Comparison: Gaming 4 years ago to today

In keeping with my recent nostalgiac/jaded posts, I thought this would be something good to bring up.

4 years ago today, we were coming off of a very good streak in gaming and preparing for another. Mid to late '98 saw the release of some of the most refined and innovative games I can remember. In a single year, we saw almost every genre addressed with stellar quality titles (I'll try to name a few I can remember):

Shooters: G-Darius (PSX), R-Type Delta (PSX), Einhander (PSX)
RPG: Shining Force III (Saturn), Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn), Xenogears (PSX)
Fighting: Marvel vs. Street Fighter (Saturn), Tekken 3 (PSX), Last Blade 2 (Neo), Street Fighter Zero 3 (PSX)
Action/Adventure: Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
Racing: Ridge Racer Type 4 (PSX)

I know I missed alot and didn't put in some genres, but I just wanted to throw up enough to show how good of a year it was. Some of us on this day 4 years ago already had a Dreamcast in our hands along with Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally 2, Power Stone and Marvel vs. Capcom. I don't remember too much about any other system in early 1999, because I was quite preoccupied, but I'm sure there were quality releases on them too. ;) Also the domestic Dreamcast was just about to kick off at E3 with games like Soul Calibur and NFL2k leading the way.

Now, here in the present, what are your feelings about where gaming is at compared to where it was at just a few years ago. Is it getting better with impending releases such as Halo 2, Soul Calibur 2, Viewtiful Joe, etc? Is it same ol' same ol'? Or are you starting to feel a bit more jaded too? ;)

Footnote: I didn't make this thread a poll, because I really want to hear what games people loved then and love now, and what led up to how they feel.

*que music*

I've got admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time...

Gaming today is much better than it was four years ago. If nothing else, the Shenmues and JSRs weren't around then.

This brings to mind a question:

Shenmue was originally prepared for the Saturn. There's footage of it out on the net. It looks like it was in a rather advanced state of development -- the graphics engine is very good for the Saturn, alot of the scenes shown in the footage are in the Dreamcast version and the general look and feel of the game was complete.

What sort of impact would Shenmue have had on the gaming market had it been released for the Saturn as originally planned?

Well, the Saturn Shenmue footage is from the bonus video of it in Shenmue II. Quite frankly, had Shenmue been released on the Saturn, it would have blown the minds of the graphics whores who said that 3D couldn't be done well on the Saturn, and it really could have opened the doors for the Saturn to do very well in the U.S. While the system didn't do badly, it didn't reach anywhere near it's full potential. A Saturn Shenmue release could have helped it reach that potential.

I can't believe it's been 4 years ago since... errrr.. 4 years ago. *wobble*

Anyway.. I think gaming is about the same for me. There are a lot of great games that I really enjoyed back then.. and same is true now. It's probably in similar proportion too. I'd say it's fairly even.

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Originally posted by Jeremy
While the system didn't do badly, it didn't reach anywhere near it's full potential.

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It did quite badly, so much so that Sega killed it before its next system was ready.

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Originally posted by Jeremy
A Saturn Shenmue release could have helped it reach that potential

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Just like Shenmue helped the Dreamcast? :jest:

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Originally posted by Jeremy
Well, the Saturn Shenmue footage is from the bonus video of it in Shenmue II. Quite frankly, had Shenmue been released on the Saturn, it would have blown the minds of the graphics whores who said that 3D couldn't be done well on the Saturn, and it really could have opened the doors for the Saturn to do very well in the U.S.

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Let's assume in this magical fantasy world you conjure that Saturn Shenmue could have been complete enough to hit US stores in mid-1998. (That's a big stretch already.) How would it have helped? The PSX had thoroughly dominated the Saturn in the US by this time. Panzer Dragoon Saga and Shining Force III were pretty impressive pieces of software that actually came out, but did they help? No, and neither would Shenmue. It was far too late, and Shenmue would have been far too limited in appeal. It's not a killer app or system seller, as its DC and Xbox releases have proven. There's even debate as to whether or not its a great or worthwhile game. Even your graphics point is debatable, since the system's lack of 3D horsepower was just one of several reasons Saturn failed in the US. So no, Saturn Shenmue wouldn't / couldn't have saved the US Saturn from its miserable death, not by a long shot.

(Btw, I don't mean to be rude. I just think you're wrong and am saying so. ;) )

Uh, 4 years ago it was 1999. Aside from R4, really the only good thing that happened in that year was the DC launch. So I'd say we're doing pretty well so far.

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Originally posted by StriderKyo
Uh, 4 years ago it was 1999. Aside from R4, really the only good thing that happened in that year was the DC launch. So I'd say we're doing pretty well so far.

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4 years ago today, we were coming off of a very good streak in gaming and preparing for another. Mid to late '98 saw the release of some of the most refined and innovative games I can remember.

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Well no shit. Stop the presses. Obviously 2003-4=1999, I'm not dumb. As I said, we were coming off of a great year in console gaming and preparing for another.

i remember that time well..

1998 was kind of a crap year for RPGs imo, but i don't like either xenogears or panzer dragoon saga. yeah, kill me now. i did enjoy shining force 3 though.

i really did enjoy R4. i am becoming convinced namco will never top it, as they have been so tight lipped about the new RR but what i've heard doesn't get my expectations up.

late 1998 also had ocarina of time, which was a blast.

moving into 1999, i bought my DC in january 99. first games were vf3, evolution, and sonic adventure. god, i had such a great time with sonic adventure. and i enjoyed playing evolution, believe it or not.

and of course soul calibur came out in .. what, july?

good stuff.

but personally i don't think gaming is any more boring than in the past. hell, i'm having a hard time keeping up. no complaints from me.