Which console generation improved the most on the last? (Best Console Gen?)

[marvelvscapcom2]

Hello everyone



Throughout the time of gaming, so many generations have come and gone but the whole point of launching that new wave is to innovate and give something new and exciting that beats out what is already the standard in terms of quality and fun.  And each generation seems to set the bar higher and higher.  So my big question is....


Which gaming generation did the most to improve on the generation that came before it?




My answer might shock some of you guys as I know it's outlandish and many actually say the opposite but the generation imo that improved the most on the last and will stand time as one of the most important video game generations of all time....  is the current one.  And I'll explain why







Virtual Reality no longer a sci fi dream but a "virtual' reality




My first reason for this console generation being the most revolutionary and most evolving is Sony's innovation first.  But I will get into Nintendo and Xbox's big innovation as well.  But Sony along with Oculus and HTC have reinvisioned what VR can be, where it can go and has made a statement in terms of technological engineering.   Sure the library is still in infancy and nobody knows what this can be yet.  But boy is it interesting.   It's what we used to imagine the future would be like except it's here and the future is now



PC power in a Home Console.  The 4k Titans




While PS4 Pro is also a spec beast,  This advancement in my story belongs to Xbox with their incredible One X.  A vapor cooled spec beast with 4k 60 Fps visuals, HDR,  and ridiculous load times and computing power.  Enough to rival many of the industry standard PCs (in similar price range) and it does so in the comfort of a home console platform.   Graphically speaking.  We have never seen anything come close in a home console.



2 in 1 Console, Nintendos Reimagining of efficiency and design




Nintendo might have the most unique of all these advancements in gaming tech.  The idea to have a home console with 1080p current genish visuals, but that type of power in which you can bring with you anywhere and play anywhere seemlessly.    This idea has spawned a generation that blurs the line between portable and home console.   A world where you can play every game you can on the big screen in the palm of your hand on your morning commute or on lunch breaks.   It's a idea that might be underappreciated. How a Switch puts PS3 or even slightly better then PS3 quality graphics into a console thinner than a wallet and capable of fitting in a hoody kangaroo pocket is mind boggling.


Best Controllers Ever




Some people are team Xbox controller (like me) and some love the PS4 controller more.  But if you've held both I think most can agree both offer something for different genres of games and both are freaking amazing!  And most people revere either one or the other as the greatest controller of all time.    If you are into first person shooters and racing games.  Xbox One controller offers the most incredible FPS platform in gaming.   If you are into platforming, fighters, JRPGs and hack and slash games,  PS4 controller is the standard.  And both have improved so much on the last gen.  With motion tech, rumble sensors, improved grips and PS4 with its touch pad and light bar.  It adds a level to immersion. 



A all in one media device




All 3 main consoles but especially Xbox One (hence the name) have made gaming consoles so much more than just gaming consoles.  Taking over a whole avenue of other media outlets and using their device as a hub to seemlessly interchange among channels, apps, smart TV content and blu ray media.   With voice command or motion command, this becomes a way of interchanging all of what you like at a whim easy.


The FREE game that took over the world




I know Fortnite is very controversial among gamers, and I personally don't like it but the idea of having a game, that is essentially free (aside from paying for skins or advantages) be one of the most downloaded and played games of all time has vastly changed the platform of gaming.  It proves that games can be free but still not only be massively appealing but also extremely profitable and fun.   I see how 8 year olds act with this game.  And it makes me question why my parents had to pay 60 dollars per game growing up lol.


Red Dead Redemption 2




Red Dead Redemption II.   It's all that needs to be said





So those are my reasons why I think this console gen is not only easily the best console gen of all time but also the most innovative and bettering upon the last.   I think between Switch, PS4, And One X we have a trifecta of gaming consoles,  each offering something and each essential to a gamer.   All are borderline flawless and all have amazing fun to be had




What console gen do you think improved the most on the last? 

[aliensstudios]

Funny. I think the current generation is the least revolutionary in terms of gaming experiences. I think that the generation which switched from N64/PS1/Saturn to GameCube/PS2/Xbox/Dreamcast was the most revolutionary in terms of creating signature gameplay styles and themes that hold up today. The current gen feels like a rehash, like the same stuff we've been getting since 2008 or so.

[kamikazekeeg]

I'd personally say this generation has done much less to advance things compared to the previous generations.  I think the generation that did better from the previous gen could be the PS2/Xbox/GC, where consoles actually showed they could actually handle 3D gaming properly and some games were incredible for the time like Final Fantasy X.  It was also the beginning of the online multiplayer experience, which is vastly more important than VR. 

The other generation I'd say that is along that same line is the 360/PS3/Wii gen.  360 and PS3 brought us HD gaming and a full multiplayer experience.  Wii did much less and was generally inferior, but that also showed that alternate control options were possible and started its own craze that exists on the PS3 and PS4 still and I think helped support the beginnings of proper VR.

This generation of systems could really be comparable to what TV's are right now.  4k is very nice, it looks gorgeous, but it's a step up, it's not a leap in quality like HDTV was to standard def.

[burningdoom]

This isn't even a hard question for me, I barely had to think about it. Without a shadow of a doubt it's the PS1/N64/Saturn generation. Going from Genesis and Super Nintendo to those consoles, we had to rethink the way we even play games. Games looked completely different and played completely differently. The jump from 2D gaming to 3D gaming was a complete revolution in the way games were made, played, and viewed

[98dgreen]

6th gen

[chrismb]

5th, 6th and 7th gen

[oldgamerz]

In order of improvements

1st Place: I think the best console generation in spite of the hardware breakdowns and 7th generation console reliability at first. is the 7th. PlayStation 3, then Wii, then Xbox360. the 7th generation was the first to offer (more modern) Internet services, like Youtube, Hulu and Netflix Servers on top of video games, and even the ability to record music on the Xbox360 and PlayStation 3 watch movies and gaming and music all in one console for less money that a gaming PC.


2nd Place: However 2nd place goes to the 5th Generation, where 2D made the switch to 3D and practically killed the arcade scene because of it. AND for the 1st time in history, the 5th generation consoles specs were better than $1000 plus PCs at the time. While the primitive 3D consoles like the PlayStation 1, the Nintendo 64, and the Sega Saturn for example, were way cheaper and way better at the games without spending $1000+ on PC that still needed upgrades in order for gaming. Plus Windows OS sucked back then and Apple OS was even worse at playing video games than the "Windows 95/98/ME"

3rd Place: You know I hate to say this but I think that the 2nd Generation was a big step. The 2nd generation of video gaming was the vary first to have digitized graphics. Before consoles like the Atari 2600/VCS and the Intellivision and the Colecovision for example. graphics on tv consoles just didn't exist at all. and most don't realize that most every basic video game AI coding, or hack was practically invented in the 2nd generation although I am not sure.

4th place: the  6th Generation mostly, SONY for making the PS2 the vary first console, to watch movies/DVD's and perfect the 3D console gaming to the PC game levels, at that time frame.

5th Place: the 3rd Generation for vastly improving on the 8 bit graphics, from the old Atari days like the NES and Master System did so well

6th place: the 4th generation, for making perfect cartoon like graphics and  setting the way to be 3D.

last place: (because I never played it and I don't desire it vary much at the moment) the 8th generation, not too many improvements from 7th I hear except for longer more interactive games.

[bikingjahuty]

This is even a hard question for me, I barely had to think about it. Without a shadow of a doubt it's the PS1/N64/Saturn generation. Going from Genesis and Super Nintendo to those consoles, we had to rethink the way we even play games. Games looked completely different and played completely differently. The jump from 2D gaming to 3D gaming was a complete revolution in the way games were made, played, and viewed

this

[jeffmandm]

The second generation to the third generation, if not for the video game crash of 1983 and Nintendo resurrecting the industry in America, then for the change in quality of the games, the improvements in hardware (dedicated sound chips instead of beeps and boops), and other various improvements.

[scraph4ppy]

4 to 5 is obviously the biggest jump in options, with 3D going from a rarity to the default but most of those PS1/N64 games have aged poorly. The biggest gameplay improvements were found in the jump from 5 to 6. Dual stick controls as the default, the end of measuring by bits and low polygon "Picasso" characters, online play going mainstream and, in the PS2, we had a backwards compatible console for the first time. Honorable mention goes to the 2 to 3 jump. Going from the main platform, the 2600, having one button to the NES and SMS having two (or 4, if you count start and select, which a lot of games did use for more than just pause,) revolutionized gameplay. Of course, keypad style controllers had taken over in the later half of gen 2, but most games did not use very many of the buttons. Plus, of course, the D pad was a great improvement over the sticks for moving and pressing buttons at the same time.

I think you'd have to be nuts to say that the current generation has had the biggest improvements. I've yet to see a single non-VR game that couldn't have been put on an Xbox 360 with only minor gameplay changes. And, beyond that, I do not feel that the gameplay has evolved either. Now, of course, it is the most capable generation, but that has always been true of any given year's current generation. When was the modern technology ever not going to be able to output the games that came before, if the need arose?

[seether]

NES over whatever turd came before NES.

[burningdoom]

Yeah, PS1/N64/Saturn may have aged poorly...but that wasn't the question. The question was, "what was the biggest improvement", not "how does it hold-up today".

[shfan]

It's difficult to say, considering that a lot of the time while one aspect improves another degenerates.

You could say that PS1/Saturn/N64 heralded a 3D revolution on consoles, but as the generation went on it meant that a lot of 2D genres and game styles went the way of the dodo, for a while at least. Plus the graphics are garbage compared to the next generation. However, that next generation saw less innovation within 3D, the generation after that (360/PS3/Wii) played it safer still with physical releases at least, leading to a very grey and stagnant selection of games. PS4.. lovely, so many niche titles released on disc at last, but the triple-A game has all but vanished and even double-A games aren't filling that void in enough volume. Ups and downs, every time, certainly nothing that stands out as being head and shoulders above the other generations.

[sworddude]

I'll give the n64 ps1 era the 2nd place since 2d to 3d has left quite the impact on the industry the beginning of the 3d games we know today.

That being said I would say atari 2600 and the other atari esk consoles to nes and sega master system as the number one of improvement really.

While you could say both are 2D atari and others was pretty much nothing at all, in allot of cases just some sticks on a screen as far as the visuals go and games with actual music is an absolute rarity among them atari games.

I mean there are some classic atari games that could be enjoyed but there is barely anything on the screen let alone music wich are some of the better things that can be enjoyed when playing a game. With the nes and master system sounds and grapics where improved by a whole lot in comparison not to mention great music wich was not available on those atari games with very few exceptions wich where never really that great.

8 bit system games look interesting while for atari you'll need allot of imagination to put it nicely.

[scraph4ppy]

Yeah, PS1/N64/Saturn may have aged poorly...but that wasn't the question. The question was, "what was the biggest improvement", not "how does it hold-up today".

Well PS2 generation still plays great today, so its games had the biggest improvement.