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Thread: Is classic gaming better than modern gaming?

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    Default Is classic gaming better than modern gaming?

    I tried searching for an existing thread for this but I didn't find one.

    I have been asked to submit an article for the school paper, and I am considering putting forth the argument that it is better to play retro games rather than modern ones. I have a few ideas, (e.g. cost, nostalgia, simplicity), but I wanted to ask you guys if you had anything better. Do you agree that going retro is better? Is it just a lie that technology has improved the experience? Or do you disagree with me? I am very interested to hear what others have to say on this, and if I like your answer, I will shamelessly plagiarize it. =]

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    First, you must write a paper for your school on this: Is chunky peanut butter better than smooth?

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    I think the first wave of great arcade games in the late 70s/ early 80s is more compulsively playable than anything since. Are those games better than recent games? Difficult to compare.

    I spend most of my time playing "new" games (games that came out within the last 6 months or so). But I always go back to Robotron, Galaga, Centipede, etc. I'm far more likely to play one of those games than, say, Resident Evil, Gunstar Heroes, or Super Mario Brothers.

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    Or is it better tasting or less filling?

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    Basically, I just think that classic pre-PlayStation era games had better gameplay. Current generation games are just so realistic that they lose something in the process, IMO.

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    gonna have to say modern gaming is better for me...

    although I got all my fav retro consoles I get more enjoyment from games nowadays...

    I think its personal opinion... I also think that ppl over the age of say, 35 are going to perfer their retro gaming... I dont think its because they dont like modern gaming, but when you get to a certain age its harder to enjoy it due to time and responsibilities...

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    Modern gaming is better because there's simply more games available - and I count the classics too.

    It's like saying you want to live with JUST the VCS again so you can buy rares (exactly like Biff from BttF 2 would have done, you evil person). Going back to the older games would probably be especially rough on solitary gamers.

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    Because you are a student and not a troll, I will give my own opinion.

    I prefer classic
    First:
    Retro games (like the 2600) seem to shine on 2 player games like Maze Craze, Indy 500, Slot Racers, Surround, etc. They had great gameplay & engaging 2 player games. The graphics were simple so the programmers focused on the gameplay. Gameplay is what makes a game, no flashy graphics to hide poor controls or crappy gameplay.

    Second:
    Retro games are easy to pick up and play without having to spend the better part of a day figuring out the controls or objectives.

    Third: Atari 2600 is still very popular. How many xbox360s will be around 30 years from now?

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    interesting thread..i'd have to say that i spend a lot of time on modern games, but still absolutely love the classics. i just like tons of others on these boards collect classic games and systems. i have about 25 retro conoles that i still spend time with. there's something about firing up nba jam on the snes or mk2 on snes. i still love to play sonic cd on the sega cd and tons of other classics. The graphics just arent a big deal to me. i prefer fun over graphics and i think that's where classic/retro games shine.

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    I guess it's a matter of opinion. I mean, I love all gaming, from Pong to the PS3. But my favorite systems are the SNES and N64, so I'd say that Classic Gaming is better.
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    Video games back then are better than now, atleast it seems they put much more effort into the games then.

    Don't get me wrong. There are games nowdays that games back then don't even compare to but there are alot of good games in past systems. When the PS2 hit, the system didn't have as many good games as the PSX but now that it's at the end of its life, the system has far more games that are good in comparison to the PSX.

    There are alot of things the newer systems can do, like racing games are as good as they ever have been, so there's no racer that will be as good as those like Forza, Gran Turismo 5(going off Prologue and the fact that it should be much larger,) Test Drive Unlimited, and for the arcade racer, Burnout. You might bring up when Need for Speed was actually a good series, and while I still do think that, it's obviously it doesn't hold a candle to some newer racing titles.

    So it really depends. While alot of older games are much better, there just stuff that can't be done with older technology and it's obvious that a newer game will be better. Unfortunately, even though the newer systems can technically make the better titles, it very rarely happens because it seems developers aren't trying as hard. Developers back then were working aorund the limitations of the system and creating amazing games where as it doesn't seem they are truly pushing anything amazing out these days.
    Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.

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    Now that I think about it, I should have framed the issue differently. Its true, much of this all comes down to opinion, and in that case, it seems to be an impossible issue to resolve. But I think what we can do is lay out some of the advantages that classic gaming has over modern gaming.
    I'm keeping in mind my audience here. They are typically in their early 20s now, and their first experience with games might be the N64/PS1 era. I suspect anything older than that is a mystery to them. Also, [forgive me for making these wild generalities about an entire generation] they seem to me to be... a bit uncritical of the messages that they are receiving from television. Namely that technology and modernity has always improved their life, the obsolete is irrelevant, the newer is better. I honestly think that most of them would laugh at the idea of having fun playing the original SMB, or god forbid, Space Invaders. You must help me convince them.

    What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of classic gaming?
    What about modern gaming?

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    Quote Originally Posted by kupomogli View Post
    Video games back then are better than now, atleast it seems they put much more effort into the games then.
    Oh, that explains why so many freeware games beat the living poo outta most commercial releases from the NES age. Good thinking.

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    The original question is far too broad to be answered in any kind of meaningful way. So are the sum total of all the games made from 1977-2000 better than the sum total of games released in the last few years? Probably. Is the most critically-acclaimed game released in the last few years better than the most critically-panned game released 25 years ago? Probably.

    Ok, so that's meaningless. I notice you've sort of recognized that and asked some more pointed questions that are bit more answerable, so I'll address those.

    Some advantages of classic games is that they're typically easy to learn, easy to pickup-and-play, so there's not usually a big time commitment involved unless it's a Role Playing Game. The game software itself doesn't take up as much space as modern games do, so you can fit a lot of them on portable devices if you're into emulation. The other advantage is that unless they're collector's items you can usually pick them up for a fraction of what new games cost.

    There are probably plenty of advantages of modern gaming, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer. I will say that we're starting to see interesting things from independent game developers, as opposed to the main industry itself. We're starting to see retro-styled games that obviously spring from some sort of appreciation of the best classic games, but taking those old concepts and building upon them somehow, with some new twist in gameplay, or a hybrid of one or more genres, or other things.

    The well of ideas for things you can do in a classic game setting was, I think, left behind mostly untapped by the main industry when it moved on to other more three-dimensional things. So for me anyway it's interesting watching how indie developers take advantage of that, and bring us some completely new two-dimensional things we haven't seen before.

    A lot of the most interesting ones are also free, which is nice. So Spelunky is freeware, Cave Story is freeware, N is freeware, and so on. They're starting to find a market to sell these sorts of things in place like Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare, because the mainstream industry is starting to pick up on the notion that these things aren't completely worthless, which is also nice, because it offers some incentive for more of them to be developed. But many of them can be had for free in some form or another, and legally.

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    Well, I don't really have a heavy preference towards classic or modern. Any given day I can be playing Missile Command on the 2600, the next day I could be playing SoulCalibur 4 on the PS3 and the day after SimCity on the SNES.

    But there is one thing that I've noticed: In the 22 years that I've been buying games I've sold 18 titles from my collection, 1 classic and 17 from the current generation, mostly 360 games. I don't know why, but some current games don't engage me as much as to decide to keep them, and I have a high tolerance for subpar games (I've keep Red Ninja, Oni, Fracture and Futurama )
    Last edited by izarate; 07-03-2009 at 08:36 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Platypus View Post
    I'm keeping in mind my audience here. They are typically in their early 20s now, and their first experience with games might be the N64/PS1 era. I suspect anything older than that is a mystery to them.
    I would rethink this. I'm only 21 and I don't think my experience of having a NES/SNES in the house or my friends having Geneses is unique. Don't get me wrong, I would say that most of my early gaming memories would be on PS1 and N64 but I also certainly remember playing the Activision pack on my Gateway 2000 for hours, so I wasn't totally shielded from "classic" gaming. And again, my overall point is that I don't think I'm unique in this regard speaking for the early-twenties gen.

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    I would have to say that Classic Gaming is better. All of the eras from the NES to the PS2 have produced some unbelievably fun games. Once the 360, PS3 and Wii hit, games just became less engaging to me. I have a HUGE problem paying $60 for a game in 2009, but had no problem doing it in 1993.

    Why???

    Because games back then were actually fun and had deep gameplay(Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, etc.) I do enjoy Bioshock and a few other games ending with '4' or 'IV'. But seriously though, how many more FPS's or Import Tuner games do we really need? Why was RE5 so dummied down from the perfection that is RE4?? It is getting a bit ridiculous, but at least it is better than the Atari era before the Great Crash.
    Last edited by erik; 07-03-2009 at 09:56 AM.
    Why play a classic game when you can play one that sucks??!

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    Quote Originally Posted by theChad View Post
    I would rethink this. I'm only 21 and I don't think my experience of having a NES/SNES in the house or my friends having Geneses is unique. Don't get me wrong, I would say that most of my early gaming memories would be on PS1 and N64 but I also certainly remember playing the Activision pack on my Gateway 2000 for hours, so I wasn't totally shielded from "classic" gaming. And again, my overall point is that I don't think I'm unique in this regard speaking for the early-twenties gen.
    I'm also 21 and the first system I played was the Genesis, I remember seeing the Genesis and SNES everywhere I went including always seeing ads on TV for them. The N64 and PS1 didn't come out until several years later, it's not like I just caught the end of the 16-bit era.

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    Classic > Modern

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    This is a pretty hard question to answer objectively. There are a lot of people that like simplicity in games, but there are as many that love complex games. As video games have evolved, different generations of gamers have demanded different experiences out of interactive entertainment.

    In short, there is no true objective answer to this question. It should be worded, "What do YOU like better..."

    As far as what I like? I like games from all eras gaming. I love realistic wartime shooters and simple games like Galaga. I am often in different moods for different games, and it's a regular thing where I can play Oblivion and Pac-Man in the same day and enjoy both equally.

    I'm not a big fan of the earliest black and white games like Pong, but just because thats my opinion doesn't mean that others think that's the best era of gaming.

    I personally don't see merit in extraordinarily broad questions like this, but that's just my opinion.
    Last edited by TheDomesticInstitution; 07-03-2009 at 11:36 AM.

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