Generations of Gaming

Mephisto Mori/ January 2, 2014/ Video Games/ 0 comments

On Gaming Generations and Their Nomenclature:

While constructing tonight’s post I found myself lengthening an already pushing-it 500 words by delving into the names and themes of past generations of video games. Rather than chop it down, I thought I’d move the tangent here.

I was trying to summarize the last era of gaming.  Many dub it the Console War generation, but this manufactured hype bothers me for several reasons (a few of which I address in tonight’s article).  First of all, this last era was one of the largest surges in computer-based gaming (even Mac users got some games).  Second of all, wars kill people and the consoles made tons of money.  A generation earlier the PS2 era (so named because of its hands down dominance in sales, hardware, and game support) actually killed a console company… almost two if Microsoft wasn’t huge enough to just take the hits and keep burning money until the 360.

I would term the last few generations

The 16-bit Age

The PS2 Age

The Digital Gaming Age

Also known as the It Prints Money Age

Also known as the It Prints Money Age

This emerging era, marked for some by the launch of the Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One, I would refer to as the Social Age of Gaming.  Time will, of course, tell.  Like the last generation, it began with PCs.  Twitch, video game streaming, Facebook, the successful push of e-sports, all are components of the next era.  PCs clear the path and consoles sell it to casuals a generation later as the new big thing. Ride the wave, readers, because told-ya-so is so very satisfying.

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.