy 7
Fallout
Ultima Online
Age of Empires
GTA
Quake 2

That year was loaded.

[Cosmin]

I now remember how I was drooling over a Diablo II boxed copy I saw in a shop when going to scout the city where I will have completed my Uni years.

I never got to buy that, but I did get a boxed CE copy of Diablo III. That was great (not really, no, but I still have the soulstone USB with a Diablo II copy so there's that).


I can't really talk for those really good old years because I was too poor to afford video games. On the other hand I did get most of them off gog.com eventually. Probably for me the best years in video games were 2013 - 2015 because that's when I was actually able to assemble a truly high end PC so I was able to enjoy maxing out all those old games I really loved. I truly understood back then that true happiness is being able to afford the time to play the games rather than the actual quality one can play them at. At the same time I realised how hollow a lot of games have been becoming.

[Shiodome]

i guess for me 1997/1998 would be the year if i'd had my own PC then. I had a long gap between playing lemmings on my Acorn 2000 and having my first PC which is when i probably first got in to gaming proper. instead i spent my late teens / early 20's broke because i was always high and drunk and couldn't possibly afford a PC

[Womble]

The years in which you were 12-15 or so.

This. I have a load of critically acclaimed games in my backlog yet can't be arsed to boot them up.
Or if I do, something comes up and I have to quit/pause and take care of it.

What I have actually been getting around to playing lately is Warlord 3: Darklords Rising. Turn based strategy, 2d sprites.

[CC]

1997 no contest, PS1 wise anyways.

Final Fantasy VII.
GTA
Gran Turisimo
Bushido Blade
Command and Conquer

[rufuske]

1997 no contest, PS1 wise anyways.

Final Fantasy VII.
GTA
Gran Turisimo
Bushido Blade
Command and Conquer

Paging Razor. Paging Razor.

[NoirAvlaa]

[Shiodome]

1997 no contest, PS1 wise anyways.

Final Fantasy VII.
GTA
Gran Turisimo
Bushido Blade
Command and Conquer

you forgot 'carmageddon'

[Nordstern]

1997 no contest, PS1 wise anyways.

Final Fantasy VII.
GTA
Gran Turisimo
Bushido Blade
Command and Conquer

you forgot 'carmageddon'

IT'S MURDER IN THE STREETS

[VARRAKK]

you forgot 'carmageddon'

Quarantine was a much better game, but that was from the most glorious year of 1994.

[Lief Siddhe]

Quarantine was terriawesomebad!