Is it just me or did video and computer games seem more...important, for lack of a better word, in the 90s? Computer games in particular were being talked about as this magical new art form which could replace books or even movies in years to come. You had in the 90s the use of computer games as educational tools besides entertainment (JumpStart, Compton's Encyclopedia, Oregon Trail). Computer games seemed to be this really diverse field that held so much potential, and video games were also more diverse. Nowadays it seem like they're taken less seriously. No one would ever talk about video games replacing movies or books now.

I agree with Computer games. I think that they peaked in the 90s and had a little comeback in the 00s with Runescape, World of Warcraft and the early Call of Duty series. If you think about it, there was so many to play back then such as the Carmen SanDiego series, Readers Rabbit, Cluefinders, Ape Escape, etc. and like you said, some were educational while fun at the same time.

As for video games, I think I understand what you mean. In that decade alone, there was a significant variety of genres being platformers, RPGs, puzzle, shooters, etc. Now, you can't even find some of those genres today. I think the reason behind this is due to lack of taking risks. Back then, companies took risks to make a game useful or move on. Now, they try to play it as safe as possible and don't want to lose anything.