I'm oddly nostalgic about 1995 even though it really wasn't a great year for me all things considered. It became obvious why when I looked at the full timeline, it was the year when the most game consoles were available ever. A total of 16 game consoles had new games produced that year, including a pair of major launches. Realistically, only 10-12 of these systems were available at the average game store but even that's better than any other year. Imagine walking into an Electronics Boutique and seeing that kind of variety, it was an incredible time.

2007 was a great year too, 9 consoles were widely available. Like 1995, two of them were seeing their first generation titles flood the market. Unlike 1995, this was the start of the high definition era and a couple systems now produced games that were practically lifelike.

To compare these years visually:



Which of these should be crowned the best though? Let's weigh each:

1995 Pros

• The initial PlayStation launch library was possibly the strongest launch lineup ever
• The launch of the PlayStation and Saturn caused the prices of other systems to fall, there were great deals aplenty for previous-generation games
• The Super Nintendo hit its peak with titles like Chrono Trigger, EarthBound, and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• The used NES game market had bottomed-out, they weren't yet considered collectible and even rare games could be had for cheap
• What's not shown on this picture is the launch of Windows 95 which re-energized the PC game market

1995 Cons

• In a rush to get out before Sony, Sega launched the Saturn before games were ready, early adopters had many dry months before they'd see new games
• The Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, CD-i, and Lynx were technically available but few stores actually had them
• Maybe too much was available, someone new to gaming would have no idea where to begin

2007 Pros

• The console war kicked into high gear again with tons of quality releases for each system
• Something for everyone - the Wii and DS were appealing to non-traditional gamers while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 took aim at hardcore fans
• First collaboration between Nintendo and Sega
• Great deals on Gamecube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 games for new owners of backwards compatibile systems
• The PlayStation 2 was far from dead, God of War 2 was an exclusive title in 2007 and one of the biggest releases of the year

2007 Cons

• The cheapest PlayStation 3 model was $500
• The first collaboration between Nintendo and Sega was an Olympics game
• The PC game market was stale, unless you liked MMORPGs or The Sims there wasn't much to get excited about

And the winner is... the nostalgia fan in me is leaning toward 1995 but the realist says 2007 probably deserves the nod. I suppose this is a subjective question where many different opinions are valid. The "best year ever" really depends on what generation and style you're in to. For me, I'll take the heyday of the 4th generation with the emergence of 3D gaming over any other time.

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