Was 2007 the best video game year ever?
Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 9:38am by Jack
Next Generation had an article up this week that asked if 2007, with its bevy of traditional, off the wall, and outright incredible videogames, was in fact the best year ever for the medium.
If we just take my own experiences as an example, then the answer is yes. Over the past 12 months (I’ll round up and include December), I’ve purchased or played more videogames than I had over the past five years combined. Granted, a majority of them were for a Nintendo platform or portable, but the point remains I was back on the saddle and thoroughly impressed with the video games industry as a whole.
This also includes “non traditional” titles. Over the summer I played Guitar Hero 2 for the first time. Pretty rad, if I can borrow something from the lexicon I exercised in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Wii Sports, while technically a 2006 title, continues to wow basically everyone who likes to have fun, one year after its launch. My Nintendo DS is attached to my side and the growing number of cartridges I own for it barely fit in my makeshift carrying case. For all intents and purposes, it’s good to be a cas-core gamer right now.
This isn’t to say that the core gamer was left out of the best year ever. Indeed, with Halo 3, Uncharted and Super Mario Galaxy all creating waves, I’d argue that no corner of the gaming network was left untouched. The core no longer matter as much as they did a year ago or more, but that’s a good thing for an industry that’s in the midst of a pretty incredible growth spurt.
But wait, there’s more! I mentioned that Next Gen article for a reason–they point out that review scores for the year was not so good. Perhaps, they say, this means it was NOT the best year ever! It’s just an interest counterpoint they raise for discussion’s sake, so don’t go lighting up those torches just yet. That said however, I happen to disagree, and recent events have led me to completely abandon “professional gaming journalists” opinions on games. I will continue to feel that way until the swag bags go away, there’s some degree of mature separation between editorial departments and advertising (as every legitimate newsroom should have to begin with), and the 1-10 system — with all its decimal points and seemingly Chaos Theory-controlled criteria — is retired.
Bottom line, there were a ton of great games that came out over the past year–and it’s not over yet! So, I put my best year ever stamp on 2007, with an asterisk: I know that 2008 is ready in the wings to take the title away.
But that’s just me. Was 2007 the best year ever for videogames, or not?
November 30th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Hah, that pic you guys included is the exact same as the one posted on the door of my english teacher’s classroom.
Back on topic, it was a great year; especially for 360 owners.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Not since 1998 has it been such a great year to be a gamer.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Agreed. Is there anything left for 2008? Oh, right .. BRAWL!
November 30th, 2007 at 10:31 am
There’s Brawl, yes, but it’s what we DON’T know about 2008 that has me the most interested.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:55 am
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say 2003 was the best video game year ever.
-Wind Waker
-Zelda Collector’s Edition
-Viewtiful Joe
-Burnout 2
-F-Zero GX
-Soul Calibur 2
-KOTOR
November 30th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I concur.
Mario Galaxy alone will give a very hard time to 2008 to become the greatest year ever.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Simple answer. NO.
1994/1995 season was.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
It’s hard to say that it is the best EVER but it is certainly the best we’ve had in several years.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I would say that yes, I concur that this has been the BEST year for video games!
Add Metroid Prime Corruption, Guitar Hero III, and The Orange Box to Jack’s list, and you will all have to agree!
(I’d throw in Etrian Odyssey, which was my personal best!)
November 30th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Best year ever? I’m not sure about that. I would definitely call it the best year since the end of the 16-bit era, especially for Nintendo fans. With all of the DS and Wii titles coming out, I have not once felt envy towards 360 or PS3 owners. It’s been years since I could say such a statement. The DS is really keeping me entertained on the go and with some really unique titles and the Wii has the most diverse line-up of any Nintendo console since the SNES. It’s also nice that some third party developers are creating some interesting and fun games for a Nintendo home console. Dewy’s Adventure, Mercury Meltdown Revolution, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, MLB Power Pros and Ghost Squad are all staying very close to the system.
November 30th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I have been gaming since I was four, which puts us firmly at the year 1990. Since then I cannot recall a single year that bested this one in my opinion. 2008 has some killer things going on too, damn it feels good to be a gamer.
November 30th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I would have to say this was one amazing year for gaming.
It could be I have worked full time for a year (this past sept) but the amount of games that were released.
I own a ps2, recieved it just after vice city had hit the market. I have owned my 360elite(late april) since it hit the market and I own the same amount of games not saying I have beat all of them cause I just do not have the time, but Video Games is where the money I am not saving goes, if its not in games or a system its in making the most of the sound and video that games create with always updating my sound system.
November 30th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Are gamers over here turning into the offshore?
December 1st, 2007 at 12:04 pm
1993 was pretty good.
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:25 am
I’d say so, the Wii trilogy came out Zelda, Mario and Metroid (I’m Australian
). You’ve seen big titles on the Xbox 360 like Mass Effect, Halo 3 and Bioshock. The PS3 has also seen a few great titles of late but more importantly the PSPs exclusive software line up has been bulked up with more Shypon Filter, Jean Darc, FF Tactics and Castlevania. The DS has also been continuing on its path of success. So many big games and big events, so definetly.