What the hell were we thinking?!?!

NeoGAF.com poster djtiesto wrote: "Yeah, I saw the article and was wondering where some of the late 80's were... '89 especially - Mega Man 2, Dragon Warrior, Phantasy Star 2, Super C, and a whole other list of games for NES, Genesis, and Turbo..."

He's right to represent for '89. This year saw a remarkable number of new consoles hit the market, and the dawns of two new generations of gaming were witnessed. Sega released their amazing new 16-bit (twice the power of the classic Nintendo Entertainment System) Genesis console, while NEC delivered its competing TurboGrafx 16 console (which didn't quite make the 16-bit cut by simply strapping two 8-bit brains together).

Games like the arcade port Altered Beast, the ninja star-throwing Revenge of Shinobi and the sprawling epic RPG Phantasy Star II ensured a slot for the Sega Genesis in gamers' collective unconscious that remains even today.

While the TurboGrafx 16 pushed out some moderately successful launch titles like shoot 'em-up Blazing Lazers (see what they did with the two Zs there?), pinballin' Alien Crush and the platforming sidescroller Legendary Axe, it would garner mass appeal in later years with the controversially gory Splatterhouse and kid-friendly Bonk's Adventure.

Nintendo essentially invented quality handheld gaming by releasing the device that would keep the sometimes troubled empire afloat for years to come: the Gameboy. Packaged with the incomparably addictive Tetris, and playing home to Mario's first non-LCD portable adventure (Super Mario Land ), the Game Boy quickly gained popularity with youngsters and busy business people on the go.