The Pong Era/1st Gen (1971 - 1977) Famous Games: Computer Space, The Oregon Trail, Pong, Gun Fight, Breakout, Death Race
Target Audience: Last-wave Boomers, Boomer/Xer cuspers

The Atari Era/2nd Gen (1977 - 1985) Famous Games: Space Invaders, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, Star Wars
Target Audience: First-wave Xers, core Xers

The 8-bit Era/3rd Gen (1985 - 1991) Famous Games: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Punch-Out!!, Contra, Mega Man 2, Tetris
Target Audience: Core Xers, last-wave Xers

The 16-bit Era/4th Gen (1991 - 1995) Famous Games: Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario Kart, Doom II, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger
Target Audience: Last-wave Xers, Xer/Millennial cuspers

The PlayStation/Nintendo 64 Era/5th Gen (1995 - 2000) Famous Games: Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, StarCraft
Target Audience: Xer/Millennial cuspers, first-wave Millennials

The PlayStation 2 Era/6th Gen (2000 - 2005) Famous Games: Halo, Grand Theft Auto III, Super Smash Bros. Melee, World of Warcraft, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus
Target Audience: First-wave Millennials, core Millennials

The Xbox 360 Era/7th Gen (2005 - 2012) Famous Games: BioShock, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, Batman: Arkhram City
Target Audience: Core Millennials, last-wave Millennials

The Xbox One Era/8th Gen (2012 - present) Famous Games (so far): BioShock Infinite, Super Mario 3D World, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Target Audience: Last-wave Millennials, Millennial/New Silent cuspers

What was your favorite generation of games and game consoles? How do you think games have changed as the generational demographics of the target audience has changed over the years from Boomer to Xer to Millennial?

I think you're jacking your early gen console matches, because you're missing out on who the target audience was. Videogames were considered toys by both boomers and first wave and core Xers. Late wave Xers s were a little more lax with it, but not that much. 8-bit consoles were aimed at millennial cuspers and very late wave Xers. Nintendo's success was an extreme surprise, because Atari collapsed gaming after the E.T. debacle. Gaming being normal/socially acceptable in the mainstream past elementary school was pretty much exclusively a Millennial phenomenon.

And really, once you get to 5th and 6th gen, you can just add Millennial cuspers to both those and once you get to 7th and 8th gen, it's "e'rebody but Boomers and Silents". Xers weren't really cool with videogames until about the tail end of 6th gen consoles, where you started to see titles like Call of Duty.

I'm a 1972 Atari and my wife is a 1976 Nintendo.

Originally Posted by Kepi

I think you're jacking your early gen console matches, because you're missing out on who the target audience was. Videogames were considered toys by both boomers and first wave and core Xers. Late wave Xers s were a little more lax with it, but not that much. 8-bit consoles were aimed at millennial cuspers and very late wave Xers. Nintendo's success was an extreme surprise, because Atari collapsed gaming after the E.T. debacle. Gaming being normal/socially acceptable in the mainstream past elementary school was pretty much exclusively a Millennial phenomenon.

I think the Atari really was marketed toward Xers, but it never had the kind of pull that later 8bit consoles had. Sega also went out of their way to market more toward a Gen X type of crowd, but they never got the sales that Nintendo got with their Millennial-oriented marketing teams.

So while it was never particularly successful in terms of a marketing strategy, there was definitely an effort to sell Xers videogames. Besides, the Xers who had hobbies and interests that weren't mainstream (like gaming, even reading) were the ones that ended up influencing millennial culture - so even though they were a minority at the time, they're the minority that matters now (in this context).

Originally Posted by JohnMc82

I think the Atari really was marketed toward Xers, but it never had the kind of pull that later 8bit consoles had. Sega also went out of their way to market more toward a Gen X type of crowd, but they never got the sales that Nintendo got with their Millennial-oriented marketing teams.

So while it was never particularly successful in terms of a marketing strategy, there was definitely an effort to sell Xers videogames. Besides, the Xers who had hobbies and interests that weren't mainstream (like gaming, even reading) were the ones that ended up influencing millennial culture - so even though they were a minority at the time, they're the minority that matters now (in this context).

Gonna have to agree with John on this one. Consider Tron, and the arcade culture it depicts at the beginning. Videogames were definitely an Xer thing in the beginning, though they weren't as ubiquitous with them as they were with Millies. On a purely anecdotal level, my older siblings, those of my friends growing up, and their friends were almost all gamers. Doesn't mean every Xer was, but there was definitely a point when games and game systems were marketed towards Xers, even if only a subset of them.

I was born in 1979 and I can tell you when I was young, Atari games seemed to be for slightly older cousins and friends. Nintendo and Super Nintendo were important parts of growing up. And then, Playstation 2 / Nintendo 64 seemed to be for slightly younger cousins and friends. They came out when I was getting too old for that sort of thing. As an adult, I have a Playstation 3 and Wii. I've got no desire to get the next generation of systems until the next Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy or truly groundbreaking experience game like Shadow of Colossus comes out.

I was born in 71 and remember the Odyssey and very much wanted an Atari, which I loved playing at friends house. After that, I really skipped the video game scene until we bought a PS2 around 2000. Of the list, my favorite by far is the Xbox 360 which I picked up to play Oblivion(*). In fact, I am on my 3rd console having worn two other out. * - A friend gave me a copy of Morrowind for the PC and I was so impressed with the software engineering effort that I became a huge fan of the series. I've also enjoyed a lot of their other games, like the Fallout Series.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

Gonna have to agree with John on this one. Consider Tron, and the arcade culture it depicts at the beginning. Videogames were definitely an Xer thing in the beginning, though they weren't as ubiquitous with them as they were with Millies. On a purely anecdotal level, my older siblings, those of my friends growing up, and their friends were almost all gamers. Doesn't mean every Xer was, but there was definitely a point when games and game systems were marketed towards Xers, even if only a subset of them.

I don't disagree with John, but I think to say that 8-bit consoles were generally an Xer phenomenon doesn't really describe the reality, when really there were Boomer outliers in there, too. Outliers don't count, in general, though, as anything more than outliers. It's much more honest to say "before the Millennial cusp, paying videogames after the age of 13 or 14 was considered odd."

Atari here. I related on another thread seeing a oldish mom (ah, wonders of modern fertility management) wearing an original Atari T-shirt. Self identification, LOL!

I don't disagree with John, but I think to say that 8-bit consoles were generally an Xer phenomenon doesn't really describe the reality, when really there were Boomer outliers in there, too. Outliers don't count, in general, though, as anything more than outliers. It's much more honest to say "before the Millennial cusp, paying videogames after the age of 13 or 14 was considered odd."

I'd say you're overstating it. And even this statement is a big walk-back from the previous:

Gaming being normal/socially acceptable in the mainstream past elementary school was pretty much exclusively a Millennial phenomenon.

Look at the age of people playing Everquest and the like in the 90s, they were getting married for Chrissakes. Like most aspects of Millie mass culture, the whole thing was an Xer subculture that rapidly overgrew its old bounds, with the Xers themselves leading the way and the Millies just following.

We may be quibbling over semantics, however.

The 4th and 5th Gen are the most familiar and so is some of the 6th Gen.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

I'd say you're overstating it. And even this statement is a big walk-back from the previous:



Look at the age of people playing Everquest and the like in the 90s, they were getting married for Chrissakes. Like most aspects of Millie mass culture, the whole thing was an Xer subculture that rapidly overgrew its old bounds, with the Xers themselves leading the way and the Millies just following.

I think, as usual, we mostly agree, but the level of degree is really what we're talking about. The most relatable example in pop culture I can bring up is Brodie in Mall Rats. When I watched that movie in the 90's, that dude was the biggest dork ever, and that was kinda the point. Brodie was a loser and by extension, his ex-girlfriend's behavior was appropriate, though you wonder how he picked her up in the first place. Flash forward almost a decade later, and you watch it and Brodie seems much less extreme and Shannon Daugherty, much more bitchy. Then when you see him in Clerks 2, as a software mogle... That's part of the social narrative I think is so important.

Most of my friends who've gone far in computers follow a similar level of being outcast that doesn't exist as much anymore. They were these self taught guys (because that was the only way to learn at the time), and because they were relatively rare, they wound up making a ridiculous amount of money one they were done with the ridicule of high school. Unlike me, a customer who liked high school and had a very different experience, they were outcasts.

The ever quest fanatics of the 90's were really considered or there at the time. They might have had their little subculture, but it wasn't considered normal. I'm not trying to say they didn't exist entirely. I'm trying to say that they were a very small piece of the pie relative to the average Xer.

Originally Posted by Kepi

I think, as usual, we mostly agree, but the level of degree is really what we're talking about. The most relatable example in pop culture I can bring up is Brodie in Mall Rats. When I watched that movie in the 90's, that dude was the biggest dork ever, and that was kinda the point. Brodie was a loser and by extension, his ex-girlfriend's behavior was appropriate, though you wonder how he picked her up in the first place. Flash forward almost a decade later, and you watch it and Brodie seems much less extreme and Shannon Daugherty, much more bitchy. Then when you see him in Clerks 2, as a software mogle... That's part of the social narrative I think is so important.

Most of my friends who've gone far in computers follow a similar level of being outcast that doesn't exist as much anymore. They were these self taught guys (because that was the only way to learn at the time), and because they were relatively rare, they wound up making a ridiculous amount of money one they were done with the ridicule of high school. Unlike me, a customer who liked high school and had a very different experience, they were outcasts.

The ever quest fanatics of the 90's were really considered or there at the time. They might have had their little subculture, but it wasn't considered normal. I'm not trying to say they didn't exist entirely. I'm trying to say that they were a very small piece of the pie relative to the average Xer.

I get what you're saying, but there are so many flaws in what you're saying. First off, Brodie wasn't just a geek, he was also lazy, unambitious, and unemployed, nor was his geekery limited to videogames. The whole cast also clearly proves that there was a point when all of those things were marketed to Xers, which is what you were arguing against. Also, Jason Lee's character in Mallrats was not the same as the character from Clerks 2. I get what you're talking about with the improving social status of geeks and their culture over the last 20 years, but all of these examples mentioned (and we can include someone like Marty from Back to the Future) show that geekdom has been progressively lionized from at least the 80s on, when most Millies were still just a gleam in their parent's eyes. All in all, though, once you get past the hyperbole we're all describing the same thing.

I have never played X box and barely played Playstation 2. Playstation 1 and N64 were the last time I ever explored video games. To be honest I feel like I've outgrown them, I just couldn't imagine sitting there for hours playing them or becoming absorbed into their storylines. I was actually raised with 8 bit and 16 bit games mostly, Nintendo, Turbo Duo, Super Nintendo, were the systems I mainly played. I never had a Sega growing up. I used to play my cousin's Sega CD and Sega Saturn, when I was young I thought they were the height of video game graphics.

It's funny, I didn't know anyone else who played Playstation until the Millennium. Most children tended to have Sega genesis or Super Nintendo in the 90s. Around 98-2001 kids starting getting playstation and N64 as they became more affordable. Playstation was always advertised as the "adult" system.

I think the problem is that gaming just became too complicated. Who wants to think when you play video games? Give me a mushroom looking villain and let me stomp on his head, it's like releasing steam.

Originally Posted by Felix5

I have never played X box and barely played Playstation 2. Playstation 1 and N64 were the last time I ever explored video games. To be honest I feel like I've outgrown them, I just couldn't imagine sitting there for hours playing them or becoming absorbed into their storylines. I was actually raised with 8 bit and 16 bit games mostly, Nintendo, Turbo Duo, Super Nintendo, were the systems I mainly played. I never had a Sega growing up. I used to play my cousin's Sega CD and Sega Saturn, when I was young I thought they were the height of video game graphics.

It's funny, I didn't know anyone else who played Playstation until the Millennium. Most children tended to have Sega genesis or Super Nintendo in the 90s. Around 98-2001 kids starting getting playstation and N64 as they became more affordable. Playstation was always advertised as the "adult" system.

I think the problem is that gaming just became too complicated. Who wants to think when you play video games? Give me a mushroom looking villain and let me stomp on his head, it's like releasing steam.

The only games I think are fun anymore the ones that are on the Google app store. There is no need to make video games into complex movie plots all the time. The reason people played them in the past was to have fun and release steam. I think the people involved in creating video games should pay attention to that.

Good summary. Last-wave Xer and Xer/Millennial cusper here. Nintendo wave and big Sega Genesis fan here. Don't forget Street Fighter 1987, SF2 1991. Here's a good one some Xers May have played. Rocket Ranger a huge alternate WWII game.

Originally Posted by A.LOS79

Good summary. Last-wave Xer and Xer/Millennial cusper here. Nintendo wave and big Sega Genesis fan here. Don't forget Street Fighter 1987, SF2 1991. Here's a good one some Xers May have played. Rocket Ranger a huge alternate WWII game.

3rd to 4th generation right here.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

Geekdom has been progressively lionized from at least the 80s on, when most Millies were still just a gleam in their parent's eyes. All in all, though, once you get past the hyperbole we're all describing the same thing.

Movie references aside, the only quibble is how low that low point was from which geekdom began its rapid comeback. I don't think it's hyperbole to emphasize how far outside the mainstream Gen X culture gaming was. Online, sure, there were Xers and even boomers and it was no big deal. But on the playground or in the mall, most Xers didn't want to hear about your video games.

Hyperbole was the non-stop 60 Minutes specials claiming that video games would rot your brain, or that role-playing games were an invitation to Satan. I wish I was making this stuff up or exaggerating. http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.ASP

Anyway, the other tangential point that seems relevant is that the "coolest" Xers (in '80s-'90s high school terms) have experienced a massive drop in their own influence. Today, decades later, and with the context of Millennials to compare them to, it's the nerdiest and most marginalized of the Xers who seem to be forward-thinkers and pioneers.

Originally Posted by JohnMc82

Movie references aside, the only quibble is how low that low point was from which geekdom began its rapid comeback. I don't think it's hyperbole to emphasize how far outside the mainstream Gen X culture gaming was. Online, sure, there were Xers and even boomers and it was no big deal. But on the playground or in the mall, most Xers didn't want to hear about your video games.

Hyperbole was the non-stop 60 Minutes specials claiming that video games would rot your brain, or that role-playing games were an invitation to Satan. I wish I was making this stuff up or exaggerating. http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.ASP

Anyway, the other tangential point that seems relevant is that the "coolest" Xers (in '80s-'90s high school terms) have experienced a massive drop in their own influence. Today, decades later, and with the context of Millennials to compare them to, it's the nerdiest and most marginalized of the Xers who seem to be forward-thinkers and pioneers.

Oh, granted. I acknowledge that it was a subculture, and not the main attraction, particularly for earlier Xers, but definitely a fairly widespread one and one which had been marketed to at some point, which is what this whole thing was about.



And I agree how funny it is what happened to comic books and video games versus what happened to things like punk. Strange world.

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

Oh, granted. I acknowledge that it was a subculture, and not the main attraction, particularly for earlier Xers, but definitely a fairly widespread one and one which had been marketed to at some point, which is what this whole thing was about.



And I agree how funny it is what happened to comic books and video games versus what happened to things like punk. Strange world.

Which part are you referring to? I'm a little too steeped in all 3 to necessarily see them as not having a rather huge intersection, like how the last issue of Star Lord I read, the dude was singing "Super Rad" by The Aquabats, or how the former drummer for Shai Hulud just broke the Mario Brothers world record, or how one of my friends just got an infinity gauntlet tattoo. So, to me there's a huge intersection. What does it look like to somebody who is far enough removed that the intersection is irrelevant?

Originally Posted by Kepi

Which part are you referring to? I'm a little too steeped in all 3 to necessarily see them as not having a rather huge intersection, like how the last issue of Star Lord I read, the dude was singing "Super Rad" by The Aquabats, or how the former drummer for Shai Hulud just broke the Mario Brothers world record, or how one of my friends just got an infinity gauntlet tattoo. So, to me there's a huge intersection. What does it look like to somebody who is far enough removed that the intersection is irrelevant?

Oh, I see the intersection, but you're right, it's at a bit of a remove. It's not that I don't play video games socially, read comic books, or listen to the occasional punk song, but my interaction with the cultures around them has always been mediated by friends and family in that late GenX/Millennial cusp who took them far more seriously than I. I just think its funny that over the course of the last few decades the two have surged into these multimillion dollar mainstream cultural powerhouses, while punk was largely defanged and the surviving subculture aging and dwindling into a footnote. Although, when you think about it, it isn't really surprising that they would survive the influx of money and attention much better than the latter. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Felix5

I have never played X box and barely played Playstation 2. Playstation 1 and N64 were the last time I ever explored video games. To be honest I feel like I've outgrown them, I just couldn't imagine sitting there for hours playing them or becoming absorbed into their storylines. I was actually raised with 8 bit and 16 bit games mostly, Nintendo, Turbo Duo, Super Nintendo, were the systems I mainly played. I never had a Sega growing up. I used to play my cousin's Sega CD and Sega Saturn, when I was young I thought they were the height of video game graphics.

It's funny, I didn't know anyone else who played Playstation until the Millennium. Most children tended to have Sega genesis or Super Nintendo in the 90s. Around 98-2001 kids starting getting playstation and N64 as they became more affordable. Playstation was always advertised as the "adult" system.

I think the problem is that gaming just became too complicated. Who wants to think when you play video games? Give me a mushroom looking villain and let me stomp on his head, it's like releasing steam.

You are an honorary 2nd wave Xer ... LOL!

Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed

Gonna have to agree with John on this one. Consider Tron, and the arcade culture it depicts at the beginning. Videogames were definitely an Xer thing in the beginning, though they weren't as ubiquitous with them as they were with Millies. On a purely anecdotal level, my older siblings, those of my friends growing up, and their friends were almost all gamers. Doesn't mean every Xer was, but there was definitely a point when games and game systems were marketed towards Xers, even if only a subset of them.

An anecdote from the Roaring Nineties ... picture a bunch of Xers at a tech place sitting in various cubes. So, in order to test a certain distributed system / logical cluster, you had a bunch of dudes (and a few chicks) wailing away at a network session of Doom ... LOL!

The First game system I was familiar with when I was a kid was the NES (although I do have very vague recollections of the Atari), around late 91/early 92 we got the super-NES and we usually played on that system although my older (1981 cohort) brother occasionally still played NES games until the about 1995 or so. During most of the 90s we played the Super-NES until about 1998 when we got the PlayStation. We did have a N64 which we received as a Christmas present in 1996 but we only bought a few games for that system. From 1998 until the early 00's we played the PS1 and later the PS2, shortly after the PS2 came out I largely lost interest in video games, but my brother still played PS2 and later systems occasionally until shortly after the recession began. When the Nintendo Wii came out my aunt sent me one as a Christmas present but I never got around to playing it: the Wii sits there gathering dust to this day. I do remember the Nintendo Vs. Sega Video game wars, but we were a dedicated Nintendo household so we never played Sega.