Which Console Era Made the Greatest Leap?

[@Wazza555]

The leap from 2D to 3D will never happen again. We have the winner.

[@TeddyBelcher4kultrawide]

The 3do!

[@vincentjust5499]

Agree with this. First and only time we have added a dimension.

[@MarkColin-e5r]

I base it on how motivated I was to buy the next generation. NEVER have I been blown away by anything like the PS1.

[@98-carlmarkmarak22]

only 4D games will be as equal but its not possible

[@gamescoisaboa]

It should be VR.

[@truehare]

I love how Americans talk about The Big Crash of '83(tm) as if it were a global phenomenon which threatened to end videogames forever... while in reality, the rest of the world never stopped playing and making videogames at all. In Japan, the "crash" was simply known as the "Atari Shock", because that was the console that was really affected. Thing is, gaming survived mostly on consoles that didn't reach the USA for a while and on home computers, which never caught on there in the 80s. The Big Crash was only console-related (and mostly Atari-related), so gaming itself would never die just because of it. The third generation was a fantastic leap forward and the point in time when gaming really caught on, true; but it didn't "save" games, it just brought them back to consoles for good and reintroduced them to USA audiences.

[@CrooN19]

Exactly. In Europe everything was fine, the same goes for Japan as you have mentioned and other parts of the world. It should be named "USA Big Crash of 1983."

[@iCABALi]

but "NiNTeNDo SaVED ViDEO GaMES"

[@medmuscle]

I live in the US but I am fully aware of this. That popped in my mind when it got brought up. The Famicom was 2 years old and doing well in Japan when it was finally released here in 1985.

[@katherineberger6329]

@@iCABALiThey did, it’s just not in a way that was related to the crash. In Japan, the Diet in the mid-80s was set to put severe limits on the gaming industry that could have put Sega out of business and sent Nintendo running back to the toy industry. Super Mario Bros. changed all that. It is IMPOSSIBLE for Americans to contextualize how important Super Mario Bros. was in Japan - and it was very, VERY big here. We really could have had a world where video games were a niche hobby for home computer nerds forever.

[@meyers0781]

yup the '83 hyperbole that seems to be seen by American "historians" as being the doom that need to be saved by Nintendo was very funny indeed... especially the UK/EU computer development are still competitive and in Japan Microsoft made significant cultural impact by having their MSX OS being used by many computers including how Konami's best 80s videogames are on MSX. Also Nintendo's "leave luck to heaven" chance entails them needing to sell well overseas because domesticly Nintendo has sharp competition with Sharp (heh heh) X68000 (which was a niche but good step otherwise), NEC (which would be doomed by their missteps of PC-FX) and of course, SEGA (which places overseas reliance for success as well and managed to strike Nintendo multiple times)

[@MarkColin-e5r]

I am 59 and lived through it all. I have consoles from every one of these generations and gaming is a big hobby of mine. I TOTALLY agree with your ranking. Incredible video. I don't say this enough to creators, but thank you!!! this is impressive analysis.

[@rodneyabrett]

In my 50s so I pretty much experienced all of these, but the most impactful in terms of technological leap from the previous gen was the PS1. The 32-bit era had a sort of rocky start with the 3D0/Jaguar/FM Towns/32x but it really found its stride with the PS1 and that was the console that really defined that we were indeed in a paradigm shift in terms of going from sprites to 3d polygons. Then later the N64.

[@Riz2336]

I knew you were gonna mention the ps1, saturn, n64 era as number 1. I'm glad I was there for it man, it was glorious to see

[@tom18807]

It really was. My PS1 has a special place in my heart.

[@medmuscle]

Mario 64 blew me away with how 3D could be done. FInal Fantasy 7 was mind-boggling for its story and incredible soundtrack. What an amazing generation. I didn't have a Saturn back then, but I do now with most of the heavy hitters and lots of amazing imports. The Saturn did 2D better than the other 5th gen consoles. That generation was something else!

[@gentronseven]

It has to be number 1, nothing is even close. Unfortunately, the console games from that era are not very good. I say that as someone who spent my formative years with those games. I play way more SNES and NES games than N64, and I do play PS1 but only RPGs which aged fine. Early 3d controls on console were atrocious.

[@medmuscle]

@@gentronseven A few 5th gen 3D games were quite good, such as Mario 64, the Banjo games, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, Burning Rangers, the Crash Bandicoot games, etc. But, yes, lots of 5th gen games had tank controls, and each system had a wildly different controller. They were really trying to figure things out and there were lots of different ideas. I think that the Saturn aged the best when it comes to general game design since they largely stuck with 2D and the Saturn excelled with that, but the PS1 had so many great RPGs that makes it so fun.

[@simonn2045]

It was a time of innovation, when you look at the latest gen consoles they're almost identical, especially in controller style

[@richardbroad2848]

Going from my Sega Megadrive to N64 totally blew my mind.

[@katt-the-pig]

I'm surprised to see the 9th generation place above the 8th generation. I would've expected the opposite, given that the leap is so inconsequential that cross-gen games are prominent, and long development times have throttled the release of proper next-gen releases. Even Sony had a year where they were all "we've got nothing".

[@OutFreak28]

8th Gen sometimes feel so unnecesary. The machines didnt have enough power. It was a Gen where you couldn't compete with pc, the ps4 pro and xbox one x should have been the real launch consoles of the 8th gen

[@warderjack]

Strong agreed

[@Wiiwillrockyouup]

Unironically, the Series X made me think the current gen (9) was a big nothingburger. Finally got a PS5 recently and figured out what I've been missing out on. Using a Dualsense for the first time really made my jaw drop; If we get more physical feedback (rumble, triggers, etc) next gen, I'll eat my hat.

[@MarkColin-e5r]

8th and 9th gens both worthless.

[@UltimateGattai]

9th gen is so lacklustre, I don't think I'll ever buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X, although, I think that such a lacklustre consone gen has caused PC gaming to come to the forefront, we had more of a renaissance in PC gaming with the revival of old games (GOG Dream list) and handheld PCs like the Steam Deck.

[@danielmorley3690]

Honestly the ps2 era was by far the biggest leap, i remember being absolutely blown away by the graphics.

[@meyers0781]

especially pertaining to draw distance on 3D games particularly racing games

[@goldinho]

Seeing Mario 64 for the first time blew my mind!! we will never have that leap again.

[@mrm64]

I agree lol. I grew up with the 6th and 7th generation of games so those are my personal favorite eras. But come on, the leap from 2D to 3D is mind boggling. It can never be replicated again.

[@henry3397]

Idk why everyone is saying that lol. Yeah it was big, but going from an N64 to a 480p rendered Dreamcast is insanity

[@mrm64]

@henry3397 Yes it was, I agree the jump from Smash 64 to Melee was wild too lol. But again...bruh...we're talking almost two decades of flat, 2D sprites since the 70s, and then suddenly you're playing a Toy Story looking game.

[@trentjohnson5713]

Im a little puzzled as to why you would include the very first generation in this video at all if youre putting it in last place. Either dont include it in the list at all because there were no consoles before it to improve upon, or it HAS to go in first place, because the leap from nothing to something is infinitely more monumental than all the other leaps after that

[@84bombsjetpack23]

It's not a leap from nothing. There were tabletop games, board games, pen and paper, things like that.

[@Panchinator90]

​@@84bombsjetpack23hahaha pen and paper was infinitely better than placing translucent images over your TV to transform Pong because they couldn't do anything else😂

[@MrVariant]

@@84bombsjetpack23sure it is a leap from nothing. No tv 📺 not counting. Tons of stuff once regions aren’t locked.

[@VegasD702]

😂 nothing to something. I felt that 💯

[@jalapenoofjustice4682]

if the 5th generation gets credit for adding a third dimension, 1st generation should get credit for TWO dimensions. 2nd gen is also way too low - we went from basically just variations of pong to actual variety

[@bruceleeroy8302]

I think the most satifying leap was from the N64/PS1 to the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast was the first to do online play well and to have legit arcade ports that were as good, if not, better than the Arcade version

[@raydaypinball]

How was there not a single frame of a Rare game in this entire video

[@timothylewis2527]

Good video. I guess my only nitpicks would be that certain things arrived much earlier than this video would have people believe. Things like motion controls, CD storage, 3D games, and online play all appeared before the generations that made them standard. But this is a nice walk down memory lane and i still totally agree with the order.

[@medmuscle]

Yep. motion controls - NES had the Power Glove and the U-Force in Gen 3. 3D polygons - The Genesis/Mega Drive had Virtua Racing, the 32X also had Virtua Racing and had Virtua Fighter, and the SNES had Star Fox, Faceball 2000, and Stunt Race FX in Gen 4. CD storage - There was the TurboGrafx CD and Sega CD in Gen 4. online play - Saturn had a few online games in Gen 5, the Genesis/Mega Drive had an online game subscription service in Gen 4, and even the Famicom in Japan had limited online capability with being able to trade stocks and check game reviews way back in Gen 3 (although this isn't online gaming, it had online functions way back in the 80's in Japan, which is impressive and worth mentioning).

[@DannerBanks]

I'd vote for two eras. 1) The 3rd gen, going from Atari to NES, was absolutely revolutionary. The quality of NES games compared to Atari games is night and day. The NES introduced many franchises and game types that are alive today. As much as I love the SNES, all these games had their inception on the NES. 2) The 5th generation. Going from 2D to 3D was wild.

[@badshard09]

And the NES controllers were so much better than anything else that was previously out. That made a huge difference as well.

[@meyers0781]

SNES was so good that Nintendo themselves through GBA and DS/3DS captured the lightning two more times, especially how the best GBA and DS games usually are the 2D ones. That being said in some circles i think SNES was overrated to be the best ever (given its massive challenge by SEGA, NEC, and Sharp, the last two are in the domestic market), it's obviously PS2, or in case of Nintendo, GBA or DS/3DS (i would vote for Switch but back then there's very few service-based and microtransactions based games).

[@vicklaratips5062]

The sega dreamcast..and xbox 360

[@dadozygaming]

I grew up in the 3rd generation. Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System. I stopped buying video games around year 2020 because I own over 200 games I haven't even played. Why did I buy all those games that I will never play? Nobody knows. I'm doing my best to play at least 30% of my gaming library. Just yesterday, I finished the last PS2 game on my backlog. I'm excited to play my 7th generation backlog starting today.

[@meyers0781]

since like 2008 i have several unplayed DS games most of them are lost

[@wettuga2762]

The switch from 2D to 3D was definitely the greatest leap. I don't care if games were ugly, blurry and/or had bad control settings. Newer generations might have done it better, but they're just building on what was started by the the 5th generation consoles. What new leap has happened since then? VR? A gimmick rather than a leap.

[@inceptional]

I agree with you until you showed your ignorance of VR. I have to presume you haven't actually played a proper VR game, or at least not any of the true greats of the medium. VR is the next major paradigm shift in all of gaming and entertainment, just as going from 2D to 3D was the last example of this in gaming. And if you don't get that now, trust me, in a decade or so it will be so clear to you that you will no longer be able to deny it.

[@wettuga2762]

@@inceptional Did you see every gamer jumping on the 3D bandwagon? Yes, because it was a huge leap and the next great thing. Did you see every gamer jumping on the VR bandwagon? No, because it's still considered an expensive an very limited gimmick. Maybe it will improve and become accessible to everyone in the future, but for now it's just not "it". Try playing FPS games on it, or any games that require precision of movement, and let me know how that goes.

[@inceptional]

@@wettuga2762 VR is not mainstream, yet, but it's no more a gimmick than any other form of gaming. Anyone who thinks otherwise is very ignorant of what VR actually is, even now already, and certainly where it's going in the future. Again, I have to believe anyone saying that hasn't actually played VR and/or has a very limited idea of what VR is and what it can do. Have you actually played games like Half Life: Alyx, Beat Saber, RE4 VR on Quest, Face Your Fears, Gran Turismo 7 VR, Madison, Moss, Metro Awakening, Demo, Red Matter 2, or tried experiences like Skybox, Quill, EmuVR, etc? I can also play any retro games on my VR headset via emulation right now, and projected on a giant virtual screen inside a virtual cinema if I like, plus officially use an Xbox one controller with them too, which is more than playable. And when it comes to fps games, absolutely nothing even touches VR for instant aiming and ducking and dodging that's as close to replicating real life as you can get without actually doing it in real life. Have you even used VR and played an fps games with it? I can literally shoot people off to my side or even behind me without having to turn around to see where they are or duck behind a crate and reach up to blind fire for a pot shot or stick my hand around a corner and shoot without exposing any of the rest of my body, and about as intuitively as I could do in real life without looking at what I'm trying to shoot. Now try that via any other control method, where you can actually shoot something that's not where you're looking and with any sense of how close you're likely going to be to hitting them. It's like being Robocop. VR isn't mainstream, but it's far beyond any other mainstream gaming systems right now in terms of pretty much everything that makes playing games amazing, especially if you have a PC that can run your games at the highest settings. I mean, in terms of the experience, it's just not even close.

[@lDKJB]

​@@wettuga2762 honestly vr is definitely the next generational leap in terms of graphics and immersion. The only reason why a leap like the 2d to 3d area might not happen again is because technology is almost at its absolute limit. We literally only have vr as the next feasible way to go, because like I said, we're near the limit.

[@henry3397]

5th to 6th was the greatest. I don’t get the people saying 3D, I was impressed back then by the N64. But not as impressed as I am now when I boot up my Dreamcast in 480p after having playing my N64. The fact that happened in 3 years, it must be alien technology

[@Tek195]

2 massive leaps that stand out far beyond the rest 1) NES to Super Nintendo Went from little bitty characters to very basic two button type games to multiple buttons, games with much more depth graphically huge jump. Arcade ports were done quite well too, 3rd party games etc. that’s where proper gaming started not just extremely basic games. 2D gaming was pushed to its absolute limit. 2) SNES to PS1 Jump from 2D to 3D was a massive game changer for gaming it was so huge. The games & target audience was now older, teens & adults more than kids. The sound was so much better because of CD too. Those are the biggest imo all others are just graphical improvements with technology over time these two actually changed gaming.

[@michaels9917]

I shockingly agree with your take on the subject. Your reasoning and explanation for why you put each generation where you did really strengthened your case. A topic like this is highly subject to the cohort effect. I'm assuming we are around the same age due to our similar take on the topic.

[@MarkColin-e5r]

I agree. It's such damn good analysis. I have had every one of these gens and totally agree with this guy's ranking.

[@apemoon1731]

There was only a 'crash' in the US, not the rest of the world. Video games were going from strength to strength everywhere else.

[@rodolfocosta2503]

Me being a 1988 Baby, i experienced 2 Great Leaps in Videogame History, the 1st one was the transition from 2D to 3D and also the reason why my parents offered me a SegaSaturn to play DaytonaUSA and VirtuaFighter in Xmas 1995, cause it was considered the 1st 3D fighting game back then, the 2nd great leap was the transition from PS1 and SegaSaturn to DreamCast and PS2, cause the 3D models now already had face expression and more realistic animations, who has around my age surely remembers when Trailers were shown about Shenmue or The Bouncer for PS2 and people were hyped for all that, things are so different now, that magic/vibe is all lost, sad😌

[@alexhamilton-rq7ji]

Looking back I gotta say the xbox gamecube and ps2 era was the biggest leap, ps1 and n64 achieved 3d but they haven't aged the best (in terms of graphics, still alot of fun games to play though) but to this day more than 20 years after release I still find xbox/gc/ps2 games that genuinely impress me....hell look at DOA for original xbox, which was a launch title! I'm actually playing chaos theory for the first time right now on og xbox and yeah I'm genuinely impressed

[@guarapo66]

The leap from 2D to 3D is unmatched, play DOA for the ps1 you will see the core gameplay was already there, now compare the best fighting games from the 4th gen to the 5th gen and you will get the change was just too much , I remember going back to soul edge on the ps1 after playing the hell out of soul calibur on the GameCube and I was amazed (again) on how ahead of it’s time it was in the mid 90s , I still to this day prefer bloody roar 2 con the ps1 to the GameCube version. A bump in graphics just can’t compare with changing to a whole new dimension

[@kingbullyrock8739]

@alexhamilton-rq7ji You're wrong and you are just looking back at the PS2 and GameCube era with nostalgia glasses. The greatest leap in gaming since the 1970's has been the jump from 2D to 3D gaming. Go and play "Super Mario World" on the Super Nintendo and then go play "Super Mario 64" on the Nintendo 64. The difference between the 2 games are light years apart.

[@CREEPERHEAD800]

@@kingbullyrock8739 even i agree with them and i wasn't even alive then

[@alexhamilton-rq7ji]

Ok then, using the same logic I would have to choose seventh Gen, the psp took handhelds(handhelds are considered consoles) from worse than snes graphics to almost on par with ps2 which is a bigger leap then genesis snes to ps1 and n64 were,no? But alot of snes games hold up still (chrono trigger, earthbound, super mario world) there is no ps1 game or n64 game where I was like "wow this game is gorgeous" after that Gen died out, as I said og xbox gamecube and ps2 have titles that still look amazing today more than 20 years later.

[@guarapo66]

@@alexhamilton-rq7ji then always pick the last console gen if you are only looking at “gorgeous” graphics and you will always be correct, the topic is not about the best graphics but it’s about the leap from one gen to another , analog stick on contollers, vibration on game controllers, successful use of cd as storage in a console, 3D polygonal gaming as a standard on console, you name it, all that came on the 5th gen console, todays standard game controller is a combination of a 4th gen controller (snes) and 5th gen (n64) the first console with 3d analog joystick, Sony combined those 2 and crated the dual shock and that is the base for every controllers , about 30 years ago, no matter if you consider x or z game gorgeous the standard you used to judge it (frame rate, polygon count, resolution etc) were first layout by the 5th gen consoles , something that didn’t existed , or should I say wasn’t the standard on 4th gen consoles and before, the jump from the 4 to the 5 gen was a before and after in gaming and the only thing changing is better graphics a phenomenon we experienced from the jump from the Atari to nes , nes to snes but when the 5 gen came out things changed for ever , so you saying Xbox or ps2 have gorgeous games compared to ps1 or n64 is like saying snes and genesis have gorgeous games compared to nes or master system, it’s a silly obvious and superficial statement

[@Chirp296]

The jump to 3d was definitely the most defining moment in gaming for me. I remember rereading EGM articles about Ocarina of Time not being able to wait to explore a 3d Hyrule.

[@rockerteen8300]

The 6th gen was the biggest leap, but it's also when all of the system's graphics started looking alike.

[@EricPeterson-f3e]

I'm worried that the new generations won't even be different, but you have to get them because software won't work on your old one anymore, a la smart phones

[@HB-mj2jz]

My first console was the atari 2600jr And short after it a gameboy and NES. The leap from Atari to NES was a great one as well. Suddenly you could identify environments instead of using only your imagination. But from 2d to 3d literally was a game changer. The first time i played Zelda Ocarina of Time or Mario 64. Played Ridge racer and Tekken. That was awesome.

[@Sinister_Collections]

The 7th generation is my favorite from what I've seen, I've literally only experienced the 8th generation, but the 6th generation was the biggest leap forward with PS2 using DVD instead of CD and the Xbox giving us the first online console.

[@LennyNW]

Dreamcast was the first online console

[@jayme69]

Well put together video and I mostly agree with your rankings and reasons. Thanks for sharing and keep up the awesome work!

[@BaDik_Jacob]

The jump to online gaming was the biggest for me.

[@MCastleberry1980]

The jump from PS1 to PS2 felt pretty massive. There are a lot of PS2 games that still look pretty good. It seems like every generation after was much more iterative to the point going from PS4 to PS5 seems barely noticeable. There's an argument for the jump to 3D, but we went from incredible looking sprites to janky polygons that aged pretty badly.

[@AsherBruecks]

Massive?

[@getwellgetfitgetlaid3514]

The ranking was pretty good. It's pretty obvious that the number one spot was going from 2D to 3D. The fifth, third and seventh all had huge impact on game worlds and controls. Switch is generation nine and Switch 2 is in the tenth generation.

[@midnightstrike3625]

This video is flat out nuts - the leap between 7th and 8th generation was actually pretty substantial - the 9th gen should be even below 1st imho, how you placed it as now innovative than the 8th is crazy!

[@casaroli]

It’s interesting that today we ignore sound. But the first generation of consoles actually had meaningful differences in sound quality, fidelity and possibility.

[@xbiker321]

The feeling of seeing Mario 64 for the first time will never be replicated.

[@Jamal-bl7yh]

Gen 5 Is The Best In My Opinion Without Gen 5 there'd be no Tomb Raider, Resident Evil or Tekken Adaptations as much as you people hate Dead Or Alive (2006) that was more of a reminder when you adapt something like To Kill a Mockingbird, Planet Of The Apes, Flash Gordon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles they're going to change the lore so accept It

[@Lastkingof33]

I've been around since the Atari days. I have to give it to the snes genesis era. So much more was possible. Not to mention the improved audio and added colors that could be rendered. 3d has always been around in some form or fashion so that argument didn't sway me.

[@bueniwalker94]

It is such a great topic to make a video for. Great work.

[@jeff-ds2pr]

Surprised the 2nd gen (Atari 5200, Colecovision, Vectrex) didn't get a mention here. Remember playing these as a kid, and was blown away how much better the graphics and sound were compared to the Atari 2600. If you compare Donkey Kong or Mario Bros. on these systems compared to the 2600 ports, it is a bigger jump than many realize.

[@nOT_sURE08]

16 bit to 32/64 bit. Next question.

[@scootscootriot]

It’s rare these types of videos are actually right. This one is right on each of the selections.

[@Trigger200284]

Started gaming in the NES. First memories are Metroid and Excite Bike. Grew up with SNES/Genesis and allot of really cool games But, the 5th gen is for sure the one that blew my mind, it let me see the future of gaming 100% and delivered genre inventing/defining experiences.

[@larryisntmynamebutyoucanca9625]

Very cool video dude!

[@eponymous7910]

From 4th to 5th gen (genesis, snes to psx, saturn, n64) not only did we get stable, fully realised 3d but cd quality audio too. Incomparable imo

[@Jonassoe]

I remember how much of a beast PS3 was when it came out. Like, does a console need to be this insanely powerful? I heard about research institutions and even the US military allegedly buying a handful of PS3's to combine them together as a make-shift supercomputer. Nowadays you can literally run a PS3 emulator on a smartphone.

[@CrooN19]

Sorry but smartphones can't run PS3 emulators.

[@MC-bh8ph]

Playstation 1 to OG Xbox was one generation. Syphon Filter to Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Holy moly. Snes to ps1 was significant too, top gear to gran turismo 2, wow

[@RetroGamesBoy78]

The funny thing about the 5th generation is there was another leap from the previous generation for 2D on these machines but it was mostly ignored (not so much in Japan) as everyone went mad for 3D, imagine a 2D Streets of Rage 4 on Saturn, a bit of a shame imo.

[@781stino]

But I was also blown away playing night trap(Sega cd which served as an in between generation console) for the first time. Hearing cd quality music, seeing FMV in a game was mind blowing. It’s also safe to say that the PS2 GameCube DC era killed the arcades pretty much.

[@mrmojorisin8752]

The single greatest leap was between the Atari 2600 and the Colecovision. The leaps between consoles such as nes and snes, PS3 and PS4, were iterative. Relative to its immediate predecessor, the CV brought a true revolution in graphics, sound, gameplay, and game complexity. The same cannot be said for any other console.

[@Lucky_9705]

The PS2 was the big jump

[@meyers0781]

it defined Sony as the solid provider of developer and publisher before they botched it with the wasteful overengineering of PS3 Cell CPU.

[@Ashtarte3D]

Do not agree with Gen 6 being lower than Gen 5. Yes, moving to 3D was a big deal but it was also an incredibly rocky era. Going from something like FF7 to FFX was a quantum leap in fidelity and game mechanics. Also Gen 1 is far more important than you give it credit for since it was the leap from board games to Spacewar and PONG. We'd be nowhere without it.

[@Super70000]

think about it like that which is more impressive adding a whole new dimension or making the games with that new dimension better even if the second option is better the first option is more impressive

[@kingbullyrock8739]

@Ashtarte3D Sorry bud, the Gen 5 leap of 2D to 3D gaming is the greatest leap in gaming as of today. Go play Zelda "A Link to the Past" on SNES and then go play "Ocarina of Time" on the N64. The difference is night and day and it's not even close.

[@Sirdrexl]

@@kingbullyrock8739 Another thing is the analog stick, which was maybe the biggest change in controls since the D-pad. Although I would give the 6th generation credit for making the RIGHT analog stick an important function. There weren't many 5th-gen games that used the right analog effectively; Sega didn't even bother to include a second stick on the Dreamcast controller despite it being released 2 years after the Dual Shock.

[@Alianger]

Quantum leap my ass! We went from ff7 to 8 to 9, with tons of fully 3d iterations alongside that, some much more open ended and interactive than FF10 Mechanically 10 did little that couldnt have been done on PS1 but the execution of combat and the skill tree was good GTA 3 was one of the more notable due to level size combined with increased detail and overall performance at such a scope, before that Shenmue and Outcast

[@TheUniqueBadboy]

Graet video!! Amiga floppy disks were real cool too, my cousin had a ton of them! 😂

[@theGoogol]

I had 3 big cases full (those beige double row ones with transparent lockable lid) and loads of the packages they were sold in spread throughout my room. Mirage International was our group, Mirage NL our division 😉 Hacker and demo parties were AWESOME! Those were the times, man!

[@TheUniqueBadboy]

Ahahah wonderful!!

[@781stino]

Very underrated generation was the ps2, DC. This generation was where the polygons were smoother. I’m 41 but I can’t deny the nes to 16bit. Although NES is still my favorite console.

[@28fabianz1]

For me it was n64. Absolutely incredible. I was 14 years old at the time.

[@marchess7996]

45 here Going from pitfall on Atari to Super Bros , Metroid , Zelda was a huge huge leap

[@inceptional]

There is no jump bigger than from the SNES/genesis/PC Engine/Neo Geo to N64/saturn/PlayStation era. Not only was it the most graphically clear jump in the history of the industry where even a casual noob could describe what the change was, but it was also a big jump in terms of going into proper 3D analogue control and 3D cameras too. Only VR can match and possibly even surpass it, although I don't think most people consider VR part of the same discussion since it's not really thought of as being part of one of the console generations as such really. The jump from 2D to 3D was absolutely a huge paradigm shift, and I think VR is the next example of that kind of paradigm shift happening again, which most of us will only come to appreciate maybe a decade down the line or so. You know, a kind of easy way to see the difference between each generation is just to look at a popular series going through it, like say Super Mario World or The Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy, etc. It people can't tell from that why the 2D to 3D jump was by far the biggest, from the graphics and audio to the controls and gameplay, they're just letting their own bias get in the way.

[@terran0797]

This is a pretty accurate list placement to me.

[@A1trizzy]

It definitely was the jump from snes and sega to saturn, ps1, and n64

[@garybrower239]

I think that the biggest leap is to the 6th generation. This is where online play became standard, 3D graphics actually looked good. HD got it's start. Hard drives got their start. It was the generation that gave us what we have today. It was the first generation into modern gaming on a home console. It was the generation that brought home the power of an arcade quality experience. The 5th generation was pretty big too, but it was ugly. Some 4th gen 2D graphics looked better than the blocky 3D of the 5th gen. Just my opinion.

[@neomatrix4412]

yet to come but The leap from 3D to 3D VR

[@PreciousAlpschindler]

4th to 5th gen: 3D Graphics 5th to 6th gen: HD Graphics After that it diminishing to the point that there wasn’t much a graphical difference between PS4 and PS5

[@jayhays8267]

I totally agree with your #1, 5th Gen. Since the PS1 and N64 the gameplay has not changed. Yes, the graphics are much better as the console generations have moved along, but there are no new gaming innovations. For every new game out today, I can point to a similar game in the 5th gen.

[@henry3397]

Without question it was the jump from 5th to 6th. Going from N64 to 480p Dreamcast is INSANE! Then there’s the Xbox too…

[@herohunter81]

I would say the biggest leap was SNES to PS1. Then the PS2 era cleaned it up. Also I don’t think I saw a game in the 360 era that was next gen until I saw Gears of War.

[@wiiownsps3and360]

Interesting that you chose the fifth generation for the number one spot. As I feel that was a more behind-the-scenes generation because not only playing those games at the time was rough playing them now especially it is mainly the cultural impact and the change of gain development that puts the fifth generation in any point in this contest, although the good thing about video games being based in computer, computers is something you can use math for and there is no doubt the jump from the fifth to the sixth generation is technologically, mathematically the biggest jump we’ve ever Made. Most specifically that jump in hard from PlayStation one to PlayStation two. As it has the largest mathematical jump between two consoles and history percentagewise. Great job on the video otherwise personally I think this is a much more nuanced and interesting discussion. Then you know whatever math.

[@stephenoleary5627]

Unpopular answer: the greatest console of all time is the Nintendo Wii. It defined exactly what home gaming should be by appealing to everybody regardless of their age or interests.

[@matiasjauhojarvi9551]

Great video.

[@garybrower239]

I really wish people would stop putting the switch in the 8th generation. Nintendo did not have 2 consoles in a single generation. It's the first in the 9th generation. Just because it's so damn under powered does not make it 8th generation. The switch 2 is in the 10th.

[@lsauchelli]

I'm not sure how the 16 bit Generation is ranked so high. It almost caused a second game crash because of how little it advanced gaming compared to the 8 Bit generation.

[@michaelordway419]

I don't see how you can say that it almost caused a gaming crash. SNES and Genesis/MegaDrive games sold in pretty big numbers.

[@DavidRosariojr-xh6bw]

Not bad at all . I started with the 3rd generation and I see your list as a fair layout

[@V3ntilator]

Dreamcast in 1998 vs PS1, N64.

[@54raynor]

Completely agree with your top two picks, and in that order. But I would put the seventh ahead of the sixth due to the embracing of motion controls and online play. The sixth was more like the fourth in that it was a refinement of everything that came before it. And there’s an argument that the fourth should be ahead of the sixth since it was the first time there was true competition in the industry.

[@CallousCoder]

I can agree with the 5th gen but for me it was definitely the 4th gen 16 bit era. I liked the PS1 but the graphics were no where near the sprites and I never really fell in love with 3D. Gimme a SEGA Megadrive game or an ATARI/AMIGA game over some 3RD FPS or Racer any day.

[@smallmj2886]

I look at things a different way: What generations can I enjoy without nostalgia goggles. How far back can I go and play a new (to me) game without the technology getting in the way. For me that is 6th gen for 3D and 4th gen for 2D.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

No VR? No indies? No credit for the Switch merging portable and home console markets? Agreed the 5th was the most revoluntionary. It was a generation at war with its own past.

[@dadozygaming]

I'm glad you brought up VR. I believe VR gaming is as big a leap as the leap from 2D to 3D, but not many people can experience it due to the high price tag and the low quantity of games. People don't want to pay more than $30 for a VR games, and since very few people play VR daily, companies can only sell very few copies of the game due to the limited interest and low prices. This means there isn't much earning potential in VR games.

[@michaelordway419]

The Sega Nomad merged portable and home consoles back in the 90s, but barely anyone bought it.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

@@michaelordway419 I bought it. Best way to enjoy Phantasy Star IV and Shining Force II, by far. Shadow Dancer, was still playable, despite all the blur. Anyways, the Turbo Express got there first, minus the blur. But it had other issues. At least, that's what I'm told. Did anyone posting here own one?

[@Karifi]

To me the greatest leap in graphics was the 6th generation, when i see ps2 graphics for the first time was like seeing something photorealistic.

[@pacthesir]

UM, ACTUALLY: The 7th Generation didn't implement HD gaming, it was the 6th generation starting with a few original xbox and a few ps2 games which could be played up to 180i, the 7th generation was the first generation to make it a standard, not at first as the original xbox 360 model didn't have hdmi from 2005-2007.

[@Brinta3]

UM, ACTUALLY: I think you’re wrong. I had the very first 360 model (Pro or Premium) and it had component cable with 1080i. I believe it also had VGA with 1080p.

[@pacthesir]

@Brinta3 oops, I forgot they had the elite models with hdmi, but overall, the HD era began in the early 2000s, but the mid 2000s started to become bigger

[@Brinta3]

@@pacthesir I wasn’t talking about the Elite model; that was released in 2007. The very first models from 2005 were: - Xbox 360 (20GB) this one was unofficially known as the Pro or Premium. - Xbox 360 Core Both had component and VGA with 1080i. Both got 1080p through a system update in 2006. The Premium model actually got hdmi in 2007, but that year also had the Elite and the Arcade, so I’m not sure which one was the first.

[@pacthesir]

@Brinta3 ok

[@SuperJM9]

@@Brinta3The Elite model was the first Xbox 360 to have HDMI. It was released a few months before the Arcade model was released and the Premium model got HDMI.

[@brianwalker7771]

For me the 6th generation was the most impressive. However you did make valid points about the 5th generation. One thing of note though the 4th generation was the introduction of CD based consoles. The turbo Graphics cd and Sega CD were out well before the 5th generation. The CDi,3d0 jaguar CD I am not sure what generation they fall under 4th or 5th

[@Youtubeviewerwhoiscool]

7:36 i highly doubt many people in Yukon Territory had broadband back then. Such a rural sparcly populated area. It would be like alaska probably little to no reliable broadband

[@UltimateGattai]

I guessed it would be 5th generation, the leap was way too big for it not to be number one (plus tech like Rumble, Light Guns, CDs, etc...), it's also my favourite generation because of how amazing the games were, plus, the graphics have their own charm, even today. We'll never experience a generation like that ever again, I also really like the 4th generation as well, because of how fun the games were, plus, that was a lot of my childhood between the 4th and 5th gens. I pretty much agree with this list.

[@Zejoant]

Great video

[@BobbyHo2022]

Snes to N64 was a big leap but I thought Nes to Genesis/Snes was impressive.

[@tallguy0076]

For me, #1 ps1/n64 to dreamcast/ps2 2# ps2 to xb360 #3 genesis to ps1 and 4# nes to genesis. I never had a 2600, so 8 bit gaming is where it started for me. Jusr my thoughts! I actually started on a c64!

[@tomaszstarzZz]

1. Going from board games to video games (gen1) 2. Going from 2D to 3D 3. Going online 4. Going VR Rest is just evolution not a revolutionary breakthrough - just improvements in fidelity and immersion.

[@johnnybravo9096]

Ps2 to ps3 was huge.

[@benoithetu5927]

Biggest impact on me was the 4th generation.

[@XanderVJ]

Is this even a question? It's Gen 6, closely followed by Gen 5. It's not even up to debate. To be precise, the evolution was progressively bigger and bigger the first 6 generations, but then diminishing returns started with Gen 7. Not that the leap in Gen 7 was small, mind you. It just wasn't as big as the previous two generations. But by Gen 8, the diminishing was made patently clear, and with Gen 9, it's so minimal that both generations have coexisted for a crazy ass long time. I think the only people who doubt that are people who are too young to clearly remember what the evolution of the medium was like until very recently, so they either aren't fully aware of certain things and/or take some parts of the evolution for granted and don't appreciate them as they should when they first appeared.

[@zeniktorres4320]

I agree. However, the PS3 era was where modern gaming started.

[@montana01]

For me, it’s the 3rd gen…. Most of what you said at the start of the 5th applies to the 3rd. You weren’t getting anything close to NES from Atari. While 3D was a massive leap, arguably SOTN was the best game that gen. While it moved gaming forward with 3D, it seemed more like natural progression than a leap imo.

[@dirkb9788]

I think the third generation is the most important generation. But despite the fact that my life started during the third generation of game consoles (1983) and I actually have no experience with the generations before that. I would put the first generation and second generation a lot higher on the list. The first generation literally took gaming from nothing to something. The second generation brought variety and having a console became more normal. Actually, I think the progression between generations 6 and 9 is the smallest. Don't get me wrong. The Playstation 3 and 5 are my favorite consoles. But they actually don't do much that is innovative compared to the Playstation 2.

[@iami3rian394]

The PS5's controller (the touch pad in particular) is a MASSIVE leap, the issue is that it isn't used due to the Xbox not having one, and cross console games being super prevalent. Imagine being able to use that to access your inventory in Minecraft, for example. Yeah, Microsoft massively dropped the ball, there.

[@dirkb9788]

I love my PS5 and you're right about the controller.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

Agree 100%. #1. 5th gen #2. 3rd gen #3. 6th gen #4. 7th gen #5. 4th gen #6. 9th gen #7. 2nd gen

[@suntannedduck2388]

Good general look. I'm going to say deeper as always possibilities people won't cover compared to a collector or historian and the tech/peripherals or some.stand out games then the obvious games people think of. As these things say what impact they didn't have but were still impressive for the eras. Fairchild Channel F with cartridges and came before 2600. But who pays attention to it when well popular brands first come to mind, those left behind actually make history but get forgotten. Adaptors for other consoles games as wasn't a factor back then things were still new. 1st gen well from Tennis for two or board games sure. Lights on screen and backgrounds or Pong consoles. 2nd well 2600 or Intellivison or Coleco had voice synthesizer, had a gaming subscription, things people don't focus on but well graphics or cultural impact probably not as much those things as just sales, US confusion of games and crash that effected them but not EU/JP or elsewhere. Publishers like Activision. Licensed games happened yes. As expected no subscription or others I get this is a general video but the other factors do highly deeper the non impact they had even if starts. Fair graphics for the time. Strategy genre was complex here to a degree. Most games are simple high score stuff but ma y like Adventure or ET are complex for the time. 3rd well NES, Master System hmm NES probably did, was a fair jump, fair impact but PCs were still a thing in the EU or JP so. Famicom had disk system, re-writable games, had banking and horse betting. Power Glove, Hot Seat mercury motion controls. 3D glasses back then NES and Master System. 4th the graphics jump, satellite cast games with satellitiview and Sega Channel. That's a jump of feature support and changes to those games besides peripherals, changes to cartridges like the lock on for Sonic games or button designs, d-pad and more. Sharp TVs for NES/SNES. Or Twin Famicom. CD for Turbo Grafx/PC Engine, Sega CD FMV games. Virtual Bot making 3D portable, sure red and black but wireframe compared to Vectrex vectors. Fair 3D tracking. People say oh sales but it was still impressive tech. Sega Genesis VR/Jaguar VR were cancelled. Would have been interesting though. FMV PC FX, 3DO and more weren't impactful, cool but didn't impact much besides maybe Tiger Gamecom 2 slots not even DSi that. Pack in games being a thing on systems. PDA or media like features like Tapwave Zodiac, Gizmondo, PSP getting there. Like the Gameboy Workboy. Neo Geo for arcade games accurately to a console. Neo Geo Pocket for arcade stick. Saturn and it's 2D sprites with enhancements, media features. N64 I mean.... Zip disk like 64DD. But otherwise what faster load times and games with fair use of voice, texture use and limitations to offer mission based design. Dual analogue or rumble or single siltick of N54/Saturn, Dreamcast, PSP, Neo Geo Pocket. Wonderswan and Lynx had additional buttons for different play methods. 4th gen did a lot of interesting stuff with games ideas, mechanics, worlds, story telling, arcade games, subscription services (look it up Satellivee and Sega Channel), cancelled VR, CD games, FMV, button layouts and more. Overworlds of old gens then open worlds of 5-6th gen but pushed more with PS3/360 gen and interesting few on Wii. 6th gen was too much 3D but more handheld 2D. But hsrd drive, memory card use besides 5th gen. 3rd has some good to it for sure of game design and hardware/peripherals impact. I forgot about Atari 7800. 5800 was earlier too. D-pad and safe other controllers sigh. Blsst processing was a technique very few understood with the hardware. It was real but not used really. I think of it like how devs used the PS1 RAM or other chips ro load faster or the whole game loaded and CDs could play to generate levels like Vib Ribbon. Some PS1 games used techniques for loading. Genesis maybe had similar I don't remember but it was possible. Just not heavily used or used at all. Gameboy Color IR. Or games with rumble, motion before the Wii. 2600 or others with trackball controller. Or the keypads of others. Impact no interesting yes. GBA and GameCube or Dreamcast with dual screen support. Sega and cross save on PS2 Outrun with PSP version and vice versa before Sony 's cross save, cross but, cross play in PS3/PS4/Vita era. PS2/Xbox/GameCube better games with some good mix of right stick not always for camera, still experimental then boredom of game design so basic and repetitive nowadays. Boring menus and weak worlds/movesets that feel even more dull then PS1 when even PS1 had more depth of movesets and level design. Linux Kit for PS2, DVD support on All 3 besides Panasonic Q not GameCube, even if Xbox it was different. 8th gen was well more RAM/larger worlds, remote play pushed like Wii U, SmartGlass, Vita/smartphones for game support. But no one cares or paid attention to those did they? VR happened on consoles. As if that isn't a big tech deal but isn't impactful of course. For graphics sure proper 1080p not 1080p 30FPS of PS3/360 era. And some were just going after the 500 or so to 1080i so getting 1280 by 1080 besides 720p sure. 8th gen felt like a downgrade refinement. Refinements but also downgrade of game design as missions, modes and more got worse, dumbed down and 9th reflects this as well. Hybrid wow as if cables or docks for PSP, or Sega Nomad or Pocket PCs/PDAs didn't exist hmm. Irs a tablet with a dcok to the modern era idiots that don't know their history. Easily buy into marketing then what actually existed prior no one does research for. Yeah 8th was for other business models and reworking things not innovation besides peripherals or controllers software wide well thr Windows 8 Xbox One stuff but no one cared for that and it's desd as of 2017 anyway the TV TV TV screen alignment feature. 9th grn hmm so.... Load times if they use the SSD well same can be said for HDD used well then pushed too far on 8th gen because dev laziness. Sure 60/120fps. 4K. But it's a boring gen that has offered nothing. Who cares what CPU, GPU, RAM, sure fair haptics, sure 3D audio is nice. But irs just boring. Crossplay sure. Who cares. If the laser pointer, C button or other things of Switch 2 who knows. 7th had DVD, Blu ray, notion controls on consoles again, remote play, storefronts, 3D TV support again compared to 3D glasses of the early form, fair art styles to work around things. HD visuals. If not counting Laser Disk 1080i or PS2/Xbox 1080i games. That or 480p progressive scan too. Wireless controller as standard rather then radio channels like GameCube Wavebird or IR wireless controllers.

[@bobby45]

Def gen 6 for me. We really haven’t moved since

[@SweBeach2023]

The seventh generation should really follow the fifth. The sixth generation is just a prettier version of the fifth generation. The seventh generation brought us online and it has been one of the dominant features ever since, be it with online stores, streaming, large patches, online gaming etc..

[@michaelordway419]

The X-Box and Dreamcast were online consoles in the sixth generation.

[@FigureFarter]

@@michaelordway419So was the PS2 with Madden and the likes

[@JohnnyDouchbag-nr5yf]

The change from atari to Nintendo was the biggest. I mean atari had block figures lol. Basketball used a square block for the ball

[@mickael486]

I keep going back and forth to this question. it was either 8 bit to 16 bit, 16 to 3D polygons (mostly ugly imo) or that clearly huge jump from PS to PS2 when we had actual faces in games with perfect lip synched voice actors, vast worlds with open worlds like the GTA series. it's one of those. SNES, PS1, or PS2. or

[@rodrigo53]

N64 no doubt

[@PowuhToSeven]

Going from the SNES to a control with memory cards and rumble is bananas to start with. Not to mention the amount of added buttons

[@neogeo1999]

16 bit to 32 but will always be the greatest jump

[@craftymulligar]

Maybe not a console but vr systems like quest 3 maybe a game changer.

[@erneststackhouse1133]

There were so many great leaps i don't think you can just have one. Magnavox was just Pong no matter what you called the game & to go from that to Atari who brought variety to gaming. The graphics were lacking so Atari at 4 Bit to NES 8 Bit was just night & day on their games! Then PC games started to take over & that is what made the PS1 so great was it brought everyone back to Home Consoles again & i mean everyone went with the 32 Bit PS1. The PS2 had Arcade Graphic Quality which blew everyone away!