Just because '98 held the release of my favorite game of all time doesn't mean it was the best year fro gaming, this year, 2011 is shaping to be amazing.

Don't forget Starcraft in 1998. Changed the landscape of RTS games forever and still has several thousand players online all the time.

I am bored to list all the games I bought this year so far...all 2011 releases all amazing and the year is not over yet

1994 was awesome, as well as 1998 (even if only for Devil Dice), I don't think any year after 1998 has made such an impact in gaming.

To me though the best year is the year when most of my favourite games of all time were released. FFVII, Crash Bandicoot 2 and Twisted Metal World Tour (EU release) were all released in 1997. I still play these games to this day and they are all in my top 5 favourite games of all time.

The year I remember most fondly is undoubtedly 2003:

Metroid Prime (2003 in Europe)
Wind Waker (2003 in Europe)

I'll never forget the year as the year I sold my launch PS2 with about 15 games. I was tired of the games released and had already played MGS2 and GT3 to death. I bought GTA3 due to the incredible hype and was quite disappointed by how quickly I got bored.

I thought Gamecube wouldn't be released in South Africa, so when I saw that awesome purple box in my VG store for a very reasonable price and concluded that I must somehow buy it. A week later my PS2 was sold for a healthy price and I got:

Metroid Prime Gamecube bundle + Resident Evil Remake + Starfox Adventures.

Each of these games shat on anything the PS2 could do visually, and I was truly enamoured by the console's small discs, fantastic controller and awesome graphics.

Shortly after I got Wind Waker (aah, that golden box art) and playing through those games was an absolute joy.

I don't think anything will ever beat falling in love with Nintendo's awesome console. I never, ever regretted selling my PS2 for the Gamecube experience. So 2003 was for me the year that made Nintendo #1 for me again.

Also, I highly doubt whether anything will eclipse the experience of playing Metroid:Prime for the first time. It was truly an earth-shatteringly beautiful experience.

OHHHHhhhh

that's a tight race 1994 probably wins it for me, nothing like SNES times.... but damn was 1998 sweet too....

I used to think that the 90's was the best years for gaming I'm 27 and have been gaming since I was around 6-7. But I do honestly think that this gen has come up with some gamin gems like elder scrolls, mass effects, uncharteds, Valkyria chronicles, assassins creeds, fallout 3, and many others I could mention. I do think that I've Probably enjoyed the last 5 years of gaming more than I ever have.

Have you played the earlier Fallout and Elder Scrolls games?

I don't think anybody pushed it as a fact.

i would say yes...the first 3D MGS & Zelda and also the perfect MGS & Zelda...the best fighter ever with Tekken 3...Crash Bandicoot 3 & Gran Turismo...holy i want to be young again :*-(