The 2010s were certainly a unique decade for video games in particular.
The decades prior mainly focused on graphical fidelity and more powerful consoles. The 2010s basically said “nah!” The 2010s were less about getting the most realistic human face possible (although many triple-A studios were still focused on that) and more about getting creative with long-established mechanics.
Game development itself got cheaper. Professional game engines like Unreal and Unity dropped their hefty price tags and went free, opening the floodgates for indie development.
VR…holy shit, they got it right! Nintendo tried and failed in the 90s with Virtual Boy, leading to some skepticism about VR’s future. Oculus, Valve, HTC, and many others proved that it can be done, and the results turned out great.
I feel the concept of a “console war” died this decade. The consoles are pretty interchangeable nowadays in terms of graphics and performance, and most of their games can be played on pretty much any console, or just a powerful gaming PC.
Any other observations anyone else made? These were just the big ones off the top of my head. (I haven’t even listened to the episode yet.)