I was thinking the other day and I came up with the following list of "GotGs" if you will:
First on the list, Super Mario Bros which is credited with reviving a dead industry. Second, Sonic the Hedgehog which helped establish the Genesis as serious competition for the SNES. Third, SM64 which set a benchmark for transitioning from 2d to 3d. Fourth, Halo CE which put a totally new console on the map. Fifth, CoD4 the effects of which can still be felt to this day...
What do you guys think?
*UPDATE: I want to make something clear here: I didn't pick these games because I really like them, I picked them because they are of great note or played a major role in influencing the industry at the time of their release. I've never played the first Sonic nor CoD4 but they're both very historically significant and influenced the industry at the time of their release. I absolutely love Resident Evil 4 but it did not win a spot in my list since it released so late in the generation, too late for it to have influenced said generation.
This list is more than just "well here are some great games from their generation that I really really liked" which seems to be what people are doing when they provide their list. It certainly helps that a game be great but there should be more to GotGs like helping to establish a new console in the market like Sonic or Halo did, heralding the industry's transition from 2d to 3d like SM64 did, or setting a major trend like CoD4 did.
