My age in “gaming years”

This week I realized that I am, despite my best efforts, continuing to get old. After the initial panic that inevitably proceeds the realization one is in the twilight years of their twenties, my mind turned, as it usually does in times of trouble, to gaming.

I lived through roughly five generations of console gaming. From the NES through the Super Nintendo /Sega 16 bit console wars, and later the birth of the PlayStation and N64. Next came the PS2 and the Xbox, which carried me through to todayâ€s current systems.

I was five when I got my very first console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. The little gray box started an obsession that stayed with me for the next 23 years Thatâ€s nearly a quarter of century (shudder). In all that time, you would think Iâ€d have learned something by now. Something to take with me as I hobble into yet another new generation of gaming consoles. Looking back, I think I have. So you young whippersnappers,  indulge an old man for a moment or two. Would you?

Not as cool as advertised. Trust me.

Itâ€s all about the games

When a new gaming console drops, itâ€s easy to get distracted with the extraneous bells and whistles manufacturers will try to sell you on in the run up to launch day. The truth is that nearly every console has come with gimmicky features or peripherals that have ultimately been relegated to junk heap of gaming history.

From the NESâ€s useless R.O.B. the Robot to the equally useless Six-axis controls and Xbox Kinect, itâ€s important to remember that whatever you being told is the next, big, innovative thing…usually isnâ€t.

Hell, whole consoles that were built around gimmicks. Systems like the Virtual Boy and the 3DO, both of which were marketed as the future of gaming, were spectacular failures.

This generation has kicked off with both Sony and Microsoft making some pretty lofty promises. But while the usefulness of social media integration and the ability to use you cable box via another box is still debatable, we would do well to remember that at the end of the day, a great console is great because it allows to play a wide variety of unique, entertaining and memorable games.

Enjoy the “Console Wars”

Itâ€s only natural to want to take sides. Itâ€s Us versus Them, Sega versus Nintendo, Sony versus Microsoft (Oh yeah, Nintendo’s still around too, I guess). Internet forums and message board ooze vitriol and consternation as fanboys trade barbs in all caps, ready to write off their rival’s console with each new tidbit of news, preorder sales numbers and plain old rumors.

As we scream back and forth across cyber space at each other, itâ€s important to remember that when console giants go toe-to-toe to get you to buy their system, we all win. Competition is a wonderful thing, and encourages companies like Sony and Microsoft to give the consumer what they want. Sometimes that means cutting the launch price by $100. Sometimes it means going out and getting top developers and exclusive titles at launch.

While we all have our favorite system I think we can also all agree that watching a fight is more fun than being in one, especially when that fight could mean cheaper prices and better games.

Poor GameCube.

Donâ€t junk that old console

The grass is always more realistically rendered on the other side. It isn’t hard to get caught up in the excitement of owning a new, more powerful console. While thereâ€s nothing wrong with that, Iâ€d caution you against trading in that old system and itâ€s games.

Putting all the money that you’ve invested in your current console and games aside, chances are that you’ve had some pretty good times over itâ€s lifespan. Playing a great game for the first time is an unforgettable feeling, and it’s more than likely you will want to revisit your favorite games from consoles past again. Sometimes it’s out of pure nostalgia, other times it’s simply because the game is that damn good. Sure, new consoles release these titles in virtual stores in in “HD Collections”, but why pay for them twice? And who knows just how long it will take for them to be available to you again (just ask any Earthbound fan).

I still remember the day I stupidly sold my Super Nintendo, thinking that I wouldnâ€t want it anymore now that I had my brand new PlayStation. Why on Earth would I want to go back to play boring old Zelda: A Link to the Past when I had Virtua Fighter? It had Polygons!

Thankfully I learned my lesson. To this day I still regularly fire up my PS2, which has one of the most varied and interesting libraries of games- many of which are a still a blast to play to this day.

In my experience as a writer, using the saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is frowned upon because it is cliché. Itâ€s cliché because it is overused and it is overused because itâ€s true. With that in mind, I think that as we once again navigate the sturm und drang of yet another sea of change in gaming, we would all do well to take a glance or two behind us every once and a while for some much needed perspective.

The post The Ghosts of Consoles Past: Lessons from Gaming Systems of Yesteryear appeared first on SpawnFirst.

I’ve seen this belief popping up more and more lately, and it irks me a lot. I think it’s extremely ignorant and fallacious to base a game’s quality on its age without having played that game beforehand. Now, I can understand someone playing, for example, Final Fantasy VIII and then saying its graphics suck when compared to that of, say, Final Fantasy XIII. However, some people will claim Final Fantasy VIII is a far better game than XIII. Those people would undoubtedly tout gameplay over graphics, and I would agree with them. Some of that bias may be based in nostalgia, but some of it isn’t.

My favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. However, I’m willing to admit it’s pretty much a crappy game by today’s standards. It hasn’t aged well. I have my own personal reasons for it being my favorite game. I would still rather play it than any of the Zelda games that followed it despite the fact that some of them are probably better. I am biased in that regard.

Some games are timeless. It saddens me to know some inhabitants of Earth haven’t ever experienced the joys of Super Mario Bros. 3. Even though it’s almost 25 years old it’s still better than most games released nowadays. I played through it again recently. Time hasn’t touched it, and it never will.

Super Mario Bros. 3

My point is this: history matters, and self-professed “gamers” should respect it. If people are willing to label themselves as “gamers” they have to be intelligent enough to acknowledge that all this shiny stuff they have now exists because of past events. Call of Duty wouldn’t have happened without games like Quake and Doom. Uncharted developer Naughty Dog more than likely wouldn’t be around today without the success of Crash Bandicoot. No Space Station Silicon Valley, no Grand Theft Auto V. Have some respect, “gamers”, and if you can’t, shut up.

Also, as the old adage goes, don’t knock it till you try it. I too used to be a young dummy who didn’t “get” old games like Pong and Adventure when I used to watch my mother play them. As I got older I grew to love both games. I went online and learned more about games from the 70s and 80s. I read books. I still read books, which is becoming an increasingly rarer hobby for a person to participate in as the world becomes increasingly dumber. I guess that would also contribute to my 15-year-old nephew enjoying Resident Evil 6 and then having the nerve to call Mega Man 2 a “stupid game.” I weep for the youth of America.

Adventure

Anyway, history, folks. Respect it. Embrace it. If you can’t do those two things, don’t talk to me. I don’t want to be your friend, and I also think you’re a moron. Like the friend I had that argument with who I am no longer friends with. Video games are my life, and I will forever treasure them–be they one or 40 years old. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play Super Mario Bros. 3 again because that game is fricking awesome.

The post Embrace the Past or Shut Up appeared first on SpawnFirst.