Which console generation was the best generation overall?

6th generation. We had systems like PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance, all of which were fucking amazing, and we got games like Shadow of the Colossus, Sands of Time, Grand Theft Auto III, Halo, Metroid Prime, The Wind Waker, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Bournout Takedown, God of War, MGS3, Final Fantasy 12, Pokemon Emerald, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, SoulCalibur, Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Half Life 2, Persona 4, Devil May Cry 3, Knights of the Old Republic, Morrowind, Chaos Theory. World of Warcraft, The Sims, Rise of Nations, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3...

Jesus Christ, has there ever actually been something like that since?

Personally, I'm going with the...6th generation. Why? Because it's home to the greatest console of all time, and 3rd most underrated console of all time...The Gamecube. Going to get hate for saying that, but I don't care. =)

I think the 6th generation, game wise, was borderline perfect. Had a lot of variety back then. Game breaking bugs, (almost), updates and other stuff were nonexistent back then. You just put the game in the console, relax, and play. It was gaming heaven. Sure, games weren't in HD, and didn't have the kind of online that we see these days, but the mainstream demographic was better back then. (From what I remember.) Life was grand back in the good old days...*Sigh*

The 7th gen was awesome. But I kinda think the main demographic changed by the end of it. Mainstream Games got more and more about graphics this, and immersion that, and realism this, and story movie cinematic that. You didn't see that kinda crap back in the day. I just can't give it to the 7th gen consoles. Great games or not.

Couldn't agree more. I don't think gaming will ever be that good again. The industry is too different now.

Edit: Don't forget about Persona 4 on PS2. =P

The fourth generation.

The one without Dark Souls

My fondest memories are from the 5th generation. There were so many revolutionary games from that generation and the N64 provided the best multiplayer experiences ever.

This also happens to be the generation that was occurring during my early teen years. I think for most people, whatever generation was occuring during their early teen years is probably going to be their favorite generation since those are the years where you are old enough to be good at and well informed about games, but still young enough to have plenty of time to play games.

I think most people on this board were in their early teens during the 6th gen, so I'm sure the 6th gen will easily win this poll.

Generation 6 overall. Great amount of great/amazing games. All the big 3 had actual exclusives that made it possible to differentiate themselves from the rest (unlike just the wii against the hd twins last gen. The gaming world was very prolific at that time with quality all over the place.

Number 6 baby

6th generation. The peak of console gaming.

Gaming gets better each generation. I'll say 7th gen because it's too early into this gen.

4th gen I remember fondly..LoZ, Lufia, Final Fantasy 6, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, Killer Instinct, SF, MK, StarFox. Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Axelay, R-Type..etc :P

7th. I do miss the jrpg era but online play is a game changer.

the era with ps2 hands down!

now it's all about bugs, broken games and micro(soft)transactions.

The last one.

Whoever didn't own a PS2 missed out.

I remember the 3rd and 4th most fondly, hard to choose but ill go with 4 since I gamed on micro-computers in gen3 and didnt have a NES.

7

Gen 5

The question is basically what generation was it when you were you in your early teens.

Which ever gen that is will likely be your favorite.

i love the 7th becuase i got all my games with my own money =P

I always vote anything that has a Dreamcast in it

Correct answer, but you have to take the age of the population into consideration. Many of the users here weren't old enough to fully experience each generation to make that consideration.

The amount of fresh new IP's and legendary games that were created during the 4th gen is staggering.

Going into this thread I know that the majority of votes would go to the PS2 gen for that reason.

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No doubt the snes/genesis era. Healthy competition. Quality strived because of this.

For me it's tied between 4th and 7th.

The 6th or 7th..

1. 6th Gen
2. 7th Gen
3. 4th Gen

5th Generation. While that era may have arguably not aged all that great, it was probably the most exciting time to be a gamer. Because of the jump to 3D, there were so many revolutionary games coming out back then, experimenting with all kinds of new ideas and ways to create 3D games, before things started becoming standardized the following generation.

Gen 4(SNES/Genesis) or 6(Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GC).

Probably the 2nd, followed closely by the 4th. However, since most people on here seemed to have started gaming during the PS2 era I'm going to guess that era will win.

The 6th. Consoles were great, then. You really needed them all.

Gotta go with the 4th generation on this one the best console and the best games.

Super Mario, Street Fighter II, Sonic, Contra 3, Soulblazer, Zelda a Link to The Past, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Super Castlevania IV, Mortal Kombat, Actraiser, F Zero, Uniracers, I could really go on for days here

Runner up is generation 6 as it was also superb.

6th gen. The PS2 was and will be the best console ever released. Gaming has been going downhill ever since.

Im between

1st and 5th.

1st because it started everything. That alone is a big feat. And

5th because it was the biggest leap in home video gaming , opened the horizons for new ways to play games ( gameplay ) because of 3D visuals and defined the standards of how games will look and play as we speak. Thats really huge imho because it was that specific generation that revolutionized gaming like no other before it , no doubt.

I think ill vote for 5th , easily.

I'd go with 6th generation, but I'd chose that maybe because on 5th generation I'm not old enough to understand English in many games (English is not my first languange). So when 6th generation comes, I'd already old enough and understand every conversations in the games, and I'd really engrossed to the story, 6th generation is the KING of UNDERRATED JRPG, such as: Radiata Stories, Shadow Hearts, Suikoden V, .hack//GU, and many more. My favorite things in 6th generation is when I first played Final Fantasy X, I'd really surprised when there's a voice acting!! So that's why 6th generation is my favourite

One thing that saddens me in 7th and 8th generation are so many my favorite JRPG series are just lost in the air, where's my Suikoden and Shadow Hearts Sony??

4th gen will always be tops for me.

So many excellent titles, many of which feel like they haven't aged a day. Compound that with the nostalgia factor and my hands are tied, 4th gen wins.

For my personal preferences, I consider gens 4, 5 and 6 to be the golden age of console gaming.

Though trying to have an objective outlook, for all of the drawbacks that come with the times, I still believe gaming is always getting better and better.

Voted 5th, but 4-6 were all sublime.