I hope you enjoy this nostalgic trip down memory lane with me. What are your favorite memories of the 6th generation? Which of the four consoles is your favorite?
6th Gen was definitely the golden era of gaming… favourites… Twilight Princess, Onimusha series, Ninja Gaiden, Need For Speed Underground (2), Soul Calibur, Okami…just to name a few… there were so many great games, the PS2 was a beast! I definitely agree with you, even though HD was another nice leap in graphics, 7th gen was when all the ‘noise’ started. Online, digital gaming is an industry killer! Thankfully Nintendo and the Switch are still quite traditional… I just hope that doesn’t change… the Switch is a beast too!
@@Cosmosis-86 totally agree and very well said. The “noise” absolutely started in the 7th generation. Though it didn’t start to become a true “problem” until the 8th gen. The 6th gen was a completely pure gaming experience.
Going to friends and family house to player 4 players or to have lan partys was definitely the best. 6th gen made me exacted to play with friends and family. PS2 for one player. gamecube and xbox for mutli Player. Xbox for co-cop.
Thank you so much for such an interesting video. 6th generation was my favorite console generation. Another reason which you did not mention and to me is important is that games did not look realistic before the 7th generation as today and therefore had there own unique style. For example, the graphics in the ps2 GTA games looked like an abstraction of reality while gta 5 looked too indistinguishable from reality. To me this made games less visually interesting as an art form.
I want to get back into call of duty, but I don't want to erase my other games. SSD'S are super expensive I couldn't believe just wanting to go from 1.5 to 2tb would be costly. How much more memory is the next gen going to need.😢
Lost my psn account and I had spent over 1k on it and I was still collecting physical games at the time, but now I'm physical only again and I've been getting more into nintendo switch later again.. I'm loving that you can put a game I a play without needing updates on switch and Playstation 5, not so much with xbox though
8:18 I wouldn't agree with this, because a lot of people bought the PS2 not for gaming, but for movies. It was a cheap DVD player that just happened to play games. Not to take away from how good of a console it was, it's just that's an advantage that could never happen today. No one will buy a PS5 just to watch Blu Rays.
This is very true, it’s probably half the reason PS3 did as well initially because it was the cheapest Blu Ray. Hell now the only huge selling point outside of the games now would be…backwards compatibility? Which likely will all but be killed next gen as everything shifts to digital. There is very little outside of just games these boxes provide that isn’t available elsewhere. I’d say these consoles in 7th gen having streaming services were pretty big, my Xbox doubles as our entertainment hub now. But my PS5 could do it as well. The DVD component was huge at the time where most ppl only had VHS and did for a few years later
Agreed. It wasn't as successful because of the games alone. It was the cheapest way to buy a DVD player back in that day. That's the only reason I bought it. I have my PS2 and Gamecube to this day but I end up hearing better things about Gamecube when it comes to gaming.
I fail to see where that is different from the PS5 having the option to run any number of streaming services, aside from the fact that it could be done on the PS4 as well.
I thought about this, as well 😅 It's certainly still a huge feat, but you can't look past the fact that PS2 was about half the price of other DVD players at the time. I'd also argue that, though there are far more gamers these days, there are also far more choices for gaming between the big 3, PC handheld PCs, and mobile. There's nothing stopping someone from owning multiple devices, but it's a much more fractured market now. Any gaming hardware making it this high in sales is nuts, though. Good video!
I convinced my parents to get Dreamcast and succeeded. After it failed, I tried to get my dad to buy me an Xbox. He refused, saying we weren't taking a gamble on an experimental console again , and bought me a PS2 for Christmas instead. Not the worst thing in the world.
As a millennial born in the mid-80s, I see it the same way. I played all the handhelds and consoles massively and for me too, Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 were the last consoles that were the most fun for me and my friends at the time. After this generation, I switched to the PC. Top Video. Happy gaming.
I was 15 when I got my first ever home console and that was the Gamecube. The friendships I built because of that system has helped shaped the person I am today. It was that wholesome, word of mouth and inclusive era of gaming that was truly special. We will never have that again
As a gamer who got the snes at launch day I think that the time between 1990 and 2005 was the best era for gamers. Back then the focus was clearly on the games and great gameplay. Every system had its very own architecture - which led to games that had very distinctive visuals and innovative game mechanics. Games where created from gamers for gamers. It was a very passionate industry and game designers like Miyamoto were ours heroes. In my opinion the decline started in the mid 2000s, roughly at the end of the 6th console generation. The internet changed rapidly during that era. It wasn't a special place anymore, it had become a place for everyone. The rise of social media, streaming platforms and smartphones changed the way people looked at videogames. During that time I owned a 360, PS3, Wii and PC. Sadly the plug and play experience that I always liked about consoles vanished more and more. You now where forced to regulary update your console's operating system and patch your games. I think the day Microsoft released the "New Xbox Experience" in 2008 was a very dark day for gamers. I remember how much I liked the former "blades dashboard" and then suddenly had to deal with a completely new dashboard on my nearly 3 years old console. From that day one it only got worse. For me on that day the classic video gaming era died. In the following years the business got greedier and greedier - which led to the two abominations that are called XBOX Series and PS5.
Ahh, the age of enlightened gaming. Before patches, DLC and season passes. I was born in '88, and my childhood was AWESOME. All I can do now is preserve and curate what I loved to share with my kids. I loved and still have the GameCube btw.
You’re only 1 year older than me and I remember everything you said here very well. That age of gaming when all of your gaming info game from word of mouth and gaming mags, that was a magical time to be a gamer. I miss it so much. Favorite game of that era: Rogue Squadron…blew my mind. Super Nintendo era is still my favorite era, just the plethora of games at such high quality, how everything about the 16-bit era felt magical, eye-popping graphics and sound, and the Nintendo vs Sega console war was so much fun and far less toxic than stuff now.
You're not wrong. The early 2000s to mid 2000s was when they actually put effort into all forms of entertainment. Then once the late 2000s started all that went out the window and companies started getting greedy. Entertainment is strictly catered for NPCs now because they buy anything.
The best gaming years : 1990-2005 4th generation - perfected 2D platforming from the third generation. 5th generation- pioneered 3D gaming. 6th generation - smoothed out the roughness from the 5th generation of 3D gaming, essentially perfecting it.
Giving my nephews a Wii for christmas this year, will be their first game system. Including a bunch of gamecube games and controllers so they can grow up with the good stuff
I’m curious as I have been looking..were you able to find one refurbished I presume for a decent price and was it an eBay deal, local store deal or otherwise? I’ve been wanting to get one for my kids but had no idea what range of price I should be looking at considering it’s long since been manufactured, controllers and games etc
I like you talking about past gens. You're legit an OG console gamer and you're, like, as young as an OG could possibly be, having just started entering game-playing age right when the NES came out. Sometimes you get defensive about it, like people don't want to hear about older stuff from you, but I definitely do, you have a rich perspective. I also liked you recently going back and talking about the rumors leading up to switch, including your own videos from that time.
Thank you thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate hearing it! Also if I ever come off as defensive I certainly don’t mean to. I am passionate about every opinion I share, but I’m never angry. So I am take that as a takeaway to consider in future videos. Appreciate you. 👊
I was a kid when we got a gamecube, so it was basically my first console. And it was incredible. I remember playing games with friends and family for hours. Then we got a 360 and the fun continued, multiplayer hit its peak with both local and online...and then, never been the same since
Last generation that actual gamers were making video games. You can tell just by looking and listening to the developers and producers that they were having fun. While older than 6th gen, look at how much fun Ed Boon and his crew had making Mortal Kombat. Now, more than not, it is just suits and/or unlikable socially distant activists selling you games. Back then, if a game failed, they accepted it and tried harder the next time. Now they blame the gamers for not liking the product they help create. A gem comes out every now and then, but it wasn't banger after banger like it was 6th gen and before.
In Japan, the same dudes have been making the games for the last 30 years, there’s been no drastic change like the west. Either it’s the same people, or younger people that love and respect what their gaming culture had created before. That’s why their games are still great. The west abandoned the great old developers they used to have in order to chase trends and make money.
When Japanese developers cater to the West, it is a downhill slide from there. 7th generation was that to 9th generation. I think currently that the Japanese has been going back to their roots and the games that follow have blossom. Ex. Nier Automoton and Persona 5. Just look at how the mighty FF series went downhill since FF13.
I agree. I’m 41. And that was hands down my favorite generation. I feel now there is less good games being released and more disappointments. I miss midnight releases. It will never be the same again. We will no longer own our games. I feel there will be no more future retro games. We play them. Then They will be gone. And hope we get a remaster. Love the videos. Keep em up.
Games shipped complete that's enough to make the 6th gen the winner by default. Also gpu's did not cost the same as rent or a mortgage. All the consoles had distinct personalities and real exclusives.
I feel you 💯 % I was also born in 1980. I like to believe we're the generation of video games. It was ours. Only because Nintendo saved it after the crash in the US. Big shootout to generation 1 and 2 . But generation 3 with the NES leading the charge , it took off from there. Generation 6 was the best, hands down.
I'm a 1996 baby and The 6th generation of video gaming consoles was my generation hands down, countless times going to my cousins house and their playing The new Soul reaver 2 video game or Devil May cry 1, Resisdent evil 4, Def Jam vendetter.
96 for life, growing up in the 2000s was amazing. Just enough tech without it being overwhelming and suffocating. Games, music, movies and shows were awesome.
With how insanely competitive the gaming industry is today. Along with the cost of games, accessories, online and consoles. The Switch possibly outselling the PS2 on the market for almost 8 years is far more impressive. PS2 was the market leader in its generation. People even bought it as a DVD player. It’s been on the market for what 25 years know and was supported for 13 years.
Grew up with games around 6th gen born 2001, Prime, PSO1, melee, Monkey Ball, SMS, OOT, SM64, Mario Party, windwaker, Diablo 2: LOTD, Starcraft: Broodwar (use custom maps settings), Counter-Strike: Source (zombies), all great games I was getting lost in as a kid. Especially Prime I remember as a 4 year old watching my big bro play it; running away from exo/essence towards the stairs to hide while peeking. I was always asking him to go back to magmoor lol. Ahh the nostalgia cant wait for prime 4 to gain a new found appreciation for the franchise.
Well, if you think about it, the internet wasn't the only thing that started to ruin the next generation, another trend started in the 6th generation that also was a big problem later, the multimedia machine, not just a dedicated game console, that started with the ps2 and xbox. It wasn't only the internet, have we forgot that in the 7th generation sony was obsesed to force bluray with outrageos prices, and then in the 8th generation microsoft was focusing in being the "one" box where you can do anything, mostly tv crap, no no no, the 6th generation was when gaming was started to get back seated
GameStop was a deep part of gaming culture… you developed deep relationships and friendships with the clerks there and you and your buddies would always head down to the stop to check out the latest releases. There was a deep social element. You might even see something cool you didn’t even know about to pick it up right there or save up to get it later. Everything now is too impersonal, too detached and disconnected. The convenience of modern online has made the entire hobby feel extremely isolated and lonely. Modern Gamers have a ton of gaming options, but the culture of gaming is nothing like what it was. You really felt this with the death of E3. It’s all so hostile, corporate and cold now.
I got my second job, at a Canadian game store called CompuCentre in 2000. I remember the launch of three of the four sixth gen consoles. Not only was this the best console generation, but it happened at such an important time in my life as I just graduated high school. Having access for the first time to share my love of gaming with customers added something so special to the generation that it will be just that much more special to me.
Spot on about PC gaming having its own unique identity. So many classics from that era: StarCraft, Diablo 2, AoE2, HoMM3, Quake3/Unreal, etc. You had a few expansions here and there, but nothing like the deluge of microtransactions you see today.
6th gen was the peak generation imo. I'm pretty much stuck in this generation, other than my switch I only game on PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast on my CRT. Such good (and large) libraries, there are so many great games
I'm 38 and its tough for me. 6th gen feels like the last time it was truly focused on making great games. Xbox revolutionized the industry with HDD in console and a proper online service. Gamecube and Dreamcast were criminally underrated with amazing libraries. PS2 transformed the video game industry into a more mainstream hobby. 7th gen brought still unique hardware offering new experiences with things like motion controls and XBLA birthed the indie scene into a big market. I really just miss companies taking chances rather than just [insert sequel] to high selling franchise.
Born in ‘88 so I experienced Gen 5 as a kid and Gen 6 as a teen. Some of my fondest memories are just watching my friend play Dark Cloud (PS2). I got a PS2 and played the heck out of it. Played some Cube too and missed the boat on Xbox but a lot of the games (Jade Empire, Fable, etc) looked awesome. My favorite game ever is Xenosaga Episode I (PS2) while FFIX, FF Tactics, FFXII, and Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask are tied for 2nd. Dark Cloud/Dark Cloud 2 and Zelda Twilight Princess are tied for 3rd. Star Ocean III-Til the End of Time sits comfortably at 4th for me.
I think 6th generation is the best. The major thing I did not miss about that generation, I'll admit, is the optical format used, DVDs. Buying used games from this generation is like rolling dice, you don't know if you're gonna get a beat-up, scratched copy that you will be unable to play, unless the seller is nice enough to let you see before purchasing. Also, most DLC came in the form of brand new editions you could buy at a fraction of the original game's release price (ex. Persona 3 FES) or discs you had to request at a GameStop or EB Games to install on your Xbox (ex. Halo 2 DLC, for those without an internet connection to their console). There was also a huge emphasis on QA testing and not allowing the customers to become the QA testers, so they don't have to spend millions of dollars to fix a major bug and reprint millions of copies, that could open the company up to lawsuits and customer scrutiny.
I still have my PlayStation Magazines from back in the day (issues 61 and 62). It's crazy how many games were promoted back then. We've fallen so far from that now.
I remember recording vhs tapes to send into gaming mags to get into their Mario kart time trial rankings 😅 whenever an industry/sport/etc is younger, its community is more interconnected. GC was a great time. I also loved the n64 goldeneye death match nights.
I feel blessed to have been born in 85 to experience the great birth of the modern day video game industry. That being said, you literally were born at the perfecttttt time! I’m so damn nostalgic too. It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling
Hey mate I just found your channel through this video and love it...couldn't agree with you more..im also in my 40s and it was easily the best generation of all time there was so much new ip and creativity and reading about new games in magazines was just so much better than the way they're announced now. Im right there with ya on the old man yells at clouds haha
Thanks, brotha! This is something I’ve been thinking about for months. And I saw you make a simile video a while back and I watched and left a comment on it. You and I were lucky enough to experience these glory days. ❤
@@Ruleof2Review We really were. Probably born for the best era of all entertainment really. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I hope we can get back to some semblance of what made it so magical. Truly a great video broski!
You won’t regret getting a Dreamcast in recent times. Same for ps2, Xbox, and Gc, but it was Sega’s last console and was one that was misunderstood during its time. So trying it yourself could change your view on it
This generation is the last before we had the evolution of online gaming. I do think the 7th gen though was incredibly important and I feel like that created the bones of the generations to come after. I do think the gaming media at whole plays a part in this, we also had more competition with Sega involved, MS getting in the mix…..I do think your age plays a big factor and also the internet as mentioned is huge in this. The 6th gen was the last true coop couch experience that most gamers lived through. I will hold my Dreamcast in high regard even though I only played it 3 years until I dropped for Sony and Nintendo. My rose tinted glasses will probably hold this gen as a kid going into adolescence in high ranking though. I wish I could have my kids experience gaming as I did then
The Ps2 was certainly the greatest DVD player ever made. As far as the best gaming generation, that would be 4th generation. The SNES and the Genesis. Both companies were making spectacular genre defining games, and you had the arcade seen to go along with it. Great time to be a gamer. This coming from someone whose top 3 favorite games were from the Gamecube and Wii with Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Xenoblade Chronicles.
Back in the day, companies released broken games. You had no clue if a game would be good or not, because all you had to go off of was a random magazine (which also lied about some games), and the game's cover art. Remember E.T existed before the internet.
That's not my experience at all. Sure, you had to rely on magazines and word of mouth, but as a long time subscriber I soon learned what opinions and people could be trusted. More broken games back then, really? Games had to be done and be working properly, because once they went to print there was no going back. If Ubisoft had released Assassin's Creed Unity, or if CD Project had released Cyberpunk on 6th gen, both games in the very same launch state, no patching possible...? Oh boy...
Nah the difference is bad games can be fixed over time today and that means there’s less incentive to make sure they work at launch. Bad games can become good now, in the old days bad games were just bad forever and people avoided them. Now there’s no real incentive to make good games at launch because you can just add and fix games later.
This was my first gaming generation, I’ve since gone back to the PS1 and Snes eras and loved those too, but after the PS2/GC generation everything changed with the advent of online gaming. I see nothing but facts being stated in this video. While great games still release, the PS3 generation was the beginning of when gaming began to seek mainstream audiences and approval, gaming began to become more corporate and less creative and ambitious, and it just didn’t sit right with me. Still doesn’t. After the 6th generation of gaming, we lost something. It was a magical time. Now the magic is gone.
I still collect physical pc games. Not a lot of new releases these days, but a bunch of physical pc games from the late 90's and 2000's are dirt cheap online these days.
Well just to play devils advocate, the argument that the ps2 is more of an acheivment than the switch because the market was smaller, isnt neccessarily true. Because the ps2 wasnt just a game console, it was the first legit consumer DVD player. So the ps2 got that number out of two markets, the switch pulled that number out of one market
The PS2 kept selling into it's 10th year and it was marketed as a DVD player. That really helped it. It was cheaper than a solo DVD player in allot of cases.
I miss the in person interaction that came with gaming back in the day. I miss manuals coming with your games. I miss the full game being on the disc when it shipped and not needing internet access to play single player games. I miss not needing to wait half a decade or more for a sequel. I miss not having to worry about dlc, season passes, battle passes, microtransactions, early access, etc. I miss controllers actually being sturdy and built to last. I miss there being universal experiences with a game before patch cycles meant that two people could have vastly different experiences with the same game at different times. I miss the industry wide innovation that we had before gaming had been in a sense "figured out" by the time the 7th gen came around. I miss games having earnable in game skins and outfits as rewards instead of in game stores. I miss when every other game didn't need to be open world and 80+ hours to finish. I miss every game not being some sort of controversy. I don't miss dealing with memory cards. I don't miss games being the same game name but being completely different depending on which console you played them on. I don't miss every other tv show and movie shitting out half-assed games.
100 percent agree as someone who was born in 84. I loved the 5th gen too considering it was the leap to 3D but all in all the 6th gen was my favorite. Resident evil remake and 4, Metroid prime, gta vice city, Zelda twilight princess, metal gear solid 3, god of war and many more games that like you said started or revolutionized the big franchises of today, but I’d have to say halo 2 with Xbox live was a game changer for console gaming in general and closed the gap between console and pc gaming considering it was the first game to just jump online with friends or random people around the world instead of having to do LAN parties (which I actually love my memories of) but still, It was so cool calling all of my friends and jumping on multiplayer to kick some ass
i'm only 32, so i was fairly young during a lot of this, but i still remember it fondly. hard to believe how far we've fallen. social media really did become a cancer.
I have to agree with you. Subsequent generations haven't been terrible; but with the 7th generation, we immediately ran into Sony's overconfidence on pricing with the laughably expensive PS3, Microsoft's incompetence with the poorly-engineered Xbox 360 (RRoD, anyone?), and Nintendo's leap into the casual market with the gimmicky Wii. And if you count the Wii U as part of the 7th generation (I don't), it suffered from poor marketing, anemic third-party support, and a weak CPU. Besides all of the 6th-gen consoles being solid, reasonably-priced hardware, I agree that there was a purity to the 6th gen and generations prior that we've been missing ever since. We didn't have things like political agendas masquerading as storytelling, microtransactions, battle passes, etc. We just had fun games. 20:26 To me, physical gaming died with the Wii U. It was the last console that played games directly off the disc. None of this full install garbage. That's why I don't care about disc-based physical games anymore. I own a PS5 Digital Edition. I still buy physical games for my Nintendo Switch, and I hope Switch 2 games will be available on cartridge as well.
@@onlywiigame. That was my point. The games fully install to your console's storage. After that, the disc is nothing but a key that allows you to access the game. I want games on disc to be played directly from the disc like they used to be. No installing.
I think what makes the sixth generation stand out more than anything in hindsight is just how many of those games still hold up today. Rez and Cosmic Smash have both been ported to VR with minimal changes to how the games function, which just proves how ahead of the curve so many devs were back then, especially Sega. I do also think the internet played a bigger role during that time than perhaps you remember. The entire backlash to MGS2 for instance took place almost entirely online, gaming publications kept their scores for the re-release high even when hobbyist sentiment had turned against it. Had you been new to the hobby in 2004-2008, online discourse would've given you the impression that MGS3 was the best selling game in the series while MGS2 underperformed, when in reality it was the exact opposite. I suppose you could argue that was the tail end of the sixth gen and not the meat and potatoes of it, but nonetheless, there were already narratives formed via conventional wisdom at the time, which did and still do continue to impact how people view games. As for PC gaming becoming the same as console gaming, that's really the fault of consoles more than anything. Ever since the 8th gen, they've just been PC parts on custom boards with custom software. It only makes sense to port games to PC when the heavy lifting has already been done by making the games for consoles. You may have been born a decade before me, but I share much of the same sentiment. I was the kid who came into Gamestop and wanted to talk with the employees, lol.
Great Video Rob. Loved the throwback style of this Video man 👍. For me the last pure true great Gaming Generation, was the 5th Generation, the 6th Generation was the Start of Modern Gaming going Downhill. It's hard too explain but the 6th Generation of Gaming, just didn't feel right plus it was Nintendo first Misstep with the GC, people say nowadays the GC Library of Games are fantastic but that wasn't the case at the time guys, looking back now at the GC Library it is very decent but that is the beauty of Retro Gaming being around, you can go back n see how good or bad Consoles n Games was/were back in the day. Gaming as an Hobby is slowly going fast nowadays, not saying there isn't fun too had or Games coming too Look forward too in the Future but Overall pure Gaming as an Hobby is going.
@Ruleof2Review your are very welcome Rob 👍 and cheers man. I don't think there is a Right or Wrong Answer really but I totally agree with you, with the way Gaming is going n heading nowadays.
Even just going out to rent games (and movies) at your local Hollywood Video / Blockbuster was an entirely different but incredibly memorable experience back in the day, and one that'll just never be able to be replicated. I'm not quite your age or generation, Rob, but I am old enough to have a bit of experience pre-internet takeover and I just think so many aspects of everything I love were far better back then. I try to be objective, obviously some of it will be inescapable nostalgia, but when it comes to gaming in particular, the identity of the entire industry does not remotely resemble what I was experiencing in the early 2000's. Generally speaking, the online + digital age of gaming really put a damper on a lot of what I feel about living and enjoying the lifestyle - I still largely play and move like I did growing up as a result. RE1 remake on GameCube blew my mind back then, and still blows my mind today. Just an incredible, artistic achievement and still my favorite RE game (and remake) of all time. Hardcore sessions playing Soul Calibur 2, F-Zero GX, Halo, Melee, Tekken 5, etc. What an incredible time.
This may be the best overall generation but xbox360 was the peak of console gaming. The only time we had a solid blend of seemless online play with friends and couch coop at the same time.
I have by gen or year I got. Year 1: master system and genesis and ps 1 Year 2: gamcube and n64 Year 3: Wii and 360 Year 4: Wii U and one and one x Year 5: switch All I own beside som handhelds and iPad lol.
I still have the same amount of passion in gaming just like the good old days, I’ve learned so much more about gaming through the internet, and it only makes me love gaming even more!🙂
I really enjoyed your video. Great trip down memory lane. 33 years old now. Own PC, PS5 and Switch and as much as I enjoy the games, I do so miss the early 2000s gaming climate even then some. I would gladly trade the nowadays Internet and smartphone only to live in a world constantly stuck in 1998-2005 with its tech, trends, people interactions. Irony, isn't it: now we are more connected than ever in terms of instant messages and video calls, but we were way more social back then. Want to rent a movie? You go outside, walk or drive to the store, talk to people there. Heck, might even meet someone special. Same with video games and music media. Want to watch a movie, listen to music or play a game nowadays? Just pull out a small screen from your pocket and within couple of seconds, have 1000s of choices of what to consume. Oh, you can also order food from that tiny screen to be delivered right to your doorstep. No need even going outside. Wow, we might say, we saved a lot of time...just to fill it with more screen sucking, doom scrolling, argue with people on the Internet and other brain rot bs. So freaking glad I got to experience the early 2000s
I'm all in on physical games 💿 AGAIN !! IN MY Opinion i think that 7th gen was the last golden era if you think about it a lot of games still didn't have a digital version on ps3 & xbox 360, but the wii was the last console to not have a digital version of a physical game and that was great. 6th was the last true offline gaming era when you could kick your friends butt in the same room, but the GameCube & dreamcast were my favorites also the ps2 & xbox i loved all 4 but got the xbox last back in 04 man that was definitely a golden generation sooo many games to choose from on all 4 systems even though the dreamcast died early on it had games... unlike the new crap like xbox series X & Playstation 5 also let's talk about how Playstation & xbox had a very big decline by putting all of their games on pc, which decreases the value of the system and games...
While I agree you are probably biased because of how old you were when those consoles launched, all of your points are 100% true and valid. The gaming industry is broken, right now. Lots of good stuff are still coming out, but there is a lot of slop, too
You know what? I agree. I originally would have said that the 7th was the "last great generation" but it really was where some of the major problems started, including achievements and trophies which up until recently, I was addicted to and almost lost all enjoyment of playing games for the actual gameplay and where always online games started really being a thing, with console exclusive games that are forever lost to time due to support ending. Some of my favourite video games of all time came out in the 7th gen and it was also when I finally got a long awaited sequel to Fallout 2 in Fallout 3, then New Vegas and Fallout still remains my favourite series of all time BUT gen 6 really was the last "pure" gen where gameplay, innovation, fun and ethics were a lot more important. Lately I've gone back to my old switch that I haven't played in years and I rediscovered my joy of gaming and collecting physical media because it reminds me of a simpler time where I could buy a cartridge, pop it in and most of the time just start playing without the need for huge updates and navigating slow interfaces. I even went out and grabbed an OLED model on black friday. I recently finally beat Super Metroid on the SNES service and was ready to dive into Prime which was on my backlog for years so I saw this video and remembered the remaster was a thing and picked it up yesterday. I've only got an hour or so in it so far but it's pretty cool and looks fantastic on the little screen!
Somewhat a side note but you mention the 7th generation as another potential highlight for yourself. For me that’s when I stepped back a bit from gaming, though I was always gaming on PC anyway but after the first 2/3 years of that 7th generation I thought it was kinda rubbish. Games felt clunky, looked ugly, Sony in particular focused more on story driven games that just steals control from the player, Xbox and it’s quirky and unique-ish exclusives were boiled down to Gears, Forza & Halo and of course the Kinect. Then Nintendo going the way it did with the Wii, personally I didn’t like it. It were somewhat the same age, I’m 34, but my friends also say the same as you so maybe I’m just a miserable arsehole lol. But I too think the 16bit generation was my favourite but the 32bit is a close second.
I am just got a switch. My last system was a Xbox 360. I hate DLCs. If they are going to sell a game I want the entire game. I remember back with World of War craft, where the expansion packs literally expanded the end of the game. Now it feels like they purposely sold you half the game.
Good grief, I feel old…Lol I can remember the weather of the first day of 2000! The 6th Generation was the true Apex of Gaming. It began its decline in the 7th Generation.
The reason for this is because we have reached a plateau to what consoles are capable of now. Honestly we reached it after the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 era. Every console after that era continued to not have a big enough impact to the gaming industry. There was no “jump” from an Xbox 360 to an Xbox 1. Graphics resolution, refresh rate,and FPS do not count towards a “jump”. They don’t. You save that stuff for PC Gaming. I’m talking about the significant and noticeable jump from an N64 to a Gamecube both in GRAPHICS, the controller, the game line up, etc. That is a monumental difference. The PS1 to PS2 is an astronomical difference. The Xbox to Xbox 360 is a significant difference. I would argue that the Gamecube to Wii wasn’t that big of a jump when it came to graphics, but the Wii was super creative and got families together and was an overall very fun and successful system. The Wii U to the Switch is honestly a good jump. But the problem is nowadays there isn’t that big “jump” and I don’t think we’re going to get it. I whole heartedly blame Fortnite for issuing in the competitive mindset to mainstream gaming that brought PC gaming culture to the forefront of the video game industry. What do I mean by this? Because Fortnite was so immensely popular with it’s streamers like Ninja and everyone else that used PCs. It made PC gaming and everything associated with it very very popular amongst the video game player base as a whole. That means more and more people bought or built PCs and in turn cared about things like: High frame rates, high refresh rates, high resolutions, etc. And that bled into the console market and made consoles submit to that type of standard. Now the entire video game industry’s focus is on all of that and not on making creative/intuitive consoles like back in the day. Also I want to throw in that Fortnite and PUBG, but mainly Fortnite continues to force developers to submit to the model of: Season Passes, DLC, Battle Royal, etc. Look, I’m a PC gamer, but I loved Gamecube and PS2 and 360. I still play the Switch occasionally too. Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game ever made. Runescape coming at close 2nd. Valve is my favorite video game company ever made. So that should tell you the level of QUALITY I expect from video games. Games today don’t hold a candle to Tf2, CSGO, Portal, old school Blizzard, Runescape, Old school Nintendo, Naughty Dog, Old school Bungie, Rare, I could go on and on. Maybe it’s just cause I’m an old Millennial, but I don’t like the standard models that video games follow nowadays. It’s bad, it’s unoriginal, and it’s monetized up the --… If you’ve experienced anything I’m saying you understand. There needs to be another video game crash like they had in the 80s and some company needs to ball out and get us on the right track again. I’m hoping it’s Valve with Half Life 3
I think this viewpoint is a bit too critical of the internet. I've spent over a decade now using the internet to learn about, explore, and engage with retro games that I missed out on at the time. There's also a lot of exciting modern indy projects with amazing game design and new ideas with dev teams spread out across the world, and their collaboration wouldn't be possible without the internet. Then again, I do agree that 6th gen was the last truly great generation, so maybe you are on to something.
I hope you enjoy this nostalgic trip down memory lane with me. What are your favorite memories of the 6th generation? Which of the four consoles is your favorite?
6th Gen was definitely the golden era of gaming… favourites… Twilight Princess, Onimusha series, Ninja Gaiden, Need For Speed Underground (2), Soul Calibur, Okami…just to name a few… there were so many great games, the PS2 was a beast!
I definitely agree with you, even though HD was another nice leap in graphics, 7th gen was when all the ‘noise’ started.
Online, digital gaming is an industry killer!
Thankfully Nintendo and the Switch are still quite traditional… I just hope that doesn’t change… the Switch is a beast too!
@@Cosmosis-86 totally agree and very well said. The “noise” absolutely started in the 7th generation. Though it didn’t start to become a true “problem” until the 8th gen. The 6th gen was a completely pure gaming experience.
Going to friends and family house to player 4 players or to have lan partys was definitely the best. 6th gen made me exacted to play with friends and family. PS2 for one player. gamecube and xbox for mutli Player. Xbox for co-cop.
dvd player that was quite cheap at the time says hello for the ps2
Thank you so much for such an interesting video. 6th generation was my favorite console generation. Another reason which you did not mention and to me is important is that games did not look realistic before the 7th generation as today and therefore had there own unique style. For example, the graphics in the ps2 GTA games looked like an abstraction of reality while gta 5 looked too indistinguishable from reality. To me this made games less visually interesting as an art form.
digital is convenient, until you realize it is not and then you realize physical is the consumer friendly option and holds up for way longer.
The fact that digital is more expensive than physical says it all.
I want to get back into call of duty, but I don't want to erase my other games. SSD'S are super expensive
I couldn't believe just wanting to go from 1.5 to 2tb would be costly. How much more memory is the next gen going to need.😢
The deep irony is that you can mod every single sixth gen system and run literally every game for the platforms from SD cards and hard drives.
Lost my psn account and I had spent over 1k on it and I was still collecting physical games at the time, but now I'm physical only again and I've been getting more into nintendo switch later again.. I'm loving that you can put a game I a play without needing updates on switch and Playstation 5, not so much with xbox though
@@theelitedragon2xx Joy-con and cartridges is why i got the Switch.
I'm 40 yo, only 4 years younger than you I think. And I remember the 6th Gen being an epic time for gamers. One of my favorites for sure.
8:18 I wouldn't agree with this, because a lot of people bought the PS2 not for gaming, but for movies. It was a cheap DVD player that just happened to play games.
Not to take away from how good of a console it was, it's just that's an advantage that could never happen today. No one will buy a PS5 just to watch Blu Rays.
This is very true, it’s probably half the reason PS3 did as well initially because it was the cheapest Blu Ray. Hell now the only huge selling point outside of the games now would be…backwards compatibility? Which likely will all but be killed next gen as everything shifts to digital. There is very little outside of just games these boxes provide that isn’t available elsewhere. I’d say these consoles in 7th gen having streaming services were pretty big, my Xbox doubles as our entertainment hub now. But my PS5 could do it as well. The DVD component was huge at the time where most ppl only had VHS and did for a few years later
Agreed. It wasn't as successful because of the games alone. It was the cheapest way to buy a DVD player back in that day. That's the only reason I bought it. I have my PS2 and Gamecube to this day but I end up hearing better things about Gamecube when it comes to gaming.
I fail to see where that is different from the PS5 having the option to run any number of streaming services, aside from the fact that it could be done on the PS4 as well.
I thought about this, as well 😅 It's certainly still a huge feat, but you can't look past the fact that PS2 was about half the price of other DVD players at the time. I'd also argue that, though there are far more gamers these days, there are also far more choices for gaming between the big 3, PC handheld PCs, and mobile. There's nothing stopping someone from owning multiple devices, but it's a much more fractured market now. Any gaming hardware making it this high in sales is nuts, though. Good video!
The Golden Era
Absolutely.
I would argue that the 5th gen was, but that's because I like RPGs the most. But, 6th gen was excellent too, and really opened up 3D gaming.
yes...1996-2005
I convinced my parents to get Dreamcast and succeeded. After it failed, I tried to get my dad to buy me an Xbox. He refused, saying we weren't taking a gamble on an experimental console again , and bought me a PS2 for Christmas instead. Not the worst thing in the world.
The dream cast was amazing. It was way ahead of it's time
You had two great consoles in a row
As a millennial born in the mid-80s, I see it the same way. I played all the handhelds and consoles massively and for me too, Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 were the last consoles that were the most fun for me and my friends at the time. After this generation, I switched to the PC. Top Video. Happy gaming.
I was 15 when I got my first ever home console and that was the Gamecube. The friendships I built because of that system has helped shaped the person I am today. It was that wholesome, word of mouth and inclusive era of gaming that was truly special. We will never have that again
Everything is so fragmented, disconnected and toxic now.
As a gamer who got the snes at launch day I think that the time between 1990 and 2005 was the best era for gamers. Back then the focus was clearly on the games and great gameplay. Every system had its very own architecture - which led to games that had very distinctive visuals and innovative game mechanics. Games where created from gamers for gamers. It was a very passionate industry and game designers like Miyamoto were ours heroes. In my opinion the decline started in the mid 2000s, roughly at the end of the 6th console generation. The internet changed rapidly during that era. It wasn't a special place anymore, it had become a place for everyone. The rise of social media, streaming platforms and smartphones changed the way people looked at videogames. During that time I owned a 360, PS3, Wii and PC. Sadly the plug and play experience that I always liked about consoles vanished more and more. You now where forced to regulary update your console's operating system and patch your games. I think the day Microsoft released the "New Xbox Experience" in 2008 was a very dark day for gamers. I remember how much I liked the former "blades dashboard" and then suddenly had to deal with a completely new dashboard on my nearly 3 years old console. From that day one it only got worse. For me on that day the classic video gaming era died. In the following years the business got greedier and greedier - which led to the two abominations that are called XBOX Series and PS5.
Ahh, the age of enlightened gaming. Before patches, DLC and season passes. I was born in '88, and my childhood was AWESOME. All I can do now is preserve and curate what I loved to share with my kids.
I loved and still have the GameCube btw.
Well said!
That's exactly what I'm doing too as a dad and Gamecube collector. 😊
You’re only 1 year older than me and I remember everything you said here very well. That age of gaming when all of your gaming info game from word of mouth and gaming mags, that was a magical time to be a gamer. I miss it so much.
Favorite game of that era: Rogue Squadron…blew my mind.
Super Nintendo era is still my favorite era, just the plethora of games at such high quality, how everything about the 16-bit era felt magical, eye-popping graphics and sound, and the Nintendo vs Sega console war was so much fun and far less toxic than stuff now.
I’m a fairly firm believer that the 2000s was the last great decade of entertainment in general.
I agree with that vehemently.
You're not wrong. The early 2000s to mid 2000s was when they actually put effort into all forms of entertainment. Then once the late 2000s started all that went out the window and companies started getting greedy. Entertainment is strictly catered for NPCs now because they buy anything.
The best gaming years : 1990-2005
4th generation - perfected 2D platforming from the third generation.
5th generation- pioneered 3D gaming.
6th generation - smoothed out the roughness from the 5th generation of 3D gaming, essentially perfecting it.
Giving my nephews a Wii for christmas this year, will be their first game system. Including a bunch of gamecube games and controllers so they can grow up with the good stuff
I’m curious as I have been looking..were you able to find one refurbished I presume for a decent price and was it an eBay deal, local store deal or otherwise? I’ve been wanting to get one for my kids but had no idea what range of price I should be looking at considering it’s long since been manufactured, controllers and games etc
4 distinct, amazing consoles. Easily the best generation.
I wish Fzero GX would get a remaster like Prime. That'd be sweet 😊😊😊
I like you talking about past gens. You're legit an OG console gamer and you're, like, as young as an OG could possibly be, having just started entering game-playing age right when the NES came out. Sometimes you get defensive about it, like people don't want to hear about older stuff from you, but I definitely do, you have a rich perspective. I also liked you recently going back and talking about the rumors leading up to switch, including your own videos from that time.
Thank you thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate hearing it! Also if I ever come off as defensive I certainly don’t mean to. I am passionate about every opinion I share, but I’m never angry. So I am take that as a takeaway to consider in future videos. Appreciate you. 👊
I was a kid when we got a gamecube, so it was basically my first console. And it was incredible. I remember playing games with friends and family for hours. Then we got a 360 and the fun continued, multiplayer hit its peak with both local and online...and then, never been the same since
I think this is as close as we will ever see Rob being an old man yelling at a cloud and as a fellow 40 year old gamer I loved every second of it. 😊
I'll say Gen 7 was the last great generation, Gen 6 is the best Generation
The Dreamcast was *Ahead of it's Time*
Way ahead. 🔥
bros cooking now 👀
Last generation that actual gamers were making video games. You can tell just by looking and listening to the developers and producers that they were having fun. While older than 6th gen, look at how much fun Ed Boon and his crew had making Mortal Kombat. Now, more than not, it is just suits and/or unlikable socially distant activists selling you games. Back then, if a game failed, they accepted it and tried harder the next time. Now they blame the gamers for not liking the product they help create. A gem comes out every now and then, but it wasn't banger after banger like it was 6th gen and before.
In Japan, the same dudes have been making the games for the last 30 years, there’s been no drastic change like the west. Either it’s the same people, or younger people that love and respect what their gaming culture had created before. That’s why their games are still great. The west abandoned the great old developers they used to have in order to chase trends and make money.
When Japanese developers cater to the West, it is a downhill slide from there. 7th generation was that to 9th generation. I think currently that the Japanese has been going back to their roots and the games that follow have blossom. Ex. Nier Automoton and Persona 5. Just look at how the mighty FF series went downhill since FF13.
I agree. I’m 41. And that was hands down my favorite generation. I feel now there is less good games being released and more disappointments. I miss midnight releases. It will never be the same again. We will no longer own our games. I feel there will be no more future retro games. We play them. Then They will be gone. And hope we get a remaster. Love the videos. Keep em up.
Games shipped complete that's enough to make the 6th gen the winner by default. Also gpu's did not cost the same as rent or a mortgage. All the consoles had distinct personalities and real exclusives.
THIS.
Nah PC gaming was expensive back then still.
Facts to all of that. 🔥
I feel you 💯 % I was also born in 1980. I like to believe we're the generation of video games. It was ours. Only because Nintendo saved it after the crash in the US. Big shootout to generation 1 and 2 . But generation 3 with the NES leading the charge , it took off from there. Generation 6 was the best, hands down.
I have to agree with 7th generation being the last truly great one. In a way it was the honeymoon period of gaming being integrated with the internet.
nothing has come close to the PS2, NGC and OG Xbox generation the last truly great gaming generation
I'm a 1996 baby and The 6th generation of video gaming consoles was my generation hands down, countless times going to my cousins house and their playing The new Soul reaver 2 video game or Devil May cry 1, Resisdent evil 4, Def Jam vendetter.
96 for life, growing up in the 2000s was amazing. Just enough tech without it being overwhelming and suffocating. Games, music, movies and shows were awesome.
With how insanely competitive the gaming industry is today. Along with the cost of games, accessories, online and consoles. The Switch possibly outselling the PS2 on the market for almost 8 years is far more impressive. PS2 was the market leader in its generation. People even bought it as a DVD player. It’s been on the market for what 25 years know and was supported for 13 years.
6th gen was phenominal. Still is...But, I lome the 7th gen even a little more than the 6th gen, personally
Grew up with games around 6th gen born 2001, Prime, PSO1, melee, Monkey Ball, SMS, OOT, SM64, Mario Party, windwaker, Diablo 2: LOTD, Starcraft: Broodwar (use custom maps settings), Counter-Strike: Source (zombies), all great games I was getting lost in as a kid. Especially Prime I remember as a 4 year old watching my big bro play it; running away from exo/essence towards the stairs to hide while peeking. I was always asking him to go back to magmoor lol. Ahh the nostalgia cant wait for prime 4 to gain a new found appreciation for the franchise.
Well, if you think about it, the internet wasn't the only thing that started to ruin the next generation, another trend started in the 6th generation that also was a big problem later, the multimedia machine, not just a dedicated game console, that started with the ps2 and xbox. It wasn't only the internet, have we forgot that in the 7th generation sony was obsesed to force bluray with outrageos prices, and then in the 8th generation microsoft was focusing in being the "one" box where you can do anything, mostly tv crap, no no no, the 6th generation was when gaming was started to get back seated
The only reason my father got a PS1 was for a CD player. Some models of the PS1 also were supposed to read Video CDs.
This is one of the things i like most about the switch. you cant really do much on it at all beyond playing games or browsing the eshop;.
GameStop was a deep part of gaming culture… you developed deep relationships and friendships with the clerks there and you and your buddies would always head down to the stop to check out the latest releases. There was a deep social element. You might even see something cool you didn’t even know about to pick it up right there or save up to get it later. Everything now is too impersonal, too detached and disconnected. The convenience of modern online has made the entire hobby feel extremely isolated and lonely. Modern Gamers have a ton of gaming options, but the culture of gaming is nothing like what it was. You really felt this with the death of E3. It’s all so hostile, corporate and cold now.
You got me near crying tears of nostalgia with this one
Gamings downward trend started with Oblivions Horse Armor dlc
Amen Brother.
I think all of your social credits to the 6th gen point even more to the 7th gen with midnight releases
I got my second job, at a Canadian game store called CompuCentre in 2000. I remember the launch of three of the four sixth gen consoles. Not only was this the best console generation, but it happened at such an important time in my life as I just graduated high school. Having access for the first time to share my love of gaming with customers added something so special to the generation that it will be just that much more special to me.
Spot on about PC gaming having its own unique identity. So many classics from that era: StarCraft, Diablo 2, AoE2, HoMM3, Quake3/Unreal, etc. You had a few expansions here and there, but nothing like the deluge of microtransactions you see today.
_Such_ a good generation. All of those consoles are still sitting on my desk.
I'm actually playing PS2 currently as I watch this. 👌
6th gen was the peak generation imo. I'm pretty much stuck in this generation, other than my switch I only game on PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast on my CRT. Such good (and large) libraries, there are so many great games
I'm 38 and its tough for me. 6th gen feels like the last time it was truly focused on making great games. Xbox revolutionized the industry with HDD in console and a proper online service. Gamecube and Dreamcast were criminally underrated with amazing libraries. PS2 transformed the video game industry into a more mainstream hobby. 7th gen brought still unique hardware offering new experiences with things like motion controls and XBLA birthed the indie scene into a big market.
I really just miss companies taking chances rather than just [insert sequel] to high selling franchise.
Born in ‘88 so I experienced Gen 5 as a kid and Gen 6 as a teen. Some of my fondest memories are just watching my friend play Dark Cloud (PS2). I got a PS2 and played the heck out of it. Played some Cube too and missed the boat on Xbox but a lot of the games (Jade Empire, Fable, etc) looked awesome.
My favorite game ever is Xenosaga Episode I (PS2) while FFIX, FF Tactics, FFXII, and Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask are tied for 2nd. Dark Cloud/Dark Cloud 2 and Zelda Twilight Princess are tied for 3rd. Star Ocean III-Til the End of Time sits comfortably at 4th for me.
This is the best generation, but the last great one was 360, PS3 and Wii
im a sony fanboy but you mentioned the gamecube and got me almost tearing
I'm a Sega fanboy, I too love the Gamecube
I think 6th generation is the best. The major thing I did not miss about that generation, I'll admit, is the optical format used, DVDs. Buying used games from this generation is like rolling dice, you don't know if you're gonna get a beat-up, scratched copy that you will be unable to play, unless the seller is nice enough to let you see before purchasing. Also, most DLC came in the form of brand new editions you could buy at a fraction of the original game's release price (ex. Persona 3 FES) or discs you had to request at a GameStop or EB Games to install on your Xbox (ex. Halo 2 DLC, for those without an internet connection to their console). There was also a huge emphasis on QA testing and not allowing the customers to become the QA testers, so they don't have to spend millions of dollars to fix a major bug and reprint millions of copies, that could open the company up to lawsuits and customer scrutiny.
I still have my PlayStation Magazines from back in the day (issues 61 and 62). It's crazy how many games were promoted back then. We've fallen so far from that now.
No argument here.80s baby as well.this generation was the culmination of greatness for video games.
PS2 was a cheat DVD player.
I’d argue the 7th generation was peak too
I remember recording vhs tapes to send into gaming mags to get into their Mario kart time trial rankings 😅 whenever an industry/sport/etc is younger, its community is more interconnected. GC was a great time. I also loved the n64 goldeneye death match nights.
I feel blessed to have been born in 85 to experience the great birth of the modern day video game industry. That being said, you literally were born at the perfecttttt time! I’m so damn nostalgic too. It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling
You’re forgetting the Game Boy Advance…
Great video man !!
Hey mate I just found your channel through this video and love it...couldn't agree with you more..im also in my 40s and it was easily the best generation of all time there was so much new ip and creativity and reading about new games in magazines was just so much better than the way they're announced now. Im right there with ya on the old man yells at clouds haha
Lol well thanks for being here! I appreciate the kind words.
Amazing video bro! I agree with you about the decay of the purity of gaming. Inspiring 🎉
Thanks, brotha! This is something I’ve been thinking about for months. And I saw you make a simile video a while back and I watched and left a comment on it. You and I were lucky enough to experience these glory days. ❤
@@Ruleof2Review We really were. Probably born for the best era of all entertainment really. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I hope we can get back to some semblance of what made it so magical. Truly a great video broski!
You won’t regret getting a Dreamcast in recent times. Same for ps2, Xbox, and Gc, but it was Sega’s last console and was one that was misunderstood during its time. So trying it yourself could change your view on it
Sonic adventure 1 and 2, Soul calibur, Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Phantasy star online, what classics man. Sega went out with a bang.
Imagine 2010's kids in 20 years reminiscing on how Roblox was the peak of gaming
This generation is the last before we had the evolution of online gaming. I do think the 7th gen though was incredibly important and I feel like that created the bones of the generations to come after. I do think the gaming media at whole plays a part in this, we also had more competition with Sega involved, MS getting in the mix…..I do think your age plays a big factor and also the internet as mentioned is huge in this. The 6th gen was the last true coop couch experience that most gamers lived through. I will hold my Dreamcast in high regard even though I only played it 3 years until I dropped for Sony and Nintendo. My rose tinted glasses will probably hold this gen as a kid going into adolescence in high ranking though. I wish I could have my kids experience gaming as I did then
The Ps2 was certainly the greatest DVD player ever made.
As far as the best gaming generation, that would be 4th generation. The SNES and the Genesis. Both companies were making spectacular genre defining games, and you had the arcade seen to go along with it. Great time to be a gamer.
This coming from someone whose top 3 favorite games were from the Gamecube and Wii with Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Xenoblade Chronicles.
what a pleasant discussion
maybe hardware. But 7th gen had the best games, and it's not close.
Team Gamecube forever. My favorite console. Simpler times. Early 2000s were the best.
One thing I miss about those days is reading the instruction manual on the car ride home
Back in the day, companies released broken games. You had no clue if a game would be good or not, because all you had to go off of was a random magazine (which also lied about some games), and the game's cover art. Remember E.T existed before the internet.
That's not my experience at all. Sure, you had to rely on magazines and word of mouth, but as a long time subscriber I soon learned what opinions and people could be trusted.
More broken games back then, really? Games had to be done and be working properly, because once they went to print there was no going back. If Ubisoft had released Assassin's Creed Unity, or if CD Project had released Cyberpunk on 6th gen, both games in the very same launch state, no patching possible...? Oh boy...
Nah the difference is bad games can be fixed over time today and that means there’s less incentive to make sure they work at launch. Bad games can become good now, in the old days bad games were just bad forever and people avoided them. Now there’s no real incentive to make good games at launch because you can just add and fix games later.
@@jairekambui7738 I hate bad games becoming good. Day 1 buyers are punished!
This was my first gaming generation, I’ve since gone back to the PS1 and Snes eras and loved those too, but after the PS2/GC generation everything changed with the advent of online gaming. I see nothing but facts being stated in this video. While great games still release, the PS3 generation was the beginning of when gaming began to seek mainstream audiences and approval, gaming began to become more corporate and less creative and ambitious, and it just didn’t sit right with me. Still doesn’t. After the 6th generation of gaming, we lost something. It was a magical time. Now the magic is gone.
Nice work.
I miss having Lan parties with my Dad when I was a kid.😢
I still collect physical pc games. Not a lot of new releases these days, but a bunch of physical pc games from the late 90's and 2000's are dirt cheap online these days.
Well just to play devils advocate, the argument that the ps2 is more of an acheivment than the switch because the market was smaller, isnt neccessarily true. Because the ps2 wasnt just a game console, it was the first legit consumer DVD player. So the ps2 got that number out of two markets, the switch pulled that number out of one market
Yeah the 6th generation was the golden age of gaming. A lot of people would disagree though and say it’s the 7th generation.
PS3/Xbox360 because: GTA IV
I’m about to be 35. I miss the days of LAN parties, midnight releases, and gaming being a social experience.
The PS2 kept selling into it's 10th year and it was marketed as a DVD player. That really helped it. It was cheaper than a solo DVD player in allot of cases.
I miss the in person interaction that came with gaming back in the day. I miss manuals coming with your games. I miss the full game being on the disc when it shipped and not needing internet access to play single player games. I miss not needing to wait half a decade or more for a sequel. I miss not having to worry about dlc, season passes, battle passes, microtransactions, early access, etc. I miss controllers actually being sturdy and built to last. I miss there being universal experiences with a game before patch cycles meant that two people could have vastly different experiences with the same game at different times. I miss the industry wide innovation that we had before gaming had been in a sense "figured out" by the time the 7th gen came around. I miss games having earnable in game skins and outfits as rewards instead of in game stores. I miss when every other game didn't need to be open world and 80+ hours to finish. I miss every game not being some sort of controversy.
I don't miss dealing with memory cards. I don't miss games being the same game name but being completely different depending on which console you played them on. I don't miss every other tv show and movie shitting out half-assed games.
100 percent agree as someone who was born in 84. I loved the 5th gen too considering it was the leap to 3D but all in all the 6th gen was my favorite. Resident evil remake and 4, Metroid prime, gta vice city, Zelda twilight princess, metal gear solid 3, god of war and many more games that like you said started or revolutionized the big franchises of today, but I’d have to say halo 2 with Xbox live was a game changer for console gaming in general and closed the gap between console and pc gaming considering it was the first game to just jump online with friends or random people around the world instead of having to do LAN parties (which I actually love my memories of) but still, It was so cool calling all of my friends and jumping on multiplayer to kick some ass
i'm only 32, so i was fairly young during a lot of this, but i still remember it fondly. hard to believe how far we've fallen. social media really did become a cancer.
I have to agree with you. Subsequent generations haven't been terrible; but with the 7th generation, we immediately ran into Sony's overconfidence on pricing with the laughably expensive PS3, Microsoft's incompetence with the poorly-engineered Xbox 360 (RRoD, anyone?), and Nintendo's leap into the casual market with the gimmicky Wii. And if you count the Wii U as part of the 7th generation (I don't), it suffered from poor marketing, anemic third-party support, and a weak CPU.
Besides all of the 6th-gen consoles being solid, reasonably-priced hardware, I agree that there was a purity to the 6th gen and generations prior that we've been missing ever since. We didn't have things like political agendas masquerading as storytelling, microtransactions, battle passes, etc. We just had fun games.
20:26 To me, physical gaming died with the Wii U. It was the last console that played games directly off the disc. None of this full install garbage. That's why I don't care about disc-based physical games anymore. I own a PS5 Digital Edition. I still buy physical games for my Nintendo Switch, and I hope Switch 2 games will be available on cartridge as well.
This is the unfortunate truth. Physical games aren’t completely physical anymore.
PS4 and ps5 games can be played offline on the disc, it just installs them first
@@onlywiigame. That was my point. The games fully install to your console's storage. After that, the disc is nothing but a key that allows you to access the game. I want games on disc to be played directly from the disc like they used to be. No installing.
Could not agree more with this.
I think what makes the sixth generation stand out more than anything in hindsight is just how many of those games still hold up today. Rez and Cosmic Smash have both been ported to VR with minimal changes to how the games function, which just proves how ahead of the curve so many devs were back then, especially Sega.
I do also think the internet played a bigger role during that time than perhaps you remember. The entire backlash to MGS2 for instance took place almost entirely online, gaming publications kept their scores for the re-release high even when hobbyist sentiment had turned against it. Had you been new to the hobby in 2004-2008, online discourse would've given you the impression that MGS3 was the best selling game in the series while MGS2 underperformed, when in reality it was the exact opposite. I suppose you could argue that was the tail end of the sixth gen and not the meat and potatoes of it, but nonetheless, there were already narratives formed via conventional wisdom at the time, which did and still do continue to impact how people view games.
As for PC gaming becoming the same as console gaming, that's really the fault of consoles more than anything. Ever since the 8th gen, they've just been PC parts on custom boards with custom software. It only makes sense to port games to PC when the heavy lifting has already been done by making the games for consoles.
You may have been born a decade before me, but I share much of the same sentiment. I was the kid who came into Gamestop and wanted to talk with the employees, lol.
I share the same sentiment when internet started intertwining with the consoles.
I agree. Nearly everything afterwards was worse or going that direction. Have a switch for a bunch of old stuff and my game boy.
Great Video Rob.
Loved the throwback style of this Video man 👍.
For me the last pure true great Gaming Generation, was the 5th Generation, the 6th Generation was the Start of Modern Gaming going Downhill.
It's hard too explain but the 6th Generation of Gaming, just didn't feel right plus it was Nintendo first Misstep with the GC, people say nowadays the GC Library of Games are fantastic but that wasn't the case at the time guys, looking back now at the GC Library it is very decent but that is the beauty of Retro Gaming being around, you can go back n see how good or bad Consoles n Games was/were back in the day.
Gaming as an Hobby is slowly going fast nowadays, not saying there isn't fun too had or Games coming too Look forward too in the Future but Overall pure Gaming as an Hobby is going.
Thanks, Johno! Great to hear from ya. And I also love the 5th gen. A LOT. So I totally understand where you’re coming from. Great taste. 👍
@Ruleof2Review your are very welcome Rob 👍 and cheers man. I don't think there is a Right or Wrong Answer really but I totally agree with you, with the way Gaming is going n heading nowadays.
Yup I was a kid and grew up on 6th and 7th gen and I fear they will never be anything like it again 🥲
Even just going out to rent games (and movies) at your local Hollywood Video / Blockbuster was an entirely different but incredibly memorable experience back in the day, and one that'll just never be able to be replicated. I'm not quite your age or generation, Rob, but I am old enough to have a bit of experience pre-internet takeover and I just think so many aspects of everything I love were far better back then. I try to be objective, obviously some of it will be inescapable nostalgia, but when it comes to gaming in particular, the identity of the entire industry does not remotely resemble what I was experiencing in the early 2000's. Generally speaking, the online + digital age of gaming really put a damper on a lot of what I feel about living and enjoying the lifestyle - I still largely play and move like I did growing up as a result.
RE1 remake on GameCube blew my mind back then, and still blows my mind today. Just an incredible, artistic achievement and still my favorite RE game (and remake) of all time. Hardcore sessions playing Soul Calibur 2, F-Zero GX, Halo, Melee, Tekken 5, etc. What an incredible time.
This may be the best overall generation but xbox360 was the peak of console gaming. The only time we had a solid blend of seemless online play with friends and couch coop at the same time.
I have by gen or year I got.
Year 1: master system and genesis and ps 1
Year 2: gamcube and n64
Year 3: Wii and 360
Year 4: Wii U and one and one x
Year 5: switch
All I own beside som handhelds and iPad lol.
I still have the same amount of passion in gaming just like the good old days, I’ve learned so much more about gaming through the internet, and it only makes me love gaming even more!🙂
I really enjoyed your video. Great trip down memory lane. 33 years old now. Own PC, PS5 and Switch and as much as I enjoy the games, I do so miss the early 2000s gaming climate even then some. I would gladly trade the nowadays Internet and smartphone only to live in a world constantly stuck in 1998-2005 with its tech, trends, people interactions. Irony, isn't it: now we are more connected than ever in terms of instant messages and video calls, but we were way more social back then. Want to rent a movie? You go outside, walk or drive to the store, talk to people there. Heck, might even meet someone special. Same with video games and music media. Want to watch a movie, listen to music or play a game nowadays? Just pull out a small screen from your pocket and within couple of seconds, have 1000s of choices of what to consume. Oh, you can also order food from that tiny screen to be delivered right to your doorstep. No need even going outside. Wow, we might say, we saved a lot of time...just to fill it with more screen sucking, doom scrolling, argue with people on the Internet and other brain rot bs. So freaking glad I got to experience the early 2000s
I'm all in on physical games 💿 AGAIN !! IN MY Opinion i think that 7th gen was the last golden era if you think about it a lot of games still didn't have a digital version on ps3 & xbox 360, but the wii was the last console to not have a digital version of a physical game and that was great.
6th was the last true offline gaming era when you could kick your friends butt in the same room, but the GameCube & dreamcast were my favorites also the ps2 & xbox i loved all 4 but got the xbox last back in 04 man that was definitely a golden generation sooo many games to choose from on all 4 systems even though the dreamcast died early on it had games... unlike the new crap like xbox series X & Playstation 5 also let's talk about how Playstation & xbox had a very big decline by putting all of their games on pc, which decreases the value of the system and games...
While I agree you are probably biased because of how old you were when those consoles launched, all of your points are 100% true and valid. The gaming industry is broken, right now. Lots of good stuff are still coming out, but there is a lot of slop, too
We’ll never see a game like ‘Manhunt’ in these times 😅😂
You know what? I agree. I originally would have said that the 7th was the "last great generation" but it really was where some of the major problems started, including achievements and trophies which up until recently, I was addicted to and almost lost all enjoyment of playing games for the actual gameplay and where always online games started really being a thing, with console exclusive games that are forever lost to time due to support ending.
Some of my favourite video games of all time came out in the 7th gen and it was also when I finally got a long awaited sequel to Fallout 2 in Fallout 3, then New Vegas and Fallout still remains my favourite series of all time BUT gen 6 really was the last "pure" gen where gameplay, innovation, fun and ethics were a lot more important.
Lately I've gone back to my old switch that I haven't played in years and I rediscovered my joy of gaming and collecting physical media because it reminds me of a simpler time where I could buy a cartridge, pop it in and most of the time just start playing without the need for huge updates and navigating slow interfaces. I even went out and grabbed an OLED model on black friday. I recently finally beat Super Metroid on the SNES service and was ready to dive into Prime which was on my backlog for years so I saw this video and remembered the remaster was a thing and picked it up yesterday. I've only got an hour or so in it so far but it's pretty cool and looks fantastic on the little screen!
Somewhat a side note but you mention the 7th generation as another potential highlight for yourself. For me that’s when I stepped back a bit from gaming, though I was always gaming on PC anyway but after the first 2/3 years of that 7th generation I thought it was kinda rubbish. Games felt clunky, looked ugly, Sony in particular focused more on story driven games that just steals control from the player, Xbox and it’s quirky and unique-ish exclusives were boiled down to Gears, Forza & Halo and of course the Kinect. Then Nintendo going the way it did with the Wii, personally I didn’t like it.
It were somewhat the same age, I’m 34, but my friends also say the same as you so maybe I’m just a miserable arsehole lol. But I too think the 16bit generation was my favourite but the 32bit is a close second.
I am just got a switch. My last system was a Xbox 360. I hate DLCs. If they are going to sell a game I want the entire game. I remember back with World of War craft, where the expansion packs literally expanded the end of the game. Now it feels like they purposely sold you half the game.
As someone born in 2000, and that had the ability to play both 6th and 7th gen, both are equally good, and can tie as the last good gens
That’s a very fair perspective to have! Both are very great. 😊
Good grief, I feel old…Lol
I can remember the weather of the first day of 2000!
The 6th Generation was the true Apex of Gaming. It began its decline in the 7th Generation.
2000-2010 best year's in gaming
The reason for this is because we have reached a plateau to what consoles are capable of now. Honestly we reached it after the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 era.
Every console after that era continued to not have a big enough impact to the gaming industry. There was no “jump” from an Xbox 360 to an Xbox 1.
Graphics resolution, refresh rate,and FPS do not count towards a “jump”. They don’t. You save that stuff for PC Gaming.
I’m talking about the significant and noticeable jump from an N64 to a Gamecube both in GRAPHICS, the controller, the game line up, etc.
That is a monumental difference.
The PS1 to PS2 is an astronomical difference.
The Xbox to Xbox 360 is a significant difference.
I would argue that the Gamecube to Wii wasn’t that big of a jump when it came to graphics, but the Wii was super creative and got families together and was an overall very fun and successful system.
The Wii U to the Switch is honestly a good jump.
But the problem is nowadays there isn’t that big “jump” and I don’t think we’re going to get it.
I whole heartedly blame Fortnite for issuing in the competitive mindset to mainstream gaming that brought PC gaming culture to the forefront of the video game industry.
What do I mean by this?
Because Fortnite was so immensely popular with it’s streamers like Ninja and everyone else that used PCs. It made PC gaming and everything associated with it very very popular amongst the video game player base as a whole.
That means more and more people bought or built PCs and in turn cared about things like: High frame rates, high refresh rates, high resolutions, etc.
And that bled into the console market and made consoles submit to that type of standard.
Now the entire video game industry’s focus is on all of that and not on making creative/intuitive consoles like back in the day.
Also I want to throw in that Fortnite and PUBG, but mainly Fortnite continues to force developers to submit to the model of: Season Passes, DLC, Battle Royal, etc.
Look, I’m a PC gamer, but I loved Gamecube and PS2 and 360. I still play the Switch occasionally too.
Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game ever made. Runescape coming at close 2nd. Valve is my favorite video game company ever made. So that should tell you the level of QUALITY I expect from video games.
Games today don’t hold a candle to Tf2, CSGO, Portal, old school Blizzard, Runescape, Old school Nintendo, Naughty Dog, Old school Bungie, Rare, I could go on and on.
Maybe it’s just cause I’m an old Millennial, but I don’t like the standard models that video games follow nowadays. It’s bad, it’s unoriginal, and it’s monetized up the --…
If you’ve experienced anything I’m saying you understand.
There needs to be another video game crash like they had in the 80s and some company needs to ball out and get us on the right track again.
I’m hoping it’s Valve with Half Life 3
I think this viewpoint is a bit too critical of the internet. I've spent over a decade now using the internet to learn about, explore, and engage with retro games that I missed out on at the time. There's also a lot of exciting modern indy projects with amazing game design and new ideas with dev teams spread out across the world, and their collaboration wouldn't be possible without the internet. Then again, I do agree that 6th gen was the last truly great generation, so maybe you are on to something.