Crippled by Nostalgia: The Fraud of Retro Gaming

[Pulsar_t]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012- ... tro-gaming



This might qualify as a flamebait article, and people are certainly free to do as they please with their disposable income, but sometimes you have to take a step back and appraise your hobbies critically.

[Flake]

Yeah, I think this guy has a pretty good premise but he's making the mistake of assuming it applies to everyone. To his credit, he does acknowledge that issue with the article.

The problem with an analysis of gaming trends is that you usually have to ignore the fact that the reason there are so many types of games is that there are so many types of gamers. That extends to retro gamers. Yeah, there are a lot of retro gamers that collect more than they play (exhibit A: Half the people on this site) but there are just as many that play more than they collect (exhibit B: the other half).

[EllertMichael]

I used to listen to Parklife on repeat while playing The Getaway on PS2.

The nostalgia factor is great and all but I think a lot of kids (myself included) are just having fun digging through old console libraries and discovering all those games they missed out on

[AppleQueso]

To me, the article was just a long-winded "Uh oh, I collect more than I play!" rant. Frankly, I'm not really sure what the whole point was. That collecting old games is at least partially driven purely by nostalgia? I thought that was pretty obvious. The same thing can apply pretty well to toy and comic book collectors.

There's a certain joy to collecting in itself. I don't just collect to play my old games, I collect because I simply enjoy collecting them.

If his premise is that it's completely nostalgia driven, I don't think it explains why collectors often take interest in consoles they never actually played growing up.

[Flake]

The nostalgia factor is great and all but I think a lot of kids (myself included) are just having fun digging through old console libraries and discovering all those games they missed out on

That's an important factor, too. I think sometime those of us in our late 20's and onwards forget about our parallel demographic: The younger gamers who want to explore where gaming has been. Certainly the existence of any members on this board in their teens is an argument against that article. I hold Ryantheslaya up as proof that such an interest is not a passing fancy.

[Zing]

The article doesn't even remotely apply to me. I collect only what I play, and I play what I collect. I do spend a lot of time and money on the hobby, but it is most definitely "interactive entertainment" for me.

I agree that this is just another one of those articles written by someone who is questioning their hobby and making inaccurate assumptions of other people in the same hobby.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

He didn't even talk about retro games! He talked about his buying problem.

I'm still in high school. I'm not on this site because of nostalgia, my nostalgia is for $2 90s PC games. I play old games because I like them and this author admits that he wasn't even playing his games much. He just had a buying problem.

[scarper]

My collecting experience has been almost 0% nostalgia driven. I am 17, and grew up on the PS1. Most of my gaming involves collecting Genesis games, and playing the N64 and Saturn. I play games for the games, because games are fun and I like games. WOO games!!

However, I will say this: Even with all the 16-bit/8-bit games I play, I have a significant soft spot for the fifth gen, which is what I grew up with. Also, a lot of my N64 gaming used to be all about catching up on what I missed out on, being a PS1 kid.

[SamuraiMegas]

I could be a teen as example against this.
I play games because they are good.

[Michi]

Also, a lot of my N64 gaming used to be all about catching up on what I missed out on, being a PS1 kid.

See now, that's my problem, except I'm the opposite.

I had an N64 and a small collection of games that I loved. When I got older and managed to have more disposable income I bought more N64 games as I came across them, but along the way I realized that I could also buy some of the things that I didn't get to experience when I was younger, but had always wanted to. Namely the SNES and PS1 games. Final Fantasy, Donkey Kong Country, Resident Evil....There were so many things I'd wanted to play when I was younger, but didn't get the chance too and now I can. Whenever I want. It was a beautiful feeling