This Gen ... 10 Years From Now

[Professor Gull]

I picture that as well with PC backups but then I wonder who will hold licensing maybe that should have been the better question. Although piracy will be there for sure who will hold the rights to have games out there and connected at some future point.

 

Knowing the PC community though those games would be the least likely to ever disappear though but still in 10 years will gaming PC's even still be a thing?

[negative1]

Knowing the PC community though those games would be the least likely to ever disappear though but still in 10 years will gaming PC's even still be a thing?

 

 

huh? i still have computers that are pushing 10-15 years old for playing games, and my current crop of XP, and windows 7 machines aren't going

anywhere anytime soon, especially since i'm not upgrading to windows 10.

 

i will hang onto these pc's as long as i possibly can. easily another decade or more.

 

later

-1

[Professor Gull]

 

huh? i still have computers that are pushing 10-15 years old for playing games, and my current crop of XP, and windows 7 machines aren't going

anywhere anytime soon, especially since i'm not upgrading to windows 10.

 

i will hang onto these pc's as long as i possibly can. easily another decade or more.

 

later

-1

That be true but I just wonder where the next generation will go. Like if everyone games on VR headsets per sey. Not saying PC's won't be running but will the hardware of the future even be able to work the software of the past.

 

How about his though though will the generation of gamers 10 years from now even care about gaming the same as some of us older folks?

[toiletunes]

doubtful. Ten years is a long time- from Pong to Pacman, from Pacman to Mortal Kombat, etc.

[negative1]

That be true but I just wonder where the next generation will go. Like if everyone games on VR headsets per sey. Not saying PC's won't be running but will the hardware of the future even be able to work the software of the past.

 

How about his though though will the generation of gamers 10 years from now even care about gaming the same as some of us older folks?

if vr ever takes off, (and i will NEVER try it, due to wearing glasses, and dizziness).

 

it doesn't really matter, because, vr, and ar helmets, can pass through pc games anyways, as seen in the video of NES emulator.

http://www.windowscentral.com/hololens-running-your-favorite-nintendo-games

 

later

-1

[negative1]

doubtful. Ten years is a long time- from Pong to Pacman, from Pacman to Mortal Kombat, etc.

 

and yet, 30 years later, pac-man just got re-released a few months ago, on the xbox 1, ps4, and pc?

 

i don't think you guys understand the appeal of these games, and what emulators can do.

 

later

-1

[Keatah]

huh? i still have computers that are pushing 10-15 years old for playing games, and my current crop of XP, and windows 7 machines aren't going

anywhere anytime soon, especially since i'm not upgrading to windows 10.

 

i will hang onto these pc's as long as i possibly can. easily another decade or more.

 

later

-1

I just got a box of assorted parts to help maintain my older systems well into the future. Independent autonomous computing is a valuable resource. Gaming, personal, and business productivity are all equally important. Edited September 14, 2016 by Keatah

[Keatah]

and yet, 30 years later, pac-man just got re-released a few months ago, on the xbox 1, ps4, and pc?

 

i don't think you guys understand the appeal of these games, and what emulators can do.

 

later

-1

Emulators are pure magic!

[negative1]

Emulators are pure magic!

 

the vast majority of casual people use emulators to play retro games.

 

why people on this board wonder about that is puzzling.

 

in october of this year, a ton of atari 2600 and arcade games are coming out all over again for the ps4, and xbox one.

 

they are already out on the pc, with this new compilation, and have been released several times.

 

 

so basically, no one is forgetting any of the old games.

 

and yes, people do care about old games, or they wouldn't keep selling them.

 

the same thing happens with games from 20 years ago, and 10 years ago.

 

 

pcs might disappear, but you will still be able to play them on mobile phones, tablets, and whatever new devices come out.

 

later

-1

[spacecadet]

PC's most certainly will not disappear, *especially* for gaming. The PC gaming sector is the one part of the PC business that has actually been growing over the past decade. PC sales overall have been down but so-called "enthusiast" component *and* PC sales have gone up. The drop is coming from both lower prices on the low end (businesses don't need to spend $2,000 per machine anymore; a $200 machine works just as well these days) and both businesses and average consumers holding off on upgrades because their current PC's are good enough.

 

But gamers just keep buying, and component makers keep finding new things to get them to spend money on; stuff that didn't even exist a few years ago, like water cooling systems or mechanical keyboards. (I'm actually glad the latter has made a comeback.)

 

PC gaming right now is in basically the same state it was in 1983 or 1984. If this generation of consoles has been disappointing, and if gaming in general goes through a depressed period, PC gaming will be what's left. The nature of PC gaming vs. console gaming makes it better suited to handle down periods. It's less dependent on a few major developers, it's easier for indie developers to break into, and it has *way* more hardware and software makers than console games do. So any down period would be spread out, and unlikely to affect the entire industry. Also, gamers have a lot of money invested in their machines - moreso than consoles - and they wouldn't want that investment to go to waste. So they will keep buying, no matter what happens. Consoles are more likely to get put in a closet and forgotten about.

 

And I don't see any reason for the same backward compatibility trend in computing to ever stop... compatibility does break over a long period of time, but not generally even over 10 years, usually more like 20. And it's never intentional, it's just that nobody thinks to bother trying to make sure 20 year old software still works. There are usually workarounds (though not always). DOSBox, etc. (which is basically an emulator for PC's to play old PC games they used to be able to play natively).

[Schizophretard]

How about his though though will the generation of gamers 10 years from now even care about gaming the same as some of us older folks?

 

Well, so far every generation of gamers have had retro gamers. I already knew I was a retro gamer when Atari was still modern and the NES was just now coming out. I just didn't know the word for it. I just knew that I was in some minority group that understood that games don't stop being fun and that the majority of people follow the trends of what is presently popular. To put that another way, if I never heard the phrase retro gamer or classic gamer if you prefer then I think I wouldn't have came up with the phrase to have a retro gamer vs. modern gamer definition because I had the same retro gamer mindset I do now when the consoles were modern so it doesn't seem to be something you become later once consoles become old and the people back then that just followed the trends are the same people grown up today that are still not retro gamers because they are still following the trends and leaving the retro games in the past. So, if I never heard the phrases I probably would have came up with something like Gamers(people who enjoy fun video games regardless of when they were made) and Trendy Gamers(people who enjoy video games for only as long as they are popular and trending regardless of rather or not they are fun).

 

Anyway, just like me I bet there are elementary school kids that already know they are retro gamers and see how they are different to other gamers. They just don't know the word for it yet. When they grow up they will still want to play PS4, XBOX ONE, and the Wii U. Most of their adult peers won't get why they want to play them and their frustrations about trying to accomplish that because they will still be Trendy Gamers as adults just as they are now as children.

 

As a side note to that, I don't think nostalgia only applies to retro gamers because "modern" gamers seem to be nostalgic about gaming like they did back in the day by still wanting to play what is trending and popular now. We all game like we did in the past.

[omegadot]

 

 

As a side note to that, I don't think nostalgia only applies to retro gamers because "modern" gamers seem to be nostalgic about gaming like they did back in the day by still wanting to play what is trending and popular now. We all game like we did in the past.

 

I honestly consider nostalgia a thing apart from retro gaming. Sure, I have many fond memories and that impacts my opinion of a game, but I'm not going to play a game just because of that. I've played Chrono Trigger and Earth Bound dozens of times because they are just great games with entertaining stories and music I enjoy. I love pepper on my mac n cheese but I don't eat it because I love pepper. Or something like that....

 

I'm not sure I agree with Trendy / non-Trendy. Some people aren't going to seek out as much discussion on forums the way we do. Maybe they don't even enjoy that kind of communication. It's way more fun to enjoy games with other people and it's a lot easier to do that if you play all the newest games. I don't look down on that, I mostly just can't keep up with that pace. I've always stuck with things for a long time and taken time to enjoy them / just get good enough for it to be worthwhile. I also tend to play most games by myself or with someone next to me, which is easier on pre-internet enabled consoles. I'm not sure how I'd label that but it's something I've observed in my peers and younger family members. Maybe I'd call them penny-arcade gamers because those guys seem to churn through current games at an absurd pace.

[negative1]

PC's most certainly will not disappear, *especially* for gaming.

 

they certainly have disappeared for all the people that have transitioned to cellphones, and tablets. (ultra casual gamers)

 

which is a huge number.

 

later

-1

[spacecadet]

 

they certainly have disappeared for all the people that have transitioned to cellphones, and tablets. (ultra casual gamers)

 

which is a huge number.

 

You might want to read this: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/01/dont-look-now-but-the-pc-is-the-worlds-biggest-gaming-platform/

 

And note that what's driving revenue the most is exactly the type of gamer you're talking about.

[Schizophretard]

 

they certainly have disappeared for all the people that have transitioned to cellphones, and tablets. (ultra casual gamers)

 

which is a huge number.

 

later

-1

 

Google is transitioning to using Google Play for Chromebooks and phasing out the Chrome Web Store. Therefore, Google Play games will no longer just be for Android phones and tablets but also for PC's since Chromebooks are PC's. Also, since Chrome OS and the Chrome browser are similar under the hood and Google is discontinuing the Chrome Web Store entirely on the Chrome browser for other devices that aren't Chromebooks there is a good chance that once Google Play has been fully integrated into future Chromebooks that they will make Google Play the replacement for the Chrome Web Store for all PC's that have Chrome on it as a browser which would make Google Play games PC games for any PC.

[Hydro Thunder]

This will come off as overly snarky, but I just have to say it at least once...

 

This Generation will go away and be forgotten like no other generation has. Reason: No games. Everything that gets talked about now is a remake of a PS3 / 360 game "now remastered", a sequel, a failed promise, or something along those lines. These new systems are buggy, slow to load, constantly updating, and simply the most disappointing generation I've had the displeasure of trying to play. I was concerned with the 360 / PS3 when they came out due to durability issues aplenty, but they got them corrected, and the games...were simply legion. The only games that seem to be popular are online only games that will be bettered on future consoles (that will hopefully be less buggy and faster than these POSes), and simply there just won't be any nostalgia because there's nothing to be nostalgic about. The somewhat younger crowd will fondly remember the Wii / PS3 / 360 much more than these new systems, I would bet. Playing on these new systems isn't just a pain to me as an old school gamer used to fast loadin' cartridges...it's a major pain to anyone, of any age. Defense Grid 2 for the Xbone? A downloadable game that frankly could've been done on the 360? Takes about six or seven minutes to load. And often then freezes, requiring a system reboot in order to play. On my XbOne I got just a couple of months ago that has received little play. Who's going to fondly remember this trash?

 

No one.

[Keatah]

..indeed!

[Schizophretard]

I honestly consider nostalgia a thing apart from retro gaming. Sure, I have many fond memories and that impacts my opinion of a game, but I'm not going to play a game just because of that. I've played Chrono Trigger and Earth Bound dozens of times because they are just great games with entertaining stories and music I enjoy. I love pepper on my mac n cheese but I don't eat it because I love pepper. Or something like that....

 

I agree. That was kind of the point I was trying to make. We get equated more with feelings of nostalgia because our longing for the past must be clouding our judgement. "Why would people want to play outdated games with poor graphics that aren't popular or cool anymore? It must be nostalgia." But the same clouding of judgement could be applied back to the trendy gamers,"Why would people who once had no problem with the graphics or gameplay now think the graphics look bad and the gameplay is boring? It must be nostalgia to have that feeling of being one of the cool kids that always had the most popular console and games just as they did as a kid." In other words, my point is that both kind of gamers could feel nostalgia but there really isn't any kind of clouding of judgement going on with either group. What is going on is more along the lines of what people enjoy. Some people enjoy games(Gamers) and some enjoy being the popular gamer(Trendy Gamers).

 

I'm not sure I agree with Trendy / non-Trendy.

 

I'm only being black and white about it just to make the difference clear. I don't believe most people are completely just gamers or completely just trendy and there is probably no one that is just one of them. I think it is a mixture of both for everyone but some people lean one way more than the other. For an example, you have two gamers that are kids. One kid enjoys games but enjoys being the cool kid more and the other kid enjoys being the cool kid but enjoys games more. The first kid is more likely to grow up following the trends and leaving the old games behind more than the second kid.

 

Some people aren't going to seek out as much discussion on forums the way we do. Maybe they don't even enjoy that kind of communication.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here. Some retro gamers(gamers) get on forums and some don't. Some modern gamers(trendy gamers) get on forums and some don't.

 

It's way more fun to enjoy games with other people and it's a lot easier to do that if you play all the newest games. I don't look down on that, I mostly just can't keep up with that pace. I've always stuck with things for a long time and taken time to enjoy them / just get good enough for it to be worthwhile. I also tend to play most games by myself or with someone next to me, which is easier on pre-internet enabled consoles. I'm not sure how I'd label that but it's something I've observed in my peers and younger family members. Maybe I'd call them penny-arcade gamers because those guys seem to churn through current games at an absurd pace.

As I already explained I don't think being a retro gamer is something you become later but you can be one even when a console is modern and you are still a little kid because it is an attitude towards games that could end up causing you to enjoy old games because you don't stop enjoying them just because it is no longer trendy to do so. So, in this context of enjoying to play with others with online multiplayer, the kids today that are retro gamers would be the ones more concerned about the servers staying on indefinitely to continue to enjoy playing them online with others. But to the trendy gamers this isn't a concern because they are confident and rightfully so that the servers will be on as long as the games stay popular which is exactly as long as they intend on playing them before moving onto the new popular games.

 

[HoshiChiri]

When the original Xbox was new, I didn't want one. I didn't know of any games that sounded good for it- all these Halos and such didn't appeal to me.

 

When the PS3 and 360 hit the market, I still didn't want an Xbox. Even as people dumped their collections, nothing ever stood out for me.

 

As of now- I have an Xbox, freshly rescued from the dusty shelves of my fiancé's parents home a few months ago. So far I have 9 games, and a list of more to get. These all existed back when I was turning up my nose at the system, but I'd never heard of them and people weren't talking about them. Only after moving fully into the retro market did folks start really digging into the library and bringing up things that appealed to me- I'd never heard of Otogi or Gun Valkyrie before I watched Metal Jesus' video on them. Raze's Hell was a chance encounter in a game store followed by some research. There is definitely more on this system than I ever gave it credit for.

 

I suspect we'll see a similar situation with the newer generations. Yes, some of the big popular titles of today will fall away as people play the still-online updated versions. But we'll see the space filled in by people finding buried gems under the carcasses of dead MOBAs and saying to the world "Hey, check this out!"

 

Also- I cannot get over the irony of people on the retro board being disappointed that new gen games "look like they could've been done last gen". Of all people, you think we wouldn't give a shit about that! Personally, I'm glad that we've reached a point where graphical prowess isn't the best way to push your game anymore. Frees up some money & creativity to go towards making something that feels different instead. Although, I will agree- the constant updates are STUPID.

Edited September 17, 2016 by HoshiChiri

[Mord]

As of now- I have an Xbox, freshly rescued from the dusty shelves of my fiancé's parents home a few months ago. So far I have 9 games, and a list of more to get. These all existed back when I was turning up my nose at the system, but I'd never heard of them and people weren't talking about them. Only after moving fully into the retro market did folks start really digging into the library and bringing up things that appealed to me- I'd never heard of Otogi or Gun Valkyrie before I watched Metal Jesus' video on them. Raze's Hell was a chance encounter in a game store followed by some research. There is definitely more on this system than I ever gave it credit for.

 

I suspect we'll see a similar situation with the newer generations. Yes, some of the big popular titles of today will fall away as people play the still-online updated versions. But we'll see the space filled in by people finding buried gems under the carcasses of dead MOBAs and saying to the world "Hey, check this out!"

 

Personally I think I'd have to say I disagree with your prediction. The main difference is that the games released on the original xbox, overall, were perfectly playable offline and were for the most part free of game crippling/breaking bugs on the discs. That's not the case for the current generation, or even the PS3/360 generation. Yeah there will be games that are playable, but I expect to see threads started with subjects along the lines of "Which games are still playable without downloadable patches?" "Is Game X worth getting without the DLC available?" "Does X work offline?" etc as people try to avoid purchasing the discs that have become worthless with time.

[negative1]

 

Personally I think I'd have to say I disagree with your prediction. The main difference is that the games released on the original xbox, overall, were perfectly playable offline and were for the most part free of game crippling/breaking bugs on the discs. That's not the case for the current generation, or even the PS3/360 generation. Yeah there will be games that are playable, but I expect to see threads started with subjects along the lines of "Which games are still playable without downloadable patches?" "Is Game X worth getting without the DLC available?" "Does X work offline?" etc as people try to avoid purchasing the discs that have become worthless with time.

 

a lot of 360 game patches are just little ones for network issues, or backwards compatibility. i can play every game i own, since i got my xbox 360 a year after it came out.

 

i don't play any networked or online games. and the only patches i have gotten have been the type i mentioned above.

 

later

-1

[RARusk]

This will come off as overly snarky, but I just have to say it at least once...

 

This Generation will go away and be forgotten like no other generation has. Reason: No games. Everything that gets talked about now is a remake of a PS3 / 360 game "now remastered", a sequel, a failed promise, or something along those lines. These new systems are buggy, slow to load, constantly updating, and simply the most disappointing generation I've had the displeasure of trying to play. I was concerned with the 360 / PS3 when they came out due to durability issues aplenty, but they got them corrected, and the games...were simply legion. The only games that seem to be popular are online only games that will be bettered on future consoles (that will hopefully be less buggy and faster than these POSes), and simply there just won't be any nostalgia because there's nothing to be nostalgic about. The somewhat younger crowd will fondly remember the Wii / PS3 / 360 much more than these new systems, I would bet. Playing on these new systems isn't just a pain to me as an old school gamer used to fast loadin' cartridges...it's a major pain to anyone, of any age. Defense Grid 2 for the Xbone? A downloadable game that frankly could've been done on the 360? Takes about six or seven minutes to load. And often then freezes, requiring a system reboot in order to play. On my XbOne I got just a couple of months ago that has received little play. Who's going to fondly remember this trash?

 

No one.

You forgot Online DRM. That shit needs to be straight up outlawed.

[Schizophretard]

 

Personally I think I'd have to say I disagree with your prediction. The main difference is that the games released on the original xbox, overall, were perfectly playable offline and were for the most part free of game crippling/breaking bugs on the discs. That's not the case for the current generation, or even the PS3/360 generation. Yeah there will be games that are playable, but I expect to see threads started with subjects along the lines of "Which games are still playable without downloadable patches?" "Is Game X worth getting without the DLC available?" "Does X work offline?" etc as people try to avoid purchasing the discs that have become worthless with time.

 

The patches and DLC may become like how we find unfinished prototypes of retro games and then they are patched up to become playable. So, it may be something like collecting the discs are the easy part but the Holy Grails would be the hard drives with the correct patches and DLC. Then people hack those to send out to those who need them or they create new backup discs that have the full games with all of their patches and DLC included. In short, instead of ROM dumps it could all become about patches and DLC dumps. Granted it would be harder than with our retro consoles but people find a way.

[HoshiChiri]

 

The patches and DLC may become like how we find unfinished prototypes of retro games and then they are patched up to become playable. So, it may be something like collecting the discs are the easy part but the Holy Grails would be the hard drives with the correct patches and DLC. Then people hack those to send out to those who need them or they create new backup discs that have the full games with all of their patches and DLC included. In short, instead of ROM dumps it could all become about patches and DLC dumps. Granted it would be harder than with our retro consoles but people find a way.

 

That's how I see it too- people finding cracks and workarounds for the digital content. Perhaps someone will invent some sort of USB key to trick the system into thinking an online database is the proper online store, allowing direct downloads of ripped ROMs. Kind of like a mutated version of the everdrive.

 

I definitely don't think it'll just be 'thrown away'... we aren't at a point in society where nostalgia doesn't work yet. Today's kids will be tomorrow's adults, wondering if they can still play their old 360s and PS4s and such. The only really interesting possibility I see this run-around is, if the storefronts go offline completely, could the demand for games to be released on disc go up as people realize they could lose their whole collections to a bad hard drive? Or will we just see a lot more old units getting hacked to run pirated files? It's gonna be interesting either way.

[Keatah]

 

The patches and DLC may become like how we find unfinished prototypes of retro games and then they are patched up to become playable. So, it may be something like collecting the discs are the easy part but the Holy Grails would be the hard drives with the correct patches and DLC. Then people hack those to send out to those who need them or they create new backup discs that have the full games with all of their patches and DLC included. In short, instead of ROM dumps it could all become about patches and DLC dumps. Granted it would be harder than with our retro consoles but people find a way.

 

If people are interested in such things. And the sliding window of nostalgia is wide enough to allow those that ARE interested enough time.