What Was That Gaming Era Like?

[Randoman]

Have you ever been curious about what it was like to see older gaming generations/consoles back in their heyday? I know there's emulation, but emulators don't exactly capture that feeling of everyone gathered around a TV playing and enjoying a game together. Plus, gaming rumours and word of mouth was really big back then before the internet existed.

The Atari 2600 era is a big one for me. I've had plenty of NES/SNES/Genesis exposure as a kid at other people's houses, though I've always wondered what were the big hit Atari games that people would go to each others' houses to play, especially when it came to multiplayer games. I've also tried really old school Atari games, but they didn't hold my interest for long. Maybe seeing what it would've been like to have an Atari as the most "up-to-date" gaming console would help me have a better appreciation for it. The main Atari games I remember liking were Space Invaders and Centipede.

And despite having seen quite a bit of NES as a kid, I would've liked to see what it was like when it first came out. I mean, see the rumours and tricks people knew of regarding the original Super Mario Bros. before the internet or Nintendo Power existed, seeing how far gamers back then made it in Contra without the Konami code, what people thought were the ideal or best teams in Final Fantasy 1, and such.

[Emeraldfox]

I'm curious about the Atari era too. Sure, I can watch Youtube for documentaries and stuff, but I want to hear it from a dinosaur's mouth.

[Superbus]

Honestly? The more things change, the more they stay the same. Our experiences sitting around an Atari 2600 and NES were just as salient as the memories of modern children sitting around the PS3. If you were born in 1980 like I was, you will react to our games the same way you did to yours.

The only real difference is that models are so realistic now - whether they're based on reality or just a better visualization of fantasy - that there's not as much imagination required to enjoy the setup of today's games; I.E.; chances are good that the image we had in our mind's eye is not being replicated by modern technology, or just placed in it before today's kids even know what they want to imagine. But honestly, to simulate that, we had the instruction manuals. Check out the comic that came out with Yars' Revenge (http://atariage.com/comics/comic_thumbs.html?MagazineID=48), and then reconcile that with the actual game. Our imagination turned what was in that comic into what was on the screen. That's about the only real difference, and thinking back, I would have been blown away by today's games. It was simply unfathomable. But that doesn't cheapen the memories any bit.