Fantastic range of new ips
Xmb is GOAT UI (but sluggish af)
Technical side of things was not the best
Xmb is GOAT UI (but sluggish af)
Technical side of things was not the best
Also, every damn AAA game looked the same, played the same and had that cringy military theme going on. Regenerating health, generic stock load outs, zombies or army mooks. I remember the discourse back then that people wanted to do away with boss fights cuz it wasn't realistic, lmfao. Truly a drab and boring time on the HD twins.
Not to mention so many genres were legit dead. Genres that were expected to show up on consoles too. I'm so glad the 8th generation corrected course.
Not to mention so many genres were legit dead. Genres that were expected to show up on consoles too. I'm so glad the 8th generation corrected course.
I remember attending a promo event for the PS3 in Tokyo before it released and getting excited, but ultimately the high price ("599 US dollars!") scared me off as a poor college student. Ultimately, this was the generation that put me off from gaming for several years. I never made the jump from PS2/Xbox to PS3/360. The ensuing Great Recession years didn't help, and neither did me graduating from college and trying to become an "adult." I mostly experienced the generation through limited contact with friends' 360s and Wiis, and didn't get back into gaming until the Wii U and 3DS released.
Looking back, part of me feels like I missed out on a core part of gaming history, but at the same time, I'm not all that nostalgic for that era of games. I'm more nostalgic for the generation that came before, and games today are better in (almost) every way.
Looking back, part of me feels like I missed out on a core part of gaming history, but at the same time, I'm not all that nostalgic for that era of games. I'm more nostalgic for the generation that came before, and games today are better in (almost) every way.
A gen full of great games that was let down by hardware.
It's also when the 'why not just play it on a PC?' thing really came into full force imo, and I always preferred when there was more of a divide between console and PC gaming.
It's also when the 'why not just play it on a PC?' thing really came into full force imo, and I always preferred when there was more of a divide between console and PC gaming.
During the same generation we had Assassin's Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelation, 3, Black Flag. They were all AAA games. That's 6 AAA games from a new franchise during the same generation. That's impossible today. You are lucky if you get 2
Probably my least favorite gen, but that's not to say there weren't enough great games. It felt like a bridge-gen between the old and the new, where game design was getting over-simplified and bland/colorless. I think we've hit a decent balance at this point; not quite as interesting as older gens, but some more intricate design than that gen and thank Christ color has been rediscovered.
I like how people still remember this about the 360. But YLOD is ignored, and all the BC PS3s are either dead or ticking time bombs.
Big reason is the need for reballing the chips. Like the RROD lol. No, it ain't the capacitors.
I got RROD and YLODd. MS repaired it free. Sony asked for $150.
Absolutely LOVED that gen. Agree with all your points as it did bring me back to gaming (took a break in HS/college with the exception of N64 nights here and there). Xbox 360 and Live were amazing! There were also tons of great group games with the WIi and Rockband era and fun couch co-op games. I didn't use my PS3 much and honestly think I could have done without it (bought it Day1). Alos loved the DS and PSP. Played those sooo much as well. Haven't had the same feeling since tbh.
I liked pretty much everything except the PS3 since it was such a steep downgrade from the PS2 in most of the things I cared about (even removing BC past launch). DS was timeless, 360 and Wii had a lot of good games, and even if several of the games I wanted to play were either hard to find or not translated at the time it still had a lot of good stuff.
I bought 360 first and never had RROD (many of my friends did). I bought my first ps3 when Modern Warfare dropped. It stopped reading discs after a week. I was so pissed
One of my favourite generations.
The Dawn of HD gaming, mainstream uptake of console multiplayer games and I loved the fact that so many people used their headsets on Xbox Live.
Was interesting from a tech perspective as well with HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and the innovations of the wiimote and Kinect.
PlayStation hack, 360 RROD and PS3 YLOD all sucked though.
The Dawn of HD gaming, mainstream uptake of console multiplayer games and I loved the fact that so many people used their headsets on Xbox Live.
Was interesting from a tech perspective as well with HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and the innovations of the wiimote and Kinect.
PlayStation hack, 360 RROD and PS3 YLOD all sucked though.
Underrated. Presaged the enshittification of video games, but every such inflection comes at the apogee. Dead heat competition between the three manufacturers, tons of 3rd party games, PC gaming highly accessible and not yet drowning in DRM.
I have a lot of nostalgia, but based on the software alone, you can't convince me it wasn't a high watermark for the industry. The decline of Japanese publishing on console is a downside, but even then, they were doing just fine on Wii and handheld.
I have a lot of nostalgia, but based on the software alone, you can't convince me it wasn't a high watermark for the industry. The decline of Japanese publishing on console is a downside, but even then, they were doing just fine on Wii and handheld.
One of my favorite generations
The PS3 was so ahead of it's time. I love the UI, themes, the exclusives and the console aesthetic itself
I had so much to play that I didn't bother looking to the 360 catalog (and only played later on One X/PC), I bought a 360 a few years ago to check it out but sold it later on
I also bought a Wii after the generation ended. I had fun but it felt to casual for me.
The handhelds are awesome. The Ds was so unique and the PsP felt like and extension to the ps2/ps3 with similar UI, cool ports and exclusive games
The PS3 was so ahead of it's time. I love the UI, themes, the exclusives and the console aesthetic itself
I had so much to play that I didn't bother looking to the 360 catalog (and only played later on One X/PC), I bought a 360 a few years ago to check it out but sold it later on
I also bought a Wii after the generation ended. I had fun but it felt to casual for me.
The handhelds are awesome. The Ds was so unique and the PsP felt like and extension to the ps2/ps3 with similar UI, cool ports and exclusive games
I loved it at the time. It's hard for me to look back fondly on it as it really feels like where capitalism finally took over control of the industry.
The HD twins definitely had some teething issues and you can see signs of where things were trending which led us to today, but there are a lot of unique titles that came out during that time and I've become nostalgic for 10-12 hour linear experiences. I'm still making my way through the portable stuff.
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It absolutely was the start of the current modern woes of the industry, along with some horribly-aged aspects (lack of color, grittiness, edginess, etc), but damn if it still doesn't have some of my favorite series or individual games.
Gears of War
Mass Effect
Mario Galaxy
Twilight Princess
Assassin's Creed
Battlefield Bad Company (and BF3 of course)
The World Ends With You
It was also the first generation where I really got to experience online play. Xbox Live was so amazing to me at the time, and I probably spent a little too much time playing, but it was fun.
Plus it was the rise of the indies, where it was feasible for very small devs to release games to a large audience thanks to digital distribution. Summer of Arcade was amazing.
The DS and PSP were also great systems. I personally preferred the DS and I'd probably consider it my favorite handheld of all time. So many weird unique games you couldn't find anywhere else.
Gears of War
Mass Effect
Mario Galaxy
Twilight Princess
Assassin's Creed
Battlefield Bad Company (and BF3 of course)
The World Ends With You
It was also the first generation where I really got to experience online play. Xbox Live was so amazing to me at the time, and I probably spent a little too much time playing, but it was fun.
Plus it was the rise of the indies, where it was feasible for very small devs to release games to a large audience thanks to digital distribution. Summer of Arcade was amazing.
The DS and PSP were also great systems. I personally preferred the DS and I'd probably consider it my favorite handheld of all time. So many weird unique games you couldn't find anywhere else.
I look back fondly on the generation but it had a lot of issues when it comes to the consoles. For handhelds I only had a DS and it was one of the all time greats.
With the consoles, I was there day one for the Wii waiting outside Walmart at 5 in the morning with my dad to get one. Had a blast during the launch window with Wii Sports, Twilight Princess, and Excite Truck. Felt like momentum kind of died early on as I was pulled towards the 360 and my console died shortly after Brawl launched. I didn't get a replacement console until Skyward Sword came out and I loved that, but the Wii is kind of a blind spot for me. It has a library I want to revisit, but I did make an effort to play a lot of the first party stuff I wanted to.
The Xbox 360 was my primary platform for most of this generation. I loved the games and memories with it. Halo 3, Gears of War, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, all great games I played with friends and family. Xbox Live was an awesome service and all my friends and I would log in after school. I also got into RPGs during this generation with games like Mass Effect and Fallout. The hardware was so bad though. I got my 360 in September 2007 and I have never had so many issues with a consumer electronic device. First unit had the red ring, another stopped working with wireless controllers, the graphics died on the third, and my last 360 stopped reading discs. Just an absolute piece of shit. If Microsoft didn't replace each of these for free I would have written them off forever.
I got a PS3 in 2011 as I wanted a Blu-ray player and it was a pretty good gift. Introduced me to a bunch of series I never played before and the slim model was reliable. Also really enjoyed the XMB. Performance in some games was really rough though, especially in third party games.
I like all 3 consoles a lot but issues with hardware reliability and performance negatively impact some views I have. Overall though it was a solid generation. Not my favourite but it's good. At the very least all 3 consoles had a unique "vibe" to them and offered something different.
With the consoles, I was there day one for the Wii waiting outside Walmart at 5 in the morning with my dad to get one. Had a blast during the launch window with Wii Sports, Twilight Princess, and Excite Truck. Felt like momentum kind of died early on as I was pulled towards the 360 and my console died shortly after Brawl launched. I didn't get a replacement console until Skyward Sword came out and I loved that, but the Wii is kind of a blind spot for me. It has a library I want to revisit, but I did make an effort to play a lot of the first party stuff I wanted to.
The Xbox 360 was my primary platform for most of this generation. I loved the games and memories with it. Halo 3, Gears of War, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, all great games I played with friends and family. Xbox Live was an awesome service and all my friends and I would log in after school. I also got into RPGs during this generation with games like Mass Effect and Fallout. The hardware was so bad though. I got my 360 in September 2007 and I have never had so many issues with a consumer electronic device. First unit had the red ring, another stopped working with wireless controllers, the graphics died on the third, and my last 360 stopped reading discs. Just an absolute piece of shit. If Microsoft didn't replace each of these for free I would have written them off forever.
I got a PS3 in 2011 as I wanted a Blu-ray player and it was a pretty good gift. Introduced me to a bunch of series I never played before and the slim model was reliable. Also really enjoyed the XMB. Performance in some games was really rough though, especially in third party games.
I like all 3 consoles a lot but issues with hardware reliability and performance negatively impact some views I have. Overall though it was a solid generation. Not my favourite but it's good. At the very least all 3 consoles had a unique "vibe" to them and offered something different.
I feel like the DS changed everything, and you can kinda draw a straight line from it to the iPhone to the App Store to how mobile gaming has evolved.
It also greatly expanded Nintendo's catalog for innovation and building franchises -- with something for everyone. It's also my favorite console ever.
It also greatly expanded Nintendo's catalog for innovation and building franchises -- with something for everyone. It's also my favorite console ever.
I found console games a bit uninspiring during that era between the grey-brown shooters and the Wii stuff -- I largely retreated to the DS and enjoyed a lot of games there.
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I don't know. I feel capitalism and the industry go hand in hand. From the US video game crash, to Nintendo and NES with their insane practices, so Sony overtaking Nintendo WW by offering cheaper media and better development terms with the PS2. To the Dreamcast failing.
In terms of dev cost, yes that was when it started to get crazy due to HD development.
I really miss the DS, particularly the Lite. What an incredible console, tons of great games, all portable. Like literally in your pocket in 2 secs portable.
Switch bumped things up and broadened the available games, which matches my wants nowadays. But I still miss that hand sized, bite-sized experience.
7th Gen as a whole was pretty fun though. And gave me my first failed console ylod on my ps3. Ha classic.
Switch bumped things up and broadened the available games, which matches my wants nowadays. But I still miss that hand sized, bite-sized experience.
7th Gen as a whole was pretty fun though. And gave me my first failed console ylod on my ps3. Ha classic.
I call it the raise of Sony first party studios and IPs… gosh they pumped out one great game after the another.
ND alone pumped out 4 games, and don't even make me start on the INCREDIBLE job Insomniac did with Resistance and R&C games.
ND alone pumped out 4 games, and don't even make me start on the INCREDIBLE job Insomniac did with Resistance and R&C games.
It was a great generation because it was the first time I had a job and could afford to buy stuff, considering I had no bills. Granted I was only working part time for basically minimum wage, but a lot of it just went into games. It was also the first time I had every system in a generation.
360 became my main console for everything, which was a huge pivot for me from the usual Nintendo systems, but the Wii just wasn't doing it for me overall other than a few games and the VC. I experimented with different genres during that time and was picking up a lot of new releases to play co-op online with friends, it was great. After that gen a lot of that stuff kind of fell off though, unfortunately. Ultimately though I'd say the 360 and DS were my favorites of that gen.
360 became my main console for everything, which was a huge pivot for me from the usual Nintendo systems, but the Wii just wasn't doing it for me overall other than a few games and the VC. I experimented with different genres during that time and was picking up a lot of new releases to play co-op online with friends, it was great. After that gen a lot of that stuff kind of fell off though, unfortunately. Ultimately though I'd say the 360 and DS were my favorites of that gen.
Yeah, it's where companies started to monitize more aggressively and were experimenting with the different approaches that led us to where we are now. Horse armour, season passes and the attempt to get money from preowned games etc The industy really exploded in popularity around this time and as with all things, when it gets big, it gets worse.
I thought it was the last truly exciting console generation where each system had unique features and exciting exclusive things to experience. After that, every system became the same, with the same controllers, same looks, same games, same services.
It also was IMO the largest visible technological leap across generations.
It's also important to note that it was the final console and handheld generation before the smartphone era, so none of these systems were tainted by shady mobile game strategies until the very tail end.
It also was IMO the largest visible technological leap across generations.
It's also important to note that it was the final console and handheld generation before the smartphone era, so none of these systems were tainted by shady mobile game strategies until the very tail end.
this was the generation that got me back into gaming for good. I didn't purchase a N64 or PS1. Only got a GameCube at the end of its lifecycle. I had a GBA, but barely used. The DS and Wii became my social life for me and my friends. So much so, their children ask us about video games.
360 was awesome, also my one of my favourite console experiences when it comes to UI & UX.
Loved my PSP and Wii. It was a very active generation for me, I felt a pull towards owning multiple devices.
Loved my PSP and Wii. It was a very active generation for me, I felt a pull towards owning multiple devices.
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Loved my Xbox 360 and its fantastic online infrastructure.
Tolerated my PS3 whenever I had to use it for something like MGS4 or Uncharted. It just felt like a shitty version of the 360 where everything was slower and more annoying. The 7.1 PCM audio was very nice though.
Mixed opinions on my Wii. Great for homebrew, but pretty much every good Wii games would have been better with normal controls.
Tolerated my PS3 whenever I had to use it for something like MGS4 or Uncharted. It just felt like a shitty version of the 360 where everything was slower and more annoying. The 7.1 PCM audio was very nice though.
Mixed opinions on my Wii. Great for homebrew, but pretty much every good Wii games would have been better with normal controls.
PS3 was a fantastic Blu-Ray player and I used mine as my main media hub despite at one point requiring a disc for Netflix because of a deal Netflix struck with Microsoft. Netflix on the Wii also required a disc and there were even PS2 versions of the disc in some territories.
Not the fondest of memories overall even if I spent tons of time on it, especially once I got a PS3. But in general the chief problems were:
-Wii having extra long droughts and generally unappealing first party titles for me mostly around their "blue ocean" strategy
-Xbox 360 having generally unappealing games mostly focused on shooters
-The PS3 had many more appealing titles in its exclusive library but the performance of the console was wanting.
-Never had a PSP
-DS was fantastic and my favorite handheld. I steered clear of any game that used 3D, though, I couldn't stand the horrible resolution and framerates of the small handheld. Luckily there were tons of really high quality 2D games with gorgeous pixel art on there. I consider it one of the last great 2D consoles where major developers and publishers were putting out games in 2D
Performance overall that generation was pretty bad with many games struggling to hit 30 fps and many games under 720p. Games that did hit that resolution could also have grimy textures and poor anti aliasing solutions. All in all just a pretty bad time for image quality. And that's just Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii had it even worse with sub-HD being the standard.
A positive of the poor performance of consoles is that PC was king during this time. A midrange PC you put together for cheap could run laps around anything the consoles could give, usually at 1080p. Spend a bit more and you could easily lock your games at 60fps too. The barrier of entry was far lower for much better results than consoles. These days the "ceiling" is higher with 4k, HDR and VRR that makes framerates higher than 60 look phenomenal but it's far more expensive to get to that level of fidelity and you get busted implementations on major game releases more frequently.
-Wii having extra long droughts and generally unappealing first party titles for me mostly around their "blue ocean" strategy
-Xbox 360 having generally unappealing games mostly focused on shooters
-The PS3 had many more appealing titles in its exclusive library but the performance of the console was wanting.
-Never had a PSP
-DS was fantastic and my favorite handheld. I steered clear of any game that used 3D, though, I couldn't stand the horrible resolution and framerates of the small handheld. Luckily there were tons of really high quality 2D games with gorgeous pixel art on there. I consider it one of the last great 2D consoles where major developers and publishers were putting out games in 2D
Performance overall that generation was pretty bad with many games struggling to hit 30 fps and many games under 720p. Games that did hit that resolution could also have grimy textures and poor anti aliasing solutions. All in all just a pretty bad time for image quality. And that's just Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii had it even worse with sub-HD being the standard.
A positive of the poor performance of consoles is that PC was king during this time. A midrange PC you put together for cheap could run laps around anything the consoles could give, usually at 1080p. Spend a bit more and you could easily lock your games at 60fps too. The barrier of entry was far lower for much better results than consoles. These days the "ceiling" is higher with 4k, HDR and VRR that makes framerates higher than 60 look phenomenal but it's far more expensive to get to that level of fidelity and you get busted implementations on major game releases more frequently.
PC ports also got a lot better around this time as well and things like XInput making controller support really easy on the consumer side.
Playing online Halo3 and Gears on 360 was one of my favorite gaming experiences. God I miss being 14 sometimes
yeah it was. i think it probably also was the gen were people really started to get exposed to retro gems that were pretty forgotten about-- especially on the retro front.
The visual leap of that gen is maybe comparable with DC and earlier consoles and I think the same could be said about the 8th gen with 7th gen feeling like it had more AAA games.
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I forgot about that too, Xinput standardizing controller support was huge. Proper controller support used to be a real crapshoot back in the day.
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The Wii VC was massive here.
Especially with TG16/PCE.
First time I played Rondo due to that.
You can see the retro interest in TG16/PCE physical games and chart against the Wii and it's a perfect correlation haha.
This is going to sound weird, but I have a mini rant.
Until that generation, every game system felt like it had a certain community or ecosystem. An identity. You were excited about your system. Every system has tons of diehard "fanboy/girls" but it's kind of the last generation where it felt like every system had it's own community (for better or much much worse). And I always had all the systems, with the exception of the Genesis/SNES generation (I had a Sega), so I never EVER had any diehard loyalty to ANY of them. But I also recognized that I LOVED these systems for their communities and gimmicks and identities, all the same, all seperately.
It was the last of the really die hard console wars, which should be a good thing but it felt like it sucked some of the oxygen out of the room when it faded into the shadows.
Maybe it was just the last of us that grew up in the heat of the 90s/early 2000s console wars growing up, but since that first year of the Xbox 360, all three major system have felt more sterile. I feel like they were trying so hard to make games part of everyone's entertainment center that they ended up succeeding. Your gaming system is now just an appliance, like a home stereo system or BluRay player*.
TL:DR: Like, they wanted you to consider your Playstation an important part of your home and they succeeded. But I don't love my TV. I don't love my stove. But I used to love my game systems and now they're just a thing that helps me play games and I kind of miss the old days.
*I will make an exception for Nintendo. I feel like Nintendo continues to have these kinds of love affairs with fans, even when those love affairs are kind of disappointing and lacking, like say the Wii U.
Until that generation, every game system felt like it had a certain community or ecosystem. An identity. You were excited about your system. Every system has tons of diehard "fanboy/girls" but it's kind of the last generation where it felt like every system had it's own community (for better or much much worse). And I always had all the systems, with the exception of the Genesis/SNES generation (I had a Sega), so I never EVER had any diehard loyalty to ANY of them. But I also recognized that I LOVED these systems for their communities and gimmicks and identities, all the same, all seperately.
It was the last of the really die hard console wars, which should be a good thing but it felt like it sucked some of the oxygen out of the room when it faded into the shadows.
Maybe it was just the last of us that grew up in the heat of the 90s/early 2000s console wars growing up, but since that first year of the Xbox 360, all three major system have felt more sterile. I feel like they were trying so hard to make games part of everyone's entertainment center that they ended up succeeding. Your gaming system is now just an appliance, like a home stereo system or BluRay player*.
TL:DR: Like, they wanted you to consider your Playstation an important part of your home and they succeeded. But I don't love my TV. I don't love my stove. But I used to love my game systems and now they're just a thing that helps me play games and I kind of miss the old days.
*I will make an exception for Nintendo. I feel like Nintendo continues to have these kinds of love affairs with fans, even when those love affairs are kind of disappointing and lacking, like say the Wii U.
Xbox 360 was absolutely dominant in the USA for multiplayer at one point and it's shocking to see how quickly things changed the next generation. I loved Xbox for multiplayer and loved the Playstation for the beginning of their prestige AAA single player era. The Wii was a neat diversion but I truly hated the controls. Introduction of the virtual store was crucial for how games are done today. That was my favorite part of the Wii.
We had some all time games in this era
Bioshock
Call of Duty MW
Mass Effect
Last of Us
Wii Sports
Uncharted
Forza Horizon
We had some all time games in this era
Bioshock
Call of Duty MW
Mass Effect
Last of Us
Wii Sports
Uncharted
Forza Horizon