I'm going to say 1994. You had Mortal Kombat II (came to arcades in 1993 but came out in Sep. '94 on consoles), Super Meteroid, both Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Donkey Kong Country, plus it was the last big year for Sega Genesis.

I'm going to say 1994. You had Mortal Kombat II (came to arcades in 1993 but came out in Sep. '94 on consoles), Super Meteroid, both Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Donkey Kong Country, plus it was the last big year for Sega Genesis.


1990,but I was told frequently that it was still the 80s culture.

1998 with 1994 as second place.  Just a sample of some of the games that came out in 1998:

- Metal Gear Solid
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Tekken 3
- Half Life
- Starcraft
- Banjo Kazooie
- Resident Evil 2
- Gran Turismo
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Pokemon Red & Blue

Also had:
- Release of Sega Dreamcast in Japan
- Release of Game Boy Color

Yep, 1998 was a good year.

1990,but I was told frequently that it was still the 80s culture.


But Sega Genesis was out for a year in the US around and the Game Gear and Super Fanicom (SNES) was released in Japan that year, so it definately wasn't quite the '80s anymore (even though Atari 2600s in their Jr. design were still being produced through the end of 1991), though the 8-bit Nintendo still had the largest share that year. Turbographix-16, a 16-bit system that failed to catch on, was out Still, that year's 8-bit games, led by Super Mario 3, were the best enhjoyed. 1990 was definately that "80s on the outside with the 90s on the inside" year.

1994 for just two simple reasons:
-Sonic and Knuckles
-Donkey Kong Country