Has to be Gen 2.  That's where it started.  Atari, Intellivision, and Fairchild.    I think gaming peaked at GEN 4 at SNES and SEGA Genesis.  

I can't choose a single gen. I'd say the 90s and the early 00s.

Fifth generation.

you have to!!!! :P

4th gen. From what i've read, it was the moment when developers fought the hardest to create high quality new games without the technical limitations of the past or the questionable practices of today.

For me the golden age was the easy PCs running on 80086 processors....when the games being played were the Sierra online quest games. Loved that.

Probably the 5th gen for me. I was too young to appreciate the 4th gen.

We start at the 5th gen with the greatness known as N64 and end with 6th gen's behemoth PS2...

Second half of 90s till early 2000s on PC.

1998 was the best year, I guess that was in the 5th gen.
The peak of great classic adventure games with Grim Fandango, and a new turn for fps games with Half-life, next to Oot, Baldur's gate, MGS. The year before FF7, GT, GTA, Curse of monkey island, TR2, Dungeon keeper, Age of empires, Riven, Blade runner. The year after Alpha Centauri and the launch of Everquest which is still going today.