The Fall Of The Modern Gaming Era

[dropCGCF]

Dare I say it? Gaming has experienced a steady decline in many factors. fun, replay value, originality, simplicity.

When the NES first came out, it had four buttons and a D-pad. Dare I say we have gone light-years backwards in our progress?

Game companies are becoming completely uncouth in their assessment of the modern gaming community. Modern gamers want simplicity more than anything else.

My most precious gaming memories include playing the original Mario Party with my parents and sister. These memories could likely not have been created with the advent of "gyroscopic" control devices, or with fancy and confusing button layouts. Instead, most minigames involved at most three buttons to complete the game.

I am choosing not to buy any of the next-gen consoles because Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have each lost focus of the original point of gaming; making it so everyone can play their games.

I will not buy a DS, PSP, or Gizmondo because GBA games got too involving for me. I have enough things to remember as it is.

Cell phone makers get it. Downloadable games that require little to no learning curve are enjoyed by all.

So here's my big finger, corporations. You will receive no money from me on your "revolutionary" technology. I'll be too busy with my Colecovision.

[Crash]

amen brotha... super monkey ball rox the casba!

other games that rock with simplicity


Tetris
Dr. Mario
Pilot Wings
Pong
PacMan

[Jonbo298]

Super Monkey Ball is an awesome game.

[GameMaster]

I play Pokémon Puzzle League almost everyday. And I love Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Smash Bros. is a great modern game though. I don't think that game can be ruined but I guess I'll have to wait and see what the next controller is like before I cast my assumption in stone.

[Dyne]

Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG are the only RPGs I truly enjoyed and finished 100%. Starting from FF7, RPGs became crap to me.

Fire Emblem rekindled my love somewhat.

[Typhoid]

Chrono Trigger...I love Chrono Trigger.

Mario RPG is awesome to. I almost shat myself when I saw it at a garage sale for 5 bucks.

I like FFX. I could play it non-stop. One time, I played it for about 16 hours straight.


I love RPG's. In moderation. Too much of an RPG can kill the whole experience for you.

[DeathsHand]

nostalgia nostalgia nostalgia...

In 5-10 years, kids who are young today will look back and remember the good ol days...

The first time their friend Timmy shot a hooker in the head after they got busy in a dark alley in GTA...

The first time they played Halo 2 on Xbox live back before online console gaming was fully embraced and became... "Better"...

And remember the good old days when a simple 8 button, 2 analog stick, 1 D-pad controller layout was enough to play your favorite game, back before Nintendo threw their 2 joystick 20 button, 5 touch screen controllers into the mix......

I don't chalk it up to the gaming industry declining or think that simple is always better... When I go back and play old NES and SNES classics, I enjoy them about as much as I enjoy playing recent classics (FF7, OoT) or soon to be classics (GTA, RE4), the only difference is you get the added boost of it being a "walk down memory lane"...

Although for me most of the time that walk down memory lane is made up of "I remember when I sucked at this game"

When Hot Topic starts selling cool classic "Vintage" NES T-shirts, I think that really says something...

[Vampyr]

I too miss the days of simple gaming when I could buy a game, take it home, and actually be excited and dying to put it in my system so I could play.

But now things have gotten too complicated. I have to LEARN to play the game before I can actually get into it, and it ruins the experiance for me. I don't look forward to learning it. I wish, just for one more time, I could be shivering with excitement when I buy a new game.

[Batman]

I’m going to have to disagree on that statement. True, games have become more complex, but is really a bad thing? I remember playing Skate or Die. I played that game to death. But if I picked it up today, don’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did back then. Sure, it would bring back some good memories, but that’s about it. And that goes for almost all the games I played when I was younger. I could sit here and tell you all the games that I used to love, but if a game was released today with the same concept and graphics that was used back then, I don’t think I would pick it up.

Imagine if nothing in the entertainment world progressed. We would still be watching black and white TV, tap dancing (with musicals) in movies, listening to Patty Duke on the radio. LOL, you guys are starting to sound like old people. I remember when games weren’t so complex; we had to go to the store and pick up our games at the store, walking in 3 feet of snow, up hills, both ways. We didn’t have this internet thing. Ungrateful kids.” LOL Sorry got side tracked there.

I enjoy the realism in Madden. I can’t stand when I play somebody when all they do is roll out of the pocket, wait a few seconds and bomb it down field. Then can’t understand why they only complete 10% of their passes. Tony Hawk is awesome, getting to actually see the tricks you do in 3D. How can you complain about that? Same concept goes with FPS shooters. We wouldn’t have them. How boring would it be if all you were able to do is shoot and open doors? Sure it was great back in the day, but if the video game industry never progressed, it would have died out during the NES days. I still play the original Doom today. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want Halo on my TV.

What can you do with two buttons? Kirby Air Ride, Tetris, DDR, SMB, The Sims. I can’t even really put DDR in that category, why because that game isn’t fun if you just use your D-pad… you have to pull out the Dance Pad to get the full experience on it. I plan on getting that new one for my Daughter. You know the one with Mario in it. I love video games, and I can see my daughter having a lot of fun with it, so it’s a perfect match.

I’m not saying that they should abandon simple video games all together. They are need out there, for the casual gamer. Something that somebody can pick up real easy and still be able to play for a couple hours. But to state that it’s “The Fall of the Modern Gaming Era” is a little harsh. Everything has to progress, or it will just phase itself out. Look at any business that has started but never progressed, they just aren’t around anymore. So what I’m saying in the short, none boring statement. Is that games are so popular today because of all the advancements that have been achieved. It was need to add more buttons.

[dropCGCF]

Originally Posted by Batman

I’m going to have to disagree on that statement. True, games have become more complex, but is really a bad thing? I remember playing Skate or Die. I played that game to death. But if I picked it up today, don’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did back then. Sure, it would bring back some good memories, but that’s about it. And that goes for almost all the games I played when I was younger. I could sit here and tell you all the games that I used to love, but if a game was released today with the same concept and graphics that was used back then, I don’t think I would pick it up.

I would.

Imagine if nothing in the entertainment world progressed. We would still be watching black and white TV, tap dancing (with musicals) in movies, listening to Patty Duke on the radio. LOL, you guys are starting to sound like old people. I remember when games weren’t so complex; we had to go to the store and pick up our games at the store, walking in 3 feet of snow, up hills, both ways. We didn’t have this internet thing. Ungrateful kids.” LOL Sorry got side tracked there.

I'm not saying to impede progress, what I'm saying is that developers are losing sight of incorporating technology into a game that isn't the same thing I played two years ago.

I enjoy the realism in Madden. I can’t stand when I play somebody when all they do is roll out of the pocket, wait a few seconds and bomb it down field. Then can’t understand why they only complete 10% of their passes. Tony Hawk is awesome, getting to actually see the tricks you do in 3D. How can you complain about that? Same concept goes with FPS shooters. We wouldn’t have them. How boring would it be if all you were able to do is shoot and open doors? Sure it was great back in the day, but if the video game industry never progressed, it would have died out during the NES days. I still play the original Doom today. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want Halo on my TV.

So you're telling me that you hate impossibility in football games, but pulling off a 27-trick combo is an everyday occurence in the skateboarding world? And sure, fancy graphics are nice, but with realism, as Maddox said, "who wants to play 'Virtual Scavenger Hunt'?"

What can you do with two buttons? Kirby Air Ride, Tetris, DDR, SMB, The Sims. I can’t even really put DDR in that category, why because that game isn’t fun if you just use your D-pad… you have to pull out the Dance Pad to get the full experience on it. I plan on getting that new one for my Daughter. You know the one with Mario in it. I love video games, and I can see my daughter having a lot of fun with it, so it’s a perfect match.

Agreed.

I’m not saying that they should abandon simple video games all together. They are need out there, for the casual gamer. Something that somebody can pick up real easy and still be able to play for a couple hours. But to state that it’s “The Fall of the Modern Gaming Era” is a little harsh. Everything has to progress, or it will just phase itself out. Look at any business that has started but never progressed, they just aren’t around anymore. So what I’m saying in the short, none boring statement. Is that games are so popular today because of all the advancements that have been achieved. It was need to add more buttons.

I'm not saying that it was never needed. More buttons can be a good thing. When companies think they can put out something "revolutionary" like Halo 2 and expect me to buy 3? F that. I don't care about the Covenant anymore.

Games like Halo, MGS, and Mario 64 truly were inspiring. Halo 2, MGS 2 , and Mario Sunshine were the same thing, with "advancements". Whoops, I guess someone forgot to develop "fun" into those games.

I thoroughly believe the "Golden Era" of gaming ended when 128-bit systems entered into the fray. I'm not fooled when EA hides crappy gameplay with astonishing graphics.

[Batman]

Originally Posted by dropCGCF

I'm not saying to impede progress, what I'm saying is that developers are losing sight of incorporating technology into a game that isn't the same thing I played two years ago.

Still have to buttheads with you here. Developers have always been out there to make a quick buck. You have sequels that are just horrible dated always back to the Atari days. If the developers make an outstanding original game, that GOTY or something, they are quick to turn around and make a half-assed sequel for a profit. No developing company is excluded from this. If people are comfortable with a title, they are willing to spend the money on part 2, 3, 4, etc. Example, Acclaim and Turok. That was done in the 64 days. ET, done on Atari. Huge successes in the theater, major flop on Atari. Simple game, huge flop.

So you're telling me that you hate impossibility in football games, but pulling off a 27-trick combo is an everyday occurence in the skateboarding world? And sure, fancy graphics are nice, but with realism, as Maddox said, "who wants to play 'Virtual Scavenger Hunt'?"

Nope, not saying that at all. Every game has their replay value. I love the realism in Madden, but I also like the extreme tricks that can be done in SSX, Tony Hawk, ATV, or any other extreme sports game. I even like sitting down and playing some Blitz with some buddies, if I’m in that mood for high scoring games and pure mad house. But realism really adds to the effect of games. How real would Splinter Cell be, if they were restricted to two buttons and a D-pad. Same goes for almost all games out there. With the extra buttons, you now have the ability to do more with the character on the screen. Fighting games would not be as deep (control wise) as they are now. I enjoy all types of games, but they have to be done right. And with what Maddox said, “who wants to play Virtual Scavenger Hunt”, this could be done easily with a two button configuration. Sounds like a pretty simple game too me. But who wants to play it if it’s not fun? Got me.

I'm not saying that it was never needed. More buttons can be a good thing. When companies think they can put out something "revolutionary" like Halo 2 and expect me to buy 3? F that. I don't care about the Covenant anymore.

No argument here. I was very disappointed in Halo 2. But look at companies like Capcom, with what they are doing with Resident Evil. That’s pretty awesome. They knew that the whole Zombie thing was dead (ha ha ha). So they added some spice to the mix. This "revolutionary" thing you are talking about isn't consoles fault, it's the developers fault. And this isn't the only generation that it's happened with. Explained a little more below.

Games like Halo, MGS, and Mario 64 truly were inspiring. Halo 2, MGS 2 , and Mario Sunshine were the same thing, with "advancements". Whoops, I guess someone forgot to develop "fun" into those games.

Every generation of console games that come out has their “inspiring” games. Truthfully, I can probably only name a few with the N64 and the PSx (can’t name any from Sega, never had their systems). And the same goes for this generation. It doesn’t have to do with controllers or how simple a game is, it has to do with what developers do with the idea that they have. Some developers try to get the fast $$$, and some actually try to make an outstanding game. Again, I repeat, it's not just this generation. It's all of them.

I thoroughly believe the "Golden Era" of gaming ended when 128-bit systems entered into the fray. I'm not fooled when EA hides crappy gameplay with astonishing graphics.

Maybe it has to do with opinion. But I believe the “Golden Era” of gaming ended with the NES. We will never get the classic of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, even Super Mario 3. It’s just a matter of opinion. But I’m not at all disappointed with how the gaming industry has flourished. As for EA, well they are producing a couple games that I’m really looking forward too this year, Battlefield 2 and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. I’m not going to get sucked into “EA is taking over the world” hype. If there is a game that they come out with and it’s awesome, it will be a part of my collection.