Best year to be a gamer

[ceti alpha]

I went with '94. The TG/Duo had really figured out what the system was actually capable of, and "lots" of games (there should have been more, but that's another story). Also, there were the next gen consoles coming out, so you had the best of both worlds.

Though, I almost went with nat's reasoning - '89-'91, as the NES was in full effect and the TG was released. 

[SNKNostalgia]

1994

That was the year I got to enjoy 16 bit gaming at its fullest. Games like Final Fantasy 3, Super Metroid, Lunar 2, Snatcher and Samurai Shodown 2 (MVS at arcade). What a great year, especially when you own a SNES. This year just seemed to roll out with great games left and right for the Genesis/Sega CD and SNES. This was when arcade games were at their best for 2d. Well atleast up to 96 or so, but 94 was when arcade games just got really good.

My other picks would be 1990-92 for NES gaming at its best. As well as me owning my TG-16.

Then 1997 for owning my first Neo Geo. Also, PS1 and Saturn games were getting damn good.

2001 was also great for next gen gaming with the RE remake on Gamecube and Metal Gear Solid 2. This is when good polygons made my jaw drop once in a while.

[td741]

Can't be sure but voted '94.

Was having a blast with my Duo, 3D0, Amigas, PC, SNES.

[TJ]

1983 - Arcades were packed with everything from Atari Football to Dragon's Lair. It was the height of the mania just before the crash.
1991 - 16-bit became king as the Super NES came out in the US and the Genesis was hitting its stride. Plus Street Fighter II was in arcades, creating a mini arcade renaissance for a while.
1999 - With games like Zelda: Ocarina, Metal Gear Solid, and Panzer Dragoon Saga coming out in 98, 3D gaming really started realizing its potential. I should have voted 98 but I missed and clicked 99. Oops.

[nat]

1999 - With games like Zelda: Ocarina, Metal Gear Solid, and Panzer Dragoon Saga coming out in 98, I started realizing this early 3D gaming really started realizing its potential really looked like ass. I should have voted 98 1989-1994 but I missed and clicked 99. Oops.

 

Fixed.

[rag-time4]

1987 - Got my NES in 87, Street Fighter and Double Dragon came out in the arcades. Perestroika in the Soviet Union.
1991-1992 - Ignoring the part that said this was about console and portable games, these years were huge for Street Fighter 2 in the arcades... ahh the good ol' days.

[vestcoat]

I picked one year and one year alone:

1989. For me, this was the height of my personal "golden age" of video gaming. The NES mania was in full swing. And then the TG-16 was released. I would get one the following Christmas, but man, THOSE were the days. If I could go back to one year, that would be it.

If I had to pick two more I guess it would be 1990 and 1991 since those were the years that followed....

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly.  Marketing was still hit or miss and gaming magazines weren't widely read so every game carried an air of mystery about it.  Everyone read the shitty Jeff Rovin books without any pictures.  Retailers went crazy stocking games and I also found tons of loose titles at odd little second-hand shops my mom frequented.  Not only did the two video stores in my town start renting games, but so did the movie theater and the mom-and-pop appliance shop that no one had previously patronized except to buy a washing machine.  The local Radio Shack even had a game-trading service where you could bring in a used game and take one from their meager selection for $5. 
My favorite was 92 when I took home the annual EGM with the system reviews and couldn't believe how awesome everything looked.  I saved up and bought a SMS 2 and my first TG16 later that year.

[nat]

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly. 

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Me and my friends would ride our bikes around town and when we got tired we'd go home and play some SMB2. If you ask me, that was the real video gaming "golden age." Though I wouldn't get one until the following year, I remember reading about the TG-16 in a magazine. It became my one goal to bug my parents constantly until they got me one for Christmas.

[ceti alpha]

Yeah, 1989 was pretty good.  Whatever your opinion of the NES, there were some really nice advantages to having everyone playing one system.  Every other kid in my school had one and my friends and I loaned and traded games constantly.

Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Me and my friends would ride our bikes around town and when we got tired we'd go home and play some SMB2. If you ask me, that was the real video gaming "golden age." Though I wouldn't get one until the following year, I remember reading about the TG-16 in a magazine. It became my one goal to bug my parents constantly until they got me one for Christmas.

Aww...the good old days. BMX, Nintendo and harassing your parents for a Turbografx. 

...I miss my BMX...