Consider this as something as a game. Which year was gaming’s best?
“2012!”
Errrrrrrt. You lose the contest, reader.
Here are some strong years:
1981:
Donkey Kong (Arcade)
Stargate (Arcade) [sequel to Defender]
Gorf (Arcade)
Wizard of Wor (Arcade)
Frogger (Arcade)
Galaga (Arcade)
Ultima (PC)
Wizardry (PC)
Castle Wolfenstien (PC)
Ahh, the classics…
1983:
Archon (PC)
M.U.L.E. (PC)
Ultima III: Exodus (PC)
Pinball Construction Set (PC)
Mario Brothers (Arcade)
Spy Hunter (Arcade)
Dragon’s Lair (Arcade)
Gyruss (Arcade)
Pole Position II (Arcade)
1983 was a FANTASTIC year for gamers if you went to the arcade or had a PC.
1988:
Super Mario Brothers 2 (NES) [US Version]
Mega Man II (NES)
Super Contra (NES)
Metal Gear (NES)
1943 (NES)
Bionic Commando (NES)
Blaster Master (NES)
Bubble Bobble (NES)
Double Dragon (NES)
Guardian Legend (NES)
Ikari Warriors II (NES)
Life Force (NES)
Altered Beast (Arcade)
Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES) [Japan only]
Zelda II (NES)
Phantasy Star (Master System)
John Madden Football (PC)
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (PC)
Dragon Quest III (NES) [Japan]
So much good stuff…
1990:
Bonk’s Adventure (Turbographx 16)
Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES) [America]
Dr. Mario (NES/Gameboy)
Castlevania III (NES)
Crystalis (NES)
Double Dragon II (NES) [Everyone played this on NES]
Dragon Quest II (NES) [America]
Final Fantasy (NES) [America]
River City Ransom (NES)
Star Tropics (NES)
TMNT II Arcade Game (NES)
Mega Man 3 (NES)
Ninja Gaiden II (NES)
King’s Quest V (PC)
Commander Keen (PC)
Super Mario World (SNES) [Japan]
F-Zer0 (SNES) [Japan]
Railroad Tycoon (PC)
Ultima VI: The False Prophet (PC)
Wing Commander (PC)
Smash TV (Arcade)
I couldn’t keep up with all the good stuff. I don’t think I’ve still caught up with this year.
1991:
Civilization (PC)
Street Fighter II (Arcades)
Neverwinter Nights (PC)
Road Rash (PC)
Wing Commander 2 (PC)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
Super Mario World (SNES) [America]
Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES) [Japan]
Final Fantasy IV (SNES) [Japan]
Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)
Adventure Island II (NES)
Battletoads (NES)
Ikari III (NES)
Metal Storm (NES)
Micromachines (NES)
Ninja Gaiden III (NES)
Civilization and Street Fighter II? More genres building…
1992:
Mortal Kombat (arcades)
Ultima VII (PC)
Ultima Underworld (PC)
Kirby’s Dream Land (Gameboy)
Wolfenstien 3d (PC)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
Dune II (PC)
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Contra 3 (SNES)
Soul Blazer (SNES)
Star Control 2 (PC)
Birth of new game genres happened this year with Super Mario Kart, Dune II, Ultima Underworld and Wolfenstien 3d. Incredible 2d platformers were released then. Mortal Kombat’s release marked the big fighter genre rise. Ultima VII, you didn’t need MMORPGs (U7 would be the launching pad for the MMORPG genre).
1995:
Command and Conquer (PC)
Warcraft 2 (PC)
Phantasy Star IV (Genesis)
Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade)
Earthbound (SNES)
Rayman (Saturn)
Marathon 2 (On That Apple Thing)
Worms (PC)
Heroes of Might and Magic (PC)
Wing Commander IV: Price of Freedom (PC)
Descent (PC)
PC was where all the fun was at this time.
1997:
Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
Castlevania: Symphony of Night (PS1)
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Dungeon Keeper (PC)
MDK (PC)
Star Fox 64 (N64)
Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
Total Annihilation (PC)
Age of Empires (PC)
Dark Reign (PC)
Riven (PC)
Fallout (PC)
Tomb Raider II (PC)
Quake II (PC)
Hexen II (PC)
Ultima Online (Internet)
More PC awesomeness.
Out of all these years of gaming (and the ones I didn’t put up), I’d have to go with 1990. The reason why is that 1990 is where gaming fundamentally shifted from a developer era to a production era with Wing Commander being the microcosm of this shift. 1990 saw the American release of Super Mario Brothers 3 and Final Fantasy 1. I remember buying Mega Man 3 the DAY it came out.
1991 was also a very strong year. I bought Civilization the day it came out.
1990, 1991, and 1992 are the strongest years in gaming. Nothing can compare with those years due to all the genres they launched. If I had to pick one out of the three, it would be 1990 due to the release of Wing Commander (OMG, computers can DO THAT!?), release of Super Mario Brothers 3 and Final fantasy in the US, and hearing about the release of Super Mario World and SNES in Japan about the promise of a solid future. Since those three years, video games have focused entirely on production and failed to prove new things that video games can do.
I thought gaming would always get better and better from here on out. Instead, it began to stagnate and then began the slow decline. If it were not for the new genres made of RTS, 3d, and MMORPG, the decline would have occurred faster.
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