Newer "retro gamers" and pre-NES titles

[Nateo]

Is it just me or does it seem that a lot of newcomers to the retro scene tend to largely dismiss most, if not all games released prior to the release of the NES? I hesitate to say "younger" in regards to this, since I'm only 26 years old but have been into retro gaming since I was 12. Anyway, it really irritates me. What do you say when someone makes such a comment disparaging important consoles such as our beloved 2600 or Colecovision? Just some random pontificating....

[Lentzquest]

Shhhh, we don't want the prices on older systems to go completely insane like the NES. Let them be dismissed.

[RickR]

Collect what you like, and don't worry about others. Besides, the NES is pretty cool too.

[mkiker2089]

People have different motives. I for one had little interest in the SNES even though I've had a NES from day one. Others may collect mostly Sega, or pre-NES. We all have different wants.

[Rhomaios]

Is it just me or does it seem that a lot of newcomers to the retro scene tend to largely dismiss most, if not all games released prior to the release of the NES? I hesitate to say "younger" in regards to this, since I'm only 26 years old but have been into retro gaming since I was 12. Anyway, it really irritates me. What do you say when someone makes such a comment disparaging important consoles such as our beloved 2600 or Colecovision? Just some random pontificating....

 

I've definitely seen this, and think it's quite common. I think most, when they see some of the gold on Commodore 64, can learn to appreciate it, but there's a charm to NES that the 2600 and later early 80s consoles lack. There's also the lack of mainstream knowledge and cultural references that even plagues the Master System which means that the younger crowd won't be as drawn to them. I don't get irritated, but I am irritated by their fascination with their fascination with the systems I grew up with. Why can't they just play the latest stuff so the older stuff will be cheaper!

 

(Just kidding, of course. It's probably more we than they who are driving up the price!)

[fiddlepaddle]

No doubt about it. Just look at demand for NES games these days vs. Atari.

 

I guess, to them, it's sort of like how some people won't watch a black & white movie, or listen to a monaural 78rpm recording, even though there are many excellent experiences with either. The "primitive" graphics encourage dismissal without really looking at the gameplay. The young kids just being introduced to videogames today will probably feel the same way about NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, etc in 20 years.

[ApolloBoy]

Shhhh, we don't want the prices on older systems to go completely insane like the NES. Let them be dismissed.

That happened about a decade ago anyway. I started collecting pre-NES games around that time when I was 13/14 and I clearly remember prices really going up during that time for that stuff.

[BydoEmpire]

 

but there's a charm to NES that the 2600 and later early 80s consoles lack. There's also the lack of mainstream knowledge and cultural references that even plagues the Master System which means that the younger crowd won't be as drawn to them.

IMHO, there's a charm to the pre-NES consoles and games that the NES and later systems lack, which is why that's most of my collecting (and playing) is at. Nostalgia is a part of it, but back then it was much more wild west in terms of both themes and mechanics. Anything was fair game - Lost Luggage, Kaboom, Demons to Diamonds... weird and wonderful stuff! After the NES it seems like things settled into a handful of themes (crime fighting, sci-fi, fantasy) and there weren't a lot of exceptions.

 

I talk to a lot of younger (20s) gamers and they just don't get arcade types of games. They don't see the point. They want something they feel they can finish, and want story. Broad generalization, I know, and I know there are plenty of exceptions, but I've seen it to true more often than not. Just different strokes for different folks, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with platformers or the NES (I do have an NES and actively pick up games for it).

[Keatah]

Agree with the OP. And eventually the PS3 and PS4 will be considered retrogaming.

[Algus]

Well at 28, sometimes I feel like I'm one of the younger guys on this forum. I was definitely under the median when I started posting here in 2009. 2600 is really before my time but my interest in video game history led me to it (and wow, what a trip!). I'd wager though that a lot of the diehards already have their stuff, whereas a lot of people interested in the newer consoles are now reaching ages where they have the kind of disposable income necessary to become serious collectors.

 

I know my collecting became a lot more serious once I got out of college and had the money/space to devote to collecting.

[+GoldenWheels]

I think a lot of people just feel 8 and 16 bit is the retro gaming sweet spot. Frankly I agree. It's past so basic we're talking blocks for graphics and blips and boops for sound, but before things got immensely complex gameplay, story, and production value wise. 100% honest, I find 99% of any single player 2600 game as shallow as a puddle. Multiplayer is a dif story.

 

I think fiddlepaddles comparison above about black and white films vs new stuff is an apt one. Though frankly I find the line so big between Atari and NES I'd consider it more silent film vs. new stuff.

[Pixelboy]

For most people, it all comes down to what they grew up with.

[DZ-Jay]

-- "What is this "NES" of which you speak?" Said the Intellivision home-brew programmer.

[Spoon]

I know quite a few reto gamers that mainly stick with the NES, but it's pretty rare they slam another 8-bit console outside of "NES was the best". Seems like most of the people I know that have something negative to say about the Atari are either non-gamers or modern gamers. Either way, it doesn't really bother me.

[+H.E.R.O.]

I was told just last week at a retro game store that I wasn't a "real" retrogamer" because NES isn't my main focus. He was appalled when I said Colecovision was my favorite console of all time. Some people just get all snarky if you don't agree with them.

[high voltage]

only in USA though

Edited October 19, 2013 by high voltage

[Rhomaios]

IMHO, there's a charm to the pre-NES consoles and games that the NES and later systems lack

 

Just a quick clarification: I was referring specifically to a graphical charm, because your point about the charm of early game mechanics absolutely stands. But I'm sure that has to do with my nostalgia for that period (as well as major graphical improvements, the NES and SMS being two of the best looking 8-bit systems, not counting the PC Engine with it's 16-bit GPUs).

 

Agree with the OP. And eventually the PS3 and PS4 will be considered retrogaming.

 

Some people already consider the PS2 "retro", while I'm sitting here not even considering the PS1 retro.

 

I was told just last week at a retro game store that I wasn't a "real" retrogamer" because NES isn't my main focus. He was appalled when I said Colecovision was my favorite console of all time. Some people just get all snarky if you don't agree with them.

 

Now that's just some ass-dickery.

[+Gemintronic]

I recently discovered that a whole generation thinks "retro" gaming started with the NES and even Genesis. It boggles the mind.

[Reaperman]

I'm highly surprised they go all the way back to NES given the ages of a lot of them.

 

I've always had trouble going to games more primitive than the earliest games I enjoyed as a kid. I started with an 800xl ~1984, so I've had a lot of trouble going back to, for example, 2600. I've done it, but my 2600 'kicks' are very short--often just an hour or two, where I can spend a week on something I have fond memories of 'back in the day.'

 

If I were just a few years older, I would have seen the entire spectrum of home gaming, and I doubt that any of this would be an issue for me--that's a position that I believe describes a lot of my fellow AA'ers.

Edited October 19, 2013 by Reaperman

[CatPix]

I recently discovered that a whole generation thinks "retro" gaming started with the NES and even Genesis. It boggles the mind.

Is it because they never heard of previous system or that they consider older system to be too old/not famous enough/too scarce to have attained fame?

 

Both things might explain this and they are two totally different things.

 

Anyway, it's a whole circling system; NES generation retrogamers introduce new people to retrogaming and highlight NES and SNES, and maybe Megadrive and Master System, but they don't go further because they don't see the point, and those newcomers won't even know about the 2600 and earlier systems.

 

This is something I see alot here too.

There is two reasons I know for it; the first one is that the 2600 here never enjoyed a "cult". Sure it's aknowledged and praised by many retrogamers, but there isn't such a big love for the VCS. Prices are low in Europe mostly because of the lack of interest, not so much because of a market saturation.

 

And also, at the time of those pre-NES systems, computer were the big deal; if you talk about pre-NES machines, you wanna talk about the ZX Spectrum, the Commodore 64 and the Amstrad CPC.

Those are also ignored today because retrogaming focuses soo much on consoles; and also setting up a computer is sometime considered too complex by younger retrogamers, and tape loading times too long.

 

Something weird tho is that those people usually go with "I don't like Atari games, the graphics are too blocky" and they don't even want to give a try.

I can understand having a crush on one system or one era, but refusing to play a game when offered... That's not reall being a retrogamer to me.

[Algus]

I was told just last week at a retro game store that I wasn't a "real" retrogamer" because NES isn't my main focus. He was appalled when I said Colecovision was my favorite console of all time. Some people just get all snarky if you don't agree with them.

 

I've got to believe this is the result of him not actually knowing what a Colecovision is and trying to cover it up by being an ass. I mean it would be one thing if you were a "retrogamer" that was only collecting PS1/PS2 games (PS1's definitely falling into the retro category now though, as is early PS2)

[Seob]

this thread really makes me feel old. I don't care that others don't share my love for the early age. i don't have a thing for pong console while i played them back then. i only feel sad that a lot of shops don't carry stuff pre nes.

[xDragonWarrior]

I for one despite my age(16) will play on ANY console(except for the R-zone as I hate tiger LCD games) of any era whether new or old as I am not a graphic whore as some kids my age but I can see(although I do not agree) why some of the younger generation dismisses anything before the Nes. The SMS/Nes/TG-16/Genesis/SNES era was when Video games were not the same old repetitive(as they would call it) "get as many points as you can before you die" type of games like Asteroids, Berserk,Robotron,Pitfall,and Kaboom! and more deep involving more repayable and longer lasting games like Super Mario Bros, Sonic the hedgehog, Alex Kidd, Kid Chameleon etc.Sure you had those "repetitive"(again what they would call it) games on the SMS and up consoles but there are not as many as previous consoles You couldn't have a deep RPG like Dragon Warrior or a platform game like SMB on a console(PC's may be different) before the Nes. Dragonstomper and Pitfall are the closest RPG's and Platformers on the 2600 to DW and SMB. They are really good games(especially Dragonstomper for being a console RPG of that era) but to kids of this generation they are bland from graphics to game play. You would think that some of the younger generation would appreciate the games on the consoles before the Nes like the Colecovision, Intellivision, 2600, 5200, 7800 etc as they are basically the IOS and Android games we play on our phones(get as many points as you can before you die) except with older graphics but it's the complete opposite.

[The Usotsuki]

I tend to see "retro" as a freeze ending slightly before the end of the 16-bit era.

[TheGameCollector]

You're either an eight-bit'er; like that's what you're into or you're an ate-bitter; like it makes you feel like you ate something bitter and can't stand those kinds of graphics or games. Sorry for the corny joke but it totally makes sense here. There's all different levels of this.

 

People who won't go before NES, people who won't go before SNES, people who won't go before N64, people who won't try other brands of systems besides their favorite. So many different corners of near-sighted retro gaming.

 

My old boss loved retro Nintendo character games and checking them out and stuff, but when it came to buying them all he really ever wanted were two systems: Gamecube and Game Boy Advance. He could totally go without any other platforms but still call himself a retro gamer because those systems aren't current.

 

My old fwb from before my girlfriend wouldn't get into any other systems than SNES, PS1, PS2, Game Boy/Color/Advance and Gamecube. She didn't want to try Sega anything even though she had a Game Gear as a kid. She tried to be strictly an RPG gamer but threw in a few platformers when she got a urge to try something unusual to her boundaries. Tell her she's not a true retro gamer she'd get pissed and show you her massive SNES RPG set until you took it back.