B
Bugsy Cline
Guest
RIGHT NOW, is the best time to be a gamer in all of gaming history. We have three big consoles and the PC/Mac delivering an astounding number of titles for us to play.
I've Been gaming since THE 70's!
I remember when we only had one game (pong) and 30 consoles that all played Pong. To watch this evolution go from PONG to Breath of the Wild or Far Cry 5 is really outrageous!
I've owned just about all the Major US released consoles that have been released since pong. I remember collecting deposit returns on empty coke bottles to get quarters to play Pac man, space invaders and Donkey Kong in the arcade or at my local grocery store. (those were the days). I remember being the first kid in my town to have an Atari 2600. The joy of so long ago when a group of my friends and I gathered around my tv as we OOHed and AWED over the "Awesome graphics" in games like "Barn Storming" "River Raid" and "The Empire Strikes Back"...
We are not prepared for the way our minds were blown when we saw Nintendo Nes and things like "Mike Tyson's punch out." It felt like we had reached the pinnacle of limits to where video games could take us. Surely NES was as good as it could get!
We had no internet. SO there were no user reviews of games.For a while, all we had were sears Christmas wish books that told us what games were available or the stock carried at our local stores. Today You no longer have to go to sears just to buy a title. Heck, you don't even have to go to a store, you can download the title!
Now a video game is more like a cinematic experience. In fact some films you see, don't have anywhere near the effort or care that goes into a game. Back in the classic days a game was pumped out in a few days by one or two people doing code (in basic) or in involved games, maybe a team of 5 coders were involved. Now It takes an entire office building of people working non stop, years to develop one title.
Today the market is SATURATED with great games. New releases popping up all the time. I wish I had more time to play them all. But the fact is, I never will... none of us will. Our lives are too short in compared to the volume of hours it would take to "Play them all"
With this a growing cynicism about games and content from people who are not old enough to remember the feeling of buying an 8bit game that sucks so bad for $50 that doesn't even provide 5 minutes of fun game time. I see so many people crying and complaining about a game that is actually good in online forums on steam and other outlets. How long do you think these folks would last in 1982 trying to play pacman on the 2600?
Back then you couldn't resell your bad game on ebay. (there was no EBAY) And there were no trades to game stores... cause there were no game stores that took trades.-there really weren't any game stores period...
The industry now caters to all types of gamers. Just look at all the genres and game styles that are available... FPS, RPG, Fighting, puzzle, Horror, Survival... and so many that it would take all day to list them all. The best part is, once a game gets a few years old, the titles go way down in price. And you know, I still play atari games... and many of them are just as enthralling so playing a game made in 2013 doesn't really feel that dated to me. You can pick up arm fulls of great xbox360, wii, and ps3 games for $25!!!
Currently, it is said that 1.2 BILLION gamers play a game EVERY DAY. Online gaming represents %44 of ALL INTERNET ACTIVITY. Data shows that 46 percent of gamers are women and 54 percent are men. The top categories for boys and men are racing, sports, and action games. The top categories for women are puzzle, quiz, word, matching, and mahjong games,cooking, dress-up, and pet care games. Today you have so many options. Single player, multi-player, online play.
Since the 80's there have been failed attempts by political and religious groups trying to ban the sale and use of video games. Our modern world is no different. Just recently President Trump and a Wacko senator from Kentucky have been escalating an all-out war on video games and their distribution. Claiming that video games are the cause of Violence and school shootings. Despite this, I am having a lot of trouble finding any examples of school shooters who used an xbox controller or Wii Remote to shoot up a school.
It would be wise for such political people to understand that there are more gamers than there are gun owners in this world. In the United States particularly. We vote too. Maybe you politicians should worry more about working on world peace than regulating what we do in the privacy of our homes and our bedrooms. Cause gamers might not realize it, but Gamers are the largest majority of all VOTING MAJORITIES in the USA. Don't take our games away, or we will vote you out into the nearest trash bins. I don't care if there's an "R" or a "D" next to your name on the ballot. We "the gamers" are the majority. Gamers write the code, that keep the lights on.
Today its so easy to be a gamer. Sure there are some titles that really suck, but the majority of what's commercially available is usually strong enough to get hours of enjoyment out of. We've come a long way since collecting pop bottles for coins at the arcade and pong consoles.
What will the future of gaming hold? Virtual realities beyond our imaginations? Will one day we put on our VR suits by Sony? Will we be completely immersed with not just sight and sound but "FEEL" as well? Much like the "Feelies" in the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? Will we suit up in temp controlled devices and have virtual wars where we feel the cold of snowy climates or the burn of a hot sun? When Mario falls off a high cliff, will we feel the wind as we plummet to our deaths? Will a sexual encounter with an AI be better than the real thing? (doubtful)... One thing is for sure, I will embrace all the new changes and technologies wholeheartedly... But I am so glad that I have been able to see us go from Pong to "Breath of the wild". Gaming is my favorite escape from reality. A reality of a harsh world. At least no matter how horrible the world becomes, we can always escape to a world that is more fun. When the pressures of work, family, obligation and political turmoil get to us, we can always pop in a game and slay a dragon, collect the gold and marry the princess (or prince) while saving the day and ridding a world of evil.
Thanks for reading. Now it's back to those sword trials in Breath of the wild DLC...
I've Been gaming since THE 70's!
I remember when we only had one game (pong) and 30 consoles that all played Pong. To watch this evolution go from PONG to Breath of the Wild or Far Cry 5 is really outrageous!
I've owned just about all the Major US released consoles that have been released since pong. I remember collecting deposit returns on empty coke bottles to get quarters to play Pac man, space invaders and Donkey Kong in the arcade or at my local grocery store. (those were the days). I remember being the first kid in my town to have an Atari 2600. The joy of so long ago when a group of my friends and I gathered around my tv as we OOHed and AWED over the "Awesome graphics" in games like "Barn Storming" "River Raid" and "The Empire Strikes Back"...
We are not prepared for the way our minds were blown when we saw Nintendo Nes and things like "Mike Tyson's punch out." It felt like we had reached the pinnacle of limits to where video games could take us. Surely NES was as good as it could get!
We had no internet. SO there were no user reviews of games.For a while, all we had were sears Christmas wish books that told us what games were available or the stock carried at our local stores. Today You no longer have to go to sears just to buy a title. Heck, you don't even have to go to a store, you can download the title!
Now a video game is more like a cinematic experience. In fact some films you see, don't have anywhere near the effort or care that goes into a game. Back in the classic days a game was pumped out in a few days by one or two people doing code (in basic) or in involved games, maybe a team of 5 coders were involved. Now It takes an entire office building of people working non stop, years to develop one title.
Today the market is SATURATED with great games. New releases popping up all the time. I wish I had more time to play them all. But the fact is, I never will... none of us will. Our lives are too short in compared to the volume of hours it would take to "Play them all"
With this a growing cynicism about games and content from people who are not old enough to remember the feeling of buying an 8bit game that sucks so bad for $50 that doesn't even provide 5 minutes of fun game time. I see so many people crying and complaining about a game that is actually good in online forums on steam and other outlets. How long do you think these folks would last in 1982 trying to play pacman on the 2600?
Back then you couldn't resell your bad game on ebay. (there was no EBAY) And there were no trades to game stores... cause there were no game stores that took trades.-there really weren't any game stores period...
The industry now caters to all types of gamers. Just look at all the genres and game styles that are available... FPS, RPG, Fighting, puzzle, Horror, Survival... and so many that it would take all day to list them all. The best part is, once a game gets a few years old, the titles go way down in price. And you know, I still play atari games... and many of them are just as enthralling so playing a game made in 2013 doesn't really feel that dated to me. You can pick up arm fulls of great xbox360, wii, and ps3 games for $25!!!
Currently, it is said that 1.2 BILLION gamers play a game EVERY DAY. Online gaming represents %44 of ALL INTERNET ACTIVITY. Data shows that 46 percent of gamers are women and 54 percent are men. The top categories for boys and men are racing, sports, and action games. The top categories for women are puzzle, quiz, word, matching, and mahjong games,cooking, dress-up, and pet care games. Today you have so many options. Single player, multi-player, online play.
Since the 80's there have been failed attempts by political and religious groups trying to ban the sale and use of video games. Our modern world is no different. Just recently President Trump and a Wacko senator from Kentucky have been escalating an all-out war on video games and their distribution. Claiming that video games are the cause of Violence and school shootings. Despite this, I am having a lot of trouble finding any examples of school shooters who used an xbox controller or Wii Remote to shoot up a school.
It would be wise for such political people to understand that there are more gamers than there are gun owners in this world. In the United States particularly. We vote too. Maybe you politicians should worry more about working on world peace than regulating what we do in the privacy of our homes and our bedrooms. Cause gamers might not realize it, but Gamers are the largest majority of all VOTING MAJORITIES in the USA. Don't take our games away, or we will vote you out into the nearest trash bins. I don't care if there's an "R" or a "D" next to your name on the ballot. We "the gamers" are the majority. Gamers write the code, that keep the lights on.
Today its so easy to be a gamer. Sure there are some titles that really suck, but the majority of what's commercially available is usually strong enough to get hours of enjoyment out of. We've come a long way since collecting pop bottles for coins at the arcade and pong consoles.
What will the future of gaming hold? Virtual realities beyond our imaginations? Will one day we put on our VR suits by Sony? Will we be completely immersed with not just sight and sound but "FEEL" as well? Much like the "Feelies" in the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? Will we suit up in temp controlled devices and have virtual wars where we feel the cold of snowy climates or the burn of a hot sun? When Mario falls off a high cliff, will we feel the wind as we plummet to our deaths? Will a sexual encounter with an AI be better than the real thing? (doubtful)... One thing is for sure, I will embrace all the new changes and technologies wholeheartedly... But I am so glad that I have been able to see us go from Pong to "Breath of the wild". Gaming is my favorite escape from reality. A reality of a harsh world. At least no matter how horrible the world becomes, we can always escape to a world that is more fun. When the pressures of work, family, obligation and political turmoil get to us, we can always pop in a game and slay a dragon, collect the gold and marry the princess (or prince) while saving the day and ridding a world of evil.
Thanks for reading. Now it's back to those sword trials in Breath of the wild DLC...
