10 Years Ago, 2015 Was an Excellent Year

[BinaryMessiah]

2015 was ten years ago. Many people probably grew up playing these exact games at this time. It was the beginning of "The Next Generation" as we know it today. Moving away from the janky era of HD gaming. The Wii U was nearing its end, while the PS4 and Xbox One were still in their infancy. Here's a list of all the games that came out in 2015. It was a monster year, and I clearly remember people saying gaming was dead that year.

• Spoiler: List of Games

  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
  • Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • Ori and the Blind Forest
  • Dying Light
  • Fallout 4
  • Halo 5: Guardians
  • Bloodborne
  • Rocket League
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
  • Until Dawn
  • Super Mario Maker
  • Yoshi's Woolly World
  • Destiny: The Taken King
  • Soma
  • Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
  • Her Story
  • Forza Motorsport 6
  • Splatoon
  • Axiom Verge
  • Titan Souls
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X
  • The Order: 1886
  • Star Wars Battlefront
  • Mortal Kombat X
  • Battlefield: Hardline
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops III
  • Project Cars
  • Need for Speed
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
  • Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance
  • This War of Mine
  • Prison Architect
  • Galactic Civilizations III
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore
  • Tearaway Unfolded
  • Rare Replay
  • Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
  • Gears of War Ultimate Edition
  • God of War III Remastered
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
  • Heroes of the Storm
  • Undertale
  • Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

  [*]

I was looking at this list and was shocked at just how many heavy-hitting games came out that year. Not all of them are stellar, but the names alone, all being released in the same year, just aren't what you see today. To put it into perspective more, the Switch wasn't even a concept in the public's mind yet. We were all holding our breath, hoping this year would make the Wii U the console we had all wanted. Mobile gaming was taking off. Samsung had just released the Galaxy S5 and Apple the iPhone 6 a few months prior, and this was the decline of proprietary handhelds from Sony and Nintendo, and we didn't even know it yet. The Vita was slowly dying off at this point. Nvidia had just released the GTX 900 series cards. Intel the Haswell i 4000 series CPUs.

What games did you play or were excited for? What was your current mindset in the landscape of gaming at the time? I had a PS4 and Xbox One and had sold my Wii U the year before in 2014. I didn't have a gaming PC until later in the summer. I remember Soma's story blowing me away. It's still one of the best video game stories ever told. I was also neck deep into retro collecting at this point.

I still have The Witcher 3 installed on my computer and have not finished it. I just recently started a new save. I played pretty much every AAA title that came out that year and enjoyed them all.

 

[DunkeyKong]

I think pre-2015 (or 2014) is one of the biggest years for not just gaming, but worldwide. The global climate, the triumph of many sports, the songs (especially the "Happy" one), etc.

It is the year where there's a lot of positivity, changes, reveals and so on. But other than that, the saddest news for me in 2015 has to be the passing of Satoru Iwata, I still really miss him. It's been almost 10 years already after his passing and I can't forget his words.

"In my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer."

May he rest in peace

 

[bjork]

I had Fallout 4 on Xbox One at the time, and Axiom Verge is the only other one I've played off that list, but I played it in 2019. Both are fun games. But by the time 2015 rolled around, I was no longer picking up stuff around launch with any regular frequency, and was checking out a bunch of weird smaller stuff on steam. But I don't remember discussion about gaming being dead, what I would hear was more along the lines of how consoles were going to go away due to the strength of mobile, and that Xbox One/PS4 were going to be the last ones. Turns out, that was all way off the mark, heh.

 

[Stingy Perry]

The year that Snake wasn’t voiced by David Hayter.

 

[DunkeyKong]

The year that Snake wasn’t voiced by David Hayter.

The man who sold the world

 

[Waffles]

2015 was the year I quit my job as a gaming journalists, and so it marked the last time I logged on to Steam.

Can't believe it's been that long... feels like a lifetime ago.

 

[DunkeyKong]

2015 was the year I quit my job as a gaming journalists, and so it marked the last time I logged on to Steam.

Can't believe it's been that long... feels like a lifetime ago.

You used to be a gaming journalist? That's cool man! How many games?

 

[ATenderLad]

I had a pretty good 2015, I danced on the rooftop of the Smithsonian, got kissed with the cherry blossoms in bloom, and S-ranked all the missions in MGS4.

There was definitely doom and gloom about game consoles, the Wii U failed quickly and Sony and Microsofts new offerings were clearly built very conservative, hedging their bets and keeping prices low....

...which totally worked? For all the concern that mobile gaming would obsolete home consoles, we've got hindsight to show that a *lot* of households will use a handheld device to game along with something lashed to the TV. The exact combo can be phone and Xbox, tablet and PC, or later (and overwhelmingly) a Switch and a PS4, but regardless, consoles aren't done and dusted yet.

 

[RockinACup]

Man I remember getting so hyped for Fallout 4. The opening sequence alone had me hooked on it til completion.

I still play it every once in a while even with mods, but these days, I hadn't found a game that had that same gripping intensity that Fallout 4 had in it's first 30 minutes.

10 years though....time flies.

 

[Deebo]

2014/2015 is about the time I got back into gaming as an adult, hanging out with a bunch of other gamers early in college, wondering why my roommate had a Wii U (I’d only seen her play that Zelda fighting game a couple times) lol. 2015 is a nostalgic year :- ) met my husband while I was playing pokemon showdown in 2014 :- D gaming memories~~

 

[DunkeyKong]

2014/2015 is about the time I got back into gaming as an adult, hanging out with a bunch of other gamers early in college, wondering why my roommate had a Wii U (I’d only seen her play that Zelda fighting game a couple times) lol. 2015 is a nostalgic year :- ) met my husband while I was playing pokemon showdown in 2014 :- D gaming memories~~

That's a nice memory! Truly a gamer goals

 

[Yousef]

I agree 2015 was one of the best and most defining years of my life! I am Where I am now thanks to ten years ago!

 

[fake]

I don't remember how it was like in 2015. Hell, I don't even remember how it was like a week ago.

 

[Yousef]

I don't remember how it was like in 2015. Hell, I can't even remember how it was like a week ago.

Hey, I barely remember anything from 2014 or some other random years. ‘15 stuck out since it was when I begun pursuing retro gaming as a genuine hobby.

 

[Waffles]

You used to be a gaming journalist? That's cool man! How many games?

Yep. First job out of school, actually.

I reviewed... 119 games directly, 42 indirectly. And I owned around 50 myself (it was an Abandonware site).

 

[Yousef]

Yep. First job out of school, actually.

I reviewed... 119 games directly, 42 indirectly. And I owned around 50 myself (it was an Abandonware site).

That is an insane number

 

[Waffles]

That is an insane number

Right? I was trying to catch up to Ray Hardgrit from "Super Adventures In Gaming".

I feel that my best work is often born out of genuinely love for those who inspire me.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Yep. First job out of school, actually.

I reviewed... 119 games directly, 42 indirectly. And I owned around 50 myself (it was an Abandonware site).

My goodness, that's a big number!

Right? I was trying to catch up to Ray Hardgrit from "Super Adventures In Gaming".

I feel that my best work is often born out of genuinely love for those who inspire me.

I'm glad you got an inspiration, you've reached a great milestone by doing so