Since video games started being made, gaming fans have argued about pretty much everything. Which consoles are the best, what year had the top games, what generation defined the medium, and other contentious subjects are brought up often. One new analysis claims to have an answer. With regards to "What Console Generation is Gaming's Golden Era?" the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 generation has won, as based on aggregate reviews of 19 of the industry's top gaming franchises.
The analysis was put together by FandomSpot and took into account 19 major gaming franchises, each spanning multiple generations, including Call of Duty, FIFA, and Grand Theft Auto. It then tracked the Metacritic score of each release from each franchise, or at least the games with the highest and lowest scores. That may seem limiting, but the results are surprising. 15 out of the 19 best-rated games from each franchise were released during the PS3/Xbox 360 generation.
Games that were mentioned as part of this defining "Golden Era" of PS3 and Xbox 360 releases included Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, FIFA 10, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. While the chart doesn't clarify, it can perhaps be assumed that backward compatible titles like Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 2 and Halo: Combat Evolved may also have been included in the PS3/Xbox 360 generation's total, too. Regardless, it's easy to see how the PS3/Xbox 360 generation could be considered the "Golden Era" of console gaming.
Behind the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, the PS2 and Xbox generation came in second place. 13 of the 19 games on the list were ultimately available on PS2 and Xbox, showing that many of the best games for these major franchises were released across both generations. At least, that's what these totals imply. Suffice to say, it could be more appropriate to say that the PS2/Xbox generation is the "Golden Era" of console gaming and that the PS3 and Xbox 360 inherited a lot of great ports and cross-gen releases.
This is obviously a flawed methodology to make any sort of definitive statement about any console generation. Major gaming franchises, especially including sports franchises and racing games, are rarely representative of the best games in a console generation. Also, many franchises only go back so many years or have been reinvented. That's not even mentioning whether Metacritic is the best choice for such an analysis.
This analysis is still interesting to consider and many game players do only care about major game franchises. That said, it's probably best to look at this "Golden Era" of console gaming analysis as a fun distraction and a great starting point for a conversation rather than anything approaching definitive.
Source: FandomSpot