For some reason, we’ve always been dividing video game history up into a bunch of segments called console generations, even if the lines between generations aren’t distinct; we just like categorization.
There are always at least three major players in each generation, and occasionally multiple home consoles from the same company come into play. It brings into question which of these generations is the best?
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Not every console can be a world-beater, but these systems had a lot going for them.
For all intents and purposes, I’ll be usingWikipedia’s definitionof home console generations, since things get pretty muddy around the seventh and eighth generations due to Nintendo not being in line with the others.
I’ll be ranking these based on the quality of the consoles that make up the generation, the number of incredible generation-defining games that were released, and I’ll try to stay as unbiased as I can manage.
9First (1972-1980)
The Foundation
It’s pretty hard to dispute that the first generation of home consoles is the worst one, but that’s like making a hundred-year-old man run a marathon against Usain Bolt and then pondering who will win the race.
There sure wasPong. The Magnavox Odyssey sure did have 28 different games, one of which was a knockoff of Pong. The Coleco Telstar was — and you may want to sit down for this — another version of Pong.
It wasn’t all just the same game; the Magnavox Odyssey, in particular, was the clear winner of the generation, despite the primitive approach of physical overlays being put on the television to play.
It’s ancient technology that makes for a mildly entertaining game for 5 minutes, but board games still clear in terms of entertainment value. We wouldn’t see games becoming anything more for quite a while.
8Second (1976-1992)
Awkward Years
Yeah, the second generation isn’t much better than the first.It made game consoles popular for the first time, subsequently killed their popularity with more shovelware than ever seen before, and is barely remembered.
TheAtari 2600and Mattel Intellivision are iconic, but they’re so simplistic that the most advanced games barely functioned, and the simpler games were far worse than the offerings at an arcade.
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Breakout is fun, I still enjoy it from time to time.Pac-Manwould be cool if it weren’t neutered compared to the arcade version. Adventure was impressive for its time and still completely obtuse today.
It’s hard to think of much else to say about these libraries that hasn’t already been said. It’s simple and enjoyable, but you’d be pressed to find anything nearly as engaging as a mobile game.
7Fifth (1993-2006)
A Rough Transition To 3D
If we’re talking about the ugliest generation overall, the fifth generation is generally top of the list. TheSega Saturn,PlayStation, andN64aren’t exactly lookers with most of their flagship titles, since they’re almost all early 3D.
There are a few big exceptions, likeSymphony of the Nightbeing a beautiful and incredible game to this day, orMario 64 holding up pretty welldespite its overuse of stock assets, and Sonic R’s quirky and stylized look.
The vast majority of these games, though, areincredibly oversimplified models that make the game hard to perceive at times, or they go all in on detail and run at 20 FPS with occasional dips.
There’s a ton of great, fun games here, but an overwhelmingly large portion of these libraries play terribly and look shoddy, except for the few developers that stuck it out and stayed entirely 2D.
6Third (1983-2003)
Overstayed Welcome
We get it: TheNESsaved video games forever, the Atari 7800 existed, and the Sega Master System is popular in Brazil to this day. Do they have good games, though? I’d give it about a 20% chance of a banger.
There are a ton ofgreat Nintendo games from the era, and I think the Master System has some underrated adaptations of 16-bit classics, but if you look at the entire library of each system, it’s far more filler than killer.
A cavalcade of sloppily thrown-together sports games, bad versions of newer games, andincompetent arcade ports makes for a lot of slop to tread throughif you want to find anything good, even when considering the classics.
Super Mario Bros.isn’t all that, and I hate to tell you this, but most of the NES games you rush to the defense of don’t actually hold up nearly as well as you remember, if you take a good honest look back at them.
5Ninth (2020-present)
I Hate It Here
As someone currently living in this console generation, man, it was so much better before, let me go back. Games are $80, consoles cost more than groceries for the month, and AAA games suck more often than not.
Microtransactions, deluxe editions, lootboxes, and every other scummy practice have never slowed down, and with Nintendo opting forsomething far less originalwith the Switch 2, the future seems grim.
The best games I can think of from this generation have absolutely nothing to do with the hardware, andAstro Bot is the only genuine system-selling originalgame that makes the console look unique that I can remember.
We’re probably not even halfway through this era, and I can only hope things improve. I like a lot of the modern releases on these systems, but the vast majority are remakes of the same game over and over, and I just prefer Indies now.
4Fourth (1987-2004)
The Classic Era
For the fourth generation, you can take the third one but amplify the quality up the wazoo. It feels like every game from that era finally got further realized into something that resembles a real video game.
Games likeSuper Metroid,Sonic 3 & Knuckles,Fatal Fury, andChrono Triggerareall generational titles, and they all still hold up well today.These could be released as indie titles on Steam, and no one would bat an eye.
TheSuper NintendoandSega Genesisare definitely the near-equal front-runners that everyone remembers, but theNeo Geowasn’t bad and is, again, incredibly popular in Brazil to this day.
The hardware was limited, but those limitations bred some incredible classics that get looked back on more fondly than anything else on this list, and though I’m not even nostalgic for them, I can see why.
3Eighth (2012-Present)
Nearly Perfected
Technology exists on a curve, with that curve plateauing near the top, and I’d say thePS4,Xbox One, and theSwitchexist right before that plateau, which is why most modern releases still land on them nowadays.
These consoles wererelatively inexpensive, mostly easy to develop for, powerful enoughfor most ambitions to be realized without limitation, and created some of the best games that still get recycled to this day.
Breath of the Wild defined and shaped adventure gamesfor years to come,Forza Horizon 5is perhaps the best racing game ever, andPersona 5got normal people to start being weird on the internet.
Every original title was usually pretty good, as long as it wasn’t wrought with microtransactions and whatever other corporate garbage they felt like shoving down our throats, but pick and choose, and you’ll find some winners.
2Sixth (1998-2013)
Limited, But Lasted
TheGameCubetanked in sales, theXboxwas a pretty middling thing, theDreamcastkilled SEGA’s chances in the console space, and thePS2was one of the best-selling systems ever, and somehow, I love all these things equally.
I lovealmost every GameCube exclusive,they all feel like hidden gems that I slowly uncover, and the Dreamcast was superb, especially with games likeSonic Adventure 2andCrazy Taxiunder its bankrupted belt.
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People have beaten Dark Souls with half of these wacky controllers.
The Xbox has a ton of games that feel nearly up to today’s standard in graphical fidelity, and the PS2 has an overwhelming library withKingdom Hearts 2,Pro Skater 3,Devil May Cry, and a CD player.
This generation is an awesome mix of niche hidden gems and massive heavy hitters, and each console has qualities that make them equally enjoyable, no matter what kind of gamer you are.
1Seventh (2005-2017)
Calm Before the Storm
I think theXbox 360,PS3, andWiiall arrived right at the perfect point of technological innovation. We got DLC, digital games, game patches, and some innovative motion gimmicks, but almost none of the microtransaction corporate hell.
We saw some truly incredible, landscape-shifting titles, likeMinecraft,Halo 3,Mario Galaxy,GTA 5,Portal 2,Skyward Sword, and I could go on and on forever with all the heavy hitters this generation saw.
I truly think2011 was one of the best years in video game history, being the perfect storm of awesome titlesfor these superb consoles, all capable of experiences that match or surpass games being pumped out nowadays.
It’s when everything came together to make the best generation, evident by none of these systems selling poorly. They were all great, they were all beloved, and everyone has a favorite game from this generation.
