When was the commercial peak for shmups?

[evil_ash_xero]

Did it peak in the 16 bit days, or was it on the decline? I always hear that it peaked around then, but then it was gone in the 32 bit era(well, in terms of popularity). I'm gonna take a guess and say, the 80's?

What was the last monster hit, anyway? I remember Gradius and R-Type(the first ones) were huge, but I don't know about anything else, that was a million seller or anything.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Last monster hit was Raiden. Street Fighter II came out the year after and the rest is history.

[evil_ash_xero]

So, it's all Ken and Ryu's fault? Bastards.