But, I think times are better now in the long run. Back then, I didn't know much of what was coming out or info on many games. I missed many gems and now I can replay them or play remakes that have came out.

I disagree with premise of this article. There were plenty of systems and must-have games back in the “old days.” (for starters, you left out Atari, NEC and SNK) You see it differently because you were a child at the time, so you were limited to what your parents would agree to buy for you.

It's the same for today's kids, unless they're lucky enough to have hardcore gamer parents. My nephew has a Wii and DS only.

Also bear in mind that there was no Internet at the time, so there was no massive hype machine telling us what to buy, no messages boards telling us we were losers if we didn't spring for game X, no preorders, etc. You just went to the store, looked for a game that seemed cool, and bought it. (unless it was an absolutely huge release like Street Fighter II)

Frankly there were more must-have titles for me in the past, because there was a lot more variety. You can only play so many generic first person shooters before you burn out on them; and now the FPS rot is spreading to other genres like the RPG.

But, I think times are better now in the long run. Back then, I didn't know much of what was coming out or info on many games. I missed many gems and now I can replay them or play remakes that have came out.

I disagree with premise of this article. There were plenty of systems and must-have games back in the “old days.” (for starters, you left out Atari, NEC and SNK) You see it differently because you were a child at the time, so you were limited to what your parents would agree to buy for you.

It's the same for today's kids, unless they're lucky enough to have hardcore gamer parents. My nephew has a Wii and DS only.

Also bear in mind that there was no Internet at the time, so there was no massive hype machine telling us what to buy, no messages boards telling us we were losers if we didn't spring for game X, no preorders, etc. You just went to the store, looked for a game that seemed cool, and bought it. (unless it was an absolutely huge release like Street Fighter II)

Frankly there were more must-have titles for me in the past, because there was a lot more variety. You can only play so many generic first person shooters before you burn out on them; and now the FPS rot is spreading to other genres like the RPG.

Actually, I do. I've often wondered why most of my “favorite games” are all… well… old. Maybe it was because I didn't have a stack of 20+ games waiting to be given their time in the console, or maybe because they were just more original back then. Whatever the case, I hope something comes along to change my mind. Just not too soon… I'm still trying to play some PS-One games. *sigh*

Ar Tonelico comes close, though. Just because it is different. Not to spam the comments with a shameless plug, but I've given AT2 a thorough review over the weekend =)
http://www.infinite-bits.com/index.php?option=c…

Also, I love games by smaller developers. They make up for their lack of huge budgets and staff with real creativity. I suppose you can have a lot more creative freedom if you won't be hugely hit if your game doesn't sell. If you aren't dependent on sales you don't have to try to make a game with mainstream appeal.

My gaming started with the playstation, and a few platform games and after that the GBA, although at the time I played a lot less than I do now. Hell, I even think my playstation has spent about a year and a half (if not longer) in the dust simply because I was outside climbing trees or playing tag. I have played some NES games, and I really enjoyed them, but in the end I think I will have to side with today, simply because I don't know how it used to be.

Back then, it felt like the consoles were sturdier and it took a pretty good knock to mess up an NES compared to now with constant worries of red rings and whatnot. A scratched disc can't be fixed like a good old cartridge and some blowing!

But back to the games.. back then, there was a lot left to the imagination. Everything about games is spoiled now through countless magazines, gaming blogs, and other mediums. It's not necessarily a completely bad thing to know what's coming ahead, but it certainly seems like it pushes the developers more to perform to growing standards that sometimes is certainly hard to reach. So when the game comes out and there's bugs here and there from a rush to try to get things out within certain buying seasons, the small details of games are gone. No longer do you have to wait a month to know what to look forward to, every second is counted down on some site or article.

And a lot of the weight of gaming boils down to making it prettier and sticking it on live. Nevermind if there's something broken on the game, we can just patch it a week or two after launch, maybe the gamers won't notice. Back then, a game had to be good and ready or be a bust, and ironically, if there was something broken, it made it more of a collector's piece than today, where if it's bugged, it's trash unless a developer fixes it asap.

I do love the DS though. It has enough of old and new to keep me addicted and it's never completely about making it hi-res, but just enjoying the games wherever I go.

Currently gaming has become a very commercial area and this shows on every step. Every movie now gets a (usually bad) game. Some games that made names for themselves in the past are getting (often countless, and boring) sequels which don't bring anything new to the title itself. But what bugs me the most – we're being overflooded with a few genres while some others have all but disappeared. We're being served countless rpg, fpp, rts, tpp, racing (and generally action games) which mostly lack originality and are often just plain boring to play for someone who is gaming for 15 or more years now. Other genres have receeded (like puzzle games which became mostly what we now call casual games and rarely we now see original and creative games of this type. I mean come on – wheres incredible machine, or pushover :/) Others just became less popular, and its getting harder and harder to find a good (or any) game of that type, ex. point and click adventures… I could go on like tihs ;)

Having said all that – I still enjoy playing new games, and its not hard to find something for yourself amongst all the titles. There are many new games i spent countless hours playing and enjoy the hell out of them :) Also – there's still creativity floating around. Great unique games do pop up, and companies are trying to introduce new elements to gaming (such as nintendo ds/wii). Innovation can be seen, and it rocks.

To sum it up – like everyone else i really enjoyed games back in the old days, have many great memories of them and love to play them from time to time. But i would never want to completely go back there. Current games have much more to offer, have evolved often beyond what their 'forefathers' have defined and are as much fun to play (and sometimes more given the current audio/visual standards). All of you skeptical people would have wet your pants over a game like little big planet 10 years ago, i know i would ;) And theres plenty more where that came from. What i hate about today is that everything is so commercionalized and so mass-produced that digging through tons of shit to find the good stuff can get tiring and irking.

If i get sentimental, theres always MAME <3

Only in those oldie days could you have crappy games made after celebrities like Shaq-Fu, or Michael Jackson: Moonwalker.

Ok…the latter game. Not so crappy. And when you think on it…taking that concept with today's celebs…it's just sort of creepy. “Zack Effron's: Pro Polo, on the PS3 and Wii.” or an FPS game titled “Don't Hassle The Hoff.”

…Actually, that one MIGHT be sort of badass…

Don't get me wrong…I love it when I see a developer like Square Enix or Renegade Kid try to push the hardware of a weaker system like the DS. But I'm also very glad the DS can cater to such a wide variety of games because it's given a lot of the smaller Japanese developers a chance to remain relevant in today's game market.