I will preface this with I'm old. I think all my "eras" are pretty memorable for their own reasons. From the mid 80s through the mid to late 90s there was the joy of discovering new games without being bombarded by the internet, just occasional word of mouth and the few gaming magazines that were out there. Finishing Zelda II as a school aged child without going to GameFAQs every time I got stuck is an of that time experience for sure. Reading about games like Mother in Nintendo Power and for years wondering what happened to it. Getting Super Mario Bros. 3 and taking the manual to school the next day to read. Talking to my friends and learning about blowing up the underwater tube in Super Metroid. Seeing the shareware version of DOOM in a store, looking at the back and saying "this looks like Wolfenstein" and just having no idea. That kind of thing.
From there til the end of the PS2/GC/Xbox gen the internet was more of a factor, and there was the experience of gaming with optical discs. I was hardcore Nintendo until I saw a Symphony of the Night fan page on the internet. I quickly saved up money from my part time job and bought a PS1, and the game. I didn't know you needed a memory card so I had to go back. Just a couple years prior I saw the PlayStation in an EGM and said out lout "why don't they all just give up on discs? It's not going to work." I was incorrect about this. The music and the pixel art was incredible. It became my favorite game for years until Dark Souls. I had an N64 as well, but was actually hestiant about getting it. I wasn't interested in 3D games, but Mario 64 changed my mind about that. I still prefer the old stuff and even now I'd rather play a side scrolling platformer than anything in 3D, but I almost got off the wagon and got right back on at this point. The internet helped me expand my horizons during these years as well. There was a game between FFII and FFIII and those weren't really II and III? Now I didn't have to wait 30 days between new issues, I could refresh refresh refresh on N64.com and get hyped (and subsequently disappointed) about Ocarina of Time. This was peak arcade period too, mostly fighting games, and for me personally as well as my friends, it was all about Mortal Kombat II. Oh, and yeah, a lot of renting games and uh...archiving them.
Once in the PS2/DC/GC/Xbox gen, there was way more gaming coverage everywhere. Mostly on the internet still, but now there was also G4, which I kept playing in the background way too much. Fan translations were more prevalant and allowed me to play that game between FFII and FFIII, amongst others. This was one of the most experimental eras in Japan development as well. Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, Seaman, Guitaroo Man, Mister Mosquito, Steel Battallion.
The next era for me was dominated by podcasts. Sure, I always knew people who played games, but having podcasts gave me the gaming expert friends that I always wanted. These were people who were more interested in what was going on in the industry than the games it seemed, and I was cool with that. The amount I learned in that period of time was incredible with all the inside stories they were sharing. The internet played a huge factor in consoles now, and the rise of indie games, most of which harkened back to the old titles I preferred. There was finally a space for more than just AAA games again, and it was wonderful. The year we got Super Meat Boy, VVVVV, and Limbo was the best. I was importing rhythem games, playing so many titles I had missed in the past, PC gaming was on the rise. It was easily my favorite era.
The PS4/XBO/Wii U era we are now exiting was a less exciting version of the previous era. I felt there was less change and it was really just a shinier version of the prior gen.
Now we've entered a new gen, and I'm an old guy with a family full of young kids and my Switch is my best friend. I still have a decent gaming PC and the old round of consoles, but for once I don't feel the itch to get the PS5 and Series X right away. I have a huge backlog and most things aren't exciting me the way they used to. Like titles I'm excited for this year? Yakuza collection on PC. Kingdom Hearts on PC. Nocturne on Switch. Yes, old games. Old games I cannot wait to show them as they grow up.
So yeah, a long way to say that the PS3/360/Wii gen is probably my favorite, despite my usual Nintendo sway and that being a pretty weak period of years in Nintendo history, at least for me. Not for them, though. I'm very happy and extremely lucky that my life has lined up with the most critical years of my favorite hobby.