Why I am not a modern gamer.

[isiolia]

so why not get connected? If you can figure out how to create an account on a forum, you can configure Wi-Fi...

It's more of a future-proof thing for me. I am sitting around playing NES and Super NES games that are 15-25 years old and the experience has not changed. How will modern games, which are heavily focused on multiplayer components, online leader boards, or DLC going to fare in 15 years? 10 years? 3 years? The experience will never be the same for those games.

Depends on how necessary it is. Look at id games, well, post Wolf3D. Network, and over time more easily accessible online multiplayer are/were a very big selling point for those games. That most offices aren't subject to DOOM LAN matches on friday nights now doesn't really hurt the availability or playability of the game.
Plenty of games were rooted in the Shareware model, which was also much like DLC.

This is really not a new issue at all, if you think about it. Did you walk into an arcade in the 80s or 90s fretting about when the machines might be unplugged or swapped out? When your friends might move on? While the games themselves wouldn't necessarily disappear, they were only available to consumers for a limited time at all. Likely a lot moreso than modern online games.

You may never recreate the experience of walking into an arcade and putting your quarters down the Street Fighter II machine, just like you won't recreate launch-era Everquest. Unlike the SFII machine on the corner, of course, Everquest is still there >_>

[Bikeage]

I play many more retro games than modern ones, but enjoy both. Folks complaining about online and realism in today's games remind me of my grandparents bitching about having too many buttons on the remote control and their new cordless phone not making a traditional ringing sound.

Stay still as long as you want the world will move on whether you like it or not, why waste your time moaning and groaning about the way things are compared to how they used to be?

[AppleQueso]

Stay still as long as you want the world will move on whether you like it or not, why waste your time moaning and groaning about the way things are compared to how they used to be?

Because this is a retro game forum. Bitching about how much modern gaming sucks is like 30 percent of discussion around here.

[ExedExes]

Because this is a retro game forum. Bitching about how much modern gaming sucks is like 30 percent of discussion around here.

Hear hear

[fvgazi]

when modern gamers tell me that older games suck, I tell them that they just haven't played the right games yet.

When retro gamers tell me modern games suck, I tell them that they just haven't played the right games yet.

I agree completely. I've had much fun playing shooters(shmups) and fighting games on modern consoles. The games that I enjoy the most and replay are the ones that have similar feeling to older games though. That's just how I am. I love arcade feeling games regardless of what generation they're from.

I suppose it really comes down to the person - not the games.

[mas]

Thats why I only play the sports and fighting games on modern consoles. Other than that I am just playing classic consoles. I would rather play zelda a link to the past than cod modern warefare and have someone tell me that i suck online

[Zing]

the larger corporations have their hands around the throats of the developers, leaving them no choice but to follow their guidelines to squeeze more profit from the consumers

This reminded me of a thought I once had:
Developers used to create the games they wanted to, because they liked to create games and it happened to make some money. Now developers create the games they need to in order to keep their jobs.

To put it another way, back in the 8 and 16 bit days, every developer was essentially independent. Now, we have the term "indie" because very few are.

[dsheinem]

the larger corporations have their hands around the throats of the developers, leaving them no choice but to follow their guidelines to squeeze more profit from the consumers

This reminded me of a thought I once had:
Developers used to create the games they wanted to, because they liked to create games and it happened to make some money. Now developers create the games they need to in order to keep their jobs.

To put it another way, back in the 8 and 16 bit days, every developer was essentially independent. Now, we have the term "indie" because very few are.

I have to call bullshit on this one. Nintendo, Sega, Atari, etc. - all of these companies in the 8 and 16 bit days were very much giant corporations who cared very much about the connection between their product and their bottom line, their stock value, etc. To pretend that they were staffed by a bunch of independent artists and innovators who were creating playable art that would hopefully make a few bucks is naive at best and revisionist at worst. If anything, NOW is the time in gaming history where we've had the biggest influx of artists and indies into the medium. Here's the kicker: it is those horrible online stores and the heavy reliance on a web connection that have made this possible.

Take off the rose-colored glasses.

[noiseredux]

I have to call bullshit on this one. Nintendo, Sega, Atari, etc. - all of these companies in the 8 and 16 bit days were very much giant corporations who cared very much about the connection between their product and their bottom line, their stock value, etc. To pretend that they were staffed by a bunch of independent artists and innovators who were creating playable art that would hopefully make a few bucks is naive at best and revisionist at worst.

Agreed big time. We got some great games out of those eras. But we also got some horrible crap and broken games that we (or our parents) paid way too much for considering the disappointment. Y'know why those games made it to marketplace? Money. The publishers wanted your money. They really didn't give a shit if you liked the game or thought it was art. They had your money.

Here's the kicker: it is those horrible online stores and the heavy reliance on a web connection that have made this possible.

this is also true. And don't get me wrong, I'd love to see more PSN/XBLA/Wiiware titles make it to physical form. But the sad truth is that if you really wanna see some independent work done by devs who are making very little but are just thrilled to get a chance to see their work actually exist in a retail environment of any sort -- well, they're mostly on these digital storefronts.

[Zing]

I have to call bullshit on this one. Nintendo, Sega, Atari, etc.

My mistake was not explicitly exempting the hardware publishers, who clearly had a major stake in programming serfs. To my credit, I thought this was obvious. I am referring to the dozens of independent developers, who are now usually considered "second party", if not first.

Do not confused publishers with developers. I guess another way to put my thought is that developers had different incentives in the past. Now, they are significantly more linked to, if not outright owned, by publishers. Publishers have different incentives than developers, or at least did at one point.