Remembering when Video Gaming was Simple

On 04/15/2013 at 10:46 PM by The Last Ninja

Video gaming has changed quite a bit in the last decade. We live in the 21st Century, an age of great technology. Video gaming has evolved and become far more complex than it has ever been. Today's consoles have online functionality, internet access, stores to purchase other games, leader boards, friend codes, voice chat, DVD drives, and probably a bunch of other junk! I remember the day when video game consoles could only (gasp!) play games! Times have changed. Video gaming is no longer just about the games; it's about connecting and competing with other gamers. Yes, just as we suspected, the internet has taken over the world. But I remember the "good old days," before all this online mayhem overwhelmed us.

I remember playing multiplayer with my friends on the N64 and the Gamecube before online multiplayer was a big thing for VG consoles. We played some of the all-time greats: Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Melee (probably played this one more than any other game in my life), Wario Ware, Inc, and so many others. The Nintendo 64 was the first major console to have four players. My brothers and I would play together on that system all the time. When I went to a friend's house, we would do nothing but play video games. I even remember having a total of eight people over my house and we played Mario Party 7, which had a special 8-player mini game fest! We all played at the same time, and it was awesome!

Online play has taken away this experience of comradery to a certain degree. Yes, it's fun to play with people online, but it is even more fun when they are in the room with you. I remember playing one of my friends online and the competition between us was fierce, but it wasn't the same; I couldn't mock him and see the expression on his face as he laughed or yelled at me. The Sega Dreamcast was the first major VG console to have online play; it included its own built-in modem. Now online play is all the rage. The three companies of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are doing their best to outdo one another with amazing online capabilities and incredible new features of the system. The consoles are becoming more and more complex.

I remember when we used to rent video games from Blockbuster. Every now and then we would get a "rent one get one free" coupon in the mail and we would always use it on games. I remember (and this is a long time ago) when my oldest brother would go into the small video store at the Albertson's grocery store and rent either Final Fantasy II or Contra 3: The Alian Wars for the SNES. We would go home and have a blast with those games.

Today renting video games is nearly obsolete; red box allows you to rent games at $2 a day, but it seems that the atmosphere of video game renting has come to an end. It used to be really popular, but today is considered after all the possibilities are exhausted, it seems. Far more people go to red box to rent movies, not video games. Those wonderful days of renting games at Blockbuster are over.

I remember when Player's Guides and strategy guides were important things to have when it came to a difficult game. When I was just a kid, my brother and I would watch our oldest brother play Final Fantasy III (which is actually VI). He had a FFIII player's guide! We pored over that thing (honestly, I just loved the drawings). That strategy guide was absolutely essential to beating the game.

Today strategy guides are almost non-existent thanks to the internet. We can easily pull up a walkthrough and find out how to get unstuck. The need for a physical strategy guide in your hands is no longer necessary (which is a shame).

You see, this "online" thing has invaded the world of video gaming, and we are so used to it I think that we have forgotten how it used to be. It used to be simple. Buy a game, bring it home, play it on the system; then have some friends over to play too.

Honestly, I have neither the money nor the time to keep up with all the systems and their new features and compatibilities. My love for gaming is mostly rooted in the past, and that's why I love to play old games. I miss those simple days.

What about you? Do you have memories of the "good old days" back when gaming was simple, before the rise of internet? Please, wax nastalgic and let us know about your most precious memories. Today's generation of kids have truly missed out. Let's tell them what it was all about.

Aboboisdaman

04/15/2013 at 11:13 PM

I'm still living in the good ol days lol. I feel so meh about modern gaming and get bored with a lot of it really fast. I could never possibly get sick of playing the games that I grew up with, and I play them everyday. I recently hooked up my Sega Genesis again, and have been having a blast with it! There ain't no online DRM, 5 gig installs, patches, trophies, or any of that jazz, and that's just the way I like it.

The Last Ninja

04/16/2013 at 12:43 AM

Thanks for sharing. Some of those old games never get old (uh, wait a minute...)

Blake Turner Staff Writer

04/16/2013 at 06:03 AM

Split screen, where have you gone? The only games that seem to do it now days are COD and Halo. I miss having friends over for a game, or even just playing with my brothers. Playing Goldeneye, Timesplitters 2, Burnout 3, Mario Kart, etc. were some of the best memories I ever had.

CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it

04/16/2013 at 09:32 AM

I as well. And you're right, online play takes away the split screen, which is something I remember with great fondness.

Cary Woodham

04/16/2013 at 06:04 AM

Sometimes I miss being able to turn on my SNES, pop in a game and play it right then and not have to wait for a dashboard to load, connect to the Internet, and then load the game's many company logos before I can play something.

04/16/2013 at 09:34 AM

Right. Waiting for a game to load was unheard of for SNES and N64 (because they were cartridges). Also, the internet connection can be choppy, which can be annoying or frustrating.

daftman

04/16/2013 at 08:18 AM

Ah, the good old days. I feel kind of sorry for today's kids. I wish everyone could grow up with the NES, SNES, and Genesis. Today's consoles are so worried about being a mulitmedia machine that sometimes they seem to forget their primiary purpose is for playing games. I miss that pure gaming experience.

04/16/2013 at 09:37 AM

Absolutely. And I'm glad we can still play some of those old games on the new consoles via WiiWare/PSN/Xbox Live Arcade. I hope they keep that up. I fear that consoles are only going to get more and more complex, and I can't keep up.

leeradical42

04/16/2013 at 09:58 AM

Yes split screens are just about absolete, which I find utterly rediculous, I have freinds that come over and want to play games with me, and out of my 100 plus game collection I only have 2 thats split screen, now how sad is that, so unless u have a network setup in your home playing with freinds is a thing of the past, then there doing away with game manuals, I remember buying a game and being so excited about reading up on the game before i had the oppertunity to play it, and strategy guides are more for collectors the a nessesaty, and the days of renting games are absolete unless you like gamefly, but the saddest part of it all is how there trying to make playing games not only online only but selling it in digital form only, and all I have to say to that is if i cant look at it in my hand then i dont want it.

04/16/2013 at 01:22 PM

I agree. Being able to look at a game's manual (even glancing through it) was something I often did when I got a new game. Also, video games becoming digital form only is terrible. There's something special about holding a game in your hands, you're absolutely right.

goaztecs

04/16/2013 at 01:09 PM

Good read man! One thing I miss is during the summer when school was out, going to my friend's house with my handful of NES games, sitting on the couch, and just playing for hours. No trophies, or guides, just playing, getting help from my friend who heard from someone else about a "secret code" or level. Taking turns playing that dang repeating dungeon in the original Super Mario Bros. or trying to beat each other's scores in a speed run.

04/16/2013 at 01:25 PM

Thanks. I remember days like that too. In fact, I still have an NES that still works! And my SNES still works too! I'm gonna cry like a baby when those systems give out (especially the SNES because it's my favorite system).

transmet2033

04/16/2013 at 03:34 PM

My brother(s) and i tend to play halo splitscreen. The nice thing is that we can still play online that way... which means that we do not know who is going to win right off the bat.

The slight problem that I had with goldeneye was that we knew who the better players were. That meant that they games always played out in a similar fashion. Adding the online players to splitscreen deathmatch changes everything.

04/16/2013 at 04:04 PM

Right, when you play splitscreen you can see what the other players are doing. It's not cheating, right?

Chris Yarger Community Manager

04/16/2013 at 03:48 PM

I too miss the days of local co-op. Granted, I still go over to a friends house every so often and play, or my wife and I will play a locally co-op game. Online does have it's perks though. Because of online gaming, I'm able to keep up with some of my college buds who moved back home after graduating, so for that I can appreciate it a lot more.

04/16/2013 at 04:07 PM

Right, online play does have its advantages. It's not bad of itself, but it is slowly taking away the feel that video gaming used to have.

BrokenH

04/16/2013 at 03:54 PM

It's true. Gaming used to be a lot more "personal". Aka, friends would come over and actually sit on the couch. Still, I'm grateful for my online friends too.

I will say this generation hasn't wowed me as much as the gaming generations before it. In many ways I still prefer my PS2 over my 360.

I'm also moonlighting with my psp at the moment!

04/16/2013 at 04:10 PM

Well, I think a system is best remembered for its games, not its special features. We don't look back at the N64, for example, and praise it for introducing the rumble pack; no, we remember it for Ocarina of Time and games like that. I believe that is what we will remember from these systems.

SanAndreas

04/16/2013 at 11:56 PM

I think that mostly what I hate from modern gaming is the DRM, DLC, and other superfluous crap, although I do admit that I use my PS3 and Wii U to watch Netflix when I don't want to game. I also wish a few of my favorite developers of the past were more active.

On the other hand, I've gotten to play awesome games like Valkyria Chronicles and Ni no Kuni on my PS3. I've also enjoyed playing fighting games online.

04/17/2013 at 12:39 PM

Right, it's the games that matter, not so much the online capabilities of the system. I agree, watching netflix on the system is cool, but some of the other special features is crap. And great games are still coming out for modern systems. Really, the games are what matter.

04/17/2013 at 12:49 PM

I have the hardest time caring about DLC. It costs extra money and I never seem to have enough hard drive space and just because the game was good doesn't mean the DLC will be. I guess it's just too much work lol, though Dishonored might convince me to get its new DLC coming out, maybe...

PixlBit