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Some days you just feel old. I bought a flashcart for my DS mostly so I could only carry one device with me when traveling and finally put my Palm Pilot to rest - thank you DSorganize. But since I could, I threw on a PC Engine/TG16 emulator (Nitrogfx) and a SNES emulator (SNemulDS) and a couple games Ive been meaning to play Military Madness and Secret of Mana mainly. Well after Church one Sunday I was waiting for everyone to leave so I could lock up so I decided to play alittle Military Madness. One of the kids in our youth group came up to me (knowing me since I provide them with DDR every year for the lockin) and asked what I was playing. I showed him and explained to him what he was looking at. His response was thats lame, I thought you were playing something cool like Call of Duty and he left. And sure we all have stories like this but it made me realize how old I was.
Heck Im only in my late 20s but over the past two years I have had more than a few of these experiences. I met a kid at an anime convention in Alabama (Anime Alabama) last year who had never seen an original Gameboy in person, and asked me if Sailor Moon was a new show coming out. And anyone who has known me for awhile knows of my last experience in a Gamestop (where I was called a casual gamer for buying the NeoGeo collection on the Wii by people playing Guitar Hero), and some days I think it is time to rethink this hobby.
I never do, I still am trying to justify the $100 for Bubble Bobble 2 on the NES, but it gets to me sometimes. How can so many gamers not have respect for the titles that built up their hobby? I give retrogaming panels all over the USA for Retrogaming with Racketboy and Momocon on Tour (mostly in the Southeast), and often I asked why retrogame? I mean there are some obvious answers: Nostalgia and price being the most obvious. But the one I have started giving people is History. That knowing how something has evolved over the years helps me appreciate what it has become. The last time I gave a panel (June) the person who asked laughed at my answer. So I gave them an example. I said lets take first person shooters for example and asked who knew the first one ever made. The resounding response was Doom, the guy who asked said Wolf 3d. I said they were all way off. I broke down the first twenty five years of the genre as best as I could (from Maze War in 74 to Halflife in 98 ok so thats twenty four years) with certain hallmarks. Many of the people there had no idea that you could play an FPS without a mouse
Ok so sometimes being old is a good thing. The kid asking if Sailor Moon was an anime coming out still gets me though.
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And if you were thinking about Nitrogfx and you have a DSiXL, be forewarned the screen is not properly formatted and you can not read see the edges.
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The Top 5 Survival Horror Games for the Sega Dreamcast (2/20/2024)
Trombone Champ Is a Good Game (12/30/2023)
Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch OLED Model (11/21/2023)
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You feel old? I understand completely. I'm in my mid-thirties, and I get tired of people telling me that PlayStation is retro. Just because it isn't sold at Gamestop anymore, it doesn't make it classic.
I guess I shouldn't complain too much though. Most cartridge games pre-NES (and thankfully SMS) are very affordable, and still fun to pull out and play. I still have to hook up the ColecoVision to get good ports of Zaxxon and Time Pilot (why did these never hit the later consoles?), and I like the Donkey Kong version on it better than the NES version.
There is hope though. I was rather shocked at the number of young people that were at CGE this year. I didn't see many of them at the panels, but at least interest in the games where there.
Oh, and Sinistar on the 5200 is fantastic.
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There's an anime con in ALABAMA?
As another retro collector/player in his thirties, I agree with you completely that one of the primary reasons to retrogame is history. What we have now is not just built off newer hardware, but also decades of developed game design, and thousands of near misses and outright failures that help guide our hobby into refinements that make a game better. Plus, good game design never gets old; I don't care how many Maddens, Halos, or Call of Duties are released, Super Mario Bros. is still fun. New Super Mario Bros is fun too, but its not like the original stopped being enjoyable after the new one was released.
The Who, the Doors, and Pink Floyd are still awesome to listen to: their music isn't worthless just because countless bands have created music since then. Fight the good fight, fellow 'Old Timer!'
Really, and anime convention in ALABAMA?!
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Duke.Togo, I am pretty sure I own that copy of Sinistar but no 5200 - gogo Garage Sale lots. Good to hear the younger gamers were at CGE, I missed it do to another convention. Once I get a moment today Ill draft up a story from an event I ran last year, its one of my favorite gaming stories.
Slackur, there have been five in recent years. AUSAMcon, Kamicon, Anime Alabama, Persacon, and Hamacon. AUSAMcon and Anime Alabama folded last year. And because of you I know have Pinball Wizard stuck in my head...well its better than Knights in White Satin.
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Another thought to make us feel old:
Teenagers today grew up on Playstation 2 and Xbox.
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@slackur: That's the first thing I thought of as well. Who is hosting an anime convention in Alabama?
I'm 26 (27 in 15 days), already found a couple of grey hairs, and have a 4 year old son. We recently got him a twin bed. Putting that together will absolutely make you feel old.
Here's something else to make you feel old though. Students entering their freshman year of college this fall were born AFTER the SNES came out. Ugh...
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I'm younger than all of you and I feel old.(Since i never capitalize my I's i realized i had to add italics... making it big wouldn't stress the point...).
Maybe i feel old because my first systems i played were my cuz's NES and my hand-me-down 2600. I still have my gray brick Gameboy. But even still I had a Genny and SNES around 8. I had PSX MAYBE a year after launch. Same for N64. PS2 same thing.
I essentially grew up on systems that you guys complain about kids my age (well younger i guess) calling classics. But in my mind the Genny and SNES are just as classic as the 2600 and NES. Hell i think my PSX and N64 are classics. I grew up playing them.
Side note: When i play any modern game i don't use the 8bit classics for passing judgment i use the 3D classics. Spyro, Crash, GoldenEye, etc
What ever happened to the generational breakdown? Neo Classics is the only thing that is popping into my head right now.
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@fastbilly1: You need to grab a 5200. Everyone complains about the analog sticks, but there are definitely some games that make it worth it. That and the thing is so huge you have to admire it.
@Izret101: At least you appreciate and have played older systems.
I am jazzed about the Intellivision collection that is coming to DS soon. 60 Intelli' games? I'm there.
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After working out the "Y," I typically pop in a quarter to play their Galaga machine (one of the reasons I joined) while waiting on my wife to sauna and get dressed. One evening while playing, these two kids, probably 8-9 came up to me and stood beside the machine to watch me play. After clearing several levels and a few perfect bonus rounds, one of the kids looks at me and says, "Man I bet you were even more awesome at that game back in the day." This moment always gets a chuckle out of everyone I tell the story to and I even laugh myself while telling or thinking about it.
You know, kids are just kids and they say things without thinking or even inquire about the history of something. The biggest difference I find, and I'm probably 5 or more years your senior, is that people who did not grow up in the late 70s/early 80s typically (not all) have a very minor concept of the enormous progress of video gaming to date. I grew up on the 2600, so I can tell you that looking back, I'm greatly proud of being around and experiencing that. Even today, I don't collect games that aren't in cartridge format. Sure, I have a Wii and buy a few hot releases from time to time, but I much prefer playing the systems I grew up on. Now that I'm much older with a job, a family, and little to no free time, the time I get to myself is valuable and it's a time for me to go back to when I was a carefree kid and video games were an important part of my life. The "nostalgia" is akin to Peter Pan syndrome; I don't want to grow up, but if I have to, I'm taking a great part of my childhood with me. I guess the point I am trying to make is that those kids who don't understand, or shoot snide comments at you now, have not concept of the past because they are growing up during a time where technology is extremely overwhelming and a part of almost every aspect of our lives. When I was growing up, few to no people I know owned computers, now if you don't have one, you must be over 70. When they get older, those same kids will be collecting XBox 360/Playstation 3/Wii games and systems just like we do, only this time, there will be a new group of socially-excellerated kids making fun of them. When you get those comments, just know that someday their time is coming.
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His response was thats lame, I thought you were playing something cool like Call of Duty and he left. And sure we all have stories like this but it made me realize how old I was.
Methinks the realization that I was gettin' up there finally sunk in was when I was sharing my addiction stories with a couple early 20-something coworkers. One of 'em was kinda bummed that Super Mario Bros 1 & 3 were not fast-paced enough for his liking, and that they weren't all that hard to beat on the first try... which he did in his late teens.
The other guy seemed to have an appreciation for the Wario Land series, though... even if he occasionally griped about them not being available for the PSP. He was eventually fired when the store's G.M. caught him puffin' a doob in the walk-in fridge...
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This is fastbilly1's Blog.
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The sometimes unedited, often confusing, ramblings about random topics revolving around videogames. With a heavy focus on retrogaming and exotic projects.
From the mind of the promotion coordinator for Retrogaming with Racketboy and Momocon On Tour. |
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