Thing is Montana, most of those games you mention aren't as ground-shaking as the 98 crew, many are just more modern refined versions of games released long ago, he's not saying the games aren't good, he's saying that they don't reach the level of classic games that the '98 games are.

Nostalgia then. Of course those games broke bounds, they were released in the period of a major turning point in gaming (3D, cinematics, analog control, etc.). However, and I quote him:

"Has there been a game released this generation that is better, or more epoch-defining, than a single one of those games released in that one year?"

And the answer is most certainly yes. I'm sorry for him if he wants to live in 1998, but let's face it. By your criteria, most of the games that were released in 1998 were just refined versions of past games too. Where's the line anyways? Are the first games in their genres so ground breaking and amazing just because they were the first to do something? Resident Evil 2 certainly wasn't the first game of its kind, nor was Ocarina of Time. I don't play "epoch-defining," I play fun. There's plenty of that to be had these days.

I preorder sometimes because it knocks 15% off the price and if I have to turn around and sell the game, it only really costs me another 5-15% of the purchase price. Its actually a better deal than a rental and I can keep it if I like it.

I would replace #10 with this. Stop obsessing over exclusives people!!! I doubt that there is a single exclusive for my PS3 that would be any less fun if it was shared with the Xbox 360 gamers. Personally I think that anyone who obsesses over them is either ignorant or a fanboy and either way isn't worth listening to. If I bought every single game from Capcom ahead of other publishers because I believed they were somehow better, I would be a very sad gamer.

Meh. I consider FFXII ground-shaking. One of the first games ever where you get to build a complex AI. I consider Rock Band ground breaking, a full fledge band game. Besides which, honestly im having as much fun now as I did in 1998.

Very good read, all 10 points are very sound, Monti does have a point with 10 since games like OoT and MGS were just the 2D series going 3D and doing it well. But I also agree 1998 was probably the best year for games. Generally when there's a big leap in how games work, major game innovation soon follow, and 1998 was just that year. It can be taken as nostalgia glasses but I'm thinking he means he'd love to have game innovation every year with something new that will help produce more awesome games, like OoT did to inspire so many action games.

Other then getting a little huffy-puffy over the minor details of 10 the whole article makes so much sense. Why whine about GS selling a million used copies of your game? You sold 1.5 million, oh you barely broke even? Tough shit 1.5 million for an average game every other generation would have been a resounding success at a lower price point. If you don't like how much it cost to develop a game and how hard it is to break even it's not the consumers or the store selling your games fault, period.

Well well, that was a really interesting read. Good article.

11. I still feel like alot of people see me as a geeky nerd just because I play games. Seriously, I'm not!

12. Gaming takes up so much time, I don't have the time to finish games like GTA IV or...pretty much any big game nowdays. This also means you feel like you are missing out on some great gaming experiences. Damn you meagre 24-hour day/night cycle!

i disagreed with most of his points.

Those games were milestones, because they were the first major 3D titles on a console.

The jump from 2D to 3D was crazy. Look today we talk about the jump from SD to HD in console gaming and people get really excited about it. Now imagine the excitement for the jump from 2D to 3D must have caused.

This gen we came from this:

To This

Sure it looks better. But the jump is not huge comapred to 1998.

They came from this:

to this

Of course you remember the first games you played in 3D. You were blown away and you loved them to death.

I agree most of those games are really great, I feel the same. But they were great at that time and it is simply not fair to say things were better back in the days. 

lol i wonder what will happen when the eight-generation consoles come out...