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I was thinking the other day about the question of emulating. I have seen numerous people ask if they should just emulate, I am going to give my two cents. I do emulate many systems on my Dreamcast because the iso's are so plentiful such as the Neo Geo and the PCE because those systems are just so far out of my price range.. The problem I run into is that systems such as the NES and the Genesis get so expensive to collect for and truthfully I do not have that many favorites on those systems to feel comfortable spending tons of money on games. Since I preordered the Retron 5 I made the decision to rid myself of all of my NES and Genesis games and just buy flash carts for both of those systems. The Everdrive N8 flash cart for the NES cost me $108 which is not a bad price seeing that money NES games run around $10 if you want to get the better ones. Instead of having 10 NES games that would cost $100, I decided that I would rather pay $100 and be able to have all of the NES games. The same goes for the Genesis, I payed $53 for the Mega Driver flash cart which plays all Genesis, Megadrive, Sega 32x, Master system, and even Sega Cd games. When it comes down to it I am saving tons of money by emulating those games but I feel better and more satisfied because I am emulating them on actually hardware instead of sitting hunched over a computer. The Sega Saturn is my absolute favorite console and you would be absolutely correct if you were to say that it is an expensive console to collect for but with saving all of the money from emulating my cartridge games I am able to put most of my attention to collecting Saturn. So my belief is that you should collect physical copies of games for your favorite console or consoles but the consoles that you do not really touch that much I find it more beneficial to emulate using Flash Carts. The Saturn was my first console to I have a special connection to it and it is the system that I have spent that most time playing over the years.
Hey guys, I picked up a little import retro goodness recently. Check it out!
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_jPvT1KUf4&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/D_jPvT1KUf4&rel=0</a>]]>
Any other import game collectors?
Episode # 36 - A special deal with Atari Brian from AtariAge.com. ( Great guy to buy games from if you ever need video games )
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/l5JZcTwefhk&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/l5JZcTwefhk&rel=0</a>]]>
RGB is the holy grail of display formats for retro video games. The people who prefer hooking their consoles up via RF do so for nostalgia, not image quality. The folks who use composite and S-Video are on the right track, they want a higher quality picture, but RGB is better.
Component video is not RGB. While component video cables are Red, Blue, and Green in color, they still send combined signals over the same cable which results in a slightly lower quality picture. They typically carry YPbPr signals.
In YPbPr:
Y (Red cable) carries luma (luminance/brightness) and sync (synchronization) signals
Pb (Blue cable) carries the difference between blue and luma (B-Y)
Pr (Green cable) carries the difference between red and luma (R-Y)
The information for Green is not sent because it can be determined with the blue, red, and luma signals.
An RGB signal carries the Red, Green, Blue and Sync data on four separate cables. If you are interested in more of the technical aspects of RGB or if you would like to see some screenshot comparisons, I strongly recommend you check out http://www.retrorgb.com
On to the mod...
IMPORTANT! This mod restores RGB output to the N64 A/V Out. You will need an RGB monitor and the appropriate cables in order to hook your system up to an RGB monitor. LOTS of info on the cables required can be found at http://www.retrorgb.com
Not every N64 is capable of outputting an RGB signal. In the US, the early N64s had a video chip on the motherboard that was capable of outputting RGB so all you have to do is connect the RGB outputs on this chip to the RGB spots on the video output terminal and you have an RGB capable N64. Nintendo eventually changed the video chip on the N64 to one that did not natively output RGB so the mod is only possible on early N64s.
How early?
If your N64 has a serial number that starts with NS1, you can mod it to output RGB
If your N64 has a serial number that starts with NS2, you cannot mod it to output RGB
There is always a (slim) chance that the guts of your N64 have been swapped so another way to check is to open your N64 and look at the motherboard revision.
If your motherboard revision is NUS-CPU-01, 02, 03, or 04, you can mod it to output RGB. If it is NUS-CPU-05 or higher, you cannot
You can see your motherboard revision just above the cart slot when you take the top cover off of an opaque system:
and you can see it on a clear system without taking the shell off, just remove the power supply:
You can also swap the guts of an older N64 into the shell of a newer model that you really want to get RGB from. For example, I love the Jungle Green N64 but my Jungle Green model is an NUS-CPU-05. I swapped the guts from an 03 into the Jungle Green shell and presto! Jungle Green RGB 
Tools you will need
4.5mm security bit to open the N64
Phillips screwdriver
Soldering Iron with a fine tip (I prefer a chisel tip for this job)
Solder and flux
Thin gauge wire, 26 gauge works well
Hot glue gun OR electrical tape
OPTIONAL but HIGHLY recommended
RGB amplifier chip THS7314DR installed onto a
SOIC 8 to DIP 8 board
Three 75 ohm resistors with the lowest tolerance possible
Once you have determined that your N64 is capable of RGB, Strip the system down to the motherboard. There are LOTS of screws so make sure you take a few "before" pics or organize them in a way that will make it easy for you to put them all back in the right places.
This is the chip you are looking for
The three indicated legs output the signals for R, G, and B. All you have to do is connect three wires from these three legs to the RGB posts on the A/V output area on the back of the board.
If you are not installing an amplifier, ignore the Power and Ground posts, just connect three wires from the RGB legs on the front to the RGB posts on the back and you are done.
Let me tell you why you really should install the amp, though. The RGB signals that the N64 outputs are quite weak. Without an amplifier, you will have to crank up the brightness and/or contrast every time you want to play your N64 on your RGB monitor. The amplifier is inexpensive and easy to install. Here is what it looks like assembled:
But Bil, why do I need resistors on the output side?
You need the resistors because the amplifier amplifies the signal just a little bit too much. Without the resistors, you would have to slightly lower the contrast/brightness on your monitor. Adding the 75 ohm resistors means that you will not have to fiddle with the dials at all.
I do sell assembled amps with wire so that you can just solder 8 wires to the N64 motherboard and be done.
I find it easier to start on the back/underside of the board..
so that I can set the board into the bottom case and finish up the front
You can now test the system to see if you were successful. Pro Tip Make sure you put the jumper or expansion pak back in the system before you power it on. I forgot and just connected power and a/v and got a little scare when the screen was black. After I put the expansion pak in, I got this image.
And I didn't think that title screen could have looked any better.
Once you know you were successful I recommend applying a little hot glue from a glue gun to the three connections on the top of the board just for a little added security.
After I put the rf shield, heatsink, and all of the screws back in, I wrap the amp in a little electrical tape for a little added protection.
And that's it! Please feel free to ask any questions below or via PM.
Before I seem like one of those jaded 'leave me alone and let me game' types the last entry may have implied, let me bring up another rare opportunity this new console generation is going to give;
Something shiny that gives an excuse for us all to gather 'round the TV and hang out.
One of the many changes in gaming culture that happened from growing out of a niche hobby into a mainstream staple, is that inevitably the 'newness' of video games is long gone. No longer a novelty box with extra chords plugging into that wooden framed 25"-er, chances are grandma plays a few social games on facebook and your parents kill a few hours with Angry Birds or Candy Crush on an iPad/iPhone/calculator watch. (Do they still have those?)
Nowadays, it is likely more people you know play some form of video game than don't, and that sure wasn't true for most of us in our youth. Video games are now so entrenched in our society that pretty much anything electronic is expected to feature some interactive 'for fun' element. I'm waiting for my kids to ask what else our digital thermostat 'plays.'
Whereas in the past, millions of marketing dollars were spend just to get people to be aware of, and understand what is, a new console, now billions of marketing dollars are spend to regenerate excitement beyond a 'meh, slightly better graphics and now I wave my arms at a camera that may or may not be spying on me.'
Back in the day, if you were the first on the block to own a 2600, NES, or Genesis, suddenly you had friends you didn't know the name of, asking for a turn. In my C64 days, more kids came through our living room than the local arcade. And two player games could get riotous, in a good way, with everyone fidgeting excitedly as they stared at the action onscreen and awaited their turn.
It may sound like I'm only waxing nostalgic, pining for bygone days where the freshness of video games brought more excitement and attention. Living rooms in our modern world aren't exactly 'Leave it to Beaver' style family gathering spaces anymore. In fact, Nintendo is largely criticized as being out of touch with modern gamers by designing the Wii U as a device made for such an environment. Local multiplayer focus instead of online focus? A private screen to play on so someone else could watch the 'big TV' while you play games in the same room? Hey Nintendo, did you focus test this thing in the 80s?
Unless Nintendo, true to their word, really isn't interested in more FPS and GTA experiences. Instead of catering to that environment, they are giving the tools to generate the experiences such as the one outlined in my youth. When Christmas day comes and the kids open up that Wii U, we're going to have a blast with four-player Super Mario Wii U. We're going to spend some family time puzzle-solving through Scribblenauts Unlimited. And when the kids finally go to bed, Wind Waker HD and I have some catching up to do. Probably while my beloved watches Scrooged on our 'big TV.'
But let's not even count the Wii U. By carefully cultivating an environment that encourages a group to hang out in the same area, weekend gaming is always socially rewarding. Our collection is not just out on display; it is all set up and ready to go. TVs are lined up, old and new systems next to each other, just waiting to be played. Our family is very much into social gaming, and most of the time we're not on all on the same game. As much fun as it is to have an intense Halo LAN match, hilarious 8 player Bomberman game, and full Rock Band setup going, our friends are comfortable turning on a single player game and just spending time together while we all play what we're in the mood for.
Its kind of the 'older adult' version of that youth experience; everyone knows they can come in and just enjoy themselves, play what they want (respecting kids bedtimes and M rated games, etc.) and still be social, even engaging. Or just sit, relax and enjoy the environment and friends without expectation.
Which brings us back around to the advent of the PS4. For the first time since the 360/PS3 launch, we have something new and interesting to plug in and try out. Interest and even excitement can be contagious in a group of friends, and those who could care less often still find themselves with controller in hand, trying out the new hardware. For the first time in a long time, a group stares at a single player experience as player one takes the machine through its paces. Folks debate the differences in graphics and control, and for brief moments something new and engaging is shared amongst like-minded people. At least for a little while, every new game that comes out is something to at least try, and see if anything new is brought to the table.
In the modern age of gaming, sometimes we forget how near-magical it really is to have such wonderful toys. Maybe some of us are too-far gone to care, and some never have. But with the right mindset, we don't have to try and recapture lightning in a bottle. We just have to remember what its like to be excited the next time a thunder cloud comes, bottles ready. 
Alright so last week while on a weekend vacation my girlfriend decided to visit meet with a person at the nearby college regarding her graduate school. Well naturally I was left for an hour to fend for myself so I hopped on the good ole' eBay (God I love smartphones). I was searching around and ran into these small little plug n' play systems, each one had 10 games on it for a very reasonable price! The first was about $12 shipped and it advertised Virtua fighter 2 as the main game, the second was $9 shipped and the main game advertised was Columns. I decided to go ahead and buy both and do a YouTube video on them. The VF one came in the main first so I plugged it into the tv and started to play VF(which was a horrible Genesis game as it is) needless to say I got really bored really fast. After shutting that game off I discovered that it has Alien Storm which is a fantastic side-scroller, this game made it completely worth the $12. I was happy with the plug n' play overall, then the second arrived on my doorstep. I opened it up and plugged it in and I was soon very disappointed, it was nothing but puzzle games and a crappy space shooter! Now, I am not a fan of Columns at all, I would rather play Tetris any day but I realize that it has a pretty good following so I gave it a fair shot. Other than Columns and Columns 3 it just had a bunch of clones of other games but it does have one saving grace. Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine!! I remember playing this game on my Sonic classic cart on Genesis way back in the day and I loved it, the port it really good but I can tell you that the joystick on the plug n' play is not built for puzzle games. Check out the video on my YouTube channel! I have broken it into 2 parts. The second will be live very soon.
SSG out!
Alright so last week while on a weekend vacation my girlfriend decided to visit meet with a person at the nearby college regarding her graduate school. Well naturally I was left for an hour to fend for myself so I hopped on the good ole' eBay (God I love smartphones). I was searching around and ran into these small little plug n' play systems, each one had 10 games on it for a very reasonable price! The first was about $12 shipped and it advertised Virtua fighter 2 as the main game, the second was $9 shipped and the main game advertised was Columns. I decided to go ahead and buy both and do a YouTube video on them. The VF one came in the main first so I plugged it into the tv and started to play VF(which was a horrible Genesis game as it is) needless to say I got really bored really fast. After shutting that game off I discovered that it has Alien Storm which is a fantastic side-scroller, this game made it completely worth the $12. I was happy with the plug n' play overall, then the second arrived on my doorstep. I opened it up and plugged it in and I was soon very disappointed, it was nothing but puzzle games and a crappy space shooter! Now, I am not a fan of columns at all, I would rather play tetris any day but I realize that it has a pretty good following so I gave it a fair shot. Other than Columns and Columns 3 it just had a bunch of clones of other games but it does have one saving grace. Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine!! I remember playing this game on my Sonic classic cart on Genesis way back in the day and I loved it, the port it really good but I can tell you that the joystick on the plug n' play is not built for puzzle games. Check out the video on my YouTube channel! I have broken it into 2 parts. The second will be live very soon.
SSG out!
Alright so last week while on a weekend vacation my girlfriend decided to visit meet with a person at the nearby college regarding her graduate school. Well naturally I was left for an hour to fend for myself so I hopped on the good ole' eBay (God I love smartphones). I was searching around and ran into these small little plug n' play systems, each one had 10 games on it for a very reasonable price! The first was about $12 shipped and it advertised Virtua fighter 2 as the main game, the second was $9 shipped and the main game advertised was Columns. I decided to go ahead and buy both and do a YouTube video on them. The VF one came in the main first so I plugged it into the tv and started to play VF(which was a horrible Genesis game as it is) needless to say I got really bored really fast. After shutting that game off I discovered that it has Alien Storm which is a fantastic side-scroller, this game made it completely worth the $12. I was happy with the plug n' play overall, then the second arrived on my doorstep. I opened it up and plugged it in and I was soon very disappointed, it was nothing but puzzle games and a crappy space shooter! Now, I am not a fan of columns at all, I would rather play tetris any day but I realize that it has a pretty good following so I gave it a fair shot. Other than Columns and Columns 3 it just had a bunch of clones of other games but it does have one saving grace. Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine!! I remember playing this game on my Sonic classic cart on Genesis way back in the day and I loved it, the port it really good but I can tell you that the joystick on the plug n' play is not built for puzzle games. Check out the video on my YouTube channel! I have broken it into 2 parts. The second will be live very soon.
SSG out!
Episode # 34 - This episode I show that some gaming moments are moments due to being a bad game. Also to talk about what happens when a video game is rushed to production just to "have a game for sale". Usually isn't a good outcome and the unsold copies in New Mexico is a good proof of that.
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/HXt_X91YdwA&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/HXt_X91YdwA&rel=0</a>]]>
Episode 33 -
In this week's pick up video Atari 2600, Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo get a hold of the majority of my finds. Just in time for next weeks paycheck and big game finds no where else than right here. Enjoy.
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Until only a few months ago I vehemently detested any handheld since the GameBoy Advance. The graphics paled in comparison to what the latest living room systems could produce. Games were released on tiny cartridges that I could easily lose underneath a piece of furniture and forget about. The GameBoy Advance SP came out and I could care less. Then the DS and its various iterations received the same reception. Sony's PSP and Vita were not even on my radar.
Then something happened.
My bulky home consoles started getting fewer and fewer JRPGs. "Is the sub-genre on its way out?" I thought. The games that tickled a soft spot in my heart had to be hiding somewhere. I then saw games news outlets reporting on Final Fantasy: Bravely Default and Etrian Odyssey Untold, and my ears perked up a little. After reading some previews and watching brief gameplay videos I was sold. These were games I were longing for, but there was a problem: they were for the 3DS. How could such great looking Role Playing games be slated for release on portable console? Who would even want a handheld when one could spend roughly $50 more to get a fully HD game system? That was my argument that naively justified my unwillingness to consider the handheld market.
While trekking across America in The Last of Us, experiencing the monomyth in Journey, and saving my son in Heavy Rain I was silently craving a JRPG. I resisted buying a 3DS by telling myself the screens were too small. I held out against the XL redesign by saying the colour choices were not attractive. Much to my surprise Nintendo announced the black 3DS XL and I thought it looked like something I might actually want. Two highly intriguing titles were on the horizon after all. So, with the release of the sleek obsidian coloured handheld I jumped aboard the ship, and I like where its taking me.
Having found the new home of my favourite genre left me wondering why these developers began to favour the different platform.
The JRPG was once synonymous with the SNES and gained even more steam on PlayStation 2. Gamers had titles including Chrono Trigger, EarthBound, Final Fantasy X, and Odin Sphere. Part of the RPG experience was budgeting one's time and sitting in front of TV to save the world. This was the domain of the genre and it made sense because as console technology improved developers were able to craft grander epics with increasingly beautiful visuals. I firmly believed JRPGs weren't going to leave the living room thinking that the XBox 360 and PS3 would offer me with the next enthralling odyssey. However, the current generation of gaming stations didn't receive as many of these games as their predecessors. The games relocated onto the DS and PSP, and even series that originated on the home console appeared on these 4 inch screens.
The home consoles were left with cliche, trope-laden, painfully linear games that resulted in long time fans wanting more at best, and feeling burnt out at worst. Meanwhile someone on a bus was commanding an army or crawling through maze-like dungeons. Perhaps the Japanese gaming style was the catalyst of this change where mobile gaming dominates over the living room experience. Moreover, those who grew up playing Phantasy Star and Robotrek now have jobs, families, and responsibilities that take them away from a 40+ hour epic. So it's completely reasonable that these games shifted to the pocket sized platforms.
In a way this could also be seen as JRPGs honouring their roots. These games, after all, are about the stories at the core. Without long cutscenes and voice acting to rely upon, any weakness in the narrative are easily exposed. Thus the focus has returned to the plot and character development which is paramount to any RPG. The handheld JPRGs take on more a "all-killer-no-filler" approach to the experiences they offer.
Many are quick to say that the JRPG is dead, but that's not true. One just needs to know where to find them. The genre that went stale found a breath of fresh air on Nintendo's 3DS and Sony's PSP or Vita. There's more new ideas and adventures to experience while commuting and during shorter periods of quiet down time. With few exceptions like PS3's upcoming The Guided Fate Paradox, RPG fans have reason to get excited again but they will just be playing on a different, smaller screen.
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Posted on Sep 21st 2013 at 09:52:33 AM by ( noiseredux) Posted under 3DS |
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Atlus, 2013 (3DS)
Multiple endings in games aren’t really so uncommon these days. And to be honest, I’ve never been much of a completionist when it comes to my games. And I’ve definitely never cared for the notion of a so-called “good ending.” In my mind whatever ending you get by playing the game the way that you play it - making the decisions that you want to make, and acting or reacting as you see fit - is your ending. Thus, the most fitting ending for you. I’ve never understood the concept of checking a walkthrough to make sure you do things in a certain order, or say the proper thing to the proper NPC to secure a specific ending. To me, that takes a lot of the interactivity out of the game. Why not just watch a movie or read a book instead?
I tell you this because so much of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s story will be based on your actions. Not only will you be presented with important, story-defining decisions, but you will also have to at times side with your companions. And speaking of your companions, you will spend much of the game traversing with Jonathan (good cop), Walter (bad cop) and Isabeau. And now might be good time to remind you that if you continue reading further you should be well-warned that spoilers are going to start flying soon. Whereas Jonathan and Walter pretty clearly stand as the little Angel and Devil on your shoulders, Isabeau is a little more complex. And more often than not, she was the one who I identified most closely with. I suppose she’d be the neutral character, but it seemed more uncertainty than apathy in most cases.
But y’know what? Before I get too deep into the story, let me at least tell you a bit about the game itself. Shin Megami Tensei IV is (kind of) the fourth entry in the long-running and crazily branched-out MegaTen series of games. Although not gaining much notoriety in the States until the surprise cult-success of the Persona series (another MT spin-off), these games all share a similar thread. Perhaps a basic way to describe them would be really dark versions of Pokemon games (though MT came first). Instead of “pocket monsters,” the MetaTen games strongly feature demons. Demons need to be recruited into your party, which can be both a fun and annoying prospect. Trying to convince a demon to join you can often be a head-game that results in loss of items, loss of stats, loss of other demons and ultimately the demon will refuse to join you. Sometimes the demon will refuse to join you and then attempt to kill you as well.
But like the rest of the games in the series, Shin Megami IV is not meant to be any sort of cakewalk. In fact, the game is so brutal at points (hello, Medusa) that not only is an Easy Mode available to you - it’s in fact part of the story. This is definitely the sort of dungeon-crawler with its roots in a RPG-landscape of yesteryear. One that features a soul-crushing difficulty (even at times if you opt for the previously mentioned Easy Mode). But it’s also got an amazingly well refined and, dare I say it? - FUN battle system.
Battling demons in Shin Megami Tensei IV is all about taking advantage of weaknesses. By knowing what attacks can be exploited against an enemy, suddenly you control the board and you’ll watch your enemy stand there in a daze. It’s really quite rewarding - especially after you’ve spent hours being brutalized by the likes of the Minotaur or Medusa.
The demons look awesome by the way. Indeed SMT IV follows a long tradition of wonderfully detailed (and slightly NSFW) artwork. And although the 3D effect in the game was often used quite well, I can’t say that I kept it on much longer than a few moments - just long enough to conclude “oh this looks cool,” and then turning it back off. The music is dark, dissonant and moody as hell. I’m certainly glad that I bothered to grab the LE box for the included soundtrack when I had the chance. (The other inclusion being a partial strategy guide, which is really quite useful so I’d suggest seeking out this edition while you still can).
Getting back a bit to the story (and again, the spoilers) I mentioned earlier, I have to confess that I spent 35 hours on SMT IV and that resulted in the so-called “bad ending.” An ending where the somewhat confusing story comes to a very abrupt end. Where instead of leaning towards good or evil and getting one of those clear-cut endings, I simply decided to end the world. You might argue that such an ending is anticlimactic. That it almost defeats the purpose of having these alignments. Yet in the days after playing I continued to think about the game, about all the fun I had. It haunted me. And then I realized that in a sense my ending fit my playthrough so perfectly. Where I had spent so much time identifying with Isabeau’s character. I was never quite neutral. I was always more apathetic. It’s as if the entire playthrough was guided by a hopelessness. And so the world had to end.
I just hope that doesn’t mean that Shin Megami Tensei V is out of the question.
Growing up I always wanted the latest video game system, but it was always out of reach, leaving me behind a generation.
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Were you always able to get the latest video game systems at launch?
So, I picked up our family's special Zelda edition Wii U today. I've been happily updating the system and testing a few used games (bought on sale in anticipation of the system), and as I write I'll be downloading Wind Waker, despite reserving the physical copy that comes with a Gannondorf statue.
All of this is being done out of site of the kids, and once I'm done, it'll all be packed up and hidden... for over three months.
The Wii U is our family's Christmas gift to our family, and our boys are eagerly saving up chore money until then to buy their own games. I'll admit, it will take a bit of mental hand-slapping to pack it up all up again and be patient, but such is the duty of a responsible parent. And in the meantime, we do own a *few* other games I could play.
After several updates to the system and each game, as well as the network setup, it definitely reminded me of an unfortunate advantage our older consoles had; plug and play.
Gamers my age likely remember a Christmas or birthday that painted this scenario:
First, a younger us excitedly tearing the wrapping off a new Atari/Coleco/Intellivision/NES/Genesis/SNES/Sega CD/Turbo Grafx/Game Boy/Neo Ge-HA! WE WISHED!!- etc. and after mom/dad/uncle/older sibling figured out how to connect it to the TV, we slapped that first cartridge in and a new, unexplored (besides store demos), vibrant, virtual world awaited us. Part of the appeal was the immediacy; once that system was hooked up, all that was required was finding a controller and game and you were good to go.
Now, every new system requires some form of setup. Sometimes we get by just inputting a region and name, but nowadays we have profiles, internet setup, firmware updates, game updates, day one patches, and on and on. One of the things that made me slow to incorporate the PS3 into my common gaming was how often I would purchase a new game, unwrap it, pop it in... and mandatory installs or updates required me to spend anywhere between five minutes to a few hours (looking at you, Gran Tourismo 5) before I could actually play. For a guy who's game time is often measured in less than an hour, even a fifteen minute chunk of un-interactive screen staring means I'm thinking of a different game to play.
All this time setting up the Wii U (not to mention downloading Wind Waker!) made me feel bad for any younger kids who gets a new Xbox One, PS4, or Wii U on Christmas... and then have to wait while online accounts are set up, profiles created, updates delayed due to server overloads, installs required...
Yeah, boo-hoo, first world problem, not a biggie. Make those rug-rats go play football in the snow or play a real board game with Grandma while they wait, just like we had to do when we didn't even have a game system to wait on!
Which got me thinking about how picky we really are about games. My preference over the years for consoles instead of PC gaming developed in part because of the setup required for computer gaming. Nowadays though its pretty much the same; install, check for patches/updates, customize the controls, create a save-game... am I playing on a PC or a 360/PS3? With social media integration, messaging services, and apps such as Netflix, there is often little difference. Some gamers delight in this; a 'share' button on their controller, DV-R for their gameplay, instant tweets over gamerscore.
I know I can be a cranky old-timer when it comes to gaming, but most of the time, if I could skip signing in to my game machine altogether, I would. My 'gaming career' of scores, time spent on games, and K/D ratios can be fun to keep track of and compare/compete with friends, but there is a reason I have my profiles set to "always show offline." I game in very different, often dichotomic moods; sometimes to survive a Horde of Locusts with fellow Gears in co-op bliss, sometimes to blow things up alone to work out frustrations. Sometimes to get a quick, frantic fix of some Robotron 2084; sometimes to play a slow marathon of Tetris while my brain processes the backlog queue. Point is, the game machine is there to 'serve' my use, and somehow in the name of features and connectivity, we've enslaved ourselves to maintaining them. Just keeping the 360 LAN updated so my friends and I can sit and play anything we want any given weekend can be a tremendous chore of keeping each system and hard-drive updated and correctly connected for any game we'll possibly play.
And in a thought that could easily generate enough content for another article, this perpetually required attention extends from consoles to the games themselves. I lose interest in games like GTAIV because of the required in-game social maintenance for virtual characters. I have a difficult enough time keeping up with all my real-world social responsibilities; making sure Niko calls his girlfriend or relative may sell a more realistic experience, but when gameplay breaks down to what feels like tedious exercises to me, I quickly lose interest. I recognize this as a 'different strokes for different folks' paradigm, of course; I've completed many a JRPG or StratRPG that bored my beloved to tears. (Gave her plenty of time to read, though.)
Perhaps therein lies one of the many reasons classic cartridge systems are always connected across our home; we're always a few seconds away from another round of Super Mario 3 or Galaga.
And now I can't wait to hear my kids ask about that collection of giant, black, 'vinyl Blu-Rays' under the entertainment stand...
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We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
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