While it's easy to argue that games have constantly improved since their inception, it's not so simple to define your favoutire. Which generation did you get the most enjoyment from? Which innoavted the most for you?

First:
Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox Odyssey 200
Atari/Sears Telegames Pong
Coleco Telstar

Second:
Atari 2600
Magnavox Odyssey²
Intellivision
Atari 5200

Third:
Nintendo Entertainment System
Sega Master System
Atari 7800

Fourth:
PC-Engine
Sega Mega Drive
Neo Geo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Fifth:
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Atari Jaguar
Amiga CD32
Sega Saturn
PlayStation
Nintendo 64

Sixth:
Dreamcast
PlayStation 2
GameCube
Xbox

Seventh:
Xbox 360
Wii
PlayStation 3

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For me it's got to be the fifth generation.

SEGA, Nintendo, Atari and newcomers; Sony and 3DO all competing for the market.

The birth of 3D polygon gaming giving us amazing games such Mario 64, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VIII and Metal Gear Solid.

Sony with their enormous marketing budget finally takeing games to the mainstream and making PlayStation the first 100 million selling console.

SEGA bringing so many amazing arcade games like Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally to a home console, and being the first to bring online gaming to consoles with NetLink in America and Japan.

Nintendo giving us gems such as Mario 64 and Rare games like Banjo Kazooie.

The generation I played in my early teens and was undoubtedly the most innovative and exciting time to be a gamer, I feel sad that times like this may never come again

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True, the fifth gen is the only time I've seen a massive leap of change in gaming. SNES and MegaDrive, despite having great games just felt like NES with better graphics. In some ways, games today still feel like PlayStation/Saturn/N64 with better graphics.

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There's really no way on earth I could truthfully say anything other than the fifth generation.

I did enjoy, however, the opening stages of the sixth generation--particularly the run-up to the release of the Gamecube, where I pored feverishly over magazines, and watched the VHS tapes that showed off Spaceworld software with glazed eyes. So, too, did I enjoy playing on the old computer systems, where the perfunctory nature of so many games encouraged your imagination to run wild. I often think games are at their best when they let your mind fill in the blank space.

I have fond memories of the N64/PSone days (though the latter only from trips to friends' houses), but even back then a lot of the 3D games felt clunky to me (and I was 6 when I got the N64!).

Gotta go for the forth with 16-bit; nearly all the good games from that time have aged perfectly, and it's one of the few console rivalries where I'm equally a huge fan of both parties. Though not to push the Neo Geo and PC Engine out of the picture, but SNES+Mega Drive is one kick-ass gaming duality Now if only more of the RPGs came out over here, bah.

It has to be the fifth because of the emergence of the PlayStation and the amazing Nintendo 64 titles that proved to be some of the best titles ever made!

In terms of quantity, I guess the latter generation would be better because of the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, but the previous one gave me more excitement in gaming and some wonderful memories.

This generation has been the worst out of the last 3 imo. The quantity of games is not a problem, but th quality most certainly is and theres no magic in gaming anymore.

The magic has certainly gone, thanks to YouTube I always feel a game's old as soon as I play it. I really miss the days of CVG and seeing screens for the first time.

I think development costs have lead to alot of samey games this gen, and the Japanese scene is dead to me now. There was, however, an absolute load of shite on PS1 and Saturn, as they get older thankfully they're easier to forget.

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This ^. Couldn't agree more.

I think the fall of the japanese gaming industry is a reason why we have so many soulless online centric, unimaginitive games out.

This. Goodness knows I love the internet, but I wouldn't say no to having magazines back as the sole means of learning about new games.

Fifth includes Dreamcast. Fifth wins.

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How? Came out a year before PS2 and 4 years after PS1.

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I just looked at the dates and it came out in 1998 and was finished before 2002. It was sort of between generations I suppose, but was pretty much dead by the time the GC and Xbox came along so I tend to think of it sitting alongside my PS1 and N64, rather than a contemporary of those consoles - and I didn't pick up a PS2 until 2007. I suppose it being the succesor to the Saturn means it was a 'next-gen' console really. I think I'm just happy to have my DC up and running for the first time in years.

Whatever the case, the N64/PS1 generation was exciting in itself because of the advent of 3d gaming. So that generation would get my vote anyway - the Dreamcast coming in on the tail end was just the icing on the cake.

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Yeah, the PS1 days to the end of the Dreamcast era, was THE era that brought us the real magical games.

Easily the fifth. I loved my N64 to death (still have it, but no TV), and it started my love affair with GTA.

Well looking at the poll I don't feel alone in thinking the whole gaming scene has become boring crap and obviously peaked in the late 90s.

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I certainly don't think the gaming scene has become boring crap. I just think I'm not a kid any more, so naturally no longer feel the sense of awe and magic that I once did.

I agree with part of what you say. I guess the only way of finding out would be to ask mid twenty somethings in the 1990's who experienced the golden generation. I think a lot of the excitement has gone because of development costs, which means they simply do not dedicate enough time to making the game a longer, more polished experience. Too many games these days are short and riddled with so many bugs. For me, online gaming has taken a lot away from single player experiences. So many multiplatform games also does not help the cause imo.

I wouldn't say PS1 games were polished, some had huge bugs and glitches, plus they were simpler than today.

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