10 Biggest Gaming Moments Of The Last Decade
The landscape of video games has changed a lot in the last 10 years.
A lot can happen in ten years.
Because gaming is an ever shifting and transformative industry, it can be alarming to look back on the past and see how gradually things have become unrecognisable. Sure, the leaps in console generations might not be as immediately obvious as they used to be but that doesn't mean there hasn't been huge shifts in how we consume, view and interact with gaming.
Back in 2015 micro-transactions weren't yet normalised, Soulsbornes were a growing (rather than dominating) genre, and we didn't even have the first Nintendo Switch.
And WhatCulture Gaming was just getting started on YouTube!
So, in celebration of 10 years of gaming coverage, here are the most news-worthy stories that truly had both the media and the general public in a chokehold. From the most exciting surprises to the most embarrassing failures, it truly has been a strange decade.
10. The End of E3
There are just some things you think are going to be around forever, largely because you don’t remember a time when they weren’t around at all.
E3 was absolutely one of those things; a stalwart of the industry that came about every year for over two decades, uniting both consumers and the companies at the epicenter of gaming. As the single biggest trade-show/publicity event in the industry, E3 was the defacto home to some of the most important moments in gaming history.
But it was the circus-act juggle of trying to be everything at once, and the ensuing rising costs of attending the show, that contributed to E3’s downfall. With the rise of the Nintendo Direct showing how things could be done on a company’s own terms, Sony pulled from the 2019 event and the house of cards came down quickly thereafter.
Those who grew up through the era of E3 were flabbergasted to see the very abrupt and curt news that it was all over as of 2023. It was hard to picture the gaming calendar without it, and yet thanks to the likes of PlayStation State of Plays and Xbox Showcases - not to mention Geoff Keighley’s Big 3 - the world has truly moved on fine.
Although there was no cringe quite like E3 cringe, and it’s easy to miss the likes of “giant enemy crab”.