The Video Game Critic

I think there is a strong case of rose tinted spectacles regarding the 16-bit era, it is also my favourite era but let's not kid ourselves that there was a strong diversity of genres.

Early on every other game was a shooter, then when Sonic hit, every other game was a mascot based platformer, Street Fighter 2 came out every other game was a fighter. There wasn't any better diversity back then.

It's whatever is selling at the time and at the moment the majority of gamers (who regularly buy games) want epic immersive games or FPS's, they sell well so that's what big budget developers will develop.

The big bonus these days is that PSN, Live and Steam can offer you less popular niche genres at a low distribution cost. So in reality if you look hard enough you will find games for your tastes.

This is just about the best time to be a gamer.

Not only are games cheap (remember $100 cartridges? Compare that to $15 for Shovel Knight) and widely available (remember games like Earthbound?), but there's a greater variety of content available than there has ever been. 

And I'm not just talking about the "official" channels either. I can have a complete collection of original Xbox games..inside the Xbox, on a hard drive. For free. I can mod my Wii to play any Super Famicom game, including ones Nintendo never released in America at all. I can use my PS3 as an HTPC that connects with my home media server. My PS Vita can play my PS4 games from a thousand miles away. I can buy a game on my iPhone and have it already downloaded and ready to play on my console when I get home. If I had a PC, I could use it to emulate every system ever made up through the Nintendo Wii.

If you have a collector's mindset and ownership of physical media is important, there's no reason to worry! Hesitant to download that PS3 game from PSN because it might not be accessible again five or six years from now? Back it up! Back it up a hundred times if you want. The great thing about gaming these days is that these are things you can take into your own hands.

"2d games have been delegated to download status - the ghetto of the industry."

Funny, but sad and oh so true. Having been born in the ghetto I can tell you all that it sucks.

Funny thing being mentioned a lot in other threads is time to play. This generation of consoles and handhelds look very impressive but what happens when gamers run out of time to play? Is it really a great time for gamers when you have so much selection but no time? What good is having it all and not being able to enjoy it?  I mean, we all get older with more responsibilities and if we are lucky have significant others who we want to dedicate more of our time. So maybe consoles are becoming a thing for singles? Possibly gaming systems have always been meant for players with no personal stake in how much time is spent playing.

I try to look for games now that are more relaxing and come with less frustration to play. Do they exist? Maybe? But most require more time then I am able to give. That is a factor of why I enjoy the 8/16 bit games. Most are easy to jump right in and play. The best part of my gaming choice is I can walk away at anytime.

I wouldn't call download only a "ghetto", I think that's just really silly, downloadable 2-D games like Hotline Miami have quite the critical acclaim.

[QUOTE=ptdebate]

Not only are games cheap (remember $100 cartridges? Compare that to $15 for Shovel Knight)

[/QUOTE]
I don't remember $100 cartridges that well.  I remember $3 rentals and having one person on your street getting a game meaning everyone eventually got to have a few weeks with it.  I own a lot more games now, but I probably played just as many as a kid for real, real cheap.  Looking at how many I finish (or ever end up installing) I think I was easily as well off then.  

[QUOTE=Atarifever][QUOTE=ptdebate]

Not only are games cheap (remember $100 cartridges? Compare that to $15 for Shovel Knight)

[/QUOTE]
I don't remember $100 cartridges that well.  I remember $3 rentals and having one person on your street getting a game meaning everyone eventually got to have a few weeks with it.  I own a lot more games now, but I probably played just as many as a kid for real, real cheap.  Looking at how many I finish (or ever end up installing) I think I was easily as well off then.  [/QUOTE]

24-Mb games on Genesis were $90-$100 when they released. Virtua Racer was $100. Large-capacity SNES games were $70 or $80. AES games retailed for several hundred dollars.

Cartridge games were tremendously expensive, especially for middle- and working-class homes. Even plain old Atari VCS games were $117 a piece, adjusting for inflation.

[QUOTE=ptdebate][QUOTE=Atarifever][QUOTE=ptdebate]

Not only are games cheap (remember $100 cartridges? Compare that to $15 for Shovel Knight)

[/QUOTE]
I don't remember $100 cartridges that well.  I remember $3 rentals and having one person on your street getting a game meaning everyone eventually got to have a few weeks with it.  I own a lot more games now, but I probably played just as many as a kid for real, real cheap.  Looking at how many I finish (or ever end up installing) I think I was easily as well off then.  [/QUOTE] 24-Mb games on Genesis were $90-$100 when they released. Virtua Racer was $100. Large-capacity SNES games were $70 or $80. AES games retailed for several hundred dollars. Cartridge games were tremendously expensive, especially for middle- and working-class homes. Even plain old Atari VCS games were $117 a piece, adjusting for inflation.[/QUOTE]

I'm not saying I don't remember the price existing, I just don't remember it well because I didn't really pay it.  I grew up in a one income family of limited means (and am now the breadwinner for a one income family of limited means ).  The idea of buying many games, just for me and not including my brother and sister, rather than renting or getting a loan of them would never have entered my mind.  In the world of 1991, say, I would have rented Shovel Knight, and probably only paid half the rental with my best friend covering the other half.  I'd have played it for $1.50.  I played a ton of WCW vs. NWO and other wrestling games on the N64, but I never owned any console from that generation at all (me and my friend Todd went half on weekend rentals whenever we had some newspaper money). 

If we did buy games (usually Christmas) you either shared them, or, in my Brother's case, handed down your old systems and games to your little brother (me).  These prices were high, but they were for a different thing.  A thing that could be rented, loaned, handed down, and sold.  One cart would have many lives, and many owners.  Those prices were for a different good, and they were for something purchased infrequently, and shared around.  I didn`t often see the full price on a game back then, because that isn`t how me, or anyone else I knew, used or thought about games.  

You know what, Atarifever, now that I think of it, I don't really remember actually being aware of the prices either. I didn't know, for example, that N64 games were more expensive than PS1 games. I bet my parents did though!