Reading & ranting..

[chrisbid1]

as ive gotten older, ive found myself in the same kindof trap. im more into the collecting aspect of classic gaming. however, the style of classic gaming i enjoy the most are arcade style games that do not require hours of my time to play. i can break out the 2600, play a few games of Dodge Em, then some Ms Pac Man, a little Yars Revenge, and thirty minutes later, i can get back to doing something else.

that may sound crazy to younger kids who are used to putting in 40+ hours into every game they buy, but we probably get the same dollar value out of our games, as i paid about a dollar for each of those atari carts.

i still will get into a modern game or RPG every once in awhile, but i will only do this if the game is genuinely fun. a lot of modern games tend to hit the tedium point after the first few levels/hours.

[m0zart1]

[QUOTE=bluemonkey]

Now I see why the Wii is so popular.

[/QUOTE]

Indeed.  When Nintendo said they were moving to simpler, more interactive games a few years ago, I thought they were crazy.  Wasn't this what Nintendo had actually saved me from with the NES?

 

But times have changed since I was a kid.  Back then, I had school and my hobbies -- gaming was an important one and the only competition between these hobbies was which one caught my whim at a given moment.  These days I am extremely busy -- sometimes working 60 to 80 hours a week on my development duties.  Right now, I am in a crunch time, and the only games I have any time for are games on the DS and Wii, and a few of the simpler games on XBLA.  They are quick, satisfying, and fun.  The DS ends up dominating my breaks in the office, and the Wii at home.  XBLA too from time to time gives me a dose of something simple and satisfying like Time Pilot or Hexic.

 

People are on the move more these days, and their careers are more involved than previously.  In general, they don't have time for games that are overly complicated.  I think Nintendo has definitely hit on something.

[m0zart1]

[QUOTE=Steerforth]

I think that is why people end up tearing apart and nitpicking games like Twilight Princess. Its in development forever, delayed many times, and you get it and say, is this it? OoTime was better than this.

[/QUOTE]

I think Ocarina of Time was better, but I still thought that Twilight Princess was better than 99% of the games out there.  It was a masterpiece in its own right.

[Dennis]

[QUOTE=Steerforth]

I am the same way. There is a "Calvin and Hobbs" comic where Calvin's dad is trying to convince him that the anticipation of having something is better than actually having it, and Calvin thinks he is full of it. But I think that is very true, and applies to videogames as well. I think that is why people end up tearing apart and nitpicking games like Twilight Princess. Its in development forever, delayed many times, and you get it and say, is this it? OoTime was better than this.

[/QUOTE]

In roller coaster enthusiasm, this is called "anticipointment."

[Atarifever1]

[QUOTE=m0zart][QUOTE=bluemonkey]

Now I see why the Wii is so popular.

[/QUOTE]

Indeed.  When Nintendo said they were moving to simpler, more interactive games a few years ago, I thought they were crazy.  Wasn't this what Nintendo had actually saved me from with the NES?

 

But times have changed since I was a kid.  Back then, I had school and my hobbies -- gaming was an important one and the only competition between these hobbies was which one caught my whim at a given moment.  These days I am extremely busy -- sometimes working 60 to 80 hours a week on my development duties.  Right now, I am in a crunch time, and the only games I have any time for are games on the DS and Wii, and a few of the simpler games on XBLA.  They are quick, satisfying, and fun.  The DS ends up dominating my breaks in the office, and the Wii at home.  XBLA too from time to time gives me a dose of something simple and satisfying like Time Pilot or Hexic.

 

People are on the move more these days, and their careers are more involved than previously.  In general, they don't have time for games that are overly complicated.  I think Nintendo has definitely hit on something.

[/QUOTE]
Agreed.  Simple games are the future.  The Wii, DS, and Xbox Live Arcade are actually the parts of the next gen. that I believe hold the most promise.  If we are really at the point where games are an adult activity, games have to be able to fit into adult lives.

[Steerforth]

My point was apparently unclear. I don't care which Zelda is "better", its just in general we wait for these games so long, you build them up in your mind, they are hyped endlessly on the internet, and then it comes out, and you are like: "Yep, it is still just a videogame." Applies to any "big game" franchise, Zelda was just my example.

The internet allows us to follow our hobby endlessly, and I think this topic illistrates how it in some ways overshadows the games themselves.

[bluemonkey1]

I guess it depends on what school you went to but I used to work all the time during school, college and uni.  Now the working life is a breath of fresh air with tons more freetime.