One of my biggest pet peeves is how people lump the Y2K era (1999 - 2001) with the '90s rather than the '00s where it belongs. The Y2K era was one of my first memories, I mean my memories started to crystalize in 1999 at age 4. And this era is NOT the same as the mid and late '90s. The Y2K era was when almost every household in the cities had a personal computer and some form of basic access to the internet (be it through internet disks, dial-up, or what-not). This was when new celebrities who were unheard of in 1997 blew up (Britney Spears, Destinies Child, Nsync, etc.) When the year "2000" was being talked about a lot in regards to the scare of the Y2K computer bug. When everything was bright, spacey, 3D, and futuristic looking... This was NOT the '90s!

The Y2K era did feel quite distinct from both the late '90s and early '00s (you felt a different vibe after 9/11 and very different 1998 too). But it was not the '90s. It is more culturally associated with the 2000s. The '90s died in 1998. And the '90s are mainly defined by the early and middle part, not the late part that people are so confused about.

I felt like that era was neither the 90's nor 2000's, at least not what was represented by the cores of those decades. When I think of the 90's I think of grunge and alternative rock. When I think of the 2000's I think of the post-9/11 GWB era.

In terms of video games and technology it IS more like the late 90s than 2000s, to be bluntly honest. If you look at a lot of stuff that came out in 2000 like Windows ME/2000 and Majora's Mask, it's really not that different from say, Ocarina of Time or Windows 98.
Y2K era is transitional between the 90s and 2000s. TV and music has more of a 2000s vibe with Eminem and Linkin Park being big, and shows like SpongeBob and The Sopranos blowing up. However, there's still lots of shows with a 90s vibe, like As Told By Ginger.
I'd actually consider the Y2K era a culmination of 90s-era techno-optimism and futurism. You can connect stuff like Lawnmower Man and Hackers to The Matrix. IMO, the dot-com bubble burst, George Bush election, 9/11, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube launches, Windows XP, fantasy films like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter coming out, Shrek, and so much more all resulted in the true death of 90s culture and phase-in of 2000s culture. 1999-2000 are more 90s. 2001 is more 2000s.

I remember the 90s started to feel different in late 1998. And felt more like 1999 and 2000, 2001. Late 1998 and 1999 just didn't feel like the 90s anymore. Something had changed. Even music wasn't the same during that time. Sad but true.

Even 2002 had a Y2K vibe; Swayzak from Toonami is an example. However, his personality and his New Zealander accent in the game were inspired by 2000s film villains the Green Goblin and Jango Fett. Only his design (and on-air voice) carried a Y2K vibe.

Even 2002 had a Y2K vibe; Swayzak from Toonami is an example. However, his personality and his New Zealander accent in the game were inspired by 2000s film villains the Green Goblin and Jango Fett. Only his design (and on-air voice) carried a Y2K vibe.


If the Y2K vibe lingered into 2002 it was only mildly. People were sick of it by then. It was there in 2001 because there was so much disagreement and confusion about exactly which year was the real beginning of the 21st Century.