Has classic gaming gone stale?

[A Sprite]

Remember when you first logged onto the internet, or to a BBS, and discovered worlds of games you'd never heard of, never seen? Remember all the newbie arguments, sharing what you knew with those who didn't? The forgotten games. The forgotten systems. Remember the shared jokes that were the failures so bad it seemed as if their makers programmed in Crayola +?

 

Remember watching as each system's emulation was deciphered, whether you were against, or waited eagerly for each new update...?

 

So many people shared that experience at once, from all around the world, as the internet grew.

 

That now we take it for granted...

 

The Angry Video Game Nerd can become a youtube celebrity just by making jokes about obscure games most people have never even seen offline.

 

Orchestras and rock bands alike play 8 bit.

 

Add the WII, and the success of Geometry Wars, which is a tribute to retro shooters many of it's fans weren't even alive to see...

 

And retrogaming is bigger than ever.

 

But...

 

For those who were there when the magic began, it's never going to be the same.

 

The party's died down, a little.

 

The guests are going their separate ways.

 

Those that remain, are now taking the time to reflect on it all.

 

But...it's still a party. Those who are staying up late won't stay quiet for long.

 

It just takes the right song to get us started again.

[Fort Apocalypse]

It just takes the right song to get us started again.

 

You mean this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdv8Qi_k-I4

[fiddlepaddle]

(Ahem...) When classic gaming stuff hit it big the first time, it was the late 80's, WE were all in our 30s and...

 

 

It wasn't 'classic' back in the 80s. It was contemporary.

 

Actually, what was 'classic' in the 80's was what was contemporary in the 60's and 70's (notice 'video' is not part of the quote)...

[Fort Apocalypse]

(Ahem...) When classic gaming stuff hit it big the first time, it was the late 80's, WE were all in our 30s and...

 

 

It wasn't 'classic' back in the 80s. It was contemporary.

 

Actually, what was 'classic' in the 80's was what was contemporary in the 60's and 70's (notice 'video' is not part of the quote)...

 

"Classical music" was a term probably first coined in the 19th century (assumedly 1836) to group a certain class of music that was created from the time from Bach to Beethoven (according to Wikipedia). Even though sometimes people get confused about whether music is Classical, Baroque, etc. (because they all sound very similar), it defines a type of music that general is of a certain period that doesn't change much.

 

By the same token, "classic gaming" a.k.a. "retrogaming" has a modern definition that is established that does not mean just playing older games like Shoot the Moon or Vintage Board Games, if that is what you are saying.

 

Examples of the modern definition of "classic gaming":

* http://classicgaming.com/ - I doubt they're giving up the domain name.

* In Wikipedia, Classic Gaming a.k.a. Retrogaming a.k.a. old-school gaming are defined as the hobby of playing and collecting older computer, video, and arcade games.

* In the Urban Dictionary, the NES is described as a "classic gaming console".

* Googling for "Classic Gaming" brings up a number of results at the top all focused on classic gaming as its definition is described in Wikipedia above. Any reference to old adventure or board gaming seems to either now be called "adventure classic gaming" or "vintage gaming", to differentiate them from "classic gaming".

 

I can't prove that this term and its definition won't change, in fact I'm sure it will, the modern definition of classic gaming is to me the one described by Wikipedia.

Edited July 25, 2008 by Fort Apocalypse

[RickO2]

I would say it is still strong. I don't always get head over heals like when I first started collecting but finding a deal on a rare game still gets my blood pumping. The Wii VC is awesome and will probably HELP the cause as another generation will get to enjoy the classic games. Homebrews are still coming out for virtually all old-school systems which helps spice things up. I would like to see more people doing hardware improvements like Doubledown's colecovision controller. Things that improve the game play experiance but still use some original equipment. I'm also a big fan of Ben Heck's mod's. I know there are others doing those now but he was the first one I saw. Any takers willing to try an Odyssey2 laptop? That's been one of my dreams for awhile. I have a young family which leaves me little " free-time" plus I'm inexperianced at soldering and knowing what the various electronic parts do. I'd hate to fry a system because I soldered the wrong parts together.

[PsychedelicShaman]

Everything is cyclical, and as long as the games continue to work there will be renewed interest in the classic stuff.

 

The atari scene seems to be quieting down a bit while the NES scene is booming. Nintendoage has grown considerably in the last year alone. There's a lot going on in the NES world including flash carts, homebrews, and the NWC repro. If you guys are looking for innovation and new projects, I would look towards the NES.

[Rik]

Everything is cyclical, and as long as the games continue to work there will be renewed interest in the classic stuff.

 

The atari scene seems to be quieting down a bit while the NES scene is booming. Nintendoage has grown considerably in the last year alone. There's a lot going on in the NES world including flash carts, homebrews, and the NWC repro. If you guys are looking for innovation and new projects, I would look towards the NES.

Yes i noticed that too,i see folks buying way more NES stuff now.Whenever im at the gaming store,%95 of the time theres someone buying old NES stuff.