Are too many people reviewing retro games--is it ruining the market?

[+save2600]

 

 

LMAO, that was excellent! Only thing missing is how AVGN pronounces "ree-view".

[jbone09]

That Classic Game Room impression was great.

[thadsilverfox]

^^^^^bwahahahaha...that video is hilarious.

[+GoldenWheels]

I think it was all done in good fun as I believe Joe and Dave know some or all of those guys. Still....sooooooooooooooooooo spot on.

 

And there certainly may be too many youtubers nowadays but...if you aren't watching Game Sack...you should be!

[madhatter667]

That was pretty good. Lol.

[Omega-TI]

Great video!

 

[Gentlegamer]

 

And there certainly may be too many youtubers nowadays but...if you aren't watching Game Sack...you should be!

 

I watched it for a bit, but can't take their boring book reviews anymore.

[omegadot]

I would think until the fans of the first generation systems die we are only adding ranks to the amount of people aging to a place where they can afford to collect. I found some bank statements from college and slightly after before I said eff this and joined the Navy. I had like a few bucks at the end of each month and I don't recall spending time at bars or bopping around town. I was worryingly broke for quite a few years. Fast forward a few years and I have great employment in a hot field and I can put money into the hobby again. I imagine a lot of my peers are entering or have entered this phase in the past few years and added to the ranks. I'm sure the youtube culture supports and validates this hobby strongly but at the same time it doesn't exactly reach out and get you. I really got back into it via this website (so blame yourselves!).

 

For about a year I ran a little blog where I'd talk about games I picked up or played in a slightly humorous light and after I dropped it due to life and figuring no one cared much I did get few messages from half acquaintances that they had been living vicariously through the text. They had little interest on jumping in but they enjoyed reading about the experiences.

[Keatah]

There's a lot of people who owned the first single board computers and early micros keeling over nowadays. Another 5 or 10 years at most.

[madhatter667]

I think I bought more games in the 2000-2008 year range than at any other point in time. I make a lot more money now though. Lol. Games were cheaper then, but I have also since decided that being more choosy is a thing. I can see how there would be more people getting into a position in life where they would have more disposable income, and therefore a greater ability to collect. That would also affect the market in general. I wouldn't be surprised to see stuff from the mid-late 20 something's childhoods to start climbing in price. Maybe even the early 30 somethings' too (being a middle 30 something and watching the NES stuff just keep climbing).

[+GoldenWheels]

 

I watched it for a bit, but can't take their boring book reviews anymore.

They do book reviews? I do tend to fall behind AND skip their shorter videos which are "we're going to be at X convention" or whatever they are but I hadn't seen any book reviews.

[mbd30]

 

 

LMAO, that was excellent! Only thing missing is how AVGN pronounces "ree-view".

I hope Metal Jesus sees this. The Game Sack guys actually can be funny.

[BassGuitari]

I think I bought more games in the 2000-2008 year range than at any other point in time. I make a lot more money now though. Lol. Games were cheaper then, but I have also since decided that being more choosy is a thing.

That's my story, too. I was in high school and had a job but no bills, and for the most part, games were cheap and plentiful then. Oh man, it was great; you could walk into a Goodwill at any given time and were practically guaranteed to trip over a pile of Atari 2600 or Intellivision cartridges, for .25 or .50 apiece. Maybe a whole dollar or two each if they were boxed. So I piled up a LOT of stuff then.

 

I've piled up a lot more stuff since then, too, but it's taken longer. I have a large collection and a "real" job now, but also bills and responsibilities, so I go after more specific or uncommon/rare items. Buying huge lots just for one or two rare carts doesn't make sense for me anymore, either. I'm finding that space and clutter reduction is much more important to me than saving a couple bucks on Game X and being stuck with a stash of worthless extra carts. (Game X would have to be something *really* special for me to consider it now.)

 

Anyway, I think prices on everything across the board will keep going up, at least for a while. GameCube and PS2 stuff is already getting there. Even younger people who don't know what an Atari 2600 is have it in their minds that it's worth gobs of money. And of course anything that says "Nintendo" on it is only going to keep going up.

[Gentlegamer]

They do book reviews? I do tend to fall behind AND skip their shorter videos which are "we're going to be at X convention" or whatever they are but I hadn't seen any book reviews.

 

Their video game reviews are in 'book review' format. Boring, shallow: "the graphics are this, the sound is that, the gameplay is this, etc"

 

They do no in depth comparisons between games, and review multiplayer centric games like fighters and wrestling games solo, giving no really useful info or entertaining presentation.

 

The best thing about Game Sack is it uses direct capture for the video. Otherwise, it adds nothing of informational or entertainment value, in my opinion.

[+GoldenWheels]

 

Their video game reviews are in 'book review' format. Boring, shallow: "the graphics are this, the sound is that, the gameplay is this, etc"

 

They do no in depth comparisons between games, and review multiplayer centric games like fighters and wrestling games solo, giving no really useful info or entertaining presentation.

 

The best thing about Game Sack is it uses direct capture for the video. Otherwise, it adds nothing of informational or entertainment value, in my opinion.

Oh ok! I get it.

 

One of the biggest reasons I got hooked is their multiple-sreenshots-of-the-same-game-in-different-versions, and comparing the differences between platforms. I really liked that, and they still do that as far as I know when they cover game franchises. I dunno, I tend to think they pick good themes overall, certain systems or certain publishers, but yeah if wrestling games don't interest you, that wrestling episode is gonna bore you to tears. There's no denying the show is a bit...dry.

[Gentlegamer]

I was fine with the wrestling episode, but they did the whole show completely wrong.

 

At one point, Joe literally says 'this game would be more fun playing against someone and learning the game.'

 

Yo, you got Dave! Why are you playing solo?

[bretthorror]

I think the more people talking about old school gaming, the better. Every little bit helps getting better emulation, more homebrews, etc.

 

The thing about YouTube is AVGN did it right off the start. He made videos with his own talents that incorporated gameplay elements. They did have a small review aspect to them, and as the years go by, he included more facts and review elements, which ultimately hurt his videos. They're still great, but we already know the game is bad if he's playing it. He doesn't really need to get too in depth, he just has to fuck around and be real. One of his best videos was his 5200 one because it just showed a regular dude trying to muck with the BS that is retro gaming with shit not working, stupid cords, etc. That's a lot more fun than game reviews. There's no fun in watching someone play a bad game, the fun is in an entertaining wraparound story.

 

Fact is, most people who review games really shouldn't be reviewing. You can't be a fanboy and review games, giving x game a pass while condemning game y for the same faults, it's a conflict of interest. Plus, at this point, can you really not just watch someone play a game and know how good it is? Not just that, but in today's age, everything great has been unearthed and "hidden gems" have been exposed for years now, the information is so commonplace. Really, if you found a generic top 100 NES games list, you're probably covered. Unlike today's story driven gaming, old school games are pretty easy to figure out if they're decent. If it looks fun in a video, it probably is. If it looks slow, bland and tedious, it probably is.

 

I'm glad the people are having their fun on YouTube and certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from doing their thing.

[+GoldenWheels]

I was fine with the wrestling episode, but they did the whole show completely wrong.

 

At one point, Joe literally says 'this game would be more fun playing against someone and learning the game.'

 

Yo, you got Dave! Why are you playing solo?

Joe sometimes seems to eschew playing or commenting on things that don't fall into his wheelhouse of favorite companies/franchises. I guess in a way that's a good thing.

 

They failed to point out that WCW Revenge is the greatest wrestling game ever bar none so they lost points with me right there anyway.

[BassGuitari]

 

Youtube has achieved self-awareness.

[Silverfleet]

Watched that Game Sack parody last night. Effing hilarious.

[English Invader]

I hope Metal Jesus sees this. The Game Sack guys actually can be funny.

 

I think the video is doing Metal Jesus a disservice. I find his videos very informative.

[mbd30]

I think the video is doing Metal Jesus a disservice. I find his videos very informative.

It was a joke. They made fun of everyone. They also parodied themselves ("games that use the select button").

[Austin]

Yeah, the video is an intentional joke. They have worked with a lot of the guys they parodied, so it's all in jest.