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Do you find yourself drifting away from the scene?


Keatah

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As the essence of retrogaming is being expanded and muddled by modern mainstream millennial media I find myself looking for greater, richer, niches in this hobby. Greater challenges. So in drifting away from things overdone and commonplace - I've found some, but not a significant amount.

 

Some examples might be..

 

Lesser interest in homebrews. They're popping up like flies.

 

No interest in retrogaming apps, especially single-game apps.

 

No desire to play on mobile platforms.

 

Not interested in limited editions because companies are trying too hard to make these and they're still all the same.

 

Little interest in retro-console remakes, they don't get everything right, only about 70% of it. And their methodologies are weird, aside from the usual cost-cutting techniques involved. And crowdfunded ones are even worse, if they ever make it to retail.

 

And of course there are other reasons which aren't of interest to a retrogaming forum.

 

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Yeah, you're getting older and maybe even growing up a little. We have all come a long way since "I had a dream that I bought a shirt full of Atari cartridges at the neighborhood yard sale for $10." We have infinite choices on computer technology that is better than what our childhood science fiction could have imagined.

 

I love mobile games, though. Wasn't it you that said "tablet gaming is ruined" a few years back? Still feeling that way?

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I'm into mobile, love my 3ds and psp, and am looking to add a Wii switch soon. Now tablets can go f#%& themselves (until one comes with a real integrated controller anyways) :D

 

I agree with some of that. Mostly it's a lack of time and desire to spend money that keeps me out of the retro scene, and lack of desire to deal with modern drm bs (always online, incomplete games, etc) keeps modern games down for me, but I am in general just not putting as much into games now days.

 

Still love and play my handhelds a lot though.

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I'm not sure I was ever terribly involved in "the scene" to begin with. I just play old games I like, talk about them on a forum, and I still get just as excited as ever when I stumble on a game I've been looking for in nice condition and at a good price in a local store.

 

Homebrews are cool but usually too expensive to warrant a purchase when there is a small mountain of good original production games that I can pick up for $5 or $10 each. I've never been into touchscreen gaming aside from when the Nintendo DS was new and using a touchscreen to control something was a new and novel experience. Clone hardware never held much interest for me either, since I don't play games on modern TVs with HDMI input and the hardware itself is in some way always inferior to the original consoles that can still be found affordably from any local game store. Even top notch clone hardware like the AVS has drawbacks like not being able to play light gun games or output an interlaced signal for use on a CRT TV.

 

So I guess I don't feel like I've ever really fit in with "the scene", but I've never felt like I had to either. I'm just having fun doing my thing, and having fun is what a hobby is supposed to be about so I'm not too worried about it all. :)

Edited by Jin
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I'm into mobile, love my 3ds and psp, and am looking to add a Wii switch soon. Now tablets can go f#%& themselves (until one comes with a real integrated controller anyways) :D

 

I agree with some of that. Mostly it's a lack of time and desire to spend money that keeps me out of the retro scene, and lack of desire to deal with modern drm bs (always online, incomplete games, etc) keeps modern games down for me, but I am in general just not putting as much into games now days.

 

Still love and play my handhelds a lot though.

 

You can use this kind of devices with tablets:

 

https://www.gearbest.com/mount-holder/pp_145999.html

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Y'know, as far as I'm concerned, none of the things you listed are part n' parcel of 'the scene'. How do I put this... ok, imagine you go to a music festival. There's booths selling t-shirts, and spiky belts, and rasta hats (and probably some 'herbs' under the table). But they're not why you're at the festival. You're there to hear the bands & meet people who like the bands & talk to them about bands and maybe other things you like.

 

It's like that- yeah, there's apps and fancy new teach both to run and run on the original gear- but the original gear is the whole damn point. I hang around becuase I like Cosmic Ark. And Guardian legend. And Ristar. And I want to meet other people who do & talk about it. The stuff is just stuff, y'know? I don't need to want a retron 77 to care about Atari games, or to want to play them with other people who do. I mean, it's why we all hang around here, isn't it?

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As the essence of retrogaming is being expanded and muddled by modern mainstream millennial media I find myself looking for greater, richer, niches in this hobby. Greater challenges. So in drifting away from things overdone and commonplace - I've found some, but not a significant amount.

 

Some examples might be..

 

Lesser interest in homebrews. They're popping up like flies.

 

 

Having shade thrown around about the miracle that we even HAVE new games makes me question the scene for sure. If you don't like a new game don't buy it. If you care and don't like a game then provide feedback. If you love your system be happy developers are making new games.

 

 

UPDATE: I guess I should make it clear I'm not talking about you personally. Just responding to the example. Things like that kill the scene from the inside.

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I come and go. I've already drifted away from the Atari era gaming scene, then drifted back and was surprised at how out of touch I've become. I regularly stumble upon subjects and homebrews that have already been around for years but they are new to me.

 

Sometimes the change in forum members across retro sites and forums pushes me away. Old familiar names disappear, and quite often I'll realize that a large percentage of forum posts are from the same couple of people. I'm not talking specifically about AA, mind you.

 

The thing that truly squashes my enthusiasm is when I experience hardware and controller failures, or if I can't get a good connection on my flat screen. It makes me want to box it up and forget about it.

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Lots of good thoughts in this thread. Points from Ketah, Jin, and Hoshi resonate with me.

 

I'm sure there was some collector in 89 thinking the same things with a different list of things that made him/her feel out of touch.

 

I think that things will always get morphed a bit as technology changes. I've never really been into mobile or online gaming even in their classic states, but boy did I squee over emulation.

 

I think at this point you have to see yourself as more of an historian. You've seen the original thing and have witnessed opinions form about it over the years. Hold your own interests in place and others will value your perspective. Even if many will come in new and pay no attention to the old timers, there will always be more curious, younger historians looking for the viewpoints of those who were there.

 

Unfortunately the 'scene' will undoubtedly move on and leave you behind. Just stay put with the rest of us. Some of us like it here.

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Maybe the scene is actually:

 

* People who focus on collecting

 

* People who focus on systems and games produced "back in the day" only

 

* People who enjoy all content new and old.

 

There are blurred lines like those who wont collect loose carts. Or, people who will buy new games only if they're arcade perfect ports. People who shun emulation, etc.. But basically I recognize there are lines.

 

It may be easy to cringe at the part of the scene you're not into. But, I think at that point one has to become either more focused or more open.

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I'm sure there was some collector in 89

 

tj_hooker_shatner.jpg

 

I don't play any mobile games.

 

I haven't played console video games ever since I bought two pinball machines for the game room. I don't have any more room. Anymore I only play arcade/MAME as far as video games go. Most of my time spent is playing pinball.

 

I wish a beercade would open up locally. I would be there all the time.

 

Feeling thankful for the off-topic forums here on AtariAge since a lot of retrogaming topics have been beaten to death in the last 9 years that I've been here.

Edited by VectorGamer
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I dislike terms like "the scene" almost as much as terms like "the community".

 

Being part of a small or unique group defined by an interest has nothing to do with the appeal of old games to me. I like and play old games. You guys like and play old games. We talk about old games because we like them. I will continue to do so, and I think if modern mainstream millennials are also interested, hey that's great. Gives me more people to talk about old games with.

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I'm in a scene of one. Well, okay, two, counting the missus. I buy and play what I like or what sounds good. If I had more money/space/time, I'd probably buy more (so it's probably best that I don't). I like going here, and maybe SEGA 16 and ResetEra to talk about (or at least look at information about) games, but I don't really feel like I'm part of a scene or whatever.

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I Agree on the most of your points but NOT on this one:

 

 

 

 

Lesser interest in homebrews. They're popping up like flies.

Disagree with this point. Collecting/playing homebrew is something I find much more rewarding than even collecting period releases.

 

Homebrew is primarily what keeps me interested in Atari collecting mostly.

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I still love the gaming aspect of it, and will keep trying the various incarnations of these games when they seem interesting - but what I'm really tiring of is the unavoidable personal attacks and nastiness in this hobby. It's easy to blame a blanket swath of "millennials" for the things we don't like, but really - I experience way more agita dealing with the stereotypical middle aged retro gaming enthusiast with too much disposable income, and too much free time on their hands, who perpetually act like spoiled brats/show offs over the size of their collections, or their personal definitions of technical mumbo jumbo they half-understand, or sharing their legal expertise, sans a law degree.

 

It's just video games. They're supposed to be fun.

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