Friday, March 2, 2012

Why So Many People Are Using Retro Video Game Consoles

By Chloe Gib


Retro video game consoles are becoming something which many people are collecting and using again nowadays. Collectors trade in them like others trade sports cards or vinyl records. Nostalgia motivates much of this, but there are many factors which make people want to play on older versions of their favorite consoles.

A whole host of websites are produced by and for enthusiasts in this area, and consoles are readily available on a range of auction websites. These are often still in the box and come from Asian countries, highlighting the strength of demand for them. This demand may mystify some, who prefer the almost magical way that contemporary controllers simply allow users to control movement on the screen by standing and moving their limbs.

The way in which contemporary gaming machines allow users to control the action simply by standing and moving have taken gaming technology forward in massive steps. Nevertheless, there is still a huge demand for vintage gaming machines. Like fans of sports or sports cars, the collecting urge is as strong in gamers as it is in any other group of enthusiasts.

There is also the sense of history that playing on these machines provides users with. Many of today's bestselling games titles actually started life years ago on old style machines. This allows enthusiasts to experience the early days of a title, tracing how it has changed.

This means that obvious things like graphics and game mechanics can be evaluated. Also, the narrative structure and plotting of the title may have changed. In many ways, it is like listening to the early demos or out-takes from a beloved band's musical back catalogue.

The simplicity of the way in which the games are produced and controlled by users, also appeals to many who collect or use old style machines. Some people find the intense and all-enveloping experience offered by contemporary games a little overwhelming. An old game tends to have clearly definable objectives, as well as simple controls and a logical difficulty scale curving upwards.

But perhaps it is the air of nostalgia that draws most gamers into the world of retro video game consoles. The familiarity that objects associated with youth can make anyone smile. When it comes down to it, all games are really about fun.




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