The top 11 reasons people don't like retro gaming.
Jan 11, 2018 13:45:28 GMT -5
Post by Ex on Jan 11, 2018 13:45:28 GMT -5
1. Graphics Whores gonna graphics whore
Most gamers are instinctually driven by visual stimuli. This is as true today as it was thirty years ago. Why do video game graphics always continue to improve in technical presentation? The 5 Ps; "Presently pretty pixels produce profit." I know more than a few gamers who drop the current gen as soon as the next gen debuts, all in the name of ever increasing graphical fidelity. This kind of gamer who is easily amused by sparkling eye candy will always be biased against older games. After all, in their mind, those games are instantly archaic because the "graphics are old now and suck".
2. Newer is always "better"
Those of us raised in capitalist societies were exposed to an ingrained maxim; NEWER IS ALWAYS BETTER. This is a fundamental element of the capitalist creed. As a producer, in order to continuously sell new products, you must convince customers that your new product is better than what they already have. This mindset has been indoctrinated into the minds of capitalist denizens since birth, due to a constant barrage of advertisements, celebrity endorsements, and cultural zeitgeist appeal. As such, most gamers easily fall victim to the "it's newer so it must be better" illogical fallacy. As a reciprocative result; what's older must accordingly be "worse". In that method of simple minded thinking, old games can never be as good as brand new games are.
3. Peer pressure
When taking the above examples into mind, many gamers will find that their fellow gamers are all buying and playing the newest hardware and its video games. As a result of "keeping up with the Joneses" they too will throw said new console and its games on their credit card, thus marching to the same beat as their peers. After all, the thought of being "left behind" by their peers is too abhorrent to endure. This is almost an arms race for the modern gamer, and certainly leaves little time for playing outdated generations of games.
4. Instant gratification
Today's modern gamer can choose to play their games completely digitally if they want. Meaning there's no need to drive down to a store and buy the newest game. Instead, they can sit in their living room and just download it. Who wants to fuss with old consoles and cartridges, when that stuff requires the effort of getting off the couch to physically manipulate? Worse yet, said modern gamer might have to order a retro game, and then wait a few days for it to arrive. Nobody's got time for that anymore. New games download when you want them, and that's instant fun. Instant gratification trumps retro anticipation in the modern gamer mind.
5. Retro games are "expensive"
Depending on the generation of classic gaming, retro games can indeed be expensive. Everybody knows about multi hundred dollar NES carts on eBay. But the truth is, the general majority of retro games that are ten years old, or older, aren't very expensive. They tend to average around $20, at least for a loose cart or CD in a case. Those sort of prices are hardly painful versus the typical $60 price of a brand new modern game. And then there's emulation. Emulation is basically free. Now, some folks won't touch emulation, for three different reasons. Firstly, because their meager brains can't handle the mild complexity of using emulators. Secondly, because they believe emulators are inferior to actual hardware (rarely the factual case these days). Third and lastly, because they suffer a misguided sense of ethical superiority. Now I have no problem using emulators to play multi hundred dollar NES games. Why? Because I think of emulating games as being on the same moral ground as renting games was back in the day. But that's a whole other subject entirely, so let's not digress here.
6. Retro games are lonely
If there's one big seachange in modern game during the past few years, it's the inclusion of online social integration. If you're playing a modern game, you can often play it online with tons of other people. Most of the time these people are strangers, but sometimes they are people you may know. In that regard, many modern game systems include windows on screen showing social media messages from players to players. This capability creates an artificial sense of being in the company of other human beings. The simulated sense of togetherness is important for some people, who would otherwise feel isolated. But I find social media / gaming integration to have a detrimental effect. It breaks the fourth wall. I play video games for many reasons, but a big one is to get away from people; joyous escapism. The last thing I want when playing a game, is to have to deal with other people ruining my sense of immersion.
7. Old games are hard
It's true, generally speaking older games are harder than newer games. There's plenty of reasons for why this is the case, too many to get into here. But the fact remains your average modern gamer would lose their mind trying to handle retro 80s action games. In that regard, if a gamer doesn't value legitimate challenge as a boon while playing a video game, said gamer is going to be intimidated by classic video games en masse.
8. Technophiles
Some gamers especially love seeing technological advancements in gaming hardware. Someone like this is going to be attracted to brand new modern tech as soon as it debuts. Today's VR helmet trend is an example of the sort of angle that attracts these types of gamers. Now I have no problem with new technology, and can't fault any gamer who is attracted to it. However, I also find the technological advancements of yesteryear interesting as well. Sure that technology is old now, but it's not uninteresting. Anyone who's played a Vectrex, interacted with the NES' R.O.B., or worn SEGA Master System 3-D Glasses, would find these things just as fun today as they were during their debut. So in that regard, I don't find fault in techno-head gamers, except the ones who only look forward, and can't be bothered to look back to the past.
9. Intentional ignorance
Many modern gamers of today started gaming in the 2000s. They did not have the luxury of growing up with the classics of the 80s and 90s, and thus have no frame of reference to enjoy them. While I wouldn't fault a young gamer for when they were born, I would fault a young gamer for not trying to explore gaming's past. That would be like refusing to watch any movies from the 80s, or listen to any music from the 90s. Just because something's old doesn't automatically mean it no longer has merit. Unfortunately many modern gamers are lazy, and the actual bother of doing research on yesteryear's classics is too much effort to ask. It's far easier to casually pay attention to the latest and "greatest" new game advertisements that show up on their phones and subscribed Youtube channels.
10. Retro games aren't glorified movies
If you look at a lot of the most popular games of today, many of them are in the action adventure genre. These are very realistic looking games, with convincingly portrayed characters, and professional voice acting. The gameplay itself is practically a second thought compared to the plot presentation. And as such, the gameplay itself is barely challenging, rather in the "press A to win" realm. Why is this? Because these are not video games, so much as they are video game movies. The kind of casual gamer who adores these masquerading showboats is going to have little interest in games of the past. It's true, old games with their technological limitations couldn't hope to match the modern presentation capability of new games. But then again, old games were happy just being games. Back then if us gamers wanted to watch a movie, we'd just go to the theater.
11. Been there, done that
And the last reason is the one I hate the most. Bonafide veteran gamers who grew up playing the classics of the past, who now give the platforms of their youth the cold shoulder. Why? Well, a lot of it has to do with all the reasons I listed above. But there's one more excuse that is special to this particular group of gamers. "Been there, done that." These folks have the gall to think they've already played the best of what past generations have to offer. They're impudent enough to believe there are no more surprises left for them from the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s. And they're wrong folks, dead wrong. Every time I think I've seen it all from my own favorite classic gaming platforms, a little research reveals yet another surprise. Often a hidden gem kind of surprise. Going beyond that, there are games I eschewed from my youth, which didn't interest me as a kid. But as an adult, I now find those selfsame games intriguing. I don't care who you are, or how long you've been playing video games, or how many video games you've played, you have still not played everything awesome the past has to offer. To think otherwise is a brazen mistake.
Most gamers are instinctually driven by visual stimuli. This is as true today as it was thirty years ago. Why do video game graphics always continue to improve in technical presentation? The 5 Ps; "Presently pretty pixels produce profit." I know more than a few gamers who drop the current gen as soon as the next gen debuts, all in the name of ever increasing graphical fidelity. This kind of gamer who is easily amused by sparkling eye candy will always be biased against older games. After all, in their mind, those games are instantly archaic because the "graphics are old now and suck".
2. Newer is always "better"
Those of us raised in capitalist societies were exposed to an ingrained maxim; NEWER IS ALWAYS BETTER. This is a fundamental element of the capitalist creed. As a producer, in order to continuously sell new products, you must convince customers that your new product is better than what they already have. This mindset has been indoctrinated into the minds of capitalist denizens since birth, due to a constant barrage of advertisements, celebrity endorsements, and cultural zeitgeist appeal. As such, most gamers easily fall victim to the "it's newer so it must be better" illogical fallacy. As a reciprocative result; what's older must accordingly be "worse". In that method of simple minded thinking, old games can never be as good as brand new games are.
3. Peer pressure
When taking the above examples into mind, many gamers will find that their fellow gamers are all buying and playing the newest hardware and its video games. As a result of "keeping up with the Joneses" they too will throw said new console and its games on their credit card, thus marching to the same beat as their peers. After all, the thought of being "left behind" by their peers is too abhorrent to endure. This is almost an arms race for the modern gamer, and certainly leaves little time for playing outdated generations of games.
4. Instant gratification
Today's modern gamer can choose to play their games completely digitally if they want. Meaning there's no need to drive down to a store and buy the newest game. Instead, they can sit in their living room and just download it. Who wants to fuss with old consoles and cartridges, when that stuff requires the effort of getting off the couch to physically manipulate? Worse yet, said modern gamer might have to order a retro game, and then wait a few days for it to arrive. Nobody's got time for that anymore. New games download when you want them, and that's instant fun. Instant gratification trumps retro anticipation in the modern gamer mind.
5. Retro games are "expensive"
Depending on the generation of classic gaming, retro games can indeed be expensive. Everybody knows about multi hundred dollar NES carts on eBay. But the truth is, the general majority of retro games that are ten years old, or older, aren't very expensive. They tend to average around $20, at least for a loose cart or CD in a case. Those sort of prices are hardly painful versus the typical $60 price of a brand new modern game. And then there's emulation. Emulation is basically free. Now, some folks won't touch emulation, for three different reasons. Firstly, because their meager brains can't handle the mild complexity of using emulators. Secondly, because they believe emulators are inferior to actual hardware (rarely the factual case these days). Third and lastly, because they suffer a misguided sense of ethical superiority. Now I have no problem using emulators to play multi hundred dollar NES games. Why? Because I think of emulating games as being on the same moral ground as renting games was back in the day. But that's a whole other subject entirely, so let's not digress here.
6. Retro games are lonely
If there's one big seachange in modern game during the past few years, it's the inclusion of online social integration. If you're playing a modern game, you can often play it online with tons of other people. Most of the time these people are strangers, but sometimes they are people you may know. In that regard, many modern game systems include windows on screen showing social media messages from players to players. This capability creates an artificial sense of being in the company of other human beings. The simulated sense of togetherness is important for some people, who would otherwise feel isolated. But I find social media / gaming integration to have a detrimental effect. It breaks the fourth wall. I play video games for many reasons, but a big one is to get away from people; joyous escapism. The last thing I want when playing a game, is to have to deal with other people ruining my sense of immersion.
7. Old games are hard
It's true, generally speaking older games are harder than newer games. There's plenty of reasons for why this is the case, too many to get into here. But the fact remains your average modern gamer would lose their mind trying to handle retro 80s action games. In that regard, if a gamer doesn't value legitimate challenge as a boon while playing a video game, said gamer is going to be intimidated by classic video games en masse.
8. Technophiles
Some gamers especially love seeing technological advancements in gaming hardware. Someone like this is going to be attracted to brand new modern tech as soon as it debuts. Today's VR helmet trend is an example of the sort of angle that attracts these types of gamers. Now I have no problem with new technology, and can't fault any gamer who is attracted to it. However, I also find the technological advancements of yesteryear interesting as well. Sure that technology is old now, but it's not uninteresting. Anyone who's played a Vectrex, interacted with the NES' R.O.B., or worn SEGA Master System 3-D Glasses, would find these things just as fun today as they were during their debut. So in that regard, I don't find fault in techno-head gamers, except the ones who only look forward, and can't be bothered to look back to the past.
9. Intentional ignorance
Many modern gamers of today started gaming in the 2000s. They did not have the luxury of growing up with the classics of the 80s and 90s, and thus have no frame of reference to enjoy them. While I wouldn't fault a young gamer for when they were born, I would fault a young gamer for not trying to explore gaming's past. That would be like refusing to watch any movies from the 80s, or listen to any music from the 90s. Just because something's old doesn't automatically mean it no longer has merit. Unfortunately many modern gamers are lazy, and the actual bother of doing research on yesteryear's classics is too much effort to ask. It's far easier to casually pay attention to the latest and "greatest" new game advertisements that show up on their phones and subscribed Youtube channels.
10. Retro games aren't glorified movies
If you look at a lot of the most popular games of today, many of them are in the action adventure genre. These are very realistic looking games, with convincingly portrayed characters, and professional voice acting. The gameplay itself is practically a second thought compared to the plot presentation. And as such, the gameplay itself is barely challenging, rather in the "press A to win" realm. Why is this? Because these are not video games, so much as they are video game movies. The kind of casual gamer who adores these masquerading showboats is going to have little interest in games of the past. It's true, old games with their technological limitations couldn't hope to match the modern presentation capability of new games. But then again, old games were happy just being games. Back then if us gamers wanted to watch a movie, we'd just go to the theater.
11. Been there, done that
And the last reason is the one I hate the most. Bonafide veteran gamers who grew up playing the classics of the past, who now give the platforms of their youth the cold shoulder. Why? Well, a lot of it has to do with all the reasons I listed above. But there's one more excuse that is special to this particular group of gamers. "Been there, done that." These folks have the gall to think they've already played the best of what past generations have to offer. They're impudent enough to believe there are no more surprises left for them from the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s. And they're wrong folks, dead wrong. Every time I think I've seen it all from my own favorite classic gaming platforms, a little research reveals yet another surprise. Often a hidden gem kind of surprise. Going beyond that, there are games I eschewed from my youth, which didn't interest me as a kid. But as an adult, I now find those selfsame games intriguing. I don't care who you are, or how long you've been playing video games, or how many video games you've played, you have still not played everything awesome the past has to offer. To think otherwise is a brazen mistake.
