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2016 Has Been One of the Best Years for Video Games, Ever
- Thread starter Greatest Ever
- Start date
His Majesty
Banned
2014 was the best year in recent history
ethomaz
Banned
Most.
It is better to make a list of the games that have good increase in sales... Uncharted 4, Battlefield 1 and ???
The drop in software sales was that big this year... old ips sold way lower than what they sell and new ipa did really bad.
While a lot of games did have great quality the consumers didn't supported them.
Again, you're posting as if AAA games in Q4 are the only thing that exist.
Pokemon did well, Skyrim Special Edition also did well, The Division, Overwatch, Fire Emblem Fates, Monster Hunter, even NMS, there's loads if you look outside of the AAA part of the industry in Q4.
ethomaz
Banned
These are the few exceptions.
Overall drop in software sales were really big this year.
SumptuousLemur
Banned
None of those games created new genres, game mechanics or revolutionary ways to play.
In no way can it be the best year ever when comparing to years when games that created genres and new ways to play released. For example nothing there is on the caliber of Mario 64, Half-Life, Wolfenstein 3D, Age of Empires, Everquest and more.
I feel we always say "best year ever" because we are inundated with good content instead of anything revolutionary or new which is few and far between. All we are seeing this year is all developers finally on track with this current generation and the last gen finally being left behind, which took almost 3 years...
Overwatch is a fantastic game, but it is basically Blizzard's version of Team Fortress 2.
Uncharted 4 is amazing but it is just more Uncharted gameplay.
Doom is one of the best FPS games in years, but it doesn't do anything revolutionary.
I can be too critical of games, I played and enjoyed many games this year, but my bar and requirements for best year ever is very different.
In no way can it be the best year ever when comparing to years when games that created genres and new ways to play released. For example nothing there is on the caliber of Mario 64, Half-Life, Wolfenstein 3D, Age of Empires, Everquest and more.
I feel we always say "best year ever" because we are inundated with good content instead of anything revolutionary or new which is few and far between. All we are seeing this year is all developers finally on track with this current generation and the last gen finally being left behind, which took almost 3 years...
Overwatch is a fantastic game, but it is basically Blizzard's version of Team Fortress 2.
Uncharted 4 is amazing but it is just more Uncharted gameplay.
Doom is one of the best FPS games in years, but it doesn't do anything revolutionary.
I can be too critical of games, I played and enjoyed many games this year, but my bar and requirements for best year ever is very different.
That still doesn't mean that 'most' games 'bombed' even if the industry tanked. Depends on the expectations per title, and some were saner than others.
Always-honest
Banned
It certainly was a good year.
Falchion
Member
It kind of stuck up on me but when I think about how much I have played, or will play from this year, it's crazy.
Ones I have played or bought:
Uncharted 4, Forza Horizon 3, Titanfall 2, Inside, Pokemon GO, Pokemon Moon, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty 4 Remastered, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, The Division, Hitman Season 1, Far Cry Primal, Quantum Break, Recore, Batman Season 1
Will be playing eventually:
Overwatch, The Last Guardian, Dishonored 2, Final Fantasy Xv, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, Doom, Gears of War 4, Watch Dogs 2, Firewatch, Dead Rising 4, Abzu, Superhot, Ratchet and Clank
Ones I have played or bought:
Uncharted 4, Forza Horizon 3, Titanfall 2, Inside, Pokemon GO, Pokemon Moon, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty 4 Remastered, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, The Division, Hitman Season 1, Far Cry Primal, Quantum Break, Recore, Batman Season 1
Will be playing eventually:
Overwatch, The Last Guardian, Dishonored 2, Final Fantasy Xv, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, Doom, Gears of War 4, Watch Dogs 2, Firewatch, Dead Rising 4, Abzu, Superhot, Ratchet and Clank
ThatStupidLion
Member
I think you are wrong OP. imo the gaming industry is getting worse and worse. the constant cycles and overproduction and culture is disgusting.
7.9/10
yay for opinions!
7.9/10
yay for opinions!
Magic Mushroom
Member
Well, that's a bit unfair. Of course the jump from 2D to 3D or from digital to analogue was revolutionary. You can do that only once. There still are unique experiences, thanks to VR for example, and in all fairness, the OP said "one of the best", not the best".
Revolutionary or not, some of the games produced some of the best games ever in their genre, which goes a long way. From the genius puzzle design of The Witness to the brilliant episodic gameplay sandbox of Hitman with its elusive targets to the unrivalled atmosphere of Inside or the unique way of dealing with a massive animal in The Last Guardian, this is definitely a year to cherish.
And there were smaller innovations to applaud as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzfKnI8x5SE
Indeed. 2015 was really good, 2016 was better and 2017 could very well top both.
I quite like 2014 as well by the way, but mainly because the Wii U was on fire that year.
Theslammer
Member
Where are you reading that and does it apply to digital as well? Because drops in NPD sales don't really mean much with digital sales increasing. Uncharted 4 and Ratchet & clank opened to series highs, for example. Dark Souls III as well, if I remember correctly. The Witness. Overwatch sold. The Last Guardian's pre-orders exceeded expectations. Overwatch did very well. I think Doom did well.
The ones I know for a fact underperformed quite a bit were Titanfall 2, Watch Dogs 2, Gears of War 4 and Street Fighter V, the latter because it was missing a lot when it first launched (totally worth it now, imo).
Cave Johnson
Member
After The Last Guardian, I can certainly say it has been the best year of gaming since the release of SoTC.
Compared to last year yeah.
I think I only bought MGSV, Splatoon and Ori in 2015, compared to Overwatch, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 3, Dark Souls 3 (+Season Pass), Stardew Valley, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and of course, Pokemon Moon, which I all got this year.
2016 overall has been great. The step up from last gen both visually and in some regards, design wise, never felt as visible as this it did with this year.
I do know stuff like Microtransactions are bad trends that keep evolving too, but beyond that a lot of stuff felt fresh, polished, and most importantly, fun to play, and I can't wait to see where gaming will go from here.
I think I only bought MGSV, Splatoon and Ori in 2015, compared to Overwatch, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 3, Dark Souls 3 (+Season Pass), Stardew Valley, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and of course, Pokemon Moon, which I all got this year.
2016 overall has been great. The step up from last gen both visually and in some regards, design wise, never felt as visible as this it did with this year.
I do know stuff like Microtransactions are bad trends that keep evolving too, but beyond that a lot of stuff felt fresh, polished, and most importantly, fun to play, and I can't wait to see where gaming will go from here.
thomasmahler
Moon Studios
Ori DE was also released this year 
Theslammer
Member
I also think of it this way: games like MGS2 and FFX and Twisted Metal Black were all sequels, yet were some of my favorite games of that year and of that generation. But they weren't new games and the 'new' stuff they did was due to what technology allowed them to do (60fps smooth gameplay on Black with missiles that could now follow enemies up and around hills, for example). 2001 is one of my favorite years, but a lot of it isn't because a bunch of the games revolutionized the genre. Yeah, GTA3 was a monumental leap, but I'd say the three games I mentioned have aged a lot better.
Plus, since that was still 3D in its infancy, you were going to see way more different games and firsts.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Dishonored 2, Infinite Warfare and Deus Ex Mankind Divided underperformed as well I think, but to add to your list Maffia 3 did better, Forza Horizon 3 as well, FIFA too and Pokemon is a beast. And Hitman gets a second season, so I assume that did well too.
Taking in consideration just your list...
I got (but not yet played all):
Hyper Light Drifter
Uncharted 4
Dishonored 2
Pokemon Go (c'mon now, it deserves a spot)
Final Fantasy XV
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Dark Souls 3
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Doom
World of Final Fantasy
Abzu
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
I'm going to buy in the next months:
The Last Guardian
Titanfall 2
Inside
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
XCOM 2
Hitman Season 1
Thumper
Steins;Gate 0
Ratchet and Clank
Rez Infinite
SMT IV: Apocalypse
So nice year for me, like the previous ones... I always have enough games to play, maybe even too much... and if there are not, I have games from the previous year from by backlog...
I got (but not yet played all):
Hyper Light Drifter
Uncharted 4
Dishonored 2
Pokemon Go (c'mon now, it deserves a spot)
Final Fantasy XV
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Dark Souls 3
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Doom
World of Final Fantasy
Abzu
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
I'm going to buy in the next months:
The Last Guardian
Titanfall 2
Inside
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
XCOM 2
Hitman Season 1
Thumper
Steins;Gate 0
Ratchet and Clank
Rez Infinite
SMT IV: Apocalypse
So nice year for me, like the previous ones... I always have enough games to play, maybe even too much... and if there are not, I have games from the previous year from by backlog...
We have this thread every few days, but I still think it's mostly meh. Lots of safe iteration and no Indies to really hit it out of the park like some of the previous years. My GOTY is Pokemon Go, which says it all. It's a year packed to the brim with good games, but no stellar or genre defining ones. I doubt there's any game (outside of Overwatch for who's into that) that people speak highly of years down the line.
Greatest Ever
Member
Ori DE was also released this year
Greatest Ever
Member
I honestly had a laugh at the "there's only seven great games" comment. Like shit, that's twice as much as a lot of years get. The variety and breadth of titles here really helps 2016's case. If anything, it does suffer from too many sequels, but considering how many homogenized AAA releases that was merely ok or mediocre in the past, a Doom or a Tittyfall 2 being there is great. Them being on the top, depending on whom you ask, is even better.
Some fifteen games so far, which is quite hard work for a thirty something with two small children. But we're not talking about first half of 2017 here, where all my most anticipated games of 2016 got pushed to. 2017 most likely will be fantastic. 2016 Wasnt. Not by a long shot.
ClivePwned
Member
Quantum Break
Uncharted 4
Ratchet and Clank
Inside (GOTY)
Doom
Mirror's Edge Catalyst
No Man Sky (eh, it was ok for a while)
Soma (hated this, BTW)
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (hate this, too)
Battlefield 1 (greta multi, pointless single)
Titanfall 2 (brilliant)
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare (dogshit multi, really good single)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered (still got it)
Bioshock Collection (great underlying games, remaster effort is ok rather than good)
Dishonored 2 (excellent)
yeah, it was a good year and I spend large chunks of it finishing off 2 games from 2015 (Fallout 4 and Just Cause) as well as replaying some BC games on X1.
Still gonna grab Gears 4, Last Guardian, Hitman, Twilight Princess HD and WD2 early next year. Maybe Mafia III when its £10
Uncharted 4
Ratchet and Clank
Inside (GOTY)
Doom
Mirror's Edge Catalyst
No Man Sky (eh, it was ok for a while)
Soma (hated this, BTW)
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (hate this, too)
Battlefield 1 (greta multi, pointless single)
Titanfall 2 (brilliant)
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare (dogshit multi, really good single)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered (still got it)
Bioshock Collection (great underlying games, remaster effort is ok rather than good)
Dishonored 2 (excellent)
yeah, it was a good year and I spend large chunks of it finishing off 2 games from 2015 (Fallout 4 and Just Cause) as well as replaying some BC games on X1.
Still gonna grab Gears 4, Last Guardian, Hitman, Twilight Princess HD and WD2 early next year. Maybe Mafia III when its £10
Filling in my opinions on the games listed:
Good year for shooters but not much else TBH definitely not a year to hold amongst the greats
Think about to modify what I said a little bit.
When we talk about this has been a great year for gaming,what I assume is for the video game as a whole. If you consider region by region, then the situation is no doubt much different. Like in my opinion, Persona 5 is really really a lost opportunity for the series and both Atlus and SEGA. It is really stupid for them to not be able to release this game worldwide closer to what Japan had. Especially for what a great game this is.
We know that when company release games, they focus more about their fiscal year or at least that is for Japanese companies. Therefore, we have more games available during the holiday season which really is something from September to March. Usually there is nothing in summer time.
Put all these together, the 2016 has really been great for gaming.
We had various new hardware from Sony, Microsoft and PC makers. Nintendo revealed their next console and it will be released in March.
In Japan, you had new Final Fantasy, new Persona, New Tales series, and all of them are great if not the best of their recent performance. (Please delete SO5 from your memory...)
The last of Guardian, Let it die, Nioh (the beta was amazing), Dragon quest builder, are all surprisingly well received, even for Vita, the new YsVIII is absolutely a master piece.
And there still games like Yakuza, Saga, DAZE2, Danganronpa, Nier are all around the corner. I don't know remember when was the last time Japan released such variety and quality of games on console.
In Western, there are UC4, BF1, DOOM, TF2, Inside, the witness and much more
Not to mention all those yearly series.
All in all, as a gamer, let's have fun and play video games.
I have at least 3 must buy games in Feb 2017...Can't even think about how to manage my time lol
When we talk about this has been a great year for gaming,what I assume is for the video game as a whole. If you consider region by region, then the situation is no doubt much different. Like in my opinion, Persona 5 is really really a lost opportunity for the series and both Atlus and SEGA. It is really stupid for them to not be able to release this game worldwide closer to what Japan had. Especially for what a great game this is.
We know that when company release games, they focus more about their fiscal year or at least that is for Japanese companies. Therefore, we have more games available during the holiday season which really is something from September to March. Usually there is nothing in summer time.
Put all these together, the 2016 has really been great for gaming.
We had various new hardware from Sony, Microsoft and PC makers. Nintendo revealed their next console and it will be released in March.
In Japan, you had new Final Fantasy, new Persona, New Tales series, and all of them are great if not the best of their recent performance. (Please delete SO5 from your memory...)
The last of Guardian, Let it die, Nioh (the beta was amazing), Dragon quest builder, are all surprisingly well received, even for Vita, the new YsVIII is absolutely a master piece.
And there still games like Yakuza, Saga, DAZE2, Danganronpa, Nier are all around the corner. I don't know remember when was the last time Japan released such variety and quality of games on console.
In Western, there are UC4, BF1, DOOM, TF2, Inside, the witness and much more
Not to mention all those yearly series.
All in all, as a gamer, let's have fun and play video games.
I have at least 3 must buy games in Feb 2017...Can't even think about how to manage my time lol
Violence Jack
Member
Last year had games that were some of the GOAT in my book (Witcher 3, Splatoon, Undertale, Bloodborne, Ori, Undertale, Life Is Strange, etc). While this certainly hasn't been a bad year by any means, nothing really stood out for me the way 2015 did.
But 2017 looks frigging insane.
But 2017 looks frigging insane.