My answer is the same as it was in the Nintendo thread and for similar reasons. The industry in general just wasn’t as interesting for much of the 2010s whereas I loved gaming in the 2000s. We’re basically comparing these systems / libraries:


DC
PS2
GBA
GCN
XB
X360
PS3
Wii
DS
PSP

vs these:

3DS
WiiU
Vita
PS4/Pro
XB1/X
Switch

Great games spilled over into both decades from older systems like Majora’s Mask or The Last of Us so it’s a wash there. But there’s just no comparing these two eras for me. Despite the launch of the Switch and some absolute gems in the 2010s like Galaxy 2, Breath of the Wild and Odyssey, the 2000s still win quite handily.

I’m going against the majority and voting 2010s. Most of the time I spent playing games in the past year came from the that decade (beating out the 2020s). The only one I popped from the 2000s during the past year was Super Mario Galaxy.

Funny enough, the 2020s probably doesn’t even come in second or third for me during the past year. The 1980s is also ahead thanks to massive sales on stuff like the Double Dragon and Ninja Turtles collections! The 1990s because of the Suikoden collection and Actraiser.

My top 10 of the 2010s:
1. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
2. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hearts of Stone, Blood and Wine
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Odyssey
4. Paradox: Victoria 2, Crusader Kings 2, Europa Universalis 4, Stellaris
5. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 & X
6. Dragon Quest 9 and 11
7. Mario Kart 7 and 8DX
8. Minecraft & Terraria
8. Monster Hunter Tri, 4, and World
9. Stardew Valley & Rune Factory Frontier
10. No Man’s Sky

There’s not much from the 2000s I can see myself returning to. I don’t have much attachment for the games of that decade outside of Skies of Arcadia on Dreamcast, and the first half of the Wii & DS Lite era. The Phoenix Wright trilogy is probably the only thing I can see myself doing in the next 3 years → I’d also do Dragon Quest 9 and Skies of Arcadia if those games ever got remastered.

However! I’ll give the 2000s this, the Wii was the most exciting console release of all time.

As an old fan from the 80s to mid 1990s, it was a great time to see Nintendo back on top after a decade in the dumps. In fact, I don’t think there was a period more exciting than the Wii launch: the other exciting releases I can recall were Super Mario Bros 3, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy 7, and Switch + Breath of the Wild. The difference with the Wii is that every day for a very long time felt like the console launch day because people kept coming back to line up in front of the doors of retailers many hours (even overnight) before they opened.

Yeah I'll say this in favour of the 2010s; PS3's later half in that decade was way stronger than the first, and I'll also take the PS4 over the PS2 by a country mile, so as far as PS goes, the latter decade was way better for my tastes.

360 also had some great console exclusives in the early 2010s like Halo Reach, Gears 3, The Witcher 2, Alan Wake, Forza Horizon, and Splinter Cell Conviction.

Even the Wii, while it slowed down considerably in 2011, had its best year ever in 2010.

I feel like the 2000 was a better decade when it comes to innovation in games. The variety was larger so finding ones favorite game from the period is easier. Higher highs lower lows compared to 2010.

Who am I kidding, I simply like 2000 more since it got RE4.

2000s, and its not close. Never will be.

2000s, but the 90s were still better. In the 90s there was no war with Iran, no deepfakes, a lower wealth gap, lower inflation, no giant noisy AI data centers, Robin Williams was still alive, and Disney still had creative integrity.

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

I'm telling the truth.

Same in the 2000s. 90s had war with Iraq, gulf war, operation Desert Storm. Iran was recovering from the '80-'88 Iran-Iraq war when US supported Saddam with chemical weapons trying to break Iran after the 1979 revolution overthrew the US/UK installed Shaw since 1953. End of the 90s had the y2k hysteria ;)

90s were more exciting for gaming for sure, 2010s is where it all went wrong. Well for the US it was 9/11/01 that the US never got past or rather seized to start on / accelerate the path to the authoritarian plutocracy that the US is today.

The 90s were still better, because we didn't have the massive AI data centers, we didn't have 9/11, and America had at least some shred of sanity.