Old consoles never die - PS3, Xbox 360, Wii competing with history
By Dave Parrack
The PS3, the Xbox 360, and the Wii are all fine consoles with some great games available to play on them. But part of me still longs for that bygone era, where other consoles ruled the roost, and filled my days with pleasure.
Regular readers of GAMER.BLORGE will know that we focus the vast majority of our attention on the current-gen and next-gen consoles. That’s where the action is all happening, that’s where the technology is being driven forward, and that’s where the graphical wonders are occurring. But to look forward it’s always good to also look back, and that’s why I’m a big retro games fan.
Some of you will probably stop reading at this point because you’re obsessed with one or more of the current consoles, and can’t see the point of looking back at all. But the chances are, by doing so, you’re missing out on some top quality gaming gems, and the albeit short time that constitutes the history of gaming.
I love new games and new consoles as much as the next man (or woman), with games such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid IV, and Gears Of War all blowing my mind when I first saw them playing on a high definition flat screen television. But it’s all (or at least 90%) about the graphics. When you get down to it, the gameplay of all the above games can leave a little to be desired.
Whether it’s the stupidly long cut scenes in MGS 4, the repetitive gameplay in GTA IV, or the over too quickly feeling you’re left with after GoW, there’s something wrong with all of these games. And this is why old consoles will never die, because there are certain games, and certain gameplay elements that can only be experienced on a certain game playing on a certain console.
The reason I still own a PS2 (apart from Sony’s stupid decision to stop supporting backwards compatibility) is for the joys I still get from playing Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and X on it. Then there is my loyal Dreamcast, which still sits next to my TV ready for the next time I need a Shenmue fix. And that’s just using the last generation as an example.
The games industry may be at the cutting edge of technology and responsible for pushing the boundaries (Blu-ray anyone?) but I think it’s good to take a look back occasionally. Which is why old consoles will never die, at least not in my house.
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Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
Stumble It!
Tips N4G
August 30th, 2008
Owned
August 30th, 2008
You just gave me the urge to fire up Shenmue.
August 30th, 2008
Still fire up that c64 dave?
I’d argue that the ‘clones’ and sequels of this gen. are superior (except the fact that you feel like you’ve played them before), the only thing that makes the older versions better is nostalgia.
August 30th, 2008
True, TMNT II The Arcade Game still gets me to hit my NES every once in a while. The 360 version still dosen’t feel right to me…
August 30th, 2008
Well put Dave. Sometimes going back to the old school games can be good thing to do. As much as I enjoy the current gen systems, me and my friends like to fire up the old school Nintendo 64 and play classics such as Super Mario 64, Super Smash Bros. , Bomberman 64, MegaMan 64, and others. This is also one reason I like the Wii (I own it as well) a bit better then the other consoles is the ability to down load a lot of the old school games that set the standards for gaming. (Disclamer: I like all next gen consoles, my roommate owns a 360 and PS2 and I play those too plus a friend of mine occasionally brings his PS3 to my place and we play that as well)
August 31st, 2008
I still havent finished The Warriors… Destroy All Humans 2… so many unfinished game.. so little time…
August 31st, 2008
Good Article, only problem is i now crave to play some old school titles such as black, GTA 3 and GT4… sod it I’m going to blast out the light gun and go whip some very pixilated bad guys on time crisis.
August 31st, 2008
Abe’s Oddysee / Exoddus I still go back to from time to time. And the Final Fantasys / Metal Gears. Ahhh the joys. Only really the story driven ones though, I don’t have any intention of playing old pro evos for example.
August 31st, 2008
Abes odysee! holy hell that was one wierd game. and i mean wierd.
August 31st, 2008
Ahh…I think its time to play some FF6 now. It’s been too long since I fired up my old SNES.
August 31st, 2008
There is no doub that old consoles keep on kickin’. This past year we held a Goldeneye tournament for a documentary and had absolutely no problem finding 16 people to fill the roster. If we were to do it again and actually advertise I have no doubt that we coudn’t get at least 30 people.
I personally love Tekken on on the PS2 and Streets of Rage 2 and Sonic 2 on the Genesis
August 31st, 2008
GTA IV is totally boring, my least fave of all the GTA series…… yawn
August 31st, 2008
I’m a big fan of Vice City tbh
August 31st, 2008
I agree with the retro games. I still play all my Final Fantasies…and that is ALL of them except 11.
I still play the Zelda’s and Mario’s, Contra’s and Megaman’s. Why, because they are FUN. Still, and they are HARD…well…some of them. I love the new stuff too, but there is nothing I love like Secret of Mana…and some Final Fantasy…
September 1st, 2008
I still play Gyromite once in a blue moon on my NES, with R.O.B.’s help.
Nintendo, if you’re reading this… BRING KUNG FU to virtual console… NOW!!!!