Games in this era were also ultimately designed to sell copies and be fun. No micro-transactions, no limitations by console platforms, no huge worldwide market

Games in this era were also ultimately designed to sell copies and be fun. No micro-transactions, no limitations by console platforms, no huge worldwide marketing campaigns and TV adverts. Just developers trying to make the games as fun as possible so more people would buy a copy when magazines gave it a good review or people showed their friends when they were over.