6/13/2006
For the love of retro video games
By RYAN INMAN, SCENE.TEEN CONTRIBUTOR
From the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Sega Genesis and the Turbografx-16, many people of today's age seem to not appreciate what the gaming age has grown from.
A man named Nolan Bushnell in or around 1972 created the well-known game called Pong. This was a simple tennis-like game with two paddles and a ball going back and forth with increasing speed as the rounds progress.
At the time, this was an amazing feat. The industry has grown exponentially over the past 34 or so years.
Atari 2600 was the first console, well actually the most-known "first console," with the release of games such as Space Invaders, Adventure and Asteroids. The Magnavox Odessey, which didn't succeed, only released about 33 titles.
Soon after, the competition began, especially with the development of Intellivision, Commodore 64, and some more Atari console improvements such as the Atari 5200, which didn't do too well, and the Atari 7800.
Today, appreciation for many of these consoles has decreased drastically, and to many people, these consoles are crap, junk, garbage or just plain suck.
While game play and graphics aren't anywhere near today's gaming age, appreciation should still be intact. Some games are still played and involve competitions, such as Space Invaders and Asteroids, or any sort of shooter-type game, and are the most commonly known titles in Internet forum arcades.
The most popular competitive game today is known as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), but this is more recent than old.
Japan, currently the largest game creator, has developed the well-known game series Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and has developed many consoles that have grown, such as Nintendo and Sony.
Nintendo, which started as a playing card developer, has become a major company. They created Nintendo (NES), Gameboy, Super Nintendo and many other variations and technological advancements. Currently Nintendo's console is the Gamecube and Nintendo DS (which is another Gameboy type model).
Sony has gone from Playstation to Playstation 2, and Playstation Portable (AKA the PSP).
Some people do appreciate the old age. So the graphics and gameplay aren't as great, but just look at what our parents grew up with and there should be some overall appreciation.
There are old titles out there that do in fact have great audio and gameplay, such as the Ys series (more known in Japan) and the classic Tetris title, but sadly, the retro age is dying. But it doesn't have to.
From the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Sega Genesis and the Turbografx-16, many people of today's age seem to not appreciate what the gaming age has grown from.
A man named Nolan Bushnell in or around 1972 created the well-known game called Pong. This was a simple tennis-like game with two paddles and a ball going back and forth with increasing speed as the rounds progress.
At the time, this was an amazing feat. The industry has grown exponentially over the past 34 or so years.
Atari 2600 was the first console, well actually the most-known "first console," with the release of games such as Space Invaders, Adventure and Asteroids. The Magnavox Odessey, which didn't succeed, only released about 33 titles.
Soon after, the competition began, especially with the development of Intellivision, Commodore 64, and some more Atari console improvements such as the Atari 5200, which didn't do too well, and the Atari 7800.
Today, appreciation for many of these consoles has decreased drastically, and to many people, these consoles are crap, junk, garbage or just plain suck.
While game play and graphics aren't anywhere near today's gaming age, appreciation should still be intact. Some games are still played and involve competitions, such as Space Invaders and Asteroids, or any sort of shooter-type game, and are the most commonly known titles in Internet forum arcades.
The most popular competitive game today is known as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), but this is more recent than old.
Japan, currently the largest game creator, has developed the well-known game series Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and has developed many consoles that have grown, such as Nintendo and Sony.
Nintendo, which started as a playing card developer, has become a major company. They created Nintendo (NES), Gameboy, Super Nintendo and many other variations and technological advancements. Currently Nintendo's console is the Gamecube and Nintendo DS (which is another Gameboy type model).
Sony has gone from Playstation to Playstation 2, and Playstation Portable (AKA the PSP).
Some people do appreciate the old age. So the graphics and gameplay aren't as great, but just look at what our parents grew up with and there should be some overall appreciation.
There are old titles out there that do in fact have great audio and gameplay, such as the Ys series (more known in Japan) and the classic Tetris title, but sadly, the retro age is dying. But it doesn't have to.
