Important Video Games by the Decade

This is a site compiling lists of 50 video games from 5 finished decades spanning video game history. The concept behind these lists is that, should anyone wish to obtain a thorough and informed perspective on the video games of a given decade, then that person should play each of the 50 video games representing the chosen decade and obtain a broad and complete enough perspective to participate in thoughts and discussions surrounding the video games of the decade. In short, these are video games that I consider to be important for every gamer to experience to be able to say beyond any doubt that they understand a decade of video games. Rationale for a video game's inclusion cannot be nailed down to just one defining factor. Games are included for a variety of reasons, such as being culturally or historically relevant, unique, high quality, or being a result of my own personal bias.

What is currently presented on this site as of August 6, 2023 is only the first incomplete version of this concept. The site is currently filled with notes for my later use to polish the site. Many entries do not have ideal image selections, some have unverified release dates, and none have descriptions. Most importantly, these games were chosen by me exclusively (with the exception of a close friend providing personal input to help me decide on choosing Pokémon Platinum to represent the Pokémon series in the 2000s) and I am about 99% certain that this current list of a total of 250 video games consists of at least one entry that could be deemed less important than another video game that got snubbed of an appearance. I fully anticipate needing to entirely replace current entries with new ones in the future when examining community feedback.

To get started, simply select the decade you wish to view the 50 video game list for and hopefully figure out which video games you must play in order to gain a thorough understanding of a given decade in video game history.