Upset at Nintendo/Found Joy in Outdated Atari

[ussexplorer]

Many years ago when my parents brought home the NES system. It was already out on the market for almost 2 years. I received it as a Christmas present and enjoyed playing Super Mario Brothers and Duck hunt for hours. Then reality kicked in. Most of the other children in the neighborhood already had Nintendo or Sega Genesis systems. So when I went to school and explained how I got a Nintendo system they would ask what games. I explained to them no games and I would just get ignored or laughed at. It seemed that In order to be popular you needed to have up to date games that my parents just couldn’t afford. The problem got worse when the Super Nintendo came out. My parents didn’t have money to go out and purchase the new system. They explained I just got the NES system and I should be happy with that.

 

Now when I explained I had a Nintendo they assumed Super Nintendo. I corrected them and once again felt left out getting remarks of the tune of oh, that old console. I learned after that not to say anything or even deny I had a game system. Even when Atari came out with the 2600jr and 7800 so I could now brag I have an original Atari, I got laughed at. Before I got the Nintendo most kids referred to the Atari as something their dad played. So I was pretty upset over the whole matter. I learned to ignore all the mean kids and go about my own way. Searching yard sales for what I considered treasure. The Atari 2600 cart I did not have.

 

One other note I remember playing Quarter machines, you know Super Mario brother, Air wolf, Operation wolf, contra, etc, etc. Just to remember kids putting the quarters up where the marquee is showing to show they have additional games to play. Just to do the same thing and get kicked off the unit? I had my money stolen a few times or they would just unplug the machine. I also would get the machine unplugged to clear the high score. They didn’t like it when a small kid could beat their score on the system. I even caught a few kids unplugging the unit just so nobody would play it until they would return the next day. Lucky for me I would turn the game on and start playing after they left. I did turn a few into the store manager at one place. He happened to have a security camera to watch over the games. To many of the units getting vandalized. So when I made a complaint the camera backed up my story.

 

I hope I get the point across. It was not easy trying to explain how I felt during that time. It was many years ago and my memory is fuzzy. It is true that what you get told back then can still leave a burden now. I believe that is why I still hate Nintendo. Please feel free to submit your pain against not only Nintendo but also other gaming experiences.

 

Thanks,

 

Josh

[Intrepid]

I know I collect vintage gaming for two reasons.

 

1.) To enjoy the games I grew up with. (NES/7800)

 

2.) To recapture the systems I envied my friends for having. (SNES/Genesis/Saturn/etc.)

 

Either way I love my collection and play as much as I can.

 

Oh, and I hate Nintendo too, but because everything after the NES is crap. And, kids are brats. I'm glad I never was one.

[AtariDude]

Sounds to me like a lot of the kids in your neighborhood were mean spirited or spoiled. They should have been happy to have the number of games that they had and not look down upon someone merely because they do not have the same number of games as you did.

 

I am also glad that you managed to turn in some of those brats for trying to ruin your enjoyment of arcade games. Only the owner of an establishment should be able to turn off a game and only because he or she is closing for the evening.

[Paralistalon]

Oh, and I hate Nintendo too, but because everything after the NES is crap.  

 

Um... err.... I play the classics because they are just as good as today's games.

 

ussexplorer, it sounds like you had a rough childhood. However, it wasn't Nintendo's fault; it was those brat kids' fault. I'm sure you know that but you still hang on to the distress of your childhood anyway.

[cryptik76]

Paralistalon, I agree with you. It's a sad story, but I'm really not sure how Nintendo is somehow involved simply because some kids were mean about someone having less than someone else.

 

Probably when some of our older members were younger, they may remember kids having the same attitude about the Atari 2600. "You only have Combat? Well, I have almost 50 games, you loser!" So then in turn would we have to point the finger at Atari?

 

Any time high-priced entertainment devices are released, it's going to turn people into "haves" and "have-nots." The only defense is to either pick up a less expensive hobby (there are some out there) or to be happy with what you have. I have a crappy old car, and a lot of people I know have better cars and some of them are quite smug about it, but I'm content with what I have, partially because their cars are always in the shop and mine hasn't broken down on me yet.

 

My experiences with the NES has been nothing but positive. My friends and I had a lot of fun with the system and I have a lot of good memories of long Super Mario 3 and Maniac Mansion sessions with friends. It sounds like the kids you grew up with were spoiled little jerks (and most kids, especially in this money-driven and materialistic society, are little jerks anyway); it's sad but I still really don't see why any of this is Nintendo's fault.

[mos6507]

The culture of videogaming is infused with technophilia, or the obsession with new technology in our disposable society, to the point where we are more concerned with keeping up with the pace of progress than really experiencing anything.

 

This is best satirized by an episode of the Simpsons where Bart got a new 128 bit system for Xmas and he instantly threw his instantly obsolete 127 bit system into the raging fireplace.

 

I think that just about says about all.

[AtariDude]

Bart was dumb. He should have sold his system on Ebay and use the money to buy games for his 128 bit system

[snorlaxnut]

When I was 14, my parents got me an Atari 7800 because they said "It works with your old games (Atari 2600 carts).". I felt kind of left out because all the other kids had the NES. The next summer I sold my Odyssey2, 30 games for it and some other stuff at a garage sale to save up enough money to get a NES, But I still felt out of place.

 

Today, I can't afford new game systems (except the GBA), and I don't care anymore. The PS2, GameCube and Xbox games look almost the same to me. And I am starting to enjoy RPGs, and the ones on the old systems, and the GBA, are good enough for me.

 

I found AtariAge's site about two years ago and found that the old systems was the ones that I had REAL FUN with. Not just Atari systems, but all my old systems like the SMS, Genesis, and the NES. They provide the challenge and fun that todays games I think are starting to lose.

 

So today, any money I save for fun stuff goes 3 ways:

 

1.Garage sales, for Atari, Nintendo, and Sega game stuff.

2.Game Boy Advance Games (only if there is a new Pokémon, Golden Sun, or RPG-type game out there)

3.Cheap DVDs

 

Yes, I will buy a PS2, GameCube, or Xbox...........when they are like $5 at someone's garage sale in five years! Right now, I want to play some Adventure and Pong!

[Intrepid]

Oh, and I hate Nintendo too, but because everything after the NES is crap.  

 

Um... err.... I play the classics because they are just as good as today's games.

 

Oh, so do I. In fact, I haven't touched the lastest Gen consoles since I started collecting again. But you couldn't give me an N64/GameCube/SNES and expect me to actually use it. The arrogance of Nintendo combined with their lack of intriqing games for these consoles makes everything after NES crap for me. My dislike for post-NES Nintendo products has nothing to do with anything thing that happened in my childhood.

 

/me goes to play with his Saturn.

[Gregory DG]

Funny how things have come full circle (at least for me.) Before, getting the newest system was reason to brag to others. Nowadays, having an old system (and therefore a piece of gaming history) is reason to brag.

 

People I tell at college about my Atari stuff are mostly NES generation. Still, they either think it's cool to collect Atari or are indifferent. Either way, I don't care if they think I am weird for having an Atari.

 

Most people are looking for some way to be different. Personally, I'd rather my difference be that I like Atari than to dye my hair orange.

[Brian R.]

Boy, there is so much to relate to in this thread.

 

During my junior year in college (91-92), a guy a floor above me in the dorm was all the rage because he had a SNES.

 

But my senior year, a guy in my dorm was known because he had a 2600. Oh, and his nickname was "Satan."

 

Interesting, isn't it?

 

I remember it like this - when the 2600 was THE thing to have, it was all about having the latest games. My cousins always had more and newer than my family did. I envied them.

 

Then I remembered a guy down the street had an Intellivision. My brother and I would go visit frequently to play this "amazing" system. If we did that today he'd probably get picked up on suspicion of pedophilia or something.

 

Then we got rid of the 2600 and replaced it with the even more amazing Colecovision. That's when we realized, "Hey, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man don't look like the arcades on the 2600!"

 

When my younger brother got an NES, I never liked it. It just didn't speak to me like the 2600. I never had a 5200 or a 7800 in their time. I lost interest in gaming.

 

Sega drew me back in with the Genesis. I remember a friend in college had the original, and it impressed me. When I was in college and didn't have a TV, I got a Game Gear to occupy myself. After I graduated, and had a job, I bought a Genesis.

 

Thing is, the new stuff still didn't grab me. I'd keep going to stores, wantingn to buy something, but leaving with nothing. That's when I remembered Atari, and all the fun I had. I got back in slowly, then dove in, to the point I've got what you see in my sig below.

 

I bought a Dreamcast, and I like it, but no other "modern" game systems interest me. It's a shame most people into video games have such short attention spans, and no memories. Look at the Dreamcast, it's almost forgotten, yet it's an incredible machine with an incredible library of games. But the company stopped making it, new games aren't coming, so out the door it goes. Why? Is it suddenly not enjoyable to play? Bullsh!t.

 

Same with Atari, even more so. Yes, there's a nostalgia to it, but it's just fun to play. The games don't need XBox graphics to be enjoyable. And I love seeing my 5200 running, knowing I've got something so few have today.

 

Whether I'm playing Pitfall on the 2600, Pac-Man on the 5200, Galaga on the 7800, Rampart on my Lynx, Tempest on my Jaguar or DOA on my Dreamcast - the point is, it's all FUN.

[Witchfynde]

Look at the Dreamcast, it's almost forgotten, yet it's an incredible machine with an incredible library of games. But the company stopped making it, new games aren't coming, so out the door it goes. Why? Is it suddenly not enjoyable to play?

 

Sega supposedly didn't have the "deep pockets" to keep on producing the Dreamcast, so that's why it died. It's a shame, but at least Sega's still around.

 

Excellent post by the way, I feel pretty much the same way about the newer CRAP, the most "recent" console I have is the Sega 32X (or make that an add-on, actually).

[ussexplorer]

Yes, I'm sure if it wasn't Nintendo it would have been Sega, or some other system. I learned to realize owning a peice of over priced plastic was just as is sounded. It was an overpriced peice of plastic that will soon be replaced. I just wish I would have realized that from the beginning. Might have helped me smile thiking how much those kids spent on a new system when in 5 years it is worth nothing. The Atari I owned should have hinted on that. It was out since 78 and I picked it up used not even 5 years later for next to nothing.

 

I do have one guilty pleasure. I'm still trying to save up and purchase a Play Station 2.

 

Thank You,

 

Josh

[cryptik76]

Newer CRAP?

 

I like the Atari 2600 and all, but I'm not going to jump on this, "Newer games are crap" bandwagon.

 

I'm a gamer, and I appreciate games across all spectrums, old and new. I think they all have certain strengths and weaknesses... well, except maybe the FMV games of the Sega CD days.

[Intrepid]

Did you even read the rest of the thread?

[Video]

I have always liked games because I liked games. Sure, people laugh just because you mention an old system or games.

 

I've always bought the newest system, and a few games for them, and own nearly all of them, but in the days of the SNES, I never considered the SNES special, simply because everybody that was anybody would (claim to) have one.

 

I felt the older systems were more special because people tended to get rid of their crusty old crap in favor of the newer stuff, and I'd keep the old stuff and get the new, just so I could enjoy the new stuff, but still go back to the classic games I loved.

 

I have a PS2, an GameCube, and an X-Box, but out of all the Next Gen systems, the one I like the most is the GameBoy Advance. Sure, there's great games on the consoles, but it seems a lot of game makers are becoming way to concerned with graphics, and are letting gameplay slip.

 

As a little kid, I was always facinated when someone said they had an older system, because I wanted to see if they had something I didn't, it was loads of fun, besides, the new stuff I could get cheaper in a few years, with a few exceptions of "I gotta have it now"

[Vic George 2K3]

Being at St. Vincent's Home for Children in the early to mid-1980s was an experience as far as game system envy went. You get even like a handheld electronic game and everybody wants to be your friend just so they can play what you've got. Apart from that, I've seen a counselor who owned an Atari 2600 along with several other students who had their own 2600, some who owned a ColecoVision, and some who owned even a Vectrex. I got myself an Adam Family Computer System and everybody in the group home I was staying in the final year I was there wanted to take a turn playing the games I had for it, which included the Buck Rogers and Dragon's Lair super games.

[ussexplorer]

This reminds me of the Youth Center in the town I grown up in. They didn't have much eletronic entertainment. When the center was first opened the ideal thing was to shoot pool, play ping pong, air hockey and a few other games. Then almost over night a television was donated. I decided since I had two Atari units. I would loan the center one unit and all my duplicate carts. Yard Sales seemed to produce them when a person didn't want to break the system up. So for a year or so it was just that. One Atari 2600 system and a few games. Then came in the fully loaded C64, 128 systems. From people who had to have the newest stuff. I maintaned the system until I got a job at the local computer store. Basicly cleaning disk drives and making copies of disks/tapes to make sure the originals was untouched. Later on I went back to the center and found out the system stopped working since the media was trashed. Nobody else to make backups after I left. One final note the system I loaned to them ended up going out with one of the kids their. They brought in a bunch of games since their home system died. Then when they came to take the games they took the system too. I wasn't totally pissed since by that time they had over systems to play with. I just figured when they got tired of the Atari I would take it back and give it a good home again.

 

Laters,

 

Josh