It’s just part of aging lol
As SNK continues to pull in new fans people our age will continue to become a minority in the hobby. This is actually a good thing since it means that SNK’s back-catalog is still appealing to newcomers the same way it drew us in 30+ years ago.
I’d hate to see the appeal of the Neo Geo remain niche and our hobby ends up with a primarily aging fanbase like model trains and Elvis collectibles.
The ACA rereleases did wonders for SNK’s bottom line a few short years ago and the addition of Terry Bogard to the Smash Bros. roster probably did more to introduce SNK to a new generation than all the PS2 collections combined. It’s all a good thing imho.
I have to say I’m kind of surprised at how well 80s/90s games have aged in the eyes of normal people. I didn’t think this would happen. My six year old loves Bonk and Yoshi’s Island and Super Sidekicks 3 as much as anyone ever did back in the day.
Also, there was sort of a “lost generation” when 2D almost died for 15-20 years. Anyone 25 today remembers the PS as an OG system but…most PS games look effing terrible and it’s actually the lower tech stuff that has prevailed. I’m sure FIFA 98 was more visually impressive at the time than Neo Geo Cup ‘98 but now that its 2021 I think most people would vastly prefer the Geo game.
In that way, some of these kids must feel like they lived through a gaming dark age, where all the best stuff was being sold at garage sales and the stores were only filled with SOCOM and Army Men and Halo and other stuff that’s green and terrible and the crappy Sony system they ran on broke constantly. If I grew up on Twisted Metal and then discovered Outrun when it was 30 years old…it would be blue sky city. Gamer acid, third eye opening shit.
Remember the motto of Tetris when it came out for the NES?I think it's because gameplay was still important in the old games. Modern 3d games are visually impressive, but the gameplay hasn't changed all that much. 2d games are still relevant and enjoyable. People are also inundated with awful mobile games with very loose controls compared to the old stuff.
That's why a lot of modern games with budgets out of the ass take the moviegame approach, and modern game design school is all about being as easy and frustration free as possible without revealing to the player that yes, he's being coddled.Remember the motto of Tetris when it came out for the NES?
"Easy to learn. Impossible to master"
That easy to learn factor in gaming really helps a lot in making games fun and accessible. Games that require 10 buttons and haptics can be impossible, and are mostly sold through their own IP clout rather than the intrinsic good design of the game itself.
I think it's because gameplay was still important in the old games. Modern 3d games are visually impressive, but the gameplay hasn't changed all that much. 2d games are still relevant and enjoyable. People are also inundated with awful mobile games with very loose controls compared to the old stuff.
HOLD UP.I think you may be overrating the past, like an oldies station that only plays what's still a hit 50 years later. There were some TERRIBLE games back in the day based on graphics that were then impressive, even in the 70s. Not everything was Night Driver or Ms Pac Man or Donkey Kong Junior...most of it wasn't. Every era has crap. FMV was decades ago (Dragon's Lair)...then it happened again (Sega CD)...and then did it again with polygons (QTEs) people love buying games that look better than they play, always have, they love licensed crap too. ET for 2600, Home Alone for SNES, Fantastic Four for Playstation. They love fads that look objectively terrible the second the hype passes, like Donkey Kong Country or Tekken 1. Do you like Super Street Fighter IIX? Well it came out the same year as Bloodstorm and tons of terrible terrible Jaguar games.
I think you may be overrating the past, like an oldies station that only plays what's still a hit 50 years later. There were some TERRIBLE games back in the day based on graphics that were then impressive, even in the 70s. Not everything was Night Driver or Ms Pac Man or Donkey Kong Junior...most of it wasn't. Every era has crap. FMV was decades ago (Dragon's Lair)...then it happened again (Sega CD)...and then did it again with polygons (QTEs) people love buying games that look better than they play, always have, they love licensed crap too. ET for 2600, Home Alone for SNES, Fantastic Four for Playstation. They love fads that look objectively terrible the second the hype passes, like Donkey Kong Country or Tekken 1. Do you like Super Street Fighter IIX? Well it came out the same year as Bloodstorm and tons of terrible terrible Jaguar games.
That’s exactly my point. I was mentioning how surprised I was that my kid, and many other kids today really, like old stuff. Saying that game producers in the past were totally focused on good gameplay wouldn’t be the truth at all…but if you only played a NES classic you’d be getting a rose tinted view of the past. Games overall are probably better now gameplay-wise than ever except for the AAA+ stuff. There are enough cookie cutter indie games on the Switch store to last a lifetime and basically any of them are better than Karnov or JJ & Jeff. Stuff like Ikari on NES just doesn’t exist now (Virtual Console releases of this “classic” title aside). If you made a bad NES game you could hide it in a box and protects it with a “no returns” policy but now if you tried to make something as bad as that (which today Nintendo wouldn’t publish) it starts getting one star reviews from every single person who tries and it sells super bad.right. because all those shitty games are the ones on NES classic and compilation packs.
no one equates 2D gameplay with FMV games.
I've been out of modern gaming for 10+ years but Wii shovelware was a thing. I wonder if shovelware still exists.but now if you tried to make something as bad as that (which today Nintendo wouldn’t publish) it starts getting one star reviews from every single person who tries and it sells super bad.