The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
00-1900
The gaming Stone age;
Games where simple, ball on stick, pigs bladder football and burn your neighbours house (mainly in old London). Ok so it was early days but electronics were slowly coming on and the start of gaming had nearly begun.
1901-1965
Recession;
Televisions especially came on a lot in this period of recession and so with them came video and the likes. Colour was upon us (Hurru)
1966-1985
Arcade Era;
One of the most enjoyable times to live in my opinion, Ok so the games and consoles are now 10 times better but the fun was more prominent than ever.
1980 saw the release of a real gaming hero he was small, round and yellow and ate little round balls (the perfect pet) yes it is Pac-Man. The game was so simple it was brilliant, a fine line to cross but done with perfection, This arcade game brought people from every walk of life into gaming and kept them there with little hooks.
We had Shigeru Miyamoto’s masterpiece that was Donkey Kong (he came upon this when looking for a word meaning stubborn) in 1981 this marked a milestone in gaming the level design and sheer fun factor of the game set it and it’s maker a very noticeable place in history. The game showed the age old tale of Mario rescuing Peach from old DK but of course it wasn’t this simple for some reason Kong insisted on throwing barrels at his (??)
In 1984 we had the awesome Beat ‘Em up that was not only painful but colourful to. Kung Fu Master was the start of a genre (obviously Beat ‘Em Ups) without which we may not have Tekken or Dead or Alive today.
1986-1994
Consoles Begin;
It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Megadrive;
In bout Christmas 1989 the Megadrive was released in the UK and with the most advanced graphics of the age it was the console of choice for almost everyone, increasing its polarity even more games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and Revenge of the Shinobi Sega achieved the biggest success (in my opinion) to date. But from when Streetfighter 2 was released Sega saw the dreaded drop in sales. Still the Megadrive is my personal favourite console of all time even with new graphics, it didn’t try and be realistic as it knew it couldn’t achieve perfection, so it didn’t try, instead it stayed on the lines of detailed cell shading and even that wasn’t like today. it looked more like a cartoon instead of Futurama style computer animated cell shading.
Snes;
In 1991 Nintendo released the Snes and although instant success wasn’t made in the Sega dominated world they began to hack away and before long they ended Sega’s dream, this most noticeable when they released Streetfighter 2 Turbo which far outstripped Sega’s Streetfighter 2 Championship edition. It still amazes me today how in 1991 we seemed blind to Snes’ superb quality I mean with games like; F-Zero, Pilot Wings and Super Mario World how could we not see its potential!? Although I admit Snes was the better console and we are always taken in by better graphics e.t.c. it saddens me to think what Sega could have achieved if old Nintendo hadn’t spoiled it.
As for the games well I have gone over Streetfighter but we still have some;
Super Mario World:
A great Mario game if ever there was one (which there was) it took on the tale of Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser (Again!) and he must go to Yoshi Island…
It has recently been redone for the GBA and a good move from nintendo in my opinion, SMW was Mario’s first Snes-bound adventure and it was portrayed in beautiful Nintendo colour we have all come to know and love. The game its-self was huge with 74 levels in total it was a revelation in gameplay and lifespan.
Legend of Zelda:
Zelda’s first ever adventure and still in some peoples minds the best to date. The game follows Zelda’s quest to get the Triforce back from Ganon. Not as long as Mario yet still as fun Zelda only had 3 levels in the form of dungeons (of course longer than the Mario levels) but it was still the first Snes game to sell over 1 million copies. As is the way with Zelda it was made special by the way you can buy new items from shops and you have more free will than a lot of games.
1995-1998
Beginning of the gaming renaissance;
Yet again there were really only two consoles dominating the market and yet again Nintendo was one of them the other was Sony.
Sony Playstation (PSX)
The Playstation was originally an add on for the Sega Saturn but after a row between bosses the companies split. To this day I imagine Sega regret this as the PSX has gone on to become the best selling console ever. At the time of release we were stuck in an era of cartoons but Sony changed all of this by releasing their 32 bit super console. To begin with the playstation, although a success didn’t have the graphics we have come to expect today, not surprising though really it was simply because nobody had seen anything like this ever before and they didn’t quite know how far they could push it.
N64
The N64 came into existence about a year after the PSX and because of this never really took off despite its graphic performance and it launch line up games (Mario and Mario Cart to name two of the best) things didn’t look good for Nintendo as Sony were killing it in the sales front. It wasn’t until the release of Goldeneye that Nintendo actually started to make money from the 64, Goldeneye without a doubt single handedly saved Nintendo from the brink of disaster and with it more games followed such as Lylat Wars, F-Zero X and Turok 2, with these Nintendo started to build a massive array of games but still it never gained the third party support Sony did due in main to the cartridge format it had making games more expensive than its rivals.
Goldeneye:
Even with the release of Halo Goldeneye is still the most influential and in my eyes the best FPS ever. The bond films had always been a success but Rare took on the somewhat daunting task of conveying the stealth, skill, success and suave nature of Bond in a game. Although the N64’s controller seemed to have to many buttons for the game it still felt great to play and still simple. You could have fun with the game to especially with Multiplayer mode an element still unrivalled in my books on any console.
1999-2003
The next Generation of games.
The most highly advanced age we saw 3 main consoles take on the world.
Sony Playstation 2
Following the success of the PSX Sony had an instant stronghold on the market. I remember the first time I picked up a PS2 controller on the release day and I played some of the games it seemed so different and so smooth the moment everyone saw what it could do they set a standard (part of the reason Dreamcast failed) With the third party support of the PSX it obviously transferred over to the PS2 and still it has the biggest games selection of any console.
Microsoft Xbox:
On the 14th of March 2002 Microsoft released their first ever games console. Despite the ‘name calling’ it really is a good console and being the most powerful of the ‘3 kings’ it’s not really surprising that it has incredible graphics. Yet still it is cumbersome and with a big controller. With Bill Gates behind the wheel there is no doubt that the Xbox will be a success but it just depends how long that will take.
Nintendo Gamecube:
Nintendo’s second mega console is a titchy blighter to say the least and it is done well. Sadly for Nintendo they retain their child appealing image. It is clear that they have tried hard to get away from this with games like Eternal Requiem. It may not be the most popular but it IS the most loved.
Halo:
The second best FPS of all time in my opinion yet it has better graphics than Goldeneye. The reason I say it is the second best is because it offers nothing groundbreaking save the AI. The AI is what makes this game memorable because they seem to think for themselves which makes the game A LOT better. Still a great game in its own rights.
I’m not going to finish by saying what is next as that is for the games companies and even us to decide. What will the future bring? Only time will tell (that sounds so cheesy)
The gaming Stone age;
Games where simple, ball on stick, pigs bladder football and burn your neighbours house (mainly in old London). Ok so it was early days but electronics were slowly coming on and the start of gaming had nearly begun.
1901-1965
Recession;
Televisions especially came on a lot in this period of recession and so with them came video and the likes. Colour was upon us (Hurru)
1966-1985
Arcade Era;
One of the most enjoyable times to live in my opinion, Ok so the games and consoles are now 10 times better but the fun was more prominent than ever.
1980 saw the release of a real gaming hero he was small, round and yellow and ate little round balls (the perfect pet) yes it is Pac-Man. The game was so simple it was brilliant, a fine line to cross but done with perfection, This arcade game brought people from every walk of life into gaming and kept them there with little hooks.
We had Shigeru Miyamoto’s masterpiece that was Donkey Kong (he came upon this when looking for a word meaning stubborn) in 1981 this marked a milestone in gaming the level design and sheer fun factor of the game set it and it’s maker a very noticeable place in history. The game showed the age old tale of Mario rescuing Peach from old DK but of course it wasn’t this simple for some reason Kong insisted on throwing barrels at his (??)
In 1984 we had the awesome Beat ‘Em up that was not only painful but colourful to. Kung Fu Master was the start of a genre (obviously Beat ‘Em Ups) without which we may not have Tekken or Dead or Alive today.
1986-1994
Consoles Begin;
It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Megadrive;
In bout Christmas 1989 the Megadrive was released in the UK and with the most advanced graphics of the age it was the console of choice for almost everyone, increasing its polarity even more games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and Revenge of the Shinobi Sega achieved the biggest success (in my opinion) to date. But from when Streetfighter 2 was released Sega saw the dreaded drop in sales. Still the Megadrive is my personal favourite console of all time even with new graphics, it didn’t try and be realistic as it knew it couldn’t achieve perfection, so it didn’t try, instead it stayed on the lines of detailed cell shading and even that wasn’t like today. it looked more like a cartoon instead of Futurama style computer animated cell shading.
Snes;
In 1991 Nintendo released the Snes and although instant success wasn’t made in the Sega dominated world they began to hack away and before long they ended Sega’s dream, this most noticeable when they released Streetfighter 2 Turbo which far outstripped Sega’s Streetfighter 2 Championship edition. It still amazes me today how in 1991 we seemed blind to Snes’ superb quality I mean with games like; F-Zero, Pilot Wings and Super Mario World how could we not see its potential!? Although I admit Snes was the better console and we are always taken in by better graphics e.t.c. it saddens me to think what Sega could have achieved if old Nintendo hadn’t spoiled it.
As for the games well I have gone over Streetfighter but we still have some;
Super Mario World:
A great Mario game if ever there was one (which there was) it took on the tale of Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser (Again!) and he must go to Yoshi Island…
It has recently been redone for the GBA and a good move from nintendo in my opinion, SMW was Mario’s first Snes-bound adventure and it was portrayed in beautiful Nintendo colour we have all come to know and love. The game its-self was huge with 74 levels in total it was a revelation in gameplay and lifespan.
Legend of Zelda:
Zelda’s first ever adventure and still in some peoples minds the best to date. The game follows Zelda’s quest to get the Triforce back from Ganon. Not as long as Mario yet still as fun Zelda only had 3 levels in the form of dungeons (of course longer than the Mario levels) but it was still the first Snes game to sell over 1 million copies. As is the way with Zelda it was made special by the way you can buy new items from shops and you have more free will than a lot of games.
1995-1998
Beginning of the gaming renaissance;
Yet again there were really only two consoles dominating the market and yet again Nintendo was one of them the other was Sony.
Sony Playstation (PSX)
The Playstation was originally an add on for the Sega Saturn but after a row between bosses the companies split. To this day I imagine Sega regret this as the PSX has gone on to become the best selling console ever. At the time of release we were stuck in an era of cartoons but Sony changed all of this by releasing their 32 bit super console. To begin with the playstation, although a success didn’t have the graphics we have come to expect today, not surprising though really it was simply because nobody had seen anything like this ever before and they didn’t quite know how far they could push it.
N64
The N64 came into existence about a year after the PSX and because of this never really took off despite its graphic performance and it launch line up games (Mario and Mario Cart to name two of the best) things didn’t look good for Nintendo as Sony were killing it in the sales front. It wasn’t until the release of Goldeneye that Nintendo actually started to make money from the 64, Goldeneye without a doubt single handedly saved Nintendo from the brink of disaster and with it more games followed such as Lylat Wars, F-Zero X and Turok 2, with these Nintendo started to build a massive array of games but still it never gained the third party support Sony did due in main to the cartridge format it had making games more expensive than its rivals.
Goldeneye:
Even with the release of Halo Goldeneye is still the most influential and in my eyes the best FPS ever. The bond films had always been a success but Rare took on the somewhat daunting task of conveying the stealth, skill, success and suave nature of Bond in a game. Although the N64’s controller seemed to have to many buttons for the game it still felt great to play and still simple. You could have fun with the game to especially with Multiplayer mode an element still unrivalled in my books on any console.
1999-2003
The next Generation of games.
The most highly advanced age we saw 3 main consoles take on the world.
Sony Playstation 2
Following the success of the PSX Sony had an instant stronghold on the market. I remember the first time I picked up a PS2 controller on the release day and I played some of the games it seemed so different and so smooth the moment everyone saw what it could do they set a standard (part of the reason Dreamcast failed) With the third party support of the PSX it obviously transferred over to the PS2 and still it has the biggest games selection of any console.
Microsoft Xbox:
On the 14th of March 2002 Microsoft released their first ever games console. Despite the ‘name calling’ it really is a good console and being the most powerful of the ‘3 kings’ it’s not really surprising that it has incredible graphics. Yet still it is cumbersome and with a big controller. With Bill Gates behind the wheel there is no doubt that the Xbox will be a success but it just depends how long that will take.
Nintendo Gamecube:
Nintendo’s second mega console is a titchy blighter to say the least and it is done well. Sadly for Nintendo they retain their child appealing image. It is clear that they have tried hard to get away from this with games like Eternal Requiem. It may not be the most popular but it IS the most loved.
Halo:
The second best FPS of all time in my opinion yet it has better graphics than Goldeneye. The reason I say it is the second best is because it offers nothing groundbreaking save the AI. The AI is what makes this game memorable because they seem to think for themselves which makes the game A LOT better. Still a great game in its own rights.
I’m not going to finish by saying what is next as that is for the games companies and even us to decide. What will the future bring? Only time will tell (that sounds so cheesy)
Rapid Fire wrote:
> 1986-1994
>
> Consoles Begin;
>
> It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the
> pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have
> a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Really! Did it? I thought it started a while before that with the NES and Master System, or Atari, Commodore, Spectrum etc before that.
> 1986-1994
>
> Consoles Begin;
>
> It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the
> pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have
> a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Really! Did it? I thought it started a while before that with the NES and Master System, or Atari, Commodore, Spectrum etc before that.
I did a Gaming: Through The Ages post not-so long ago. Quite similar.
Still, good post.
Still, good post.
I always do typos like that. now instead of not, done instead of don't - it sucks!
Anyway, someone does a rundown of all the consoles and ERA's of gaming every once in a while and people winge. Yours was better than most though, especially the cheesy ending.
Anyway, someone does a rundown of all the consoles and ERA's of gaming every once in a while and people winge. Yours was better than most though, especially the cheesy ending.
Now at all? lol cheers Kyle yay first response it hasn't really been done before just touched on, but i see what you mean.
Nice post and good read, now at all original though, im afraid.
00-1900
The gaming Stone age;
Games where simple, ball on stick, pigs bladder football and burn your neighbours house (mainly in old London). Ok so it was early days but electronics were slowly coming on and the start of gaming had nearly begun.
1901-1965
Recession;
Televisions especially came on a lot in this period of recession and so with them came video and the likes. Colour was upon us (Hurru)
1966-1985
Arcade Era;
One of the most enjoyable times to live in my opinion, Ok so the games and consoles are now 10 times better but the fun was more prominent than ever.
1980 saw the release of a real gaming hero he was small, round and yellow and ate little round balls (the perfect pet) yes it is Pac-Man. The game was so simple it was brilliant, a fine line to cross but done with perfection, This arcade game brought people from every walk of life into gaming and kept them there with little hooks.
We had Shigeru Miyamoto’s masterpiece that was Donkey Kong (he came upon this when looking for a word meaning stubborn) in 1981 this marked a milestone in gaming the level design and sheer fun factor of the game set it and it’s maker a very noticeable place in history. The game showed the age old tale of Mario rescuing Peach from old DK but of course it wasn’t this simple for some reason Kong insisted on throwing barrels at his (??)
In 1984 we had the awesome Beat ‘Em up that was not only painful but colourful to. Kung Fu Master was the start of a genre (obviously Beat ‘Em Ups) without which we may not have Tekken or Dead or Alive today.
1986-1994
Consoles Begin;
It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Megadrive;
In bout Christmas 1989 the Megadrive was released in the UK and with the most advanced graphics of the age it was the console of choice for almost everyone, increasing its polarity even more games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and Revenge of the Shinobi Sega achieved the biggest success (in my opinion) to date. But from when Streetfighter 2 was released Sega saw the dreaded drop in sales. Still the Megadrive is my personal favourite console of all time even with new graphics, it didn’t try and be realistic as it knew it couldn’t achieve perfection, so it didn’t try, instead it stayed on the lines of detailed cell shading and even that wasn’t like today. it looked more like a cartoon instead of Futurama style computer animated cell shading.
Snes;
In 1991 Nintendo released the Snes and although instant success wasn’t made in the Sega dominated world they began to hack away and before long they ended Sega’s dream, this most noticeable when they released Streetfighter 2 Turbo which far outstripped Sega’s Streetfighter 2 Championship edition. It still amazes me today how in 1991 we seemed blind to Snes’ superb quality I mean with games like; F-Zero, Pilot Wings and Super Mario World how could we not see its potential!? Although I admit Snes was the better console and we are always taken in by better graphics e.t.c. it saddens me to think what Sega could have achieved if old Nintendo hadn’t spoiled it.
As for the games well I have gone over Streetfighter but we still have some;
Super Mario World:
A great Mario game if ever there was one (which there was) it took on the tale of Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser (Again!) and he must go to Yoshi Island…
It has recently been redone for the GBA and a good move from nintendo in my opinion, SMW was Mario’s first Snes-bound adventure and it was portrayed in beautiful Nintendo colour we have all come to know and love. The game its-self was huge with 74 levels in total it was a revelation in gameplay and lifespan.
Legend of Zelda:
Zelda’s first ever adventure and still in some peoples minds the best to date. The game follows Zelda’s quest to get the Triforce back from Ganon. Not as long as Mario yet still as fun Zelda only had 3 levels in the form of dungeons (of course longer than the Mario levels) but it was still the first Snes game to sell over 1 million copies. As is the way with Zelda it was made special by the way you can buy new items from shops and you have more free will than a lot of games.
1995-1998
Beginning of the gaming renaissance;
Yet again there were really only two consoles dominating the market and yet again Nintendo was one of them the other was Sony.
Sony Playstation (PSX)
The Playstation was originally an add on for the Sega Saturn but after a row between bosses the companies split. To this day I imagine Sega regret this as the PSX has gone on to become the best selling console ever. At the time of release we were stuck in an era of cartoons but Sony changed all of this by releasing their 32 bit super console. To begin with the playstation, although a success didn’t have the graphics we have come to expect today, not surprising though really it was simply because nobody had seen anything like this ever before and they didn’t quite know how far they could push it.
N64
The N64 came into existence about a year after the PSX and because of this never really took off despite its graphic performance and it launch line up games (Mario and Mario Cart to name two of the best) things didn’t look good for Nintendo as Sony were killing it in the sales front. It wasn’t until the release of Goldeneye that Nintendo actually started to make money from the 64, Goldeneye without a doubt single handedly saved Nintendo from the brink of disaster and with it more games followed such as Lylat Wars, F-Zero X and Turok 2, with these Nintendo started to build a massive array of games but still it never gained the third party support Sony did due in main to the cartridge format it had making games more expensive than its rivals.
Goldeneye:
Even with the release of Halo Goldeneye is still the most influential and in my eyes the best FPS ever. The bond films had always been a success but Rare took on the somewhat daunting task of conveying the stealth, skill, success and suave nature of Bond in a game. Although the N64’s controller seemed to have to many buttons for the game it still felt great to play and still simple. You could have fun with the game to especially with Multiplayer mode an element still unrivalled in my books on any console.
1999-2003
The next Generation of games.
The most highly advanced age we saw 3 main consoles take on the world.
Sony Playstation 2
Following the success of the PSX Sony had an instant stronghold on the market. I remember the first time I picked up a PS2 controller on the release day and I played some of the games it seemed so different and so smooth the moment everyone saw what it could do they set a standard (part of the reason Dreamcast failed) With the third party support of the PSX it obviously transferred over to the PS2 and still it has the biggest games selection of any console.
Microsoft Xbox:
On the 14th of March 2002 Microsoft released their first ever games console. Despite the ‘name calling’ it really is a good console and being the most powerful of the ‘3 kings’ it’s not really surprising that it has incredible graphics. Yet still it is cumbersome and with a big controller. With Bill Gates behind the wheel there is no doubt that the Xbox will be a success but it just depends how long that will take.
Nintendo Gamecube:
Nintendo’s second mega console is a titchy blighter to say the least and it is done well. Sadly for Nintendo they retain their child appealing image. It is clear that they have tried hard to get away from this with games like Eternal Requiem. It may not be the most popular but it IS the most loved.
Halo:
The second best FPS of all time in my opinion yet it has better graphics than Goldeneye. The reason I say it is the second best is because it offers nothing groundbreaking save the AI. The AI is what makes this game memorable because they seem to think for themselves which makes the game A LOT better. Still a great game in its own rights.
I’m not going to finish by saying what is next as that is for the games companies and even us to decide. What will the future bring? Only time will tell (that sounds so cheesy)
The gaming Stone age;
Games where simple, ball on stick, pigs bladder football and burn your neighbours house (mainly in old London). Ok so it was early days but electronics were slowly coming on and the start of gaming had nearly begun.
1901-1965
Recession;
Televisions especially came on a lot in this period of recession and so with them came video and the likes. Colour was upon us (Hurru)
1966-1985
Arcade Era;
One of the most enjoyable times to live in my opinion, Ok so the games and consoles are now 10 times better but the fun was more prominent than ever.
1980 saw the release of a real gaming hero he was small, round and yellow and ate little round balls (the perfect pet) yes it is Pac-Man. The game was so simple it was brilliant, a fine line to cross but done with perfection, This arcade game brought people from every walk of life into gaming and kept them there with little hooks.
We had Shigeru Miyamoto’s masterpiece that was Donkey Kong (he came upon this when looking for a word meaning stubborn) in 1981 this marked a milestone in gaming the level design and sheer fun factor of the game set it and it’s maker a very noticeable place in history. The game showed the age old tale of Mario rescuing Peach from old DK but of course it wasn’t this simple for some reason Kong insisted on throwing barrels at his (??)
In 1984 we had the awesome Beat ‘Em up that was not only painful but colourful to. Kung Fu Master was the start of a genre (obviously Beat ‘Em Ups) without which we may not have Tekken or Dead or Alive today.
1986-1994
Consoles Begin;
It started with the Megadrive and Snes two consoles which live in the pages of gaming history even today. Many houses in this era still have a Megadrive or Snes simply because they are so fun to play.
Megadrive;
In bout Christmas 1989 the Megadrive was released in the UK and with the most advanced graphics of the age it was the console of choice for almost everyone, increasing its polarity even more games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and Revenge of the Shinobi Sega achieved the biggest success (in my opinion) to date. But from when Streetfighter 2 was released Sega saw the dreaded drop in sales. Still the Megadrive is my personal favourite console of all time even with new graphics, it didn’t try and be realistic as it knew it couldn’t achieve perfection, so it didn’t try, instead it stayed on the lines of detailed cell shading and even that wasn’t like today. it looked more like a cartoon instead of Futurama style computer animated cell shading.
Snes;
In 1991 Nintendo released the Snes and although instant success wasn’t made in the Sega dominated world they began to hack away and before long they ended Sega’s dream, this most noticeable when they released Streetfighter 2 Turbo which far outstripped Sega’s Streetfighter 2 Championship edition. It still amazes me today how in 1991 we seemed blind to Snes’ superb quality I mean with games like; F-Zero, Pilot Wings and Super Mario World how could we not see its potential!? Although I admit Snes was the better console and we are always taken in by better graphics e.t.c. it saddens me to think what Sega could have achieved if old Nintendo hadn’t spoiled it.
As for the games well I have gone over Streetfighter but we still have some;
Super Mario World:
A great Mario game if ever there was one (which there was) it took on the tale of Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser (Again!) and he must go to Yoshi Island…
It has recently been redone for the GBA and a good move from nintendo in my opinion, SMW was Mario’s first Snes-bound adventure and it was portrayed in beautiful Nintendo colour we have all come to know and love. The game its-self was huge with 74 levels in total it was a revelation in gameplay and lifespan.
Legend of Zelda:
Zelda’s first ever adventure and still in some peoples minds the best to date. The game follows Zelda’s quest to get the Triforce back from Ganon. Not as long as Mario yet still as fun Zelda only had 3 levels in the form of dungeons (of course longer than the Mario levels) but it was still the first Snes game to sell over 1 million copies. As is the way with Zelda it was made special by the way you can buy new items from shops and you have more free will than a lot of games.
1995-1998
Beginning of the gaming renaissance;
Yet again there were really only two consoles dominating the market and yet again Nintendo was one of them the other was Sony.
Sony Playstation (PSX)
The Playstation was originally an add on for the Sega Saturn but after a row between bosses the companies split. To this day I imagine Sega regret this as the PSX has gone on to become the best selling console ever. At the time of release we were stuck in an era of cartoons but Sony changed all of this by releasing their 32 bit super console. To begin with the playstation, although a success didn’t have the graphics we have come to expect today, not surprising though really it was simply because nobody had seen anything like this ever before and they didn’t quite know how far they could push it.
N64
The N64 came into existence about a year after the PSX and because of this never really took off despite its graphic performance and it launch line up games (Mario and Mario Cart to name two of the best) things didn’t look good for Nintendo as Sony were killing it in the sales front. It wasn’t until the release of Goldeneye that Nintendo actually started to make money from the 64, Goldeneye without a doubt single handedly saved Nintendo from the brink of disaster and with it more games followed such as Lylat Wars, F-Zero X and Turok 2, with these Nintendo started to build a massive array of games but still it never gained the third party support Sony did due in main to the cartridge format it had making games more expensive than its rivals.
Goldeneye:
Even with the release of Halo Goldeneye is still the most influential and in my eyes the best FPS ever. The bond films had always been a success but Rare took on the somewhat daunting task of conveying the stealth, skill, success and suave nature of Bond in a game. Although the N64’s controller seemed to have to many buttons for the game it still felt great to play and still simple. You could have fun with the game to especially with Multiplayer mode an element still unrivalled in my books on any console.
1999-2003
The next Generation of games.
The most highly advanced age we saw 3 main consoles take on the world.
Sony Playstation 2
Following the success of the PSX Sony had an instant stronghold on the market. I remember the first time I picked up a PS2 controller on the release day and I played some of the games it seemed so different and so smooth the moment everyone saw what it could do they set a standard (part of the reason Dreamcast failed) With the third party support of the PSX it obviously transferred over to the PS2 and still it has the biggest games selection of any console.
Microsoft Xbox:
On the 14th of March 2002 Microsoft released their first ever games console. Despite the ‘name calling’ it really is a good console and being the most powerful of the ‘3 kings’ it’s not really surprising that it has incredible graphics. Yet still it is cumbersome and with a big controller. With Bill Gates behind the wheel there is no doubt that the Xbox will be a success but it just depends how long that will take.
Nintendo Gamecube:
Nintendo’s second mega console is a titchy blighter to say the least and it is done well. Sadly for Nintendo they retain their child appealing image. It is clear that they have tried hard to get away from this with games like Eternal Requiem. It may not be the most popular but it IS the most loved.
Halo:
The second best FPS of all time in my opinion yet it has better graphics than Goldeneye. The reason I say it is the second best is because it offers nothing groundbreaking save the AI. The AI is what makes this game memorable because they seem to think for themselves which makes the game A LOT better. Still a great game in its own rights.
I’m not going to finish by saying what is next as that is for the games companies and even us to decide. What will the future bring? Only time will tell (that sounds so cheesy)