The GOLDEN AGE of Gaming (and it's not Modern Gaming)

[@CephlonMayngrum]

Video game magazines back in the 90s to early 2000s are severely missed

[@expio4257]

Let's not forget how great PC gaming was throughout the 90's and 2000's. Wolf 3D, Doom, Quake, Half Life 1 and 2, Age of Empires, Civilization, Starcraft, Counter Strike, Republic Commando, Unreal Tournament, C&C, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, etc. etc. Great times. Also Newgrounds and early KZbin wre places were anyone could share their passion for games through music, art, animations, even their own fan games on NG! Hell, even mobile games were good! Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Where's My Water?, etc. We truly were living at the height of an industry and we didn't even know it.

[@TheBorkka]

I don't really think those games are that great. They were just first and it was interesting and new.

[@C.A._Old]

this era truly golden era. until 2010s start everythings went wrongs. greed times.

[@mikeygee7]

This….this is your opus magnus Palski. We used to spend nights at our friends house to play video games together. I mean…CMON PEOPLE. I miss it all 😢❤😂

[@MCoconut97]

Every weekend at one point in time..

[@TBoneTony]

There was a person I read about who held the World Record for the Most Games ever Collected. He stopped collecting games when the XBox One and PS4 started in their release year. He simply stopped collecting games and not sure if he sold portions of his collection due to life expenses or something else in his life, but lets say he perhaps had the smart idea to get out when the games industry started to get rotten.

[@GarrettisFarret]

Basically, why I hate capatlism, video essay.

[@TheTacticalRedpill]

You could just stop buying the games. But you won't, and then you'll complain you bought a bad product.

[@syscruncher]

For me, it was when game consoles went online that marked the start of the end for gaming. My peak was being in a Quake clan and we met on the planetquake forum..no voice chat at all, I never even heard the voices of my clan mates. I still love the single-player experience and have long lost interest in online play…mainly because people suck and kill the fun.

[@LiberatedMind1]

I agree with your broad range 90 - 2010. But I could narrow it down to 96 - 06 as the best decade.

[@prismiemona]

Gen 5 and Gen 6 went by in that decade, everything about it was insane going from the rapid technological growth from the beginning of the decade to the end, and how nintendo took two L's in a row and managed to come out on top just afterwards

[@Demokirby]

I would say goldenage of 3d gaming is a more accurate term then.

[@hunterxgirl]

Golden age or not. Just listening to you and watching the gameplays is so nostalgic

[@HeyPalski]

I found myself just chilling and watching the clips while researching them. Makes me want to buy the old consoles and relive those games again. I just got Earthbound on my Switch and have been playing through that. Virtual consoles are a godsend.

[@pierrebeneby4120]

Yea so nostalgic!

[@cliffturbo2146]

The obsession of quick buck definitely killed the gaming industry from the inside out, especially when developers spoke out for how awful it is. It's clear as day that no one accepts it, but the higher-up keeps pretending that it is, which is why it's a good thing us gamers can just choose NOT to buy them and just find some actual good quality games. I am more of sixth and seventh gen kind of gamer and I notice that most remasters I find on current or last gen is from that era.

[@prismiemona]

"The obsession of quick buck definitely killed the gaming industry from the inside out" sounds like 1983 😭

[@ravajbains8672]

100% on the money, you've earned a sub

[@Rohnon]

When you started talkin about Game Boys, it brought a Tear to my Eye.

[@amalek.92]

Watched this with a sad happy smile.

[@Superbabycell_gt]

Atari Jaguar launched for $249.99… and the 3DO had WAYY more than just interactive movies lol. The first need for speed and gex are on there. Road rash, wolfenstein 3d, doom, shockwave, po’ed… the list goes on and on lol. Underrated system

[@chozochiefxiii3298]

2010 and beyond there's a small handful of games i enjoy, vs all the ones i love dating from the 90s-2010.

[@Zayshy]

I’ll agree yeah you deff can say that 90-2010, but when Xbox one came out with split screen like your able to play a game and tv or what ever at the same time…that was peak gaming 😂😂

[@christianpoint0888]

You have great content !

[@legokingcandy]

Wii u era was pretty goated. Had and have alot of fun on that sucker to this day

[@GreyOatmeal]

Great vid!

[@gabrielf9296]

For me, the golden age of gaming (online) was from 2015 to like 2019, we had battlefield 1, back ops 3, Overwatch, Titanfall 2, Rainbow six siege, Rocket league among others and the community was growing and there was hype, gaming may now be more mainstream tnx to the pandemic, but I believe it was all thanks to this years of Golden age of online multi-player gaming

[@gabrielf9296]

And also was right before or just about the time we were getting micro transactions

[@amit_patel654]

For me, the golden age was when the N64 and PS2 dropped. So many great memories.

[@nelsonpun]

i think people our age just think this because thats when we played the most video games. When we were young and we could. I imagine people right now who are 13 will think that about this time period.

[@snapkrr]

I don’t know the problem with modern day gaming is greedy lazy developers who aren’t putting much effort into their products because they know people will buy it anyway

[@snapkrr]

Generally more creativity was allowed and held in the past you can find that same kind of creativity these days with indie releases but very rarely with bigger developers

[@hrthrhs]

What I've realised about graphics in games is you get used to it. Best and recent case scenario for me was switching from a 1080p TV to a 4k TV. A few months later I switched back to the 1080p and then again back to the 4k and after about 2 weeks of each TV the "wow factor" of the 4k was gone and the "eww factor" when switching back to the 1080 disappeared also. It got me realising how useless high resolution gaming is because you just get used to it, especially useless if other aspects of the game are subpar such as story or art design. Those things matter so much more for enjoyment than high res.

[@archive3do769]

"interactive movies" picture shows like one 'movie'. 3do introduced the first texture mapped racing game to the home market and literally had the first need for speed in full 3d. Devs from 3do games would go on to program stuff like tony hawk pro skater. Your perspective on it is just objectively wrong

[@hiquegpx]

it is criminal that there was no mention to the castlevania franchise

[@fizzyfuzz5878]

Damn he mentions the Atari Jaguar and even the 3DO, but not the Dreamcast. Which had a great, diverse library and walked so the Xbox could run with it being the first with built in online. To me while seventh gen had some nice tech and online expansion, the games themselves were getting less daring and diverse then what came before.

[@optchurch1402]

Yup this vid is right, I have fond memories of going on holiday taking my og gamboy with Pokémon blue and keeping me entertained. Owning a sega megadrive and then the ps1 which blew my child mind. To getting a gameboy advance playing sonic advance, Pokémon and yugioh. Getting a GameCube with sonic adventure 2 and super smash melee. Then playing timesplitters 1 round my mates house on his ps2 to me eventually getting a ps2 and playing timesplitters trilogy, half life, red faction, tekken tag, burnout 3. My sister getting me halo 2 for me to use on her Xbox for my 14th birthday and instantly becoming a fan and then getting doom 3 and half life 2, unreal championship. Then getting a 360 playing burnout revenge, oblivion, dead or alive 4, halo 3, bioshock, fear 1 and 2 while watching final fantasy advent children and listening to 2000s pop punk all on my psp. I could go on and on and on. Borderlands, left 4 dead. Star Wars Jedi outcast, Star Trek elite force, quake 4 and the original prey, time shift was a banger. I could go on and on, sims 2, quake, duke Nukem. Where do I stop?!

[@hepwo91222]

good vid, I would push back on a couple of genres though, open world games and the odd subgenre of "Souls" games are really good. Even though, yeah, patches, and DLC content, some can be really good. Witcher 3 has the best DLC where it could have been called Witcher 4, the From Software "Souls" games also often have really good DLC. I am usually not a fan of DLC, but those games nailed it.

[@HeyPalski]

Oh man Witcher 3 was one of my favorite games ever. You know it's funny because I actually have the Witcher DLCs sitting in my library and never played them lol. It's been so long since I played but I should definitely get back to it! Not sure which I should play first...

[@hepwo91222]

@@HeyPalski I think Hearts of Stone first as it uses mostly areas already in the base game and has a tighter narrative, then Blood and WIne which is an all new country and is like playing Wicher 4, its that expansive.

[@Cmoney01010]

Honestly goldeneye is still fun if you have a good stick still. Just need to switch to 1.2 control scheme. Plays way more similar to what we are now used to. Man this was such a magical period in gaming though. The world has never been the same once harambe, the linchpin of our world, was taken from us.

[@acidreighn]

CD-i came out same time as the 3DO/JAG/32X era.. replace CD-i /w TG-16. Also NeoGeo was insane, no one owned one because the price was just as insane as the graphics. (it was a literal arcade board in your home) You also couldn't buy them in stores. loved the vid

[@TBoneTony]

Golden Age for me, 1986 to 2016. (NES to PS3/PS Vita)

[@Jaxxon123]

I would say 1985 to about 2007-08.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

@@Jaxxon123 Prettymuch agreed , I remember when things started feeling worse and the years stopped being as stacked or groundbreaking , and If I'm looking at It In more of a hardcore purist way with no filler.. I could prob say overall 1986 - 2004/2005. 360's first 2 years up through 2007s COD4 launch still felt fresh and Innovative enough and still had some of that special generational leap feeling you used to be able to expect day 1 , with games In most genres still feeling raw and somewhat experimental/unorthodox playing like they took creative risks , but that was the last time before things started to feel too much like safe dumbed down corporate copycats and was also right before the greed and Incomplete releases/DLC/MTX really started taking off , the wow factor quickly left for me before 7th gen was even halfway over and never came back again for any generation , and It really has nothing to do with age or embellishing your childhood imo despite what some gamers say , it's about quality and an Industry at a specific time being at Its' most uncorrupted , just technologically advanced enough , artistic freedom capable peak. Back then there was no need to even have a mainstream or indie category because games were largely treated and marketed equally the same across the board , even the most niche games could get the same greenlit AAA budget and ad-push as established tried and true mass appeal IP , because nobody really knew what stuck for sure and losses could be afforded. The Industry was just big and advanced enough for anything to be created reasonably and consistently , and we as a gaming community weren't so shallow and conditioned to needing so much generic hyperrealism. I personally love how early 5th and 6th gen 3D game assets left so much up to our Imagination and how graphical styles appeared In this uncanny-valley , crudely real yet experimental prototype style , which had so much accidental character within It's showing of design limitations , and gameplay flaws/unpredictability you grew to love but didn't expect. Also a big part of gaming years getting weaker Is game development cycles now unrealistically out of control taking 3 - 5+ years on average for 1 AAA , which started with 7th gen.

[@Hokiebird428]

I call it the "over-corporate-ization" of games, not just micro transactions. The main concept that I think you alluded to but didn't say explicitly, is that games used to be made by people that love games, and love to play them. However, now AAA games are made by business interests that have never played a video game in their life. Maybe the "grunt" level developers love games, but the big wigs with all of the money and all of the steering power couldn't give a single shit if the finished game is fun, only that it makes money. Naturally, independent developers ("indie games") do not have these kinds of problems, simply because they aren't tied to and controlled by people that have never played video games. Put simply, once video games started to attract "investors" who only cared about a return on their investment, they went to absolute shit.

[@Bombastic_daioh]

Sonic Adventure not being mentioned when it revolutionized way more than any N64 game should be crime.

[@jhonhgamer123]

Bro you souding like a boomer is actuly good,man if i see a guy fully gear of in a 2000 online game,i would shit myself bc he propably grind for that armor and had skill to do it,now i see a guy fully gear up and i go like,bro why tf you bought this. But thankfully there are still games that dont do this microtransaction and rushed bullshit, like some indie games,that realy try to make a game because they want it to be good,not for being a cashgrab. I maybe 20 years and bearly experience this age,but i am thankfully i could,xbox 360 and playstation 2 was wild. I miss the golden days.

[@calmcauley877]

I think the 7th gen was the absolute pinikle, but also the start of the downfall

[@brandongovreau9218]

in the game Star wars battlefront I got Darth Vader stuck in the tentacle Pit

[@Demokirby]

If you say the Neo Geo sucks, you need to educate yourself boy.

[@awleyezonmee1]

Neo Geo was amazing most people just couldn't afford it , but when kids saw magazine pics or its games running it was clearly so far ahead of the other hardware all you could do was dream , or beg to get taken to the Arcade to play some of them.

[@freeagent2098]

Omfg, somebody else that AGREEES WITH ME. The Golden Age of Gaming was from the 90's and ended for me, personally, with the release of Diablo 3. Once Diablo 3 was released I knew it was over. Overwatch in 2016 was a small blip, but other then that everything since has been mostly trash.

[@starranko_music]

Yeah I agree with all of this. This is my last gaming gen

[@C.A._Old]

this era truly golden era. until 2010s start everythings went wrongs. greed times.

[@awleyezonmee1]

I'd say the gradual shift started after 2005 , or the last games that started development in 2005 but didn't come out till 2006 or 2007.

[@pierrebeneby4120]

I have been feeling this way about Yugioh Masterduel lately. 😮‍💨

[@ThousandairesClub]

*2011 was solid towards the end. spent 200 hours with Deus Ex Human Revolution, Saints Row The Third and Skyrim* 👌

[@xgrandchampx8916]

For me i would say it extended to 2015. Amazing titles from 10-15

[@MeelisMatt]

i remember seeing after only seen nes quality games Xena Talisman of Fate nindendo on some tv commercial. i was blown away

[@William5000000]

Depending on who you ask, people may say that late 2005 was the end of the golden era of gaming before the rise of HD and connectivity. Of course, it's all subjective. But different people can think otherwise. Chances of younger generation of people (starting from late 2005 with the Xbox 360 console releasing) wanting to visit the past are quite slim. It's just how it is. Older generation of people can try to convince them to do so, but in the end, it's all futile. Looking at gaming as a whole (as objectively as possible), I'd say the sixth generation of video game consoles is the last true gaming era. From seventh generation onward (since the release of Xbox 360), it changes. From ninth generation onward, it changes even more. ---------- Oh, and as for "Metal Gear Solid 4"...in terms of story and characters, it was a complete disaster, and it retroactively ruined the overarching narrative (especially "Metal Gear Solid 2" on its focus toward postmodernism). The game wasn't even supposed to be made, but overly spoiled fans sent death threats to the creator for the unnecessary direct sequel to "Metal Gear Solid 2" and the whole franchise. It is the biggest stain on the legacy of the series.

[@Stephen_Eee]

Modern day is more miss than hit, and given we're over 40 years into this industry there are ZERO excuses for a Crap/unfinished/dayone 150gb download before you play the game other than Pure Unbridled Corporate Greed....little studios without the greed make better stuff than bethesda/EA/or anything microsoft combined....Now we see "MicroSoft" really means 😂

[@pablieto-veganson]

in alot of ways and genres, medium and bigger indie studio's are picking up the slack. when i saw the rayman footage. it reminded me of pumpkin jack. there's also alot of promising stuff coming out. trepang2, selaco, system shock, the new stalker game. and you have outer wilds, a pokemon love letter called coromon. indie hits like hades, project zomboid, hell let loose.deep rock galactic, the many and some really good vampire surviver spin offs, dead cells FTL, valheim,parkitect, and that other roller coaster game, rocket league etc. alot genres are covered and new ones created. i know AAA gaming sucks right now, and they will keep sucking, like a cracked up hooker who just ran out of the last bag. but i've long since left any hype for AAA games in the past. lesser known sudio's have chance to shine. and older AAA games are dirt cheap. btw, this took way too long to type on my steam deck. wich is another space where alot of inovation is happening. it's not all doom and gloom. plus, these smaller games have way less political messaging than the recent buggy, unfinished AAA games of late aswell.

[@HeyPalski]

Those are definitely great indie games, especially DRG (personal favorite). But dude THANK YOU for brining my attention Coromon. Never knew it existed but it looks like an amazing homage to Pokémon. I'm so excited I might make my next video review on this game. But anyway, you're right it's not all doom and gloom. There are really some great things in the modern era but the problem is the AAA gaming industry dumping on these games that we used to love. MTX infecting any new multiplayer that comes out. Just leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Either way, I'm going to try out Coromon now haha.

[@pablieto-veganson]

@@HeyPalski that's awesome man. there are a couple channels i follow who make videos about lesser known but innovative games. like bluedrake42, mathschief, or splattercatgaming. i havn't played any triple a release in the past 7 years. nothing interests me

[@pablieto-veganson]

@@HeyPalski also, a great channel for a variety of games with alot of ps1 style crunchy graphics with coolnand sometimes weird gameplay, is alpha beta gamer. alot of games i discover there, some aren't even on steam yet.

[@pablieto-veganson]

@@HeyPalski and bluedrake42 does alot of innovative fps stuff, one of his latest vidoes is on this game called silica i think. a n upcoming fps rts hybrid game. innovative stuff. the channel mathchief. covers upcoming fps gaming with great visuals or just an interesting concept.

[@Analog-to-digital-cotinual]

I'm playing emulators more than my regular line up in my steam library these days, big budget triple A games today just don't hold a candle to the best efforts of developers & studios from the previous console generations every title is so mundane and empty i just can't get any enjoyment out of them after 40-60 hrs playtime

[@TheTacticalRedpill]

I blame the gamer base for still buying these games year after year.

[@bc454irocz89]

Good video, as a 34 yo boomer i agree with you

[@Zam432F]

2000-2013 The Golden Age. I’m 22. My first game was cod 3. The last good game I played was BO2. Halo Reach and BO2 were the games in which I was one of the best players in the world. Cod3-BO2 were actual good games. Every game after BO2 sucks cock. I really only got to experience 2 games at their peak(BO2, Halo Reach) the others I mentioned I played a little late a varying times. Gaming is not the same. The games are just worse and we all know it. Just like movies. Kids really think todays gaming is peak🤦🏻‍♂️ I feel bad for them.

[@Jaxxon123]

You missed the true Golden Age. I have video games older than you. By the time you came into consciousness, the Video Game Industry had already gone Tits Up.

[@Zam432F]

@@Jaxxon123 I disagree. I was gaming when gaming right when gaming peaked. And a little after the peak in the beginning of the decline. You were gaming when gaming was rising, not at its peak. Games before the 2000 are just too old and outdated. Compared to games released 2000-2012 it feels like your playing with a brick wall.

[@Jaxxon123]

@@Zam432F Any one worth their salt, will tell you the Golden Age of Video Games (factually and objectively) was the 1980s, 1990s and Early to mid 2000s in terms of the history of games. Now the discussion of a rise and peak is subjective and based on your age. That's not necessarily the same thing. A kid 20 years from now will say the same thing you're saying about games today. However, the Golden Age of Gaming, will (and should be) still be considered 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. Some real old timers would even include the 1970s.

[@anonymousperson8903]

Sounds to me like you are conflating the fall of your favourite game franchises with the decline of gaming as a whole. There are dozens of great games releasing every year, you just need to branch out.

[@Asadc1995]

Imo golden era was from beginning of 2013. Those times with not just pc gaming but also console with xbox 360 and ps3. Because those times games were a actual fun thing rather all this competitive bullshit

[@Westile]

11:38 "And the Wii would bring us some of Nintendo's best games." Why would you discredit yourself like this? Turn in your Gamer Card immediately, you're not one of us.

[@fittedgosling5426]

The ages are. 1972-1983, the primitive age. 1983-1991, the start. 1991-1995, the calm before the storm. 1995-2000, the start of 3d. 2000-2005, gaming awkward stage. 2005-2018 gaming Golden age, 2019-2022, gaming's dark age. 2023-now gaming's renaissance.

[@anonymousperson8903]

Yes, 2019-2022 was gamings dark age, with such trash games like Sekiro, Control, Death Stranding, Disco Elysium, Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter World, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Doom Eternal, FF7 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, TLOU Pt 2, Nioh 2, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, Monster Hunter Rise, Elden Ring, GOW Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Sifu and DOZENS more.

[@LCTesla]

2000s were the worst era to me; everything was so generic and bland. 2010s probably the best, especially in the indy sphere. the jury is out on the 2020s, but this particular year was strong with Satisfactory 1.0 and the Factorio expansion. 1990s were alright (most games crap with some notable exceptions), 1980s were too limited to even be called games on most occasions although the potential was already visible.

[@PARZ90s]

2000s was generic and bland but the 2010s wasnt? 2010s is when every game became realistic looking making every game look the exact same.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

​@@PARZ90sExactly.

[@Nigel222]

Yeah 1990 to 2010 does seem like the golden period of games.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

Prettymuch , but for cream of the crop golden age the timeframe could be narrowed alot smaller imo.

[@Elitekampfsocke]

So, I can’t really agree with that. Yes, your video has a true core. But it’s not the reality. I also started playing at the same time. But on PC. And oh man, I do not miss those times. In the '90s, it felt like every third game demanded a new PC from you. Well, for that, we had all the features that you console players had with the generation had 10 years earlier. But I remember things that don’t exist on PC today. Installing games and then having to insert the CD even though the game is playable without it. Something that didn’t exist on consoles back then. And this ‘the game needs a patch.’ Uh, that was normal on PC even before the internet existed. I vaguely remember that my first patches were sent by mail with a floppy disk (for a fee). Paying for a patch today? Unimaginable. But also those pesky CD keys that I always lost. And where I either had to buy the game again or search the internet for a no CD key, or key. How often I caught a virus that forced me to reinstall my system. Oh man, Steam is a blessing, I love it. “But the prices are different too. Games were more expensive back then. If you adjust the prices from back then for inflation, you will see. Games should actually cost around 160 euros. Therefore, I must say, if you want the time from back then, AAA games have to be significantly more expensive. But my most important point: ignore the AAA industry. Yes, it is lost. But honestly, do you want the AAA games of the 2010s? Then buy in the AA sector. You want those of the 2000s, then buy larger indie games. You want the AAA games of the 90s, welcome to the indie market. Where we used to have 5 to 10 games a year (of which by far not every one was good), today we have hundreds of games coming out every day. And they cost, adjusted for inflation, a fraction of what games used to cost back then. I say we are now in the golden age. Why? Because indie studios can create games that you needed million-dollar budgets for back then. If we ignore the AAA uniformity, we see a world of really good games that are better than anything we had back then.

[@brianleal87]

? Thanks for the uhh, depressing video of days long gone, reminding of the hellscape that gaming has become.....? Was I supposed to like this? Kinda depressing

[@HeyPalski]

You were supposed to like this and not get depression

[@TBoneTony]

The Demise of RARE after they were sold to Microsoft (after Kameo Elements of Power on the XBox 360) should have been the cannery in the coal mine warning to us gamers of what was going to happen and the Greed of some Publishers that would ruin Game Developers for that Wider Audience Money.

[@lorcan_92]

Update: Bro was not wrong indeed. Political BS Games are here, and they suck.

[@anonymousperson8903]

IMO the Ps4 and Ps5 eras are just as good as the Ps2 and Ps3 eras. Especially 2023 which is one of the best years in gaming ever. The positives far outweigh the negatives...

[@justojusto1910]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@anonymousperson8903]

@@justojusto1910 What?

[@RAKUNTU]

You kidding right?

[@anonymousperson8903]

@@RAKUNTU No?

[@Owen-v5p]

I grew up playing mafia one best game ever I still play today