How come a lot getting into retro games skip Atari?

[Jinks]

Wow. Big N fanboys....Lots to learn kids!!

It is great you came to Atariage for education.

[bretthorror]

Wow. Big N fanboys....Lots to learn kids!!

It is great you came to Atariage for education.

 

Quite the contrary, we now know why those retro gamers skip Atari...

[atarilovesyou]

 

The 5200 sold between 1-2 million in North America before Warner had Atari pull the plug. The 7800 sold 4+ million in North America alone and that's for having been released 2 years later than planned and without the Atari Coin/Games company/division providing all of their new hits and arguably almost no 3rd Party support due to Nintendo's illegal monopolistic practices. The Lynx apparently sold about 4 million world wide but despite 3rd Party developers still intimidated by Nintendo, at least the Lynx had access to the Atari Games library. Once again, the Jaguar lost out on the Atari Games library due to a major disagreement between Atari Corp & Atari Games which was later solved by [Time] Warner but too late to fix the damage.

Careful: Virtual Boy may have been a drastic, tragic and even comedic flop in North America, but it just may have found its market in one region of Eastern Europe. Let's patiently wait for those five people to show up and tell us exactly how false we all are with our collective experience.

 

Here's what it will sound like: "Virtual Boy was BIG HIT in Yugoturkmenistantinople! Virtual Boy was HUGE! You entitled North American gamers, how dare you insult BIG HIT Virtual Boy!"

[Lynxpro]

 

Pardon me, Nintendo added endings to games that didn't suck total balls like Atari's, .

And for the love of God, why do you people keep bringing up trackballs and Tempest and all this shit? Should the video game world have just stopped one day and said "trackballs, joysticks and spinners - those will be the only controllers to exist until the end of time". Stop mentioning 20 games out of thousands in video game history that you cherry pick that can't be done as well on a d-pad because they were barely relevant when the d-pad was and certainly have lost all relevance today.

 

You do realize Nintendo has billions, right? You realize they aren't going to go away because they're not a terribly mismanaged company like Atari was. And do you realize that Sony may have money, but its video game section actually lost money in 2014? I'm not even gonna bother to research the numbers for you, but Nintendo is still more profitable than Sony's gaming division and I'm assuming Microsoft as well. Proper management and the support their gaming fans are giving them in all venues are making them money even with the Wii U sucking hind tit. Sony and Microsoft sell their consoles and shit at losses, man. The numbers don't add up even though it looks like they're downright dominating.

 

And how old are you to keep saying "fanbois?"

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark didn't suck, Nintendo fanboi. Not only did it have an ending, it was also one of the first games to use an inventory system which was navigated by a second joystick which is something common on since the original Xbox and Playstation thanks to their dual analog sticks. I'll keep referring to your lot as fanbois as long as you persist with peddling your incorrect assumptions about the video game industry as fact just because you view it all through the rose tint of your Nintendo licensed Yoshi sunglasses.

 

If you had experience with anything prior to the DPad, you wouldn't continue posting your ignorant comments claiming the DPad is the end-all of video game controllers just because you don't know any better. There's other people on this board born after the Atari era who nonetheless respect it, respect the fact that Atari created this industry [not Nintendo] and have actually experienced the games using the controllers they were meant to be played with and don't go posting info claiming to be experts when they aren't. I grew up with Trak-Ball games both in the arcade and the consoles. A DPad doesn't cut it for those types of games. A DPad doesn't cut it for flight simulators. Just because they don't work with platform games doesn't mean they should be discarded just to satisfy the tastes - or lack thereof - of people like you.

 

As for the idiotic comment about Nintendo's billions, who gives a flying fuck? You know what? Blackberry and Blackberry fans said the same thing as the iPhone took off. Look at Blackberry now. That's what's going to happen to Nintendo. But do go ahead and buy 20 Amiibos to keep their precious bank reserves intact.

 

And to think people rave about Apple's fan base as being sheeple...

[The Usotsuki]

You do know that there were other sound chips than POKEY, and I'm sure it would've been possible to stuff an AY8910 in a 7800 cart instead if someone wanted.

 

As for the source being the game, it's not hard to clone a game with good accuracy without copying the source.

Edited November 30, 2015 by The Usotsuki

[bretthorror]

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark didn't suck, Nintendo fanboi. Not only did it have an ending, it was also one of the first games to use an inventory system which was navigated by a second joystick which is something common on since the original Xbox and Playstation thanks to their dual analog sticks. I'll keep referring to your lot as fanbois as long as you persist with peddling your incorrect assumptions about the video game industry as fact just because you view it all through the rose tint of your Nintendo licensed Yoshi sunglasses.

 

If you had experience with anything prior to the DPad, you wouldn't continue posting your ignorant comments claiming the DPad is the end-all of video game controllers just because you don't know any better. There's other people on this board born after the Atari era who nonetheless respect it, respect the fact that Atari created this industry [not Nintendo] and have actually experienced the games using the controllers they were meant to be played with and don't go posting info claiming to be experts when they aren't. I grew up with Trak-Ball games both in the arcade and the consoles. A DPad doesn't cut it for those types of games. A DPad doesn't cut it for flight simulators. Just because they don't work with platform games doesn't mean they should be discarded just to satisfy the tastes - or lack thereof - of people like you.

 

As for the idiotic comment about Nintendo's billions, who gives a flying fuck? You know what? Blackberry and Blackberry fans said the same thing as the iPhone took off. Look at Blackberry now. That's what's going to happen to Nintendo. But do go ahead and buy 20 Amiibos to keep their precious bank reserves intact.

 

And to think people rave about Apple's fan base as being sheeple...

 

You are without a doubt the stupidest, most ignorant gamer/troll I have ever come across. I am disappointed I encountered such a person here at AtariAge of all places as I hold the folks here to a higher standard. I sincerely hope you aren't as old as you must be if you were playing these games in the arcades in the early 80s.

[BassGuitari]

Wow. Big N fanboys....Lots to learn kids!!

It is great you came to Atariage for education.

There's that welcoming community spirit AtariAge is known for.

 

 

Quite the contrary, we now know why those retro gamers skip Atari...

Keep in mind that this thread was hijacked and became a battle of "Your company sucks" between, like, four posters with an ever-increasing penchant for pedantry, and has thus devolved into pure childishness. Most Atari fans aren't so myopic that we can't enjoy other consoles or acknowledge Atari's shortcomings (though apparently some of us are). Most of us are fans of many systems spanning several generations.

 

However f#cked this thread is, though, it still beats the "Jaguar vs. 3DO" threads.

[MikeFulton]

I think it's very simple... the 2600 is what most people think of when they think of that "old Atari game system". And there's no getting around the fact that when you compare the 2600 and its games with systems made just a couple of years later, the 2600 graphics are fairly primitive and most of the games are simple and repetitive. This is not intended as an insult, just an acknowledgment of the reality. I've loved my 2600 back when I was a kid, but let's not kid ourselves about it.

 

By comparison, something like the original NES or the Sega Master System is a lot more sophisticated than the 2600.

 

Now, with that whole idea in mind... follow closely and hold on tight because here's a sharp left turn.

 

Consider that when most people go camping, they don't get naked and hike 20 miles into the mountains without a knife or a canteen or a tent. They drive into the campgrounds with their car, set up their tent and maybe blow up an air mattress, then they use matches to start a fire using the firewood they bought at the grocery store, or maybe turn on the propane heater to keep things warm, and if they don't catch any fish for dinner, they open the ice chest and have some sandwiches or fried chicken.

 

In other words, they want to get out into the outdoors and "rough it" a bit, but there's a limit to how far they wanna take the idea. Likewise with many "retro gamers". They wanna play some of those old games, but most of the old Atari stuff is taking the whole idea just a step too far for them.

 

That's not a bad thing, necessarily. It means the rest of the old Atari fans have less competition on those eBay auctions.

[Lynxpro]

Yet they would have if anybody wanted to have better sound chips instead of using the shitty 2600 sound system. Ballblazer was had POKEY because Lucasarts ended up paying for it.

IIRC, Atari ended up manufacturing all of the carts for the 7800. So I highly doubt that Atari wouldn't have done the same for custom chips.

To say any failing is a bit of a stretch. I will concede the failure wasn't entirely on the 7800's fault. I would say some of that falls on the shoulder of Atari in terms of marketing, in terms of announcing vaporware and then failing to meet those announcements, as well as shunting off yet another console. All would suggest to third parties that Atari doesn't care about the console they just released.

They could have at least made the attempt. Hell, they didn't try garnering third parties in 1986-87 when was just Nintendo first party titles and a few of the Famicom stalwarts making those early releases. They didn't try to get Activision or any other western Third parties who were making PC games. Nor did they try to get third parties to make games that weren't ip's under contract.

An accusation thrown around with little evidence to back up that assertion. Atari games joined Atari Corps lawsuit in the late 80's alleging this happened but could provide no evidence to back this up in court.

They couldn't release the same game to another console for two years. What they could do was create an entirely new IP and port that game over to another console.

But that didn't happen until the very late into the NES's life cycle and even then it all seems like a half hearted attempt to keep the system alive, seeing the piss porr job they did on Double Dragon. Where was Atari making the agressive moves in 1986? in 1987? Where are they courting anyone to help get the system off the ground?

 

Where do you come up with this shit? First off, it wasn't LucasArts then. It was LUCASFILM GAMES. A division that Lucasfilm set up originally with Atari Inc's help when it was first known as ATARI LUCASFILM. A partnership which began with the game developers focusing primarily on Atari 8-bit computers and Atari consoles but ultimately planned to support other computer platforms.

 

Here's Lucasfilm's own coverage of the partnership as detailed in their Star Wars Fan Club's publication known as Bantha Tracks:

 

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/specialreports/banthatracks/archives/banthatracks23.pdf

 

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/specialreports/banthatracks/archives/banthatracks25.pdf

 

Here's the box art to 5200 Ballblazer as another example:

 

http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SystemID=5200&SoftwareID=2051&BoxStyleID=65&ItemTypeID=BOX

 

The partnership collapsed due to Atari Inc's financial crisis. But flash forward to the 7800… contrary to your incorrect assertion, Lucasfilm Games didn't buy any POKEYs from Atari Corp. Atari Corp marketed Ballblazer for the 7800 themselves and manufactured the cartridges and the POKEYs. Lucasfilm Games didn't take any risk at that point. They also had no incentive to gimp the NES port either whether they coded it themselves or farmed it out. In your ignorance, stop projecting Nintendo's business practices onto either version of Atari.

 

See, here's the box and cartridge for 7800 Ballblazer:

 

http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SystemID=7800&SoftwareID=2118&BoxStyleID=74&ItemTypeID=BOX

 

http://atariage.com/cart_page.php?SystemID=7800&SoftwareLabelID=676&ItemTypeID=CART

 

IIRC, Atari DIDN'T end up manufacturing ALL cartridges released for the 7800. Again, that's a Nintendo business practice, not Atari. Atari didn't manufacture any of the cartridges sold by Activision, Absolute, Froggo, or any of the other 3rd Party Developers who supported the 7800.

 

What's this? Activision's box for their 7800 Double Dragon release? Do take note [so there's no confusion], they were calling their corporation "Mediagenic" during that time period:

 

http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SystemID=7800&SoftwareID=2167&BoxStyleID=73&ItemTypeID=BOX

 

And here's the cartridge. Where exactly does it say Atari manufactured it? Oh right, it doesn't say that because they didn't manufacture it:

 

http://atariage.com/cart_page.php?SystemID=7800&SoftwareLabelID=726&ItemTypeID=CART

 

"Shunting off another console". You must mean the XE Game System (XEGS). Of course, you don't know the backstory about that. The XE Game System wasn't competing with the 7800. It was meant to sell a product to parents who wanted to buy their kids a new game system but also wanted it to be an actual computer. Mass merchant retailers didn't want to sell another inexpensive 8-bit computer system so they told Atari they'd pass on the 65XE but would carry it as a re-packaged game system which is what the XEGS was. Atari also had the problem with the big gaming software publishers dropping the Atari 8-bit computer line while citing the reasons due to rampant piracy on the platform so Atari had to bring in more users and that's another reason for the XEGS. There was no confusion on the part of the potential developers concerning the XEGS vs the 7800.

 

And Atari Corp did try to attract developers - American, Japanese, and European - to the 7800 during 1986-87. Michael Katz, who had previously led Coleco to success, was running Atari's console business then. He hit a brick wall with all of the companies that had already signed licensing agreements with Nintendo. That's why he had to pursue licensing computer games to the 7800. It was an adaptation of his earlier strategy at Coleco picking off arcade games that had allegedly slipped by Atari Consumer's licensing interests. See, yet again, you don't know what you're talking about. Katz retired from Atari Corp and then came out of retirement to take charge of Sega of America and championed a product that he had tried to acquire for Atari previously, a product you might've heard about despite your Nintendo partisanship. That product being the Sega Genesis. Katz made it a success. And the Genesis first relied upon Sega's arcade library as they patiently awaited companies defecting from Nintendo. He didn't have that opportunity - or luxury - back at Atari Corp because Atari Games had been a separate company since July 1984. He did help gain the licensing agreement between the two rival Ataris before he retired though which is why the titles were ultimately available for the other system he had acquired… Epyx's - a company he had also previously headed - Handy, aka the Atari Lynx.

 

The "piss poor job they did on [7800] Double Dragon"? Again, you incorrectly think Atari Corp was responsible for that. Sorry, Hans, that was Activision's doing. That and Rampage. And for the record, Absolute did Kung Fu Master. Atari Corp did none of those. But thanks for playing!

Edited November 30, 2015 by Lynxpro

[Lynxpro]

Careful: Virtual Boy may have been a drastic, tragic and even comedic flop in North America, but it just may have found its market in one region of Eastern Europe. Let's patiently wait for those five people to show up and tell us exactly how false we all are with our collective experience.

 

Here's what it will sound like: "Virtual Boy was BIG HIT in Yugoturkmenistantinople! Virtual Boy was HUGE! You entitled North American gamers, how dare you insult BIG HIT Virtual Boy!"

 

"We like our epileptic seizures, after playing it, da!"

 

Nah, can't kick the Virtual Boy too much. Steve Woita did Waterworld for it.

[Lynxpro]

You do know that there were other sound chips than POKEY, and I'm sure it would've been possible to stuff an AY8910 in a 7800 cart instead if someone wanted.

 

As for the source being the game, it's not hard to clone a game with good accuracy without copying the source.

 

It's possible to stuff a lot of things into a 7800 cartridge. Not just sound chips but also CPUs. Them having not done any of that is ultimately Atari Corp's - and Activision's - faults. GCC intended to sell Warner/Atari their GUMBY sound chip to be used instead of the POKEY - or the onboard TIA - but they apparently never began work on it. And Atari Corp couldn't get the AMY chip working since the engineers who created it had departed Atari Inc as it collapsed.

 

Contrary to what another commenter stated, I will be more than happy to mention Atari's - especially Corp's - faults. I'm just not going to allow credit to go to Nintendo for things it didn't create nor sugar coat the damage that they've caused to the industry over the years despite how many of their fans try to personally insult me here or try to tell me the sky is pink just because the Big N told them it was so. The attacks they've made against Paddles, Spinners, and Trak-Balls when they've never even used them before is typical, unfortunately. If they wish to discredit Atari, its accomplishments, and its fans, then they should go elsewhere.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Lynxpro

[high voltage]

First scrolling platform game, that would be Jump Bug (arcade, 1981) , it scrolls both vertically and horizontal, the character jumps. Home release was on Emserson Arcadia.

Edited November 30, 2015 by high voltage

[high voltage]

Analogue controllers, 1978 on Interton VC 4000, also many (US produced) Pong consoles during the 70s, later on MB Vectrex in 1982 (also 4 programmable fire-buttons) and Atari 5200.

Edited November 30, 2015 by high voltage

[high voltage]

When Nintendo first got into creating arcade videogames, it didn't yet have the capability to program them itself. This hidden message in the code of Donkey Kong shows that development of Nintendo's breakout hit was at least partially outsourced to a company called Ikegami Tsushinki:

CONGRATULATION !IF YOU ANALYSE DIFFICULT THIS PROGRAM,WE WOULD TEACH YOU.*****TEL.TOKYO-JAPAN 044(244)2151 EXTENTION 304 SYSTEM DESIGN IKEGAMI CO. LIM.

The message, among several other bits of code, helps prove Ikegami’s otherwise-hidden role in the game's development. Ikegami would later sue Nintendo for illegally producing extra Donkey Kong games without its consent, as it was also the contracted manufacturer, as well as reverse-engineering Ikegami's code to create Donkey Kong Jr.

[high voltage]

Wow. Big N fanboys....Lots to learn kids!!

It is great you came to Atariage for education.

It'll never happen.

[high voltage]

I think it's very simple... the 2600 is what most people think of when they think of that "old Atari game system". And there's no getting around the fact that when you compare the 2600 and its games with systems made just a couple of years later, the 2600 graphics are fairly primitive and most of the games are simple and repetitive. This is not intended as an insult, just an acknowledgment of the reality. I've loved my 2600 back when I was a kid, but let's not kid ourselves about it.

 

 

That's what I am saying all along, but the NES brigade just keeps on coming with comparing the FamicomNES with the 2600, which is of course, a great compliment.

[high voltage]

I thought ledzep was insane, but Lynxpro now takes the cake.

 

I think that crown belongs to empsolo. He's out of steam already, starting to attack the 7800 now.

Edited November 30, 2015 by high voltage

[ledzep]

...

And for the love of God, why do you people keep bringing up trackballs and Tempest and all this shit? Should the video game world have just stopped one day and said "trackballs, joysticks and spinners - those will be the only controllers to exist until the end of time". Stop mentioning 20 games out of thousands in video game history that you cherry pick that can't be done as well on a d-pad because they were barely relevant when the d-pad was and certainly have lost all relevance today.

...

I can't speak for others but the reason I brought up the controller comparison was to try to explain the difference between the arcade/2600 mindset and the platformer/NES mindset.

 

There were much more than 20 games that used controls other than joysticks/directional buttons in the arcades. People who grew up with or prefer those types of games (like myself) find something like the NES completely inadequate for those types of games. Now, that only matters to those of us who like/prefer those games, obviously. Once you get to younger gamers who are more familiar with NES/d-pad type games, never really knew or cared about playing actual arcade games, and were put off by the "old" Atari systems that none of their friends were buying or playing, the d-pad and the side-scrolling platformer and the environment exploration version of video games was the norm. Which I believe contributes to those gamers not really getting or caring about the earlier high-score/arcade type games, especially when combined with the 2600's blocky/sometimes flickering graphics. If they cared, they'd certainly would want to play those earlier games the real, correct way. Which means not with a fucking d-pad. A joystick, at the very least, instead of those stupid directional buttons, but paddles and spinners and the rest (trak-balls!) for the those games that required them (and many did). But I suspect those NES/SNES owners were in the minority. Sure, most younger gamers might like the occasional Anthology session but they wouldn't notice or care that the controls ssuuuuuuucckked. They'd play a few rounds of Centipede or Breakout or whatever with the wrong shit, have their fun, then move on to the newer, more NES-typical games.

 

No, the video game world should not have just stopped one day and said "trackballs, joysticks and spinners - those will be the only controllers to exist until the end of time." But neither should the console video game world have just stopped one day and said "Regardless of what came before - all video games, no matter what type or style, will be shithamnmered into using only d-pads and joypads until the end of time." I certainly don't advocate for less variety. Who would? But people who are used to those shitty d-pads for all types of games honestly cannot understand why some of us are so put off by trying to play a game designed for analog control with a crappy digital input like a d-pad. Further, we tire of the monotony of every game ending up with the exact same control scheme no matter if it's a fighting game, puzzle game, platformer, fps, retro arcade shooter, etc.

 

I mean, at some point I'm going to buy a first gen XBox simply so I can play this -

 

 

Fuck you, d-pad, fuck you so so much. That image right there says everything about how a gamer like me views video games. I welcome unique controls! I want something different from all the other games I've previously played! My friends and I used to drive to Pasadena to go to the Virtual World there and play Battletech in those pods (basically the full-size version of Steel Battalion) -

 

 

That experience was so much fun but most of it was due to the environment, the feel that you were actually driving a walking tank. Controls everywhere! While there are ways to play a Battletech style game with a joypad (the Jaguar had Iron Soldier), the experience suffers greatly compared to the Steel Battalion/Virtual World version. Guess which one is much, much better.

 

The '90s was a miserable, desolate time for good arcade games. Of the few that I cared to play, most had different control schemes. Like Silent Scope -

 

 

Time Crisis (the first couple of them, anyway) -

 

 

Cyber Sled -

 

 

and Star Blade -

 

[high voltage]

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark didn't suck, Nintendo fanboi. Not only did it have an ending, it was also one of the first games to use an inventory system which was navigated by a second joystick which is something common on since the original Xbox and Playstation thanks to their dual analog sticks. I'll keep referring to your lot as fanbois as long as you persist with peddling your incorrect assumptions about the video game industry as fact just because you view it all through the rose tint of your Nintendo licensed Yoshi sunglasses.

 

If you had experience with anything prior to the DPad, you wouldn't continue posting your ignorant comments claiming the DPad is the end-all of video game controllers just because you don't know any better. There's other people on this board born after the Atari era who nonetheless respect it, respect the fact that Atari created this industry [not Nintendo] and have actually experienced the games using the controllers they were meant to be played with and don't go posting info claiming to be experts when they aren't. I grew up with Trak-Ball games both in the arcade and the consoles. A DPad doesn't cut it for those types of games. A DPad doesn't cut it for flight simulators. Just because they don't work with platform games doesn't mean they should be discarded just to satisfy the tastes - or lack thereof - of people like you.

 

As for the idiotic comment about Nintendo's billions, who gives a flying fuck? You know what? Blackberry and Blackberry fans said the same thing as the iPhone took off. Look at Blackberry now. That's what's going to happen to Nintendo. But do go ahead and buy 20 Amiibos to keep their precious bank reserves intact.

 

And to think people rave about Apple's fan base as being sheeple...

Again, a spot on reply

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Aren't your Amiibos and R.O.B. getting lonely while you waste your time here in Atariland?

I gotta chime in here. My Pacman and Donkey Kong Amiibos got quite furious when I placed a fully assembled papercraft Star Castle Arcade cab down on the shelf next to them. I think they're just jealous because they can't beat Rosalina's high score!

[Andromeda Stardust]

If you had experience with anything prior to the DPad, you wouldn't continue posting your ignorant comments claiming the DPad is the end-all of video game controllers just because you don't know any better. There's other people on this board born after the Atari era who nonetheless respect it, respect the fact that Atari created this industry [not Nintendo] and have actually experienced the games using the controllers they were meant to be played with and don't go posting info claiming to be experts when they aren't. I grew up with Trak-Ball games both in the arcade and the consoles. A DPad doesn't cut it for those types of games. A DPad doesn't cut it for flight simulators. Just because they don't work with platform games doesn't mean they should be discarded just to satisfy the tastes - or lack thereof - of people like you.

Since you obviously don't listen much, I'll reiterate my thoughts on the Dpad.

 

While I agree with you that a Dpad is much cheaper to produce, it is by no means a bad design. But for those of us who want a little more, nothing beats a real arcade joystick. Truth is, Dpads and joystick + buttons use completely different muscle groups. The joystick you actuate with your wrists, the buttons your fingertips. Gamepads are operated primarily by your thumbs. So while both control schemes are equally valid, it requires practice and building up a little bit of muscle memory to become proficient with either. It took me a while to get good enough to beat Super Mario Brothers with my handmade joysticks, but now I'm equally good with either control scheme. But it takes some effort to go from one to the other. So it's no surprise the generation X kids that grew up with the Atari prefer joysticks, and the generation Y kids who grew up with Nintendo prefer Dpads.

Also quit comparing the Dpad to stuff it is not like trackballs, spinners, paddles, or analog flight yokes. A Dpad is essentially the same thing as an 8-way joystick. Once the wild, wild west of arcade controls ended somewhere around the mid-to-late 80s, arcades became fairly standardized, with what's this, an 8-way joystick operated by the left hand and 2-6 buttons operated by the right. Same basic layout as any NES, SNES, or Genesis gamepad.

 

To reiterate, both Dpads and Joysticks are essentially the same thing, just different mechanics. Both are equally valid, so don't hate on people because they have a different preference than you do.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I can't speak for others but the reason I brought up the controller comparison was to try to explain the difference between the arcade/2600 mindset and the platformer/NES mindset.

 

There were much more than 20 games that used controls other than joysticks/directional buttons in the arcades. People who grew up with or prefer those types of games (like myself) find something like the NES completely inadequate for those types of games. Now, that only matters to those of us who like/prefer those games, obviously. Once you get to younger gamers who are more familiar with NES/d-pad type games, never really knew or cared about playing actual arcade games, and were put off by the "old" Atari systems that none of their friends were buying or playing, the d-pad and the side-scrolling platformer and the environment exploration version of video games was the norm. Which I believe contributes to those gamers not really getting or caring about the earlier high-score/arcade type games, especially when combined with the 2600's blocky/sometimes flickering graphics. If they cared, they'd certainly would want to play those earlier games the real, correct way. Which means not with a fucking d-pad. A joystick, at the very least, instead of those stupid directional buttons, but paddles and spinners and the rest (trak-balls!) for the those games that required them (and many did). But I suspect those NES/SNES owners were in the minority. Sure, most younger gamers might like the occasional Anthology session but they wouldn't notice or care that the controls ssuuuuuuucckked. They'd play a few rounds of Centipede or Breakout or whatever with the wrong shit, have their fun, then move on to the newer, more NES-typical games.

 

No, the video game world should not have just stopped one day and said "trackballs, joysticks and spinners - those will be the only controllers to exist until the end of time." But neither should the console video game world have just stopped one day and said "Regardless of what came before - all video games, no matter what type or style, will be shithamnmered into using only d-pads and joypads until the end of time." I certainly don't advocate for less variety. Who would? But people who are used to those shitty d-pads for all types of games honestly cannot understand why some of us are so put off by trying to play a game designed for analog control with a crappy digital input like a d-pad. Further, we tire of the monotony of every game ending up with the exact same control scheme no matter if it's a fighting game, puzzle game, platformer, fps, retro arcade shooter, etc.

 

I mean, at some point I'm going to buy a first gen XBox simply so I can play this -

 

 

Fuck you, d-pad, fuck you so so much. That image right there says everything about how a gamer like me views video games. I welcome unique controls! I want something different from all the other games I've previously played! My friends and I used to drive to Pasadena to go to the Virtual World there and play Battletech in those pods (basically the full-size version of Steel Battalion) -

 

 

That experience was so much fun but most of it was due to the environment, the feel that you were actually driving a walking tank. Controls everywhere! While there are ways to play a Battletech style game with a joypad (the Jaguar had Iron Soldier), the experience suffers greatly compared to the Steel Battalion/Virtual World version. Guess which one is much, much better.

 

Again you are cherry picking. The 90s was mostly dominated by fighting and racing games, and later the beginnings of FPS. I can't imagine the kind of tool that would climb in that giant ugly-as-phuck combat simulator, unless, I don't know, you were in the Army training for a combat mission...

[HoshiChiri]

Ah, it's been awhile since I've seen a real drag-out, full-on pointless fan fight. This is fun! Can we do 5200 vs.Jaguar now? No one's brought those up yet!

 

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

[+swlovinist]

 

Ah, yes, Nintendo and their exceedingly high quality levels.

 

How'd that Wii of theirs turn out? Oh yeah, as a console well-known for its mountains of shovel ware.

 

On the contrary, the system is one of the most successful consoles to ever be sold, Several Nintendo franchises were continued, as well as being backwards compatible with the Gamecube. Trashing on the Wii is like rating the 2600 using a Mythicon title.