Videogames have been around now for half a century. In fact, Pong, considered by some to be an angular stone of this whole situation, came out in 1972, 50 years ago. Ever since, there have been a lot of changes to the way videogames work, look, perform, and are played. And while it may not be entirely accurate to measure the timeline of videogame evolutions in decades, it does provide a good enough frame, particularly since the console generations tend to come once in a regular decade.
With this in mind, we’ve decided to poll our readers on what they thought the best gaming decade was on several fronts, from “decade with best consoles”, to “most innovative”, to the plain and simple “name best decade in gaming”. To keep it simple we polled through 4 decades instead of 5, since the 80s was more of a gaming revolution than the 70s, even if the first videogames saw the light of day in that decade.
These were the results of the questions we asked our readers about their opinion on the best gaming decade. There is a clear trend to consider each decade better than the last, which could be explained by a variety of reasons. Maybe it has something to do with technology also improving over time, providing a better experience overall, or it could be that gaming is not as much as a fringe activity as it was a few decades ago, or many other reasons. Whichever the case may be, the trend to consider the most recent decade the best was to be expected.
Main Question – Which is the Best Decade in Gaming?
The focal point of our poll, we wanted to find out which of the last 4 decades is the one that our readers consider the best overall. The reasoning for someone to vote one of the decades over the rest can vary greatly from one person to the next, as it tends to be with open, general questions like this. However, the simplicity of the question is also what makes it reliable, since one would expect the answer to not be a difficult one at all.
Which gaming Decade is the best.
With this in mind, we can take the 1,796 answers and see the upward trend, starting with the 1980s, which only 6% of our readers considered the best decade of gaming. Right above we have the 90s coming in third place with triple the votes, racking up 18%. The runner-up was the 2000s, with a third of the entire pool of votes, a respectable 33%. Finally our winner, with 43% of the votes, was the 2010s.
Which Decade Had the Best Games?
When it comes to the decade with the best games, it also stands to reason that the better the technology, the better the game. And while we may have our personal favorites that aren’t from the current or more recent decade, it would still be hard for an older game made in the 90s to stand its ground versus a more technologically advanced game made decades later. Of course there are exception to the rule and some games that come at the tail end of a series can be objectively worse, Mass Effect: Andromeda comes to mind, but it should be easier to produce more and better games over time.
Which decade had the best games?
The results of the poll align with this reasoning, as you can see. 2% of the 985 respondents considered the 8’s to have the best games. 21% said the 90s was the obvious winner. the 200’s captured the hearts of 30% of them. And finally, the more recent 2010s came up on top with 47% of the votes.
Which Decade Had the Best Consoles?
Not unlike the last question, the more advanced the technology, the more likely it is to improve the chances of the more recent decades and leave the older ones behind. The curve in this question continues with the same predictable trend. As it usually happens with technology, the newer the better.
Which decade had the best consoles.
The 80s still has its loyal 2% of voters. The 90s and its iconic N64 and PS1 fell to 13%. The 200s won a little bit of steam and raised to 33%. But most of the votes went to the 2010s, with a 52% of the entire 897 votes.
Which Decade Had the Best innovations in Gaming?
“Innovation” is a tricky word. It may be used to define a lead forward in technology, or procedures, or experiences. This question in particular may have been a bit more subjective than intended, since different people will likely interpret differently what qualifies as an innovation and then which decade had the best of it. For me personally, the 90s would have been the most innovative with the implementation of more complex 3D games such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which were not the first games to implement 3D, but are certainly two of the most important ones in gaming history.
Which decade was most innovative.
Our voters did not think the same way, voting a total of 849 times, out of which 3% was awarded to the 80s, and only 10% agreed with me in voting for the 90s. The rest of the votes were split in the 2000s and 2010s, with 38% and 49%, respectively.
Do You Think Following Decades Will Improve the Gaming Community?
Simple questions aren’t always easy to respond. Luckily for our voters, we only gave them two definitive answers from where to choose from.
Will gaming improve in the following decades?
73% of our readers are hopeful that yes, the gaming community will improve over time. The remaining 27% is not as optimistic.
Which Major Company Will Win the 2020 Decade?
Now a look into the future, looking at it from the early stretch of the decade. Cards are mostly on the table, since we know what Microsoft and Sony seem to be bringing to the table, as far as new consoles and/or services. We know which consoles are coming from them both, even if they are still hard to get due to extraneous circumstances and scalpers, we know that Microsoft is devouring companies left and right, with Activision-Blizzard being the latest acquisition and Sony still standing strong whit its exclusive titles, and Nintendo being… well, Nintendo. Time to place your bets.
Which company is the favorite to “win” the 2020s.
After 660 responses, we now know that our readers aren’t big on Nintendo, awarding it only 23% of the votes. Microsoft, even with its giant acquisitions and aggressiveness, scored 37%, making it the runner-up. Sony was the favorite this round, with 40% of the votes, so it’s still pretty close.
These were the results of the poll. We’d be interested in hearing what you think about them or any suggestions for future polls in the comment section below, so feel free to join in the discussion.
