Happy New Year! what is, in your opinion, the most important year for legacy?

It can be for anything. Consoles, games, or something else you are thinking of. It is a bit hard for me to choose, since things were released in different years (but mostly around the same year) but with that being said... let's see which of my favourite series were released in the same year.

Tomb Raider came out in 1996, but 1997 had Tomb Raider II.

Grand Theft Auto was first released in 1997.

Resident Evil 2 was released in 1998, but I think it was originally scheduled for 1997 and is one of my favourite games, along with TRII.

Speaking of 1997, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysey, which is awesome, was released.

That is all I can think of at the minute. Most of my favourite series began scatteredly (that's not a real word :P) around mid-to-late 1990's.

But the PS1 was an important console for my history with video games, as was the PS2 and even now, the Xbox 360, but this is a legacy platform board, so yeah.

I can't decide which is better, as I truely love both. I believe (I forget exactly) that the PS1 was released in 1995, while the PS2 was released in 2000.

It seems as though the 5 years between 1996-2000 were the most important ones to me.

How about you guys?

and once again, Happy New Year! may 2012 eventually be an awesome year for legacy gaming, come some good few years! :D

1957 , the first video game ever made , Tennis For Two :P

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PG2mdU_i8k

if one doesn't want to include that , Im not sure, most years in the past 30 years included games that were revolutionary or at least very good

For Modern games, it's probably 97. Zelda OOT, FF7, Turok, Golden eye, Age of Empires, and Gran Turismo. 04 was a great year too.

the year video game producers started craming 3D graphics on cartridges not sure what year if someone wants to help me

but i think thats pretty sweet

but hey theres plenty more other years

also 1999 when i got my n64 since then i still have it

cheers everyone

tough. but I'd say 1998 or 2000

Every year the SNES was released.

This year, because one day I'll be looking back on it thinking: "Yeah, those games are so retro now but I loved 'em".

I find it scary to think that in a few years the PS3 will be 'last gen' and yet I can remember when the PS1 first came out and my mind was blown. This forum makes me feel really, really old. :(

1957 , the first video game ever made , Tennis For Two :P

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PG2mdU_i8k

if one doesn't want to include that , Im not sure, most years in the past 30 years included games that were revolutionary or at least very good

Darkman2007

This. It's indisputable, really. But if one would prefer to omit this...

1985 - The release of the Famicom/NES with Super Mario Bros.

1991 - Civilization, F-Zero, Final Fantasy IV, Lemmings, Pilotwings, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter 2, Super Mario World

1996 - Civilization II, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Duke Nukem 3D, Metal Slug, NiGHTS into Dreams, Quake, Resident Evil, Super Mario 64, Super Mario RPG, Tekken 2, Tomb Raider, Virtua Fighter 2

1997 - Age of Empires, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Fallout, Final Fantasy VII, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, PaRappa the Rapper, Soul Blade, Star Fox 64

1998 - Baldur's Gate, Banjo-Kazooie, Body Harvest, Gran Turismo, Grim Fandango, Half Life, Mario Party, Metal Gear Solid, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Resident Evil 2, Spyro the Dragon, Starcraft, Tekken 3, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,

1999 - Ape Escape, Counter-Strike, Dance Dance Revolution, Everquest, Final Fantasy VIII, Mario Party, Quake 3, Silent Hill, Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, Super Smash Bros., System Shock 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Unreal Tournament

2001 - Black and White, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X, Gran Turismo 3, Grand Theft Auto 3, Halo, Ico, Jak and Daxter, Luigi's Mansion, Max Payne, Metal Gear Solid 2, Phantasy Star Online, Pikmin, Silent Hill 2, Sonic Adventure 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Virtua Fighter 4

These aren't necessarily the best games but the most substantial ones, and this is in terms of innovation and how they subsequently affected the industry. For example, while Xenogears is undoubtedly a fantastic game, it provided very little innovation and really didn't leave much of a mark on the industry, or at least it didn't compared to many other top titles of 1998.

Let me know if I missed any notable games, as I'm sure there are some. I didn't include handheld games due to my lack of experience with them.

Legacy 1994 was the important year as Dec 4th 1994 the original playstation arrived! Since 1990 CD gaming didn't catch on until Sony and the first Playstation. It was an exciting year for gaming, Plus the possibilities of the future.

1998. Xenogears, Resident Evil 2, Panzer Dragoon Azel. Probably more.

Definitely 1998 (MGS, Half-life come to mind)

I think I got my NES in 1987 so that is the most important year not only for me but for everyone else too.

The infancy of 3D introduction to consoles. '94-'96.

1991 & 1996 are the Greatest.After 1998 everything went Downhill.

1985

A list of some important years in video game history, for reference:

• 1889 - Nintendo is founded.
• 1917 - Magnavox is founded, who would later release the world's first home video game console.
• 1931 - "Whiffle", by Automatic Industries is released, which is generally considered the world's first true Pinball machine.
• 1940 - Sega is founded, orginally as an American company named Service Games.
• 1941 - The world's first electronic computer is created, the "Z3", by German engineer Konrad Zuse.
• 1957 - William Higginbotham creates the worlds first video game, "Tennis For Two", played on a radar screen.
• 1961 - Steve Russell creates the world's first computer game, "Space War!", played on a "PDP-1" computer, which toured colleges across the U.S.. It is heavily rumored that Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, attended a showing of this game and used it's idea to launch the world's first video arcade game years later.
• 1971 - Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari, creates the world's first video arcade game: "Computer Space"...and it bombs.
• 1972 - Nolan Bushnell tries again with the help of Alan Alcorn and creates his 2nd video arcade game, "Pong", and it's a smash success. Atari is officially founded. Also this year, Magnavox releases the world's first home video game system, the "Magnavox Odyssey" created by Ralph Bauer, who also created the electronic "Simon Says" game.
• 1975 - The world's first home computer is released, the "Altair 8800". It could hardly be called a computer by today's standards. Also this year, Microsoft is founded.
• 1976 - The "Fairchild Channel F" game console is released. This is the first game console that was able to play multiple games on separate cartridges.
• 1977 - The "Atari VCS/2600" is released. This goes on to become one the most successful, and influential game consoles of all-time and is the first SUCCESSFUL game console to play multiple games on separate cartridges. Also this year, Nintendo enters the video game industry with the release of the dedicated game console the "Nintendo Color TV Game", which was basically a Pong clone with different variations of the game available to play. The Apple II, the worlds first successful home computer, is released this year, marking the debut of the company Apple.
• 1978 - Nolan Bushnell is forced, or opted out of Atari (depending on which side of the story you believe), the company which he founded.
• 1979 - Nintendo enters the video arcade game industry with release of Radar Scope (a Space Invaders clone)...which bombs. Also this year, Milton-Bradley released the Microvision, the world's first handheld gaming console that played seperate games on cartridges. In addition, some members of Atari's game development team becomes fed-up with post Nolan Bushnell management at Atari, and forms Activision; becoming the world's first third-party game developer for home game consoles.
• 1981 - Nintendo bounces back from it's Radar Scope failure when young engineer Shigeru Miyamoto is asked to retool the overstock of Radar Scope arcade units into another game. This game would star a large ape and a moustached hero named Mario, which forever cemented both Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto into Video Game history, the game was "Donkey Kong". "Computer and Video Games" magazine launches, making it the first dedicated video game magazine.
• 1983 - Sega enters the home game console industry with the release of the "Sega SG-1000", released exclusively to Japan. Nintendo releases the Famicom in Japan, which later would be retooled into the Nintendo NES for North America. The video game crash hits North America, hard, putting many console manufacturers and software companies out of business, and redirecting Atari's focus in the direction of home computers.
• 1984 - Apple releases the first Macintosh computer.
• 1985 - The "Nintendo NES" is released in North America, and pulls North America out of the video game crash. "Super Mario Bros." is released with the console and is a smash hit. Nintendo remains the clear leader in the video game industry for over half a decade straight as a result. Also this year, "Microsoft Windows 1.0" operating system is released for home computers.
• 1986 - Sega releases the "Sega Master System", marking the first system released by Sega worldwide. Sega becomes Nintendo's main-competitor as a result and a long battle for the #1 spot in the industry begins.
• 1988 - The "TurboGrafx-16" is released by NEC, marking the release of the world's first 16-bit gaming system.
• 1989 - The "Sega Genesis/Sega Mega Drive" is released, which would later become the world's #1 selling game console becoming the first game company to truly threaten Nintendo's hold on the market. Also this year, the original "Game Boy" is released, designed by Gunpei Yokoi, and is a HUGE success, bringing handheld gaming to new heights. The "Atari Lynx" is released, which is the world's first color handheld gaming system, as well.
• 1990 - Nintendo releases the "Super Famicom" in Japan, it's own 16-bit game console to compete with "TurboGrafx-16" and "Sega Genesis/Mega Drive", which would later be retooled and released worldwide in 1991 as the "Super Nintendo", a.k.a. the SNES. Also this year, NEC released the Turbo CD add-on for the TurboGrafx-16, making it the world's first CD-Rom based game console. In addition, the "Sega Game Gear" is released in Japan, and worldwide the following year. Sega Game Gear becomes Nintendo's first real competition to the "Game Boy" in the handheld console market.
• 1993 - The "Atari Jaguar" is released, marking the last video game console to date to be released by Atari. Also the year, the world's first smartphone is released by IBM, the "IBM Simon", and yes, it plays games. While not wildly popular at the time, smart phones now are widely used and have become the 3rd handheld gaming device by all practical means.
• 1994 - The "Sega Saturn" CD-Rom based home game console is released in Japan. The "Sony Playstation"is also released in Japan, which is also CD-Rom based. This marks Sony's first entry into the home console industry. Both consoles debut the following year worldwide. Also, the ESRB is formed and the modern video game rating system is put into effect to prevent government regulation of the gaming industry in the U.S. "Game Zero" launches online this year as well, becoming the first online website to follow the game industry.
• 1995 - The first "Electronics Entertainment Expo", a.k.a. E3, is held in Los Angeles. The Sega Saturn home game console, Sony Playstation home game console, and 3DO home game console are the hot items of the first E3. Nintendo also teases the release of the Ultra 64 (later renamed the Nintendo 64) home game console at this year's E3.
  
  
• 1996 - The "Nintendo 64" is released. This would be the last home game console to date to use cartridges for it's game media.
• 1998 - The "Sega Dreamcast" is released in Japan, and releasd the following year worldwide. This marks Sega's last game console released, to date. Also this year, Nintendo finally adds color to it's handheld games with the release of the "Gameboy Color" handheld gaming console.
• 2000 - Sony releases the "Playstation 2", becoming the first DVD-Rom based video game console as well as the first home game console to support HD. "SegaNET" also launches this year for the "Sega Dreamcast" home game console, becoming the world's first dedicated home game console gaming network. TechTV, the electronics and gaming focused cable network that would later become G4TV launches on cable.
• 2001 - Microsoft enters the home console industry when it releases the "XBox" based home game console. Also, Nintendo released the "Gamecube" home game console, and chooses to not go with cartridges, CD-Roms, or DVD-Roms but rather it's own proprietary discs for game media. Nintendo also releases the "Gameboy Advance" handheld game console, the first graphical leap in the Nintendo handheld game console series.
• 2002 - "XBox Live" gaming network launches for XBox game consoles.
• 2004 - Nintendo releases the "Nintendo DS", the world's first successful handheld gaming system to implement touch-screen controls. Sony also releases the "PSP", marking their first entry into the handheld game console industry.
• 2005 - Microsoft releases it's successor to the XBox, the XBox 360, becoming the first home game console released of the current generation.
• 2006 - Nintendo releases the "Nintendo Wii", which is the worlds first motion-control based home game console. Nintendo also finally gives up the proprietary media with the Nintendo Wii, as it uses DVD-Roms for it's games. Also this year, Sony releases the "Playstation 3", the world's first Blu-Ray based home game console.
• 2007 - Apple released the "iPhone", starting the Smart Phone trend that continues to this day which has caused an explosion in the popularity mobile gaming.
• 2010 - Sony releases the "Playstation Move" add-on for it's "Playstation 3" home game console, and Microsoft releases the "Microsoft Kinnect" add-on for it's "XBox 360" home game console to compete with "Nintendo Wii's" motion controls.
• 2011 - Nintendo releases the "Nintendo 3DS" handheld game console; which is the world's first 3D gaming console.