The Video Game Critic

I've just read an interesting (old) debate on Atari Age about the classification of console generations.

So here's my thoughts on what identifies a console to a generation.

1st Gen: Non micro processor or dedicated systems and pre ROM carts.

2nd Gen: This generation seems to cause the most debate. Classing the Channel F and Studio II as competitors to the likes of the 5200 and Colecovision initially seems ludicrous.
But I do agree with the Wikipedia definition, because there are (for me) two things that link them together.
The US crash more or less wiped out all the consoles at the same time and more importantly the gameplay style is generally across all the systems 'play for high score' arcade style games, also none of the 2nd gen consoles seem to be able to scroll very well. This is why I would also class the SG-1000 as 2nd gen despite being released the same time as the NES.

3rd Gen: Smooth scrolling and 'winnable' games.

4th Gen: Evolution of the 3rd gen with more graphical tricks and number of sprites that can be thrown around.

5th Gen: The transition from 2D to 3D

6th Gen: Evolution of the 5th gen with better camera work and refinement of living worlds.

7th Gen: High Definition gen. Eye popping graphics and a generation of controller experimentation. And of course online gaming becomes a mainstay this generation.

8th Gen: Evolution of the 7th gen. Now bigger worlds no longer confirmed to 'corridors' and view limiters.

What makes a generation to you ? Do you agree with Wikipedia's definition's ?

I'll keep it really simple. I'm going to spell out what console I played the most during that particular generation. Years later I would try out something else but from a time to play ratio - that's what I think of for the most part.

1st Gen - Pong a.k.a. before my time
2nd Gen - Atari 2600 - my first console (or my dad's technically)
3rd Gen - NES - run to the right, jump, good times
4th Gen - SNES - run to the right, jump, shoot, fly, explore in much better graphics
5th Gen - N64 and Playstation - 3D fun
6th Gen - Dreamcast, Xbox - Better than the arcade and online!
7th Gen - Xbox 360, Wii - Best controller ever and some awesome tennis matches
8th Gen - Wii U, PS4 - offline tv play is pretty sweet

This is an interesting topic my friend.

Since the topic is 'video game generations' and not consoles, it opens it up. Wikipedia includes portables with consoles, but little else. Also, like an evolutionary tree, there are side branches. I will use 7 groups. Some things like the Vectrex are evolutionary oddballs.

1 Genesis (or Stone Age): Mainframe games, simple type in games, early arcade, and IC machines. Not just Pong but Hunt the Wumpus, Colossal Cave, Space Wars, Zork, Mattel handheld games.

2 Golden Age: The explosion of gaming into the culture. Early ROM cart processing home systems that may or may not have hardware sprites. Arcade machines up until Dragons lair. LCD portables. 8 bit computers, complex text adventures, ports of arcade games. Pac Man fever. Many books for game reviews and learning programming to share homemade games.

3 Silver 8 Age (or age of NES): Consoles dominant home gaming.Arcade ports lose favor to platformers. Gamepad over joystick. Scrolling over paging. Nintendo ascendant. Mario and the NES become part of US culture. Password saves. Many NES themed books.

4 16 bit Age: Sprites and 2d gaming. Arcade revival with fighting games. ROM Handhelds begin. PC gaming begins with Doom. Genesis vs SNES. Battery saves. Point and click adventures. Video review magazines popular.

5 Early 3D: Bumpy transition from ROM carts to CD, from sprites to polygons, digital to analog controllers. Arcade revival continues. Sega declines. PC gaming rises strongly. Platformers decline. Last lightgun games. Video game magazines decline to single game guides. Usenet and webpages on games.

6 Silver 3D: 3D and optical media solidly in place. First person shooters. Decline of arcades. Sony and MS ascendent. Wii fad. Handhelds are strong with the DS. Analog thumbsticks. Online text reviewers like Video Game Critic and Gamefaqs thrive.

7 Modern Age: HD, online, digital distribution, dlc, etc. Convervence of PC and console gaming. Mobile gaming. You tube reviews and lets play. Indie games come back.

scotland wrote:Since the topic is 'video game generations' and not consoles, it opens it up. Wikipedia includes portables with consoles, but little else. Also, like an evolutionary tree, there are side branches.

You truly are an asset to the forums Scotland. Lots of your posts get me thinking and provoke a response. Enjoyed your concurrent run of media evolution with the generations and something I had not considered previously.

I once tried to fit home computers into the established 'generations' like you refer to the arcade machines. But I found it difficult, the ZX Spectrum, C64, etc can easily pass into generation 2 or 3. Like pixelated genocide states in the ZX Spectrum book review topic, the systems started with Atari style games but managed to run Street Fighter 2, Castlevania later in their lifespans.