The 10 BEST Things About Gaming in the 2000s
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
Gaming in the 2000s was a truly magical time. For this list, we'll be looking at the gaming landscape specifically around the sixth generation of consoles, such as the PS2-Xbox-Gamecube era, as well as the early days of the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, and what made it probably one of the greatest times to be a gamer. Our list of the best things about gaming in the 2000s includes Couch Co-Op, a Lack of DLC and Microtransactions, Fewer Spoilers, Real Hype, and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays and we’re getting nostalgic for the days of old and looking back at the 10 best things about gaming in the 2000s. For this list, we’ll be looking at the gaming landscape specifically around the sixth generation of consoles such as the PS2-Xbox-Gamecube era as well as the early days of the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii and what made it probably one of the greatest times to be a gamer. What was your favorite era of video games and what do you miss about gaming from your childhood? Pop a couple member berries and let us know down in the comments.
Think back, if you’re old enough, to the days of midnight launches when fans would wrap around buildings just waiting for a new game to release. This was also during the days when most of the info we got about new games came from magazines and eagerly anticipating the newest issue to tell us what was coming in near the future. Along with this was the days of E3, waiting for those new reveals and watching what seemed like endless hours covering all the new games shown off and dreaming of one day going to the E3 floor and being one of the first to try out the newest titles still in development. However, with the internet literally at our fingertips and stories and leaks constantly bombarding you from every news site, there’s very little to get excited about nowadays as most games we’re anticipating had been revealed oftentimes years before their eventual release.
Think of how little impact the “Would you kindly” twist would have had on not only your experience but the entire gaming landscape if comment sections were flooded with the reveal and whole articles were written about it the same day the game released. With most online users considering themselves “trolls”, oftentimes you can’t even open Twitter or YouTube without seeing a spoiler for a game that had only just been released that day. This wasn’t as prevalent an issue during the sixth and even to an extent the early days of the seventh generation of consoles, but is a constant problem for gamers nowadays and oftentimes no matter what we do, short of leaving the internet behind until we finish the newest title, it’s often nearly impossible to avoid having huge twists or large portions of the game ruined for us before we even have a chance to begin.
Gamers have been and always will be a passionate group of fans. However, in recent years, the level of passion people have for their favorite hobby or pastime has been taken to some extreme new levels. With most developers having an online presence, now more than ever, it's all too easy to harass a game dev for a decision fans might disagree with and sometimes this has even led to threats of harm which has no place in a community that has brought so many together over the years. While fan outrage is nothing new, in the early 2000s, most people had no outlet for airing their grievances besides writing or emailing the company or simply complaining to their friends about their thoughts on the newest title. Just imagine the kind of hate and vitriol Hideo Kojima would have gotten back during the Metal Gear Solid 2 switcheroo.
Whether it was Mario vs Sonic, Mario vs Crash, Crash vs Spyro, or Ratchet vs Jak, there was no shortage of friendly competition in the early days of the console wars and for a time, no matter your side, everybody was a winner and had their own personal favorites. Nowadays, however, there’s very little competition to speak of. Crash has only just had his revival, Spyro mostly died alongside his Skylanders toys and Ratchet & Clank has no competition to speak of on Sony’s consoles. Even former heavyweights like Medal of Honor and Battlefield have fallen before the might of Call of Duty. And although Battlefield is still around, it’s a shadow of its former self and even the likes of Halo can’t compete in a landscape it once dominated. And with no real competition to speak of, many once staple genres like 3D platformers are becoming relics of a by-gone era.
Believe it or not, there once was a time when many tentpole series would see new entries every couple of years if not annually. In the span of almost 3 years, gamers were gifted GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas, as well as numerous other Rockstar hits like Midnight Club and Bully. Ratchet & Clank saw improved sequels one year after another, and even Metal Gear games were only 2-3 years apart. These days we get near annual releases of COD and of course sports titles, but the days of full-fledged sequels releasing on the same console generation is quickly becoming a thing of the past. As budgets balloon to blockbuster numbers and the scope of games increases, so too does the time to create these titles, to varying success. And because of the severely extended development times between entries, there are some gamers playing sequels to titles who weren't even alive when the original was released.
While the PS2 and OG Xbox brought online gaming to many players for the first time and introduced many gamers to words and phrases they’d never heard before, there was still an abundance of love and options for those who preferred their trash talking face to face. Online lobbies have undoubtedly become one of the most popular new places for gamers to make friends, still nothing compares to getting off the bus and running to a neighbor’s house to play split screen Halo, Star Wars Battlefront 2 or Dead or Alive 2. This is also increasingly disappointing for anyone looking to introduce their children to gaming and having fewer and fewer options to share their first experiences with. Somehow over the years, for a hobby that used to bring so many people together, we’ve never been further apart.
Along with becoming one of the best-selling consoles of all time, the PS2 had a library of games that rivals nearly any console to date. By the end of its life cycle, over 4300 games had been released for the PS2, while by comparison, the PS4 which is still ongoing, has just shy of 3300 games. While this doesn’t seem like a massive difference, when you consider that the PS4 has an abundance of indie titles as well, the number of fully fledged studio releases for one of Sony’s newest consoles drops significantly. We also had all manner of titles and genres that have almost completely disappeared in recent years such as extreme sports titles, arcade racers and even 3D platformers. The sixth generation was also full of licensed tie-in games that while not all winners, were still dumb fun for a weekend.
These days AAA video game budgets can balloon to the hundreds of millions and if a title doesn’t meet expectations, not only can a potential franchise abruptly end, the studio itself might be closed down for good or if you work for Activision, folded into pumping out COD titles. What made the sixth generation such a golden age of gaming was the level of experimentation developers were granted to make some of the absolute craziest concepts possible. Nowadays, something like the masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus or even Kingdom Hearts would be seen as “risky” and might never get past the conceptual stage. Publishers now more than ever are run by money men and constantly chasing the next trend or whatever can net them the most profit and as a result, the once prolific industry has become stagnant, and any experimental titles are left to the indie market.
When was the last time, outside of maybe any first party Nintendo game, the entire game was on the disc. No DLC, no season pass, and most importantly, no microtransactions? While these days developers can offer patches to fix issues in their games, back in the day, video games were often delayed until they were fully complete and we as gamers often had no idea because the hype machine didn’t begin until the game was close to completion. And at most, some games would later receive special edition releases that gave players an abundance of extra content to fool around with. Nowadays, developers seem to intentionally leave major content out of the game to sell back to the player in a season pass or as DLC or worse still, can now alter the game to entice players to purchase microtransactions after the game has released and you’ve invested your hard-earned time and money into the title
Above all else however, what made the sixth generation of consoles so great was the games we played were designed specifically for us to have fun with them, break them, and play them until we’d uncovered every little easter egg hiding within them. As video games rival summer blockbusters not only in costs but production, more and more video games are becoming serious business and to an extent, the medium has grown along with much of its audience. However, as games attempt to rival their film counterparts, the escapism aspect of gaming is quickly being forgotten. Once beloved titles like NFL or NBA Street which took what was predominantly a niche genre and made it fun for casual players, or even once popular franchises like Twisted Metal or Tony Hawk barely exist anymore. Video games are by far better than ever but the love for the game has been lost to time.
Real Hype
Think back, if you’re old enough, to the days of midnight launches when fans would wrap around buildings just waiting for a new game to release. This was also during the days when most of the info we got about new games came from magazines and eagerly anticipating the newest issue to tell us what was coming in near the future. Along with this was the days of E3, waiting for those new reveals and watching what seemed like endless hours covering all the new games shown off and dreaming of one day going to the E3 floor and being one of the first to try out the newest titles still in development. However, with the internet literally at our fingertips and stories and leaks constantly bombarding you from every news site, there’s very little to get excited about nowadays as most games we’re anticipating had been revealed oftentimes years before their eventual release.
Fewer Spoilers
Think of how little impact the “Would you kindly” twist would have had on not only your experience but the entire gaming landscape if comment sections were flooded with the reveal and whole articles were written about it the same day the game released. With most online users considering themselves “trolls”, oftentimes you can’t even open Twitter or YouTube without seeing a spoiler for a game that had only just been released that day. This wasn’t as prevalent an issue during the sixth and even to an extent the early days of the seventh generation of consoles, but is a constant problem for gamers nowadays and oftentimes no matter what we do, short of leaving the internet behind until we finish the newest title, it’s often nearly impossible to avoid having huge twists or large portions of the game ruined for us before we even have a chance to begin.
Less Toxicity
Gamers have been and always will be a passionate group of fans. However, in recent years, the level of passion people have for their favorite hobby or pastime has been taken to some extreme new levels. With most developers having an online presence, now more than ever, it's all too easy to harass a game dev for a decision fans might disagree with and sometimes this has even led to threats of harm which has no place in a community that has brought so many together over the years. While fan outrage is nothing new, in the early 2000s, most people had no outlet for airing their grievances besides writing or emailing the company or simply complaining to their friends about their thoughts on the newest title. Just imagine the kind of hate and vitriol Hideo Kojima would have gotten back during the Metal Gear Solid 2 switcheroo.
Competition
Whether it was Mario vs Sonic, Mario vs Crash, Crash vs Spyro, or Ratchet vs Jak, there was no shortage of friendly competition in the early days of the console wars and for a time, no matter your side, everybody was a winner and had their own personal favorites. Nowadays, however, there’s very little competition to speak of. Crash has only just had his revival, Spyro mostly died alongside his Skylanders toys and Ratchet & Clank has no competition to speak of on Sony’s consoles. Even former heavyweights like Medal of Honor and Battlefield have fallen before the might of Call of Duty. And although Battlefield is still around, it’s a shadow of its former self and even the likes of Halo can’t compete in a landscape it once dominated. And with no real competition to speak of, many once staple genres like 3D platformers are becoming relics of a by-gone era.
Development Time
Believe it or not, there once was a time when many tentpole series would see new entries every couple of years if not annually. In the span of almost 3 years, gamers were gifted GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas, as well as numerous other Rockstar hits like Midnight Club and Bully. Ratchet & Clank saw improved sequels one year after another, and even Metal Gear games were only 2-3 years apart. These days we get near annual releases of COD and of course sports titles, but the days of full-fledged sequels releasing on the same console generation is quickly becoming a thing of the past. As budgets balloon to blockbuster numbers and the scope of games increases, so too does the time to create these titles, to varying success. And because of the severely extended development times between entries, there are some gamers playing sequels to titles who weren't even alive when the original was released.
Couch Co-op
While the PS2 and OG Xbox brought online gaming to many players for the first time and introduced many gamers to words and phrases they’d never heard before, there was still an abundance of love and options for those who preferred their trash talking face to face. Online lobbies have undoubtedly become one of the most popular new places for gamers to make friends, still nothing compares to getting off the bus and running to a neighbor’s house to play split screen Halo, Star Wars Battlefront 2 or Dead or Alive 2. This is also increasingly disappointing for anyone looking to introduce their children to gaming and having fewer and fewer options to share their first experiences with. Somehow over the years, for a hobby that used to bring so many people together, we’ve never been further apart.
Spoiled For Choice
Along with becoming one of the best-selling consoles of all time, the PS2 had a library of games that rivals nearly any console to date. By the end of its life cycle, over 4300 games had been released for the PS2, while by comparison, the PS4 which is still ongoing, has just shy of 3300 games. While this doesn’t seem like a massive difference, when you consider that the PS4 has an abundance of indie titles as well, the number of fully fledged studio releases for one of Sony’s newest consoles drops significantly. We also had all manner of titles and genres that have almost completely disappeared in recent years such as extreme sports titles, arcade racers and even 3D platformers. The sixth generation was also full of licensed tie-in games that while not all winners, were still dumb fun for a weekend.
Experimentation
These days AAA video game budgets can balloon to the hundreds of millions and if a title doesn’t meet expectations, not only can a potential franchise abruptly end, the studio itself might be closed down for good or if you work for Activision, folded into pumping out COD titles. What made the sixth generation such a golden age of gaming was the level of experimentation developers were granted to make some of the absolute craziest concepts possible. Nowadays, something like the masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus or even Kingdom Hearts would be seen as “risky” and might never get past the conceptual stage. Publishers now more than ever are run by money men and constantly chasing the next trend or whatever can net them the most profit and as a result, the once prolific industry has become stagnant, and any experimental titles are left to the indie market.
All In One
When was the last time, outside of maybe any first party Nintendo game, the entire game was on the disc. No DLC, no season pass, and most importantly, no microtransactions? While these days developers can offer patches to fix issues in their games, back in the day, video games were often delayed until they were fully complete and we as gamers often had no idea because the hype machine didn’t begin until the game was close to completion. And at most, some games would later receive special edition releases that gave players an abundance of extra content to fool around with. Nowadays, developers seem to intentionally leave major content out of the game to sell back to the player in a season pass or as DLC or worse still, can now alter the game to entice players to purchase microtransactions after the game has released and you’ve invested your hard-earned time and money into the title
Designed For Fun
Above all else however, what made the sixth generation of consoles so great was the games we played were designed specifically for us to have fun with them, break them, and play them until we’d uncovered every little easter egg hiding within them. As video games rival summer blockbusters not only in costs but production, more and more video games are becoming serious business and to an extent, the medium has grown along with much of its audience. However, as games attempt to rival their film counterparts, the escapism aspect of gaming is quickly being forgotten. Once beloved titles like NFL or NBA Street which took what was predominantly a niche genre and made it fun for casual players, or even once popular franchises like Twisted Metal or Tony Hawk barely exist anymore. Video games are by far better than ever but the love for the game has been lost to time.
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