2007 vs 2017, what was the better year of games?

[ClickyCal']

2007:
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
Metroid Prime 3
Portal
Bioshock
Uncharted
Half life 2-episode 2
Halo 3
Team Fortress 2
Cod 4-Modern Warfare
Assassin's Creed
God of War 2
Witcher
Mass Effect
Crysis
Rock band

2017:
Breath of the Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Splatoon 2
Samus Returns
Resident Evil 7
Horizon-Zero Dawn
Nier:Automata
Nioh
Persona 5
Uncharted-Lost Legacy
Prey
Wolfenstein 2
Assassin's creed-origins
The fractured but whole
Sonic Mania
Destiny 2
*Xenoblade 2 coming out soon

I think it's arguably very close overall. 2007 has a ton of ground breaking games though. Regardless, both could be considered the two best of the century so far, but which one do you take?

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

2007 was better for promising new IPs that were exciting and shaped the generation. 2017 is better for refining established IPs and genres to a T.

2017 is I would say just slightly better for overall quality but I think 2007 will be remembered as more influential. It really was one of the most exciting years of gaming I've ever had just because of how much newness there was around every corner.

 

[cvbas]

2017 had some AMAZING games, but I don't think any of them (apart from Zelda, maybe) will end up being as influential as Portal, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed or Modern Warfare.

 

[john tv]

Hmm, for my personal tastes (which lean toward JP games), 2017 by a mile. In 2007, Japan was pretty limp, but look at things now. This year was phenomenal. :)

 

[Birdo]

You're missing Yakuza 0 and Gravity Rush 2.

 

[mrmickfran]

For 2017, I currently have a 3-way deadlock for GOTY. Persona, Zelda and Mario with Xenoblade also on the way and can bring the heat.

For 2007, It was Galaxy easily for my GOTY. I can't even remember that much from that year besides Galaxy.

 

[-PXG-]

You're missing Rock Band and Mass Effect for 2007 and Destiny 2 for this year...

 

[Notaskwid]

2017 by a country mile.

 

[Aokiji]

you forgot mass effect for 2007

 

[Bluelote]

also Crysis is from 2007

many great new IPs, I think 2007 wins easily.

 

[kadotsu]

2017's list could be trice as long and you still wouldn't list all excellent games that came out this year so I'll go with that.

 

[-PXG-]

Should the OP also include PUBG and Fortnite?

 

[Mass_Pincup]

It's really no contest for me, 2017 hands down.

Most genre have at least a GOTY contender both in the AAA front as well as in the indie scene. You have a diversity in terms of art style, gameplay mechanics, level design and storytelling which are rare to see in three years let alone one. Japanese games brought their A game with Nioh, Nier, Persona, Zelda, Mario, Splatoon and Yakuza. You have indie games releasing extremely good games like Cuphead and Divinity OS2. You also have the phenomenon PUBG which is shattering records of concurrent players.

Just comparing your lists there's a strong difference in terms of provided experience, there's way more genre being covered in 2017 then in 2007. I also found the 2017 games to be all around better than the 2007's. The only area where 2007 can be considered better would be in the new IP departement, it's a bit lacking in 2017 comparatively but otherwise the choice is clear for me.

It's truly a great time to be gaming

 

[Deleted member 2793]

More special games to me in the 2007 list and I'm not a fan of the modern gaming trends of 2017 (too much open world, lootboxes, etc), but I feel like all years in general are pretty equal considering how niche my tastes are.

 

[Falconbox]

Based on my tastes alone, I'd say 2017.

Wasn't a big fan of Galaxy, Half Life, Crysis, or Rock Band. Although I did love CoD4, Portal, and Bioshock. I only got to play Uncharted recently with the Nathan Drake Collection.

 

[Bigkrev]

The problem with 2007 is that while stuff like Assassin's Creed and Uncharted were important for what would come later, both games are kinda bad, especially when compared to their modern coutnerparts.
2017 destroys 2007

 

[Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule]

2017 is not over yet but i feel this is the best year of both.

Mario-Zelda and Persona. WOW

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Arguably a cop-out answer but they both feel special in their time. I do think that almost every game I've played this year feels better than replaying any game in 2007 does right now, but there's a lot of factors that make that form of analysis problematic. In 2007, most of the games listed by OP felt leagues beyond most of the existing peers on market to me, too.

I do think that 2017 is just slightly better overall when I try to approach it from several different perspectives. It's probably my favorite year of gaming in my lifetime so far.

 

[WeAreVenumb]

2017, a lot of those 2007 games were more in the good, not great category, and some were honestly just plain disappointing, like Assassins Creed to be specific.

 

[-PXG-]

More...

Add to 2007:

Motorstorm
The Darkness
Crysis

Add to 2017:

Injustice 2
Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite
Call of Duty WWII
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Cuphead
Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

 

[Fireblend]

I'm gonna go for 2017. Maybe it'd be close if I had owned more consoles in 2007 and had experienced more of the bigger games that year, but having had access to most heavy hitters this year... it's not a competition. 2017 has been incredible.

 

[Bluelote]

The problem with 2007 is that while stuff like Assassin's Creed and Uncharted were important for what would come later, both games are kinda bad, especially when compared to their modern coutnerparts.
2017 destroys 2007

Click to shrink...

by today standards those games might be bad, but at the time they were fresh and exciting, I never really enjoyed the AC series as much again, but AC1 back in the day was very impressive.

 

[Timu]

2007 is more memorable, but I think overtime 2017 will hold up as the better year.

 

[Neto]

The list is missing Divinity 2, Cuphead, Hellblade and What Remais of Edith Finch.

And I think that they'll fit your criteria of influential games

 

[newmoneytrash]

I think 2017 wins easily which is impressive as hell

 

[TheDarkKnight]

2017 runs away with it IMO

That 2017 list has a lot of great games missing from it

 

[hersheyfan]

Going off the OP's list, it would appear to be pretty close... and there are a significant amount of very influential games there. But one thing to keep in mind is that indie games are a much stronger force now than they were ten years ago. In 2007, they essentially were a non factor to most of the gaming market, myself included.

The amount of top quality indies released this year alone, if merged into that 2017 list, would make this a no contest.

 

[Green Mario]

2007 was more influential, but I'm enjoying 2017 more, personally.

 

[WeAreVenumb]

List is also missing Total War Warhammer 2 and Golf Story.

 

[HiLife]

Halo 3 and CoD4 are my teenage gaming memories. As a matter of fact, both franchises basically molded my tastes in FPSs and online gaming. I don't play either of them now, but I highly doubt I'd be into following Overwatch and Siege news if it wasn't for those two franchises really sparking my interest in competitive shooters.

On top of that, it was when I still living with my parents, and taking whatever game I could get (which happened be to the Halo franchise/CoD) and cherishing it, playing the shit out of it, getting all the achievements and trying to reach the top of the leaderboards. Nowadays I buy games, and can't even be bothered to finish them past the fourth chapter.


2007, hands down.

 

[strikeselect]

Gotta go against the grain here and side with 2007. As great as 2017 has been, I don't see any of this year's games having the impact and influence that something like Modern Warfare or Team Fortress 2 had on the industry.

 

[Devilgunman]

Some 2007 games in OP (eg Assassin Creed) isn't even good. 2017 is easily the best year of gaming for me.

 

[-PXG-]

Shit, who didn't buy Crackdown in 2007? Add that too.

 

[TheDarkKnight]

Also you're kind of missing a little game know as PUBG from your list.

And no divinity 2? Cmon include the pc games

 

[HiLife]

Shit, who didn't buy Crackdown in 2007? Add that too.

Click to shrink...

Who didn't buy Crackdown just to play Halo 3? Damn. I dunno why I can remember things so fondly a decade ago. The Halo 3 hype, the CoD4 takeover.

It was a great year for shooter fans.

 

[what am i even looking at]

I think 2007 felt more "next-gen." Titles like Assassin's Creed , Bioshock, and Modern Warfare really pushed the medium forward, especially in regards to the maturity that they approached their subject matter. Seeing Jerusalem for the first time, or hearing Andrew Ryan introduce you to Rapture were moments that seemed to legitimize games as an art form in way that nothing 2017 has produced.

That said, I think that 2017 has seen some the release of some the most mechanically solid games of the century. Sonic Mania and Cuphead are definitely the games that spring to mind for me personally, but the year as a whole has been host to some phenomenal games.

I think 2007 is very much a milestone in gaming and the games released then have probably had more impact on culture, but that 2017 has produced the better suite of games mechanically.

 

[-PXG-]

Guitar Hero 3

Goddamn. 2007 was insane.

 

[Servbot24]

2017 by far for me. Mario Galaxy and Portal are great. Bioshock and Prime 3 are good. The rest... :/

 

[Hazard_Kujacker]

For me it's 2017, thanks to the comeback of major JRPG's and the fact that the Yakuza series finally got (somewhat) more popular.

Then again Im super biased because honestly western developed games are rarely my thing.

 

[Deleted member 10314]

2017 easily. It's been a vintage year gaming wise.
1998 is the one to beat imo, but this is a good year.

 

[Deleted member 6730]

2007 was a good year for the west (and also Nintendo), 2017 is a good year for Japan (and also Nintendo).

 

[Rob2K19]

2007 had Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix, which was the definition of greatness. 2017 has Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep, which is KH3's prologue, but 2017 also has Digimon Story CS Hacker's Memory. Sorry 2007, but I'm going to have to go with 2017. You will not be forgotten.

 

[digitalrelic]

You forgot What Remains of Edith Finch. My personal favorite of 2017 & certainly one of the best indie games ever made.

 

[魑魅魍魎]

2017 and you left some games off the list like cuphead

Shit, who didn't buy Crackdown in 2007? Add that too.

Click to shrink...

I didn't

 

[City 17]

2007 had lots of new IPs that started new franchises, but some of those games (Assassins/Uncharted...), while influential to the AAA landscape of that time, aren't really that good, and are handily beaten by their 2017 counterparts (AC:O/U:LL) due to their iterative nature.

Also the amount of great indie games in 2017 are orders of magnitude more than 2007, when the scene was just starting. That'd amount to like 10s of great titles like Hollow Knight, Pyre, Cuphead etc.

Considering the above, together with the wealth of AAAs released this year, I think 2017 is easily the better year.

P.S. OP how can you put South Park in there but forget about Divinity OS 2 or PUBG

 

[vegtro]

Not sure if mentioned, but GTS, Forza 7, and PC2 in 2017.

 

[KsG]

2017 for me. The Switch coming out this year has a lot to do with it. So much joy that console brought me this year with the titles that came with it. If the Switch didn't come out this year I would maybe said 2007. Then again there was a lot I played on the PS4 this year as well...

 

[jviggy43]

This year has been great for games but I think I would have to give it to 2007; has more major hits and more generational milestone games. With that said 2017 comes close.

When halo 3 came out it turned my entire freshman dorm hall into a giant lan party 7 days a week for like 2 months straight.

 

[LuigiV]

1998

On topic though, 2017 is winning for me. It's much more to my tastes.

 

[Mexen]

Looking at that 2007 list makes me feel old. So many influential titles there. What a year.

That said, 2017 has held it's own TBH.