Are you in it just for the CD ROM games?

[Otaking]

If you didn't include Dracula X & Winds of Thunder I would say I prefer HuCards over CDs.

[Tatsujin]

Lol, and what does gate of thunder?

[vestcoat]

In recent years I've started hearing people say that they can't bring themselves to play 8-bit games - stuff like youtube reviewers saying "who even plays this crap anymore!"

Is this a trend?  Is the title of this thread a reflection of that mentality?  Hucards have a little more of an 8-bit vibe than CDs.

[thesteve]

i have always played the hu cards.
only recently got cd hardware, so most of my games are card.

[TheClash603]

Air Zonk > Super Air Zonk

Must play both!

[Gao]

In recent years I've started hearing people say that they can't bring themselves to play 8-bit games - stuff like youtube reviewers saying "who even plays this crap anymore!"

Is this a trend?  Is the title of this thread a reflection of that mentality?  Hucards have a little more of an 8-bit vibe than CDs.

It could simply be due to a new generation of retrogamers coming onto the scene.  People tend to focus on the sorts of games that they grew up with, so the retro scene is moving away from NES era stuff just like it moved away from Atari 2600 era stuff over this last decade.

Unless you mean that it's the exact same guys who used to obsess over 8-bit stuff all of the sudden hating it.  Then I don't know what the f*ck.

[spenoza]

I kinda still wonder why a number of Hucards weren't re-released later on SuperCD or ACD, "Best Collection"-style...

Human Sports Festival

Maybe they should have updated it to Robot Sports Festival, or Dinosaur Sports Festival.

[geise]

There are so many good HuCard games that get overlooked.  I have always been in it for both.  One reason is I started with HuCards on my TG-16 before the CD addon was even out.  So, I already thought the HuCard games were awesome.  Even after buying the CD addon I still would always come back to the HuCard games. 

[Lilgrafx]

In recent years I've started hearing people say that they can't bring themselves to play 8-bit games - stuff like youtube reviewers saying "who even plays this crap anymore!"

Is this a trend?  Is the title of this thread a reflection of that mentality?  Hucards have a little more of an 8-bit vibe than CDs.

It could simply be due to a new generation of retrogamers coming onto the scene.  People tend to focus on the sorts of games that they grew up with, so the retro scene is moving away from NES era stuff just like it moved away from Atari 2600 era stuff over this last decade.

Unless you mean that it's the exact same guys who used to obsess over 8-bit stuff all of the sudden hating it.  Then I don't know what the f*ck.

Maybe I'm just an Isolated incident but I'm 15 and My two favorite consoles are the Sega Master System  and the Turbo. I don't think the NES, SMS, or Turbo will be abandoned like the 2600 because we have things like the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox Live arcade to spark younger gamers interest in Classic games. Another thing NES era consoles have going for them is an abundance of good games. Once you play Space invaders, Adventure, and Pitfall does the 2600 have too many games worth playing?   

[Gao]

In recent years I've started hearing people say that they can't bring themselves to play 8-bit games - stuff like youtube reviewers saying "who even plays this crap anymore!"

Is this a trend?  Is the title of this thread a reflection of that mentality?  Hucards have a little more of an 8-bit vibe than CDs.

It could simply be due to a new generation of retrogamers coming onto the scene.  People tend to focus on the sorts of games that they grew up with, so the retro scene is moving away from NES era stuff just like it moved away from Atari 2600 era stuff over this last decade.

Unless you mean that it's the exact same guys who used to obsess over 8-bit stuff all of the sudden hating it.  Then I don't know what the f*ck.

Maybe I'm just an Isolated incident but I'm 15 and My two favorite consoles are the Sega Master System  and the Turbo. I don't think the NES, SMS, or Turbo will be abandoned like the 2600 because we have things like the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox Live arcade to spark younger gamers interest in Classic games. Another thing NES era consoles have going for them is an abundance of good games. Once you play Space invaders, Adventure, and Pitfall does the 2600 have too many games worth playing?   

Good point about Virtual Console.  That probably will keep the NES and the like from fading as much.  However, a shift is definitely happening.  10 years ago, you really didn't see that many collectors of things like the SNES, but now it's become one of the most popular systems to collect for, and we're already seeing more and more N64 collectors out there.  The most popular areas in retrogaming will probably always be whatever the current 20-30 year olds grew up with, since they are the ones who now have the disposable income to acquire all the games they want, often don't have their time sucked up by children yet, and haven't yet gotten all the games they want for the consoled they're interested in.

As for the 2600, while the majority of the library is indeed crap (like most dominant consoles), there are in fact plenty of great games, as long as you don't mind the sorts of things they made in that era.  Off the top of my head, there's Combat,  Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Asteroids, Solaris (which is worth trying just to see what they managed to pull off with the hardware), River Raid, Stargate, Cosmic Ark, Yar's Revenge, and Pitfall 2.  There's a reason why it was the dominant console for so long.

[Sleepy Gnome]

i still havent picked up a CD player so right now I am in it for the HU's. Its good to have an narrow focus in the beginings of my collection I think. I am waiting on an extension to be built to my house and then I should have room to fit in a little TG space so I can have it all there and sit and play them.

[thrush]

Maybe I'm just an Isolated incident but I'm 15 and My two favorite consoles are the Sega Master System  and the Turbo.

Hearing that makes me really happy!  When I was 15 all my favourite movies were black & white; my friends all thought I was nuts, but I think there is something to be said for appreciating the classics.  I'm glad I wasn't the only teen who could see the value in older media like that.  ^__^

The most popular areas in retrogaming will probably always be whatever the current 20-30 year olds grew up with, since they are the ones who now have the disposable income to acquire all the games they want, often don't have their time sucked up by children yet, and haven't yet gotten all the games they want for the consoled they're interested in.

As for the 2600, while the majority of the library is indeed crap (like most dominant consoles), there are in fact plenty of great games, as long as you don't mind the sorts of things they made in that era.  Off the top of my head, there's Combat,  Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Asteroids, Solaris (which is worth trying just to see what they managed to pull off with the hardware), River Raid, Stargate, Cosmic Ark, Yar's Revenge, and Pitfall 2.  There's a reason why it was the dominant console for so long.

Agreed on both points.  Although I became more of a NES fan in later years my first console was a 2600 and I recall really enjoying it.  I also think that a few games like Pitfall 2 and Ms. Pac-Man (my preferred Pac rendition), taken for what they are, still stand up today.

[vestcoat]

Good point about Virtual Console.  That probably will keep the NES and the like from fading as much.  However, a shift is definitely happening.  10 years ago, you really didn't see that many collectors of things like the SNES, but now it's become one of the most popular systems to collect for, and we're already seeing more and more N64 collectors out there.  The most popular areas in retrogaming will probably always be whatever the current 20-30 year olds grew up with, since they are the ones who now have the disposable income to acquire all the games they want, often don't have their time sucked up by children yet, and haven't yet gotten all the games they want for the consoled they're interested in.

I disagree.  The Virtual Console was a reactionary development to curb piracy because interest in the NES wasn't fading.  Youtube, AVGN, and the ease with which modern systems can be hacked to run emulators probably played a greater role than in the retro craze.  While all consoles will experience a second wind as children grow into their twenties, the 8- and 16-bit generations will endure.  Maybe the short-attention-span crowd will fall off, but there's an attraction to a time when the market was dominated by companies that specialized in video games instead of computer and media giants, publishers took risks, games didn't have budgets the size of Summer movies, and a little imagination on the part of the player was helpful.

[thrush]

there's an attraction to a time when the market was dominated by companies that specialized in video games instead of computer and media giants, publishers took risks, games didn't have budgets the size of Summer movies, and a little imagination on the part of the player was helpful.

I really, really agree with this.



I also want to add, though, that while I agree that the Virtual Console was totally a reactionary development I believe that it has served to expose some younger gamers to older games.  At least, I know one teen gamer who has played and enjoyed games that came out for the virtual console that she never would have played if she'd had to expend effort, i.e. download an emulator or buy a used system on line.  Youtube et. al. may have played a greater role for many, but I think for some the VC was in the right place at the right time....

[Gao]

I disagree.  The Virtual Console was a reactionary development to curb piracy because interest in the NES wasn't fading.  Youtube, AVGN, and the ease with which modern systems can be hacked to run emulators probably played a greater role than in the retro craze.

You're probably right about AVGN and Youtube helping, though I'm not sure if console hacking really did much given how much easier it already was to just emulate on a PC.  As for the Virtual Console, it's creation was indeed reactionary, but I agree with Thrush that it still helped bring people into retrogaming.

  While all consoles will experience a second wind as children grow into their twenties, the 8- and 16-bit generations will endure.  Maybe the short-attention-span crowd will fall off, but there's an attraction to a time when the market was dominated by companies that specialized in video games instead of computer and media giants, publishers took risks, games didn't have budgets the size of Summer movies, and a little imagination on the part of the player was helpful.

Honestly, you could make a similar case just about any era you want, from the Atari days ("those games were all about skill, not about graphics, story, or 'beating' it"), to the 32 bit era ("there will always be appeal for those games that finally had the freedom of three dimensions, but weren't yet bogged down by giant budgets or established ideas of how a 3d game should work"), to the modern days ("with games like Portal, Infamous, and Uncharted 2, we finally had games were story and gameplay were integrated in such a way that each element enhanced the other to create an experience that you truly couldn't have in any other medium, and there will always be appeal for that").

Don't get me wrong, I love 8 and 16 bit stuff, and I probably play more from that era than anything else, but every generation has its strengths and weaknesses, and which strengths and weaknesses appeal to the public at large varies over time.  I really don't know how to tell how long these particular generations will remain popular aside from just waiting it out to see what happens.