Why I'm a Retro Gamer - from Racket himself

[retrosportsgamer]

He updated the journal on the front page and it's a must-read.

http://www.racketboy.com/journal/why-i-am-a-retro-gamer

[RyaNtheSlayA]

It's weird. I agree with every point made, yet, I still find myself gravitating towards modern games more and more.

[BoringSupreez]

It's weird. I agree with every point made, yet, I still find myself gravitating towards modern games more and more.

Retro games will always be there, but new games are only new for a while. I see no reason to miss out on today's games just to catch up on stuff that even many retro gamers have forgotten. I mean, it's a little hard to find people who will discuss PS1 3D platformers with you, even if they are great games.

I'm not saying retro games should be ignored, I'm saying that I think it's a bad idea to retro-game exclusively.

[ExedExes]

I'm saying that I think it's a bad idea to retro-game exclusively.

Well shoot. I has a sad Does a generation back still count as "retro?" That's a rather subjective opinion.

[flojocabron]

I'm saying that I think it's a bad idea to retro-game exclusively.

Well shoot. I has a sad Does a generation back still count as "retro?" That's a rather subjective opinion.

I think its a matter of age. There's gonna be some six year olds this holiday season who's first system is gonna be the Wii U.

there are kids now that all they know is PS3/360

For these kids anything else will be retro.

For most of us 30somethings our console is the SNES. Thats why the games get sold for a lot higher than normal.

Its a cycle. Most 20 year old's first console was the N64 and sooner or later its gonna get the high prices that SNES games have now.

I suspect it will happen again in a few more years, when the younger generation want their childhood toy; The Gamecube.

There are so many facets of being a retrogamer and what I've just said is only a piece of the gaming culture pie.

Theres still the gamers out there that only stuck to one console and only now are just learning about the 'other' gaming systems.

Or the gamer that just played only console and never messed with PC gaming and/or vice versa.

Or one can be a retrogamer with their children. The nostalgia factor changes oh so much when you include your child. You remember winning the same game you kids are playing now. It could be a future right of passage?

$0.02

[prfsnl_gmr]

I mean, it's a little hard to find people who will discuss PS1 3D platformers with you, even if they are great games.

I will discuss PS1 3D platformers with you.

Also, Racket's article is - as it was before - great.

[Menegrothx]

Retro games will always be there, but new games are only new for a while. I see no reason to miss out on today's games just to catch up on stuff that even many retro gamers have forgotten. I mean, it's a little hard to find people who will discuss PS1 3D platformers with you, even if they are great games.

I'm not saying retro games should be ignored, I'm saying that I think it's a bad idea to retro-game exclusively.

I should probably buy more new games with my money considering I buy a lot of really crappy retro games for my collection when I could just try them out on emulator or something (40 USD for Chrono Trigger or System Shock is OK, 40 USD for a shitty 3DO game that I will play for 15 minutes "for the lulz" and then completely forget about is kind of hard to justify), but it's a fact that certain genres have regressed or just completely died over the years. There are many older games that simply did their genre/niche better than any one else to the point that they are still the best games in their category.

[ExedExes]

I think its a matter of age. There's gonna be some six year olds this holiday season who's first system is gonna be the Wii U.

there are kids now that all they know is PS3/360

For these kids anything else will be retro.

For most of us 30somethings our console is the SNES. Thats why the games get sold for a lot higher than normal.

Its a cycle. Most 20 year old's first console was the N64 and sooner or later its gonna get the high prices that SNES games have now.

I suspect it will happen again in a few more years, when the younger generation want their childhood toy; The Gamecube.

There are so many facets of being a retrogamer and what I've just said is only a piece of the gaming culture pie.

Theres still the gamers out there that only stuck to one console and only now are just learning about the 'other' gaming systems.

Or the gamer that just played only console and never messed with PC gaming and/or vice versa.

Or one can be a retrogamer with their children. The nostalgia factor changes oh so much when you include your child. You remember winning the same game you kids are playing now. It could be a future right of passage?

$0.02

Sounds right. Every age group will have their idea of "retro". For me, the real *retro* would be the 2600 and the NES. For others, maybe the SNES or the PS1.

[o.pwuaioc]

I find modern gamers to be similar to missionaries. I'm told that it's apparently a "bad idea" to eschew video games because they're "only new once", as if I should care about being a good consumerist and buy products new. Why can't we retro-gamers talk about how good it is to be a retro-gamer (especially when said person also mentions in the same essay that retro doesn't necessarily mean old, but also new games that have a retro feel) without someone getting so upset that we are missing out on new games, that what we're doing is inherently wrong. And this isn't just to pick on BoringSupreez, since others here have made similar comments. No one is stopping you from playing new games made with new technology, but I for one don't give two shits about the latest graphics. I yawn at CoD:BO2, but man oh man did I have great fun playing FFIVAdv today on my GBA.

[Violent By Design]

I don't have any bias toward playing a game in terms of when it was made, what type of game it is or what platform it is released on (or any serious preferences I should say). But I find it hard to relate to people who make it seem like they have to buy every new release. Just hard to get in that mind frame when there is so much stuff I haven't played yet.

I should probably buy more new games with my money considering I buy a lot of really crappy retro games for my collection when I could just try them out on emulator or something (40 USD for Chrono Trigger or System Shock is OK, 40 USD for a shitty 3DO game that I will play for 15 minutes "for the lulz" and then completely forget about is kind of hard to justify), but it's a fact that certain genres have regressed or just completely died over the years. There are many older games that simply did their genre/niche better than any one else to the point that they are still the best games in their category.

Well sure there are probably older games that might still be the pinnacle of their genre, but that does not mean that that genre in general is not well represented. I will say that the current generation has the most diversity in gaming in terms of genres. Gaming is at an all time high commercially, but that also means that independent gaming is also thriving. Can't really think of many genres that are not getting releases now.