56 replies to this topic

[jknu80sfan]

So I am reading an old post on here about the list of beatable games and it got me wondering why we play Atari still.  In a modern age where graphics and control are so important in gaming, how is it that we still get pleasure from playing this system?  Most of these games do not offer us a purpose other than fun to play, We can play Yars Revenge for days without completing it and getting that all important final scene message. Is it nostalgia for most of us?  Is it a way to hold on to the purity of our childhood?  Is it the simplicity of most of the games?

For me it's a combination of all those factors. I love holding on to bits of my childhood and keeping it alive. I would hate to be one of those people who always changes with the times. I need to have my memories of childhood brought back to life in order to survive.

[Ransom]

Final scene message?  Real gamers don't need final scenes.  We don't need messages, either.  Just pixelated punks to pulverize.

And alliteration.

[wolfpaw1966]

I really can't explain it....but I go back to my Atari 2600 more often than any other game system I own, or game I've played. Even modern games like Skyrim, Fallout 3, Diablo 3, etc. seem to pale in comparison to a fun game of Yar's Revenge, Asteroids, or Berserk. As you said, though, if I was to try and define my obsession with my VCS, I would say it's the simplicity yet challenging game play to better your score from your previous sessions. Imagination is the key to these games of yesteryear, I think. And yes, it makes the kid in me yell for joy, to remember 30-odd years ago playing this classic system for the first time and experiencing the same thrill level all over again in my mid 40's. It never seems to get old to me, no matter how many times I gleefully switch carts from one game to the next for hours on end.

Great topic.   

[The Usotsuki]

You'll never understand.

[theloon]

Nintendo effectively killed the era of replayability.  You may as well ask why you still play chess.

Oh, and one can make Atari 2600 games with batari BASIC for free.  Try that on XNA.

[Ransom]

theloon, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 2:48 PM, said:

Nintendo effectively killed the era of replayability.  You may as well ask why you still play chess.

That's pretty much it for me.  I enjoy the post-crash systems, but the pre-crash systems have a much, much higher percentage of replayable games.  That is, games that play differently every time you play them.  So I play pre-crash systems a lot more often, and I get a lot more out of them.


-Joe

[atari181]

You just don't get it

[wolfpaw1966]

...did I miss something? Not quite sure who either of you are referring. to.

[Amstari]

The simple answer is that the games will always be fun because they have great gameplay.

You could ask the same question, why do people still listen to Led Zeppelin or the Beatles?

Also many modern gamers are mindless sheep that just play what is popular. They don't play games for fun they just want to prove they are a "hardcore gamer". The game companies spend million on advertising showing how good their games look, ignoring the lack of any decent gameplay.

[Atari2008]

Good question actually as I grew up with the NES and it took me a while to realize that most Atari 2600 games don't have ending to aspire to.   But for me it's always been about the simplicity of the graphics and games and how much fun they can be without any fanciness. I mean even during the NES era which is when I was exposed to gaming as a little kid, the 2600 was already dated technically speaking yet I still loved it. Today it's still my favorite retro console and the one I keep going back to. Even compared to its contemporaries - the Intellivision, Odyssey2 and Colecovision - I prefer the 2600 over all of those and it's the one I keep playing. Matter of fact, if I had to, I'd sell my whole collection except the Atari 2600 (and the Channel F too). Also the system to me looks super awesome, looking at it alone invokes memories of being a kid...wondering what that old system in our storage closet was. I used to take it out and examine it like an alien invention.

[jknu80sfan]

The Usotsuki, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 2:42 PM, said:

You'll never understand.

what kind of douche answer is that?

[jknu80sfan]

atari181, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 4:01 PM, said:

You just don't get it

don't get what?

[atari181]

jknu80sfan, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 7:45 PM, said:

don't get what?

How to read the whole post, Me! Misunderstood, sorry only read the topic title
LOL

[The Usotsuki]

jknu80sfan, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 7:45 PM, said:

what kind of douche answer is that?

A truthful answer, bluntly spoken.

[AtariLeaf]

jknu80sfan, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 2:04 PM, said:

In a modern age where graphics and control are so important in gaming

Not to everyone.

Quote

Most of these games do not offer us a purpose other than fun to play,

Well duh

Quote

Is it nostalgia for most of us?  Is it a way to hold on to the purity of our childhood?  Is it the simplicity of most of the games?

Yes, yes, and yes. But as you so eloquently mentioned, they're still fun to play.

Quote

I need to have my memories of childhood brought back to life in order to survive.

Sounds like a bad movie plot.

[jknu80sfan]

I think some of you are missing my point....but I still appreciate the "well duh" answers.  You respond like I am bashing the product. Quite the opposite. AtariLeaf can blow me and you others can carry on with the original question

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

jknu80sfan, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 8:48 PM, said:

I think some of you are missing my point....but I still appreciate the "well duh" answers.  You respond like I am bashing the product. Quite the opposite. AtariLeaf can blow me and you others can carry on with the original question

Seems more you have an issue with the some of the answers you are getting, blunt and to the point maybe, if you don't want to hear it then don't ask.
Being a "new guy" here maybe you should just listen and accept the answers or get over it. i did not think you were bashing the product nor do I see a problem with the answers, it is how some of us feel.

Edited by OldSchoolRetroGamer, Mon Jan 7, 2013 9:06 PM.

[Jinks]

I like it for the ear destroying annoying sounds it makes, but the colors are pretty.. thats why I got a 7800 cause I really love tia sound!! It reminds me of how lame I thought it was when my buddy had a nes and I was fucking around with my dot and bleep..

Today I think its cool and like to dot bleep...I see maybe people on here do as well..

And pretty much everything mentioned in post #3.

[jknu80sfan]

OldSchoolRetroGamer, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 9:03 PM, said:

Seems more you have an issue with the some of the answers you are getting, blunt and to the point maybe, if you don't want to hear it then don't ask.

Ok, I'll try it again. I come on here....someone who loves Atari and pretty much everything else retro.  I sign up new to this forum and ask why Atari fans still love atari....just to get some fun answers.  Mind you...I own, play, and love Atari.  I get some assholes trying to act like I am bashing the product.  You're missing the whole point.

[atari181]

jknu80sfan, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 9:07 PM, said:

Ok, I'll try it again. I come on here....someone who loves Atari and pretty much everything else retro.  I sign up new to this forum and ask why Atari fans still love atari....just to get some fun answers.  Mind you...I own, play, and love Atari.  I get some assholes trying to act like I am bashing the product.  You're missing the whole point.

Ok so take a step back. Maybe no more "blow me" comments  and "assholes" comments and maybe just maybe you won't get banned. Dude chill out!

[jknu80sfan]

atari181, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 9:13 PM, said:

Ok so take a step back. Maybe no more "blow me" comments  and "assholes" comments and maybe just maybe you won't get banned. Dude chill out!

Jesus...I'll ban myself and remember why I don't do forums.

[Cebus Capucinis]

LOL, this is a fun read.

[Keatah]

It takes a tough skin to do forums. And beware the internet toughies.

[CPUWIZ]

[jknu80sfan]

Keatah, on Mon Jan 7, 2013 9:23 PM, said:

It takes a tough skin to do forums. And beware the internet toughies.

yeah I guess so...