Console Gaming

Sorry this one is late. The topic at hand played a part in my tardy post.

Where it All Began

Some of my happiest early childhood memories are those of playing our old Atari 2600 with my Brother and my Dad. Given how old I was at the time, I have a shockingly good (if not rose tinted) memory of playing through a lot of the games on the old Atari. I remember other Atari related events too like going to Toys R Us to get Pitfall II and Frogger II.

Well now the Atari 2600 is thirty and some of its classic games have made various levels of resurgence largely due to their “simple pleasure" and nostalgia appeal. So happy birthday Atari. Keep on keep’n on.

The Next Step

For me, the Atari started to wane when we got our fist computer, an Apple IIc. The graphics seemed better and the games were way more complex and engaging. These games had complex stories and a greater ability to save your progress. Even some of the more simple games, like Karateka and Captain Goodnight, seemed to have more depth and loads of replay ability. For a long time, in my household, the Apple IIc reigned supreme.

Enter Nintendo

The first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) ushered in a new era of console gaming no only for me but for the world. For me, the NES brought simplicity back to gaming. The Apple IIc was getting old and computers were expensive (I think the Apple IIc is still one of most expensive computer anyone in my family has purchased to date), and its replacement was a Macintosh SE (this was the most expensive), which was nice but the screen was small and black and white, and it was mostly my Dad’s work computer. So the NES was where it was at for gaming.

The Super Nintendo (SNES) that followed the NES was great too. At his point my brother had a PC 386 that was pretty much devoted to gaming but I think it is safe to say, with a few exceptions, that the SNES surpasses the PC in a lot of areas as far as ease of use and repeat playability.

The N64 ushered in the end of my (and I think a lot of other people’s) love affair with Nintendo. I got one and I liked a lot of the games but it seemed to fall short when compared to my friends’ Playstations and it didn’t really hold a candle to the PC and Mac games of the same era.

Soon I had a Playstation of my own and spent plenty of time on that and playing a variety of PC games as well.

The Playstation Years

The Playstation and especially the Playstation 2 (PS2) kicked console gaming into high gear. The graphics were clean, the controls were universally good, and the catalog of games was outstanding. Yet, despite the outstanding game selection, I find that I have very little strong memories of playing very many Playstation games. Those years seem largely overshadowed by PC games and internet play (on games such as Counter Strike). A few of the later PS2 games stand out, such as Tiger Woods Golf and Gran Turismo, but overall both Playstations played a secondary role to my overpowered computers at the time.

The Return of Console Gaming

My return to the world of console gaming was largely brought on by three things. The first being the advent of the flat panel HD Television. The picture quality alone made my older PS2 games jump back to life. The second being my long time support of Bungie. I played through pretty much all of their earlier work for the Mac platform and was bitterly disappointed when Halo became an Xbox title but the Bungie quality was still there. The second reason should have cued you into the third. I was very impressed by the Xbox 360. Not only does it have a variety of outstanding titles now, such as Halo 3, and more down the pipe (say it with me, Mass Effect) but it also offers easy online play and a variety of media options for a price tag that is hefty but when you look at computers with similar feature then the price is not so bad. In addition, the Xbox Live arcade selection allows you to play an assortment of classic games that harkens back to the good old “simple pleasure" days of the Atari 2600.

Shared Experience

I find that there is very little point to what I wrote above except to say that I think people my age (+/- 3 to 6 years) have grown up with very similar experience. We represent the first batch of humanity to grow up in a console gaming world. Before the console made its way into every home, video games were more of a community experience in that one had to go to an arcade to play, which is still more social than throwing your Xbox headset on and playing with an online community. Granted, I love being able to play the same games with my friends around the country but in a way, as a social being, I miss the draw of the old fashion arcade as much as I love being able to veg out on my couch and fire up the Xbox on those days that I don't feel like getting off my ass, which are becoming too many lately but that is another story and I recommend that we all force ourselves into the outside world as much as possible.