WHEN WAS THE GOLDEN ERA OF VIDEO GAMES?
WHEN WAS THE GOLDEN ERA OF VIDEO GAMES?
Embedded Files
Video games are a massive industry, with the global gaming market projected to exceed $300 billion by 2027, according to Mordor Intelligence. With so much at stake, major game publishers are constantly striving to create the next big hit. But are video games truly improving, or has the golden age of gaming already passed?
In this project, I'll analyze critic and user scores alongside sales data for the top 400 video games released since 1977. I'll investigate whether certain years stand out as a golden age of gaming, based on user and critic reception, and examine the business side of the industry by exploring sales trends.
To address the business questions, I'll analyze key metrics that define what “best-selling” means in this context, including "games_sold" indicating commercial success, "critic_score" indicating industry recognition, and "user rating" reflecting satisfaction.
Steps breakdown
1. Identify the top ten best-selling games of all time.
2. Determine the top ten years with the highest rated average from critics.
3. Find the golden years of video games, based on the user and critic reviews.
1. Identify the top ten best-selling games of all time.
Insights: From 2006 to 2010, the gaming industry experienced a golden era in terms of sales, with 6 of the 10 best-selling games released during this period. Nintendo dominated the market, publishing 7 out of the top 10 best-sellers, with the Wii platform playing a crucial role. Leading the pack, Wii Sports (2006) stands as the highest-selling game, reaching 82.9 million units—twice the sales of the second best-seller, Super Mario Bros. (1985).
2. Determine the top ten years with the highest rated average from critics.
Insights: 1998 stands out as the golden year for critics with the highest average score (9.32), reinforcing its legendary status. The early 2000s (2004, 2002, 1999, 2001) mark a strong era for acclaimed games, driven by PlayStation 2 and GameCube. 2011 saw the most top-rated games (26) despite a slightly lower average (8.76). Recent years (2016, 2013, 2017) show continued excellence, while 2008 (8.63) aligns with the peak of the Xbox 360 and PS3 era.
Overall, 1998-2004 appears to be the most critically acclaimed period, while 2011 and beyond show that gaming continues to evolve with strong releases.
3. Find the golden years of video games, based on the user and critic reviews.
To compare sales trends with user and critic ratings to see if high-selling games also had strong reception, I created tables with the results of previous queries
Insights: 1998 is the standout year, with the highest critic score (9.32) and user score (9.4), reinforcing its legendary status in gaming history. 2008 – A well-balanced year, with 8.63 from critics and 9.03 from users, aligning with the peak of Mario.
Conclusion:
Combining commercial success, critic reviews, and user reviews, I've discovered the three golden years of video games are:
1998 – Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest years in gaming history. It saw the release of iconic titles like Pokemon and Half-Life, shaping the industry’s future.
2008 – A commercially and critically strong year with 175.07 million copies sold, featuring top-selling games like Mario Kart
2009-2010 – This period saw massive sales, including Wii Sports Resort and Mine Craft alongside strong user engagement.
WHAT'S NEXT GOLDEN ERA?
WHAT'S NEXT GOLDEN ERA?
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse