Nintendo's Wii revolutionizes console gaming with, among other innovations, an online store stocked with "classic" games from earlier systems. In keeping with the overall theme it's a mixed bag at best.
In the interest of full disclosure let me get a few facts out in to the open. I'm 30 years old. My first gaming system was an Atari 2600, which means that my first game console came from a time before people said things like, "game console." The day I got a Nintendo Entertainment System was the happiest moment of my young life, and remained so until the day I discovered sexual intercourse. I am an avid gamer, but not in an overweight, Dorito-eating shut-in sort of way, and have played more games than I can remember on both consoles and PC pretty much continuously since 1982.
From about five minutes after I got the Wii to notice our wireless network to the present I have spent well in excess of $500 on the Virtual Console alone, buying mostly old NES games. You know, the games that you remember playing as a kid. The ones that trigger a round of, "Oh, man, that game was AWESOME," whenever you bring them up in a crowd. Super Mario Bros., for example, Excitebike, Metroid. Games that, for Nintendo at least, launched decade-spanning franchises.
My $500 got me something more than just a virtual library of "classic" games; it paid for a lesson about nostalgia. See, I came to a disturbing realization. Remember those awesome games like Contra and MegaMan? The "good old days" of gaming, when games were pure and basic and just fun?
That's bullshit.
Seriously.
Video games used to suck. Ten years from now, when we're shooting holographic Nazis with air-guitar rifles (because WWII shooters will never die), we'll look back on the most wonderful, cutting-edge games of this year and realize that, in comparison, they suck too.
Before you track me down and avenge Princess Zelda's honor, let me explain. Video gaming as a hobby, or sport, or pastime, is dependent on technology in a way other activities are not. For example, swimming is always going to be swimming. You either enjoy it or you don't. Better swimming trunks aren't going to change the experience. Golf is golf. While some variables may change depending on the kind of clubs you use and that sort of thing, the fundamental game remains the same. Not so with video games.
Take, for example, the first-person shooter. The genre could not have existed at all prior to adequate hardware; that is, the NES wasn't capable of smoothly displaying the illusion of three dimensions or a changing point of view, nor could it support the range of control that would be needed to make even the most rudimentary FPS. That's not to say that there weren't NES games that were very fun at the time, nor is it to say that there aren't NES games that are still fun to play now. The point is that there are no games that would be less enjoyable if they had better graphics, richer sound and more accurate controls. Old games that are still fun are fun despite, not as a result of, lacking current technology.
Still not convinced? Here's a test. Find a kid. Any kid under, say, 12 should do just fine. Plop him or her down in front of a Wii. Give said child a choice between the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy. Dollars to donuts, Galaxy will win every time.
So I must hate the Virtual Console, right? Wrong. Look, I'm not the kind of person who drinks Pabst to be ironic. I spend money on video games because I expect to have fun playing them. But there is something to be said for being able to fire up The Legend of Zelda and relive a little bit of my youth. It's worth a few bucks to be able to pick up a case of beer and invite a few friends over for a couple hours of Street Fighter II. Sometimes it's nice to go back in time and relive what the gaming world was.
If you weren't in the market for a Wii, the Virtual Console shouldn't change your mind. It's really not worth $200 to be able to play the original Metroid, and the Wii's comically small amount of storage prevents it from acting as some sort of classic gaming center, at least not without a great deal of SD card shuffling. On the other hand, if you have a Wii already the Virtual Console is there in the background anyway. Why not use it to finally play that game your parents never bought you? Look at it this way, at the most you'll be out $20 and you'll have a newfound appreciation for how far gaming has come.
In the interest of full disclosure let me get a few facts out in to the open. I'm 30 years old. My first gaming system was an Atari 2600, which means that my first game console came from a time before people said things like, "game console." The day I got a Nintendo Entertainment System was the happiest moment of my young life, and remained so until the day I discovered sexual intercourse. I am an avid gamer, but not in an overweight, Dorito-eating shut-in sort of way, and have played more games than I can remember on both consoles and PC pretty much continuously since 1982.
From about five minutes after I got the Wii to notice our wireless network to the present I have spent well in excess of $500 on the Virtual Console alone, buying mostly old NES games. You know, the games that you remember playing as a kid. The ones that trigger a round of, "Oh, man, that game was AWESOME," whenever you bring them up in a crowd. Super Mario Bros., for example, Excitebike, Metroid. Games that, for Nintendo at least, launched decade-spanning franchises.
My $500 got me something more than just a virtual library of "classic" games; it paid for a lesson about nostalgia. See, I came to a disturbing realization. Remember those awesome games like Contra and MegaMan? The "good old days" of gaming, when games were pure and basic and just fun?
That's bullshit.
Seriously.
Video games used to suck. Ten years from now, when we're shooting holographic Nazis with air-guitar rifles (because WWII shooters will never die), we'll look back on the most wonderful, cutting-edge games of this year and realize that, in comparison, they suck too.
Before you track me down and avenge Princess Zelda's honor, let me explain. Video gaming as a hobby, or sport, or pastime, is dependent on technology in a way other activities are not. For example, swimming is always going to be swimming. You either enjoy it or you don't. Better swimming trunks aren't going to change the experience. Golf is golf. While some variables may change depending on the kind of clubs you use and that sort of thing, the fundamental game remains the same. Not so with video games.
Take, for example, the first-person shooter. The genre could not have existed at all prior to adequate hardware; that is, the NES wasn't capable of smoothly displaying the illusion of three dimensions or a changing point of view, nor could it support the range of control that would be needed to make even the most rudimentary FPS. That's not to say that there weren't NES games that were very fun at the time, nor is it to say that there aren't NES games that are still fun to play now. The point is that there are no games that would be less enjoyable if they had better graphics, richer sound and more accurate controls. Old games that are still fun are fun despite, not as a result of, lacking current technology.
Still not convinced? Here's a test. Find a kid. Any kid under, say, 12 should do just fine. Plop him or her down in front of a Wii. Give said child a choice between the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy. Dollars to donuts, Galaxy will win every time.
So I must hate the Virtual Console, right? Wrong. Look, I'm not the kind of person who drinks Pabst to be ironic. I spend money on video games because I expect to have fun playing them. But there is something to be said for being able to fire up The Legend of Zelda and relive a little bit of my youth. It's worth a few bucks to be able to pick up a case of beer and invite a few friends over for a couple hours of Street Fighter II. Sometimes it's nice to go back in time and relive what the gaming world was.
If you weren't in the market for a Wii, the Virtual Console shouldn't change your mind. It's really not worth $200 to be able to play the original Metroid, and the Wii's comically small amount of storage prevents it from acting as some sort of classic gaming center, at least not without a great deal of SD card shuffling. On the other hand, if you have a Wii already the Virtual Console is there in the background anyway. Why not use it to finally play that game your parents never bought you? Look at it this way, at the most you'll be out $20 and you'll have a newfound appreciation for how far gaming has come.
I agree with you, but i'm not sure you should be snatching 12-year olds off the street, even if it is ostensibly for "research" purposes. And I drink Pabst because it's cheap.
ReplyDeleteWell, ideally you're either related to a 12-year-old or near some sort of child rental facility in a third-world country. I in no way advocate the abduction of children, even for science or video games.
ReplyDelete