Don't get me wrong, I still like to play video games today. In fact, I just bought the Xbox 360 not too long ago. But, as fun as games are today, they just don't have the same magic as they did in the era before 3D games totally took over in the late '90s.

I don't play games as much as I used to anymore, but when I do I'm just as likely to hook up the NES and make a run through Super Mario Bros. 3, or try and play through Super Mario World on the SNES for the thousandth time, than I am to play the hottest new game that I just bought. The games that I have on my Genesis, SNES, and NES are to me, just as fun or even better than any game I've ever gotten on the PS2, Xbox, or Xbox 360. Games today just don't seem as fun or original as they did during gamings "Golden Era". Heck, I'm even starting to miss some of the early 3D games from the late '90s like Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot.

I also think that graphics matter too much to gamers. When I was a kid, I didn't really care that much about them. I mean, I didn't get an NES until 1995, a good decade after it came to America, but I didn't care at the time that it looked outdated by the standards of the day, I was just happy to have one period. Regardless of what the games looked like, they were darn fun to play.

Does anyone else think that the video games of the '70s, '80s, and most of the '90s are better than todays?

I hate the 3D games.  I'd much rather play 2D games anyday .. give me the days of Super Mario Bros. anyday 8)

I completely agree. I'll acknowledge the merit of 3D games (alot of them do have great graphics and very realistic play control), but I usually just play those when I'm at someone's house who has one. They don't have the magic and simplicity of the 2D era. In fact, I think the reason they caught on so strongly was because of the simple plots that kept people coming back. Like I never get tired of The Legend of Zelda, despite having played it thousands of times, lol. Almost like how it was fun to sit and constantly watch music videos on MTV or VH1 back in the day. They might have more advanced tech now, but the fun aspect isn't the same either, partially because of that maybe.

I think the NES pervaded in secondhand popularity for a long time because of the immense fandom people had with it. It was biggest in 1987-1990, but was decently popular through about 1993 or '94, and even in the late '90s it wouldn't be too unusual to see it in someone's room, even if it wasn't their primary system anymore. Heck I still have mine hooked up NOW.

You don't see that long lastingness today. You don't see PS One's from 1999 the way you saw NES games ten years ago.

I completely agree. I'll acknowledge the merit of 3D games (alot of them do have great graphics and very realistic play control), but I usually just play those when I'm at someone's house who has one. They don't have the magic and simplicity of the 2D era. In fact, I think the reason they caught on so strongly was because of the simple plots that kept people coming back. Like I never get tired of The Legend of Zelda, despite having played it thousands of times, lol. Almost like how it was fun to sit and constantly watch music videos on MTV or VH1 back in the day. They might have more advanced tech now, but the fun aspect isn't the same either, partially because of that maybe.

I think the NES pervaded in secondhand popularity for a long time because of the immense fandom people had with it. It was biggest in 1987-1990, but was decently popular through about 1993 or '94, and even in the late '90s it wouldn't be too unusual to see it in someone's room, even if it wasn't their primary system anymore. Heck I still have mine hooked up NOW.

You don't see that long lastingness today. You don't see PS One's from 1999 the way you saw NES games ten years ago.



Yep. 2D games also have a certain pick-up and play quality that today's games lack. For example, my parents, who grew up before video games were widespread, never really had a problem with playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES, or Super Mario World on the SNES, even though they had never really played games up to that point.

Sure some parents still play games with there kids, but most of these parent's grew up playing games, so that's not something foreign to them, unlike most of our parents who didn't play them when they were younger. Could you imagine a non gamer picking up a game like GTA: San Andreas and knowing what to do? They'd be lost,lol

2D games are simple and fun, which is why all 3 of my old school systems stay hooked up all the time.

I never thought about it that way before, but you're probably right that the slightly "older gamers" who enjoy GTA or Halo probably are doing so because they were already familarized with the older, simpler games. That probably eased up the process. A present day 45-year old would've been about 19 when Pac Man and arcades got popular, and a 35-year old could've had that in their childhood for a few years, being only about 9.

My dad was about 49 when we got our first NES in 1987, and he enjoyed it as much as I did (he had the idea actually!). I could not see someone in their late 40s who had never played games before buying an Xbox 360 for them and their kids today, lol.

I never thought about it that way before, but you're probably right that the slightly "older gamers" who enjoy GTA or Halo probably are doing so because they were already familarized with the older, simpler games. That probably eased up the process. A present day 45-year old would've been about 19 when Pac Man and arcades got popular, and a 35-year old could've had that in their childhood for a few years, being only about 9.

My dad was about 49 when we got our first NES in 1987, and he enjoyed it as much as I did (he had the idea actually!). I could not see someone in their late 40s who had never played games before buying an Xbox 360 for them and their kids today, lol.



Yeah, that's why you see so many gamers in there 30s today. It's not because games are more fun today(which I've heard as a reason for this before), it's because a current 30 year old was born in 1977, so they would've grown up in the Pac-Man/NES '80s, and would've basically grown up playing video games.

I do, to a certain degree. If I get any new games nowadays, it's usually a role playing game. I don't mind RPGs being in 3D. But I do prefer 2D scrolling games and overhead view games. Guess that's because I'm an old schooler when it comes to video games.

In my mind, 2D and 3D have always been equal.  Neither one is inherently better than the other.  I do agree that most 2D games have a "pick up and play" quality that many 3D games lack.  I attribute this to the large amount of platformers, side scrollers, shooters (side scrolling style like Contra), etc. that came out at the time.  They were inherently simpler, but that simplicity was what made them so easy for people to play.  The fact that they were shorter than today's games, yet in some ways more challenging (compare Mega Man's difficulty to newer games), add to that pick up and play feel.  Today's games can run for up to 20 hours or more.  You can't beat the game in one sitting, and the gameplay is more complex, so that pick up and play feel is gone.

Overall though, I think both formats have merits and both do certain things better than the other.  There are plenty of great 2D games, but there are also plenty of great 3D games.  The only time one was clearly better than the other was in the early days of 3D (1995-ish).  Play a 2D game from 1995 and it plays great.  Play a 3D game from 1995 and it play like total crap.  Still, both are great and neither are better than the other.  I will admit though that I wish more 2D games, especially of the fighting variety, would come out, but thats what my DS is for.

Personally, although I do kind of miss the 2D era, I wouldn't want it to return.  I'd want an era similar to the second half of the 90s (the PS1/N64 era) where new 3D games and new 2D games were coming out side by side.  Heck, one of the best games of 1997 was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which was a 2D PS1 game!  I want something like that to come back.  You got the best of both worlds, rather than being restricted to soley 2D (first half of 90s and before) or solely 3D (any modern system other than the DS).

There are some 2D games that I feel will remain timeless because they are so cleverly created plus they live on because it brings back childhood/teen memories.  But give me 3D games any day because I like the freedom of exploring and the graphics are much better.  I don't play games very often but I try to buy the newest platform for my daughter.  The latest being the Xbox 360 and I am interested in purchasing a Wii if I can find one available here.  That one will be for me.  ;)

Personally, although I do kind of miss the 2D era, I wouldn't want it to return.  I'd want an era similar to the second half of the 90s (the PS1/N64 era) where new 3D games and new 2D games were coming out side by side.  Heck, one of the best games of 1997 was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which was a 2D PS1 game!  I want something like that to come back.  You got the best of both worlds, rather than being restricted to soley 2D (first half of 90s and before) or solely 3D (any modern system other than the DS).



I agree with this. I don't think that I would want 3D games to be gotten rid of, I did just get an Xbox 360 after all. I just wish that some of the game companies would occasionally release a new 2D game.

Yeah, co-existance is really the best when it comes to anything. I bet there's more of a market out there for it than most people realize. Especially if alot of present day 10-year old kids might know Pac Man from their 35 or 40-year old parents who played it back in the day.

In reality, that's what ticks me off about any passage of time. I don't mind new stuff coming out (after all, it would be weird NOT for it to), but I don't like the kicking out of established things.

I once heard some kid in EB (Eletronics Boutique) talking about how some of the games on Playstation could have better graphics.  For anyone to even say that is not obviously experienced in the history of video games. 

I was born in '77, so I grew up with video games as they went from basic to advanced graphics and game play.  I know what it was like when home video games had poor graphics, which in those days, game cartridges cost around $40, which was super expensive considering Atari games only really provided less than maybe 10 minutes of enjoyment per game

If kids today had grown up in the age of Atari and Nintendo, they'd be more appreciative of the games today.  When the Nintendo came out in 1986, people were like "It just doesn't get any better than this", but it did get better and it kept on getting better to the point where games are now so realistic, they honestly aren't as fun as games of the past.  Better graphics doesn't always mean better game

Alot of these new 3-D games, I really find boring because alot of the time is spent exploring the mazes after you've killed all the enemies.  With 2-D games, you only can go one way, so the game play is non-stop exciting!

they had some interesting (and not so interesting) 3d games back in the day. night driver, pole position, battlezone, and so on. but i liked the 2d games better because you could have more variety in terms of themes and so forth -- in a 3d game you pretty much have to stand in for a character in the game so it usually boils down to some kind of person wandering around in a maze with a gun, shooting people.

i disagree that atari games give only 10 minutes of entertainment. well, a bunch did, but there are some others i could play forever -- like pitfall and river raid, for instance.

i have to tell you the truth, where 3d first-person shooters are concerned i sorta believe the conspiracy theory -- they’re very violent deliberately, to train the next generation of military recruit teenage boys to be more willing to fire their weapons in combat. all those school shootings of late? violent combat-trainee video game blowback. apparently a bunch of those games like doom and so forth were derived from military combat training prototypes, which adds an interesting twist when the columbine kids blame them for their shooting sprees.

but i digress. remove baseball cap, apply tinfoil hat.

i disagree that atari games give only 10 minutes of entertainment. well, a bunch did, but there are some others i could play forever -- like pitfall and river raid, for instance.


Actually this true yes.  There were a good chunk of ones you could play for a long time and not get bored.  Others that spring to mind are 'Food Fight', 'Solaris', 'The Activision Decathalon' and the fantastic EPYX games series (California Games, Winter Games and Summer Games)

'Summer Games' and 'The Activision Decathalon' both involve track events, which require moving the joystick at a rapid rate.  I still break out in a sweat when I play them ;D

http://www.overclocked.org/img/emu26004.jpg

:o

I've travelled the same gaming road as you and agree. For me the greatest leaps in gaming technology were going from the Atari to the NES and Super Nes to Playstation. Both the Super Nes and PS2 seemed to be more andvancements of the same technology rather than a revolution.



I know what you mean. I remember when the PS1/N64 generation of gaming was just beginning, and it was incredible to see the leap from the SNES to the Playstation.

As to Atari enjoyment, the most satisfying game in my experience was video pinball. Speaking of the old "brown box", did anyone buy the new prepackaged sets that came with the games inside and plugged to in via AV cables? Our old system was really too old to play so I bought this for my father a few Christmases ago. 


I've seen those Atari "Plug and play" systems on the shelves.  They look pretty cool.

I was considering on getting one at oen point, until I realized that I still have a working Atari 7800 with over 150 games LOL

http://www.overclocked.org/img/emu26004.jpg

:o


I miss this joystick.  It was the only one I could ever work.  The new ones are way too difficult for someone as uncoordinated as myself...

I miss it somewhat.

i still think that 2d's like metroid, zelda, bionic commando metal gear, and the megaman series are among the best games ever made for any generation of gaming. in fact the only 3d games i think of as historically classic blockbusters are golden eye and ocarina of time.