Post by VonGhoul on Mar 18, 2008 10:24:36 GMT -5
I am a video game machine. I've been playing video games, not since Pong, but RIGHT after it. I remember when Donkey Kong hit. I remember Pac-man fever. Arcade games were fun. Evil, but fun. Luckily back then you didn't encounter them very often. Only when your parents took you out to some random hardware, appliance, food store or the like. Keep in mind this was before Wal-mart moved in and consolidated the whole mess into one over crowded store.
Then came Atari.
Granted there were other home video game systems before Atari but they sucked worse than... well.... Atari.
The Atari 2600 was the first and utmost gaming machine and probably did more for the way you live your life right now than you even know.
And it sucked.
It sucked then and most definitely sucks now.
I could go down an expansive list on why the Atari sucked but I don't have to. If you are as ancient as me and had an Atari you already know why it sucks. Granted you may get some nostalgic memories of some game but then you remember the same game never, ever, ever ends or a game that is fun as Hades but before you ever even entertain the thought of beating it you get shot from a laser that wasnt even shot at you!!!!!!!! Run-on sentences rule.
Second reason is, you werent there but you played an emulator or one of your friends' dad has one and he let you play it so you have the same problems as above.
Every game was not about anything more than how long can I survive before this game glitches.
Good times.
Then came Nintendo.
I could write for days about its impact on me but the fact I just destroyed Atari probably says it all. It may not have started it all. It may not be the thing that developed into the iPhone you have sitting in yer purse or pocket.
But what it did do is teach the world the importance of leisure again. For better or worse. It can be taken too far. But so can everything.
It was basically the physical materialization of "Hey, stop what yer doing and think about this for a second".
Cuz with Atari there was always a pattern. there weren't any Warp Zones or whatever. In fact Warp Zone is now part of common vernacular BECAUSE of Nintendo and Super Mario Bros.
HeII there are even popular shirts now that have 1-up Mushrooms on em. There are shirts with the Ikari Warriors/Contra/Konami code on them. It left a real mark.
Nintendo made you THINK.
Not the random memory test that was needed to "beat" any Atari game.
Granted you could just use memory to sweep through the initial wave of Nintendo games but at least, Nintendo offered alternatives. There isn't one way to beat this game. There's at least 5.
Brilliant.
Sound familar?
It should....
Then came Atari.
Granted there were other home video game systems before Atari but they sucked worse than... well.... Atari.
The Atari 2600 was the first and utmost gaming machine and probably did more for the way you live your life right now than you even know.
And it sucked.
It sucked then and most definitely sucks now.
I could go down an expansive list on why the Atari sucked but I don't have to. If you are as ancient as me and had an Atari you already know why it sucks. Granted you may get some nostalgic memories of some game but then you remember the same game never, ever, ever ends or a game that is fun as Hades but before you ever even entertain the thought of beating it you get shot from a laser that wasnt even shot at you!!!!!!!! Run-on sentences rule.
Second reason is, you werent there but you played an emulator or one of your friends' dad has one and he let you play it so you have the same problems as above.
Every game was not about anything more than how long can I survive before this game glitches.
Good times.
Then came Nintendo.
I could write for days about its impact on me but the fact I just destroyed Atari probably says it all. It may not have started it all. It may not be the thing that developed into the iPhone you have sitting in yer purse or pocket.
But what it did do is teach the world the importance of leisure again. For better or worse. It can be taken too far. But so can everything.
It was basically the physical materialization of "Hey, stop what yer doing and think about this for a second".
Cuz with Atari there was always a pattern. there weren't any Warp Zones or whatever. In fact Warp Zone is now part of common vernacular BECAUSE of Nintendo and Super Mario Bros.
HeII there are even popular shirts now that have 1-up Mushrooms on em. There are shirts with the Ikari Warriors/Contra/Konami code on them. It left a real mark.
Nintendo made you THINK.
Not the random memory test that was needed to "beat" any Atari game.
Granted you could just use memory to sweep through the initial wave of Nintendo games but at least, Nintendo offered alternatives. There isn't one way to beat this game. There's at least 5.
Brilliant.
Sound familar?
It should....