This is a shit time to be into retro games...

[Otaking]

Something I find difficult to understand is this strange discrepancy in retro game popularity where over the last 3 years collecting physical games and consoles in retro games has gone up ten fold but discussion has almost disappeared, to me it just doesn't make any sense??
The 10 or so retro games forums I used to read 3 years back are now practically dead, look at Digi Press nobody is on there that used be so busy. My thoughts were that everyone had just migrated from forums to Facebooks groups (I hate retro game Facebook groups), but I had a look recently and they're not even that busy comparatively.
Plus also retro games Youtube videos seems to be completey drying up, there is fraction of the content being made these days compared to 3 years back.

So the current situation is everyone wants to hoard huge collections 10 times more than ever before, but nobody wants to discuss retro gaming, this is a shit time to be into retro games.

[bob]

i think its good.  90% of the stuff on youtube or forums is pointless and and a waste of time.
most of them shouldnt be trying to have a voice in the first place.  its too bad that online platforms are so easily accesssible. maybe people are starting to realize nobody cares that they found a blazing lazers box someplace and dont bother posting it anywhere.  also, so many non-video gamers are just buying the shit 'cuz they think its the cool new trend.  and every copy of NES baseball will be worth hundreds at some point.  better hold on to that one.

[Zero_Gamer]

Something I find difficult to understand is this strange discrepancy in retro game popularity where over the last 3 years collecting physical games and consoles in retro games has gone up ten fold but discussion has almost disappeared, to me it just doesn't make any sense??
The 10 or so retro games forums I used to read 3 years back are now practically dead, look at Digi Press nobody is on there that used be so busy. My thoughts were that everyone had just migrated from forums to Facebooks groups (I hate retro game Facebook groups), but I had a look recently and they're not even that busy comparatively.
Plus also retro games Youtube videos seems to be completey drying up, there is fraction of the content being made these days compared to 3 years back.

So the current situation is everyone wants to hoard huge collections 10 times more than ever before, but nobody wants to discuss retro gaming, this is a shit time to be into retro games.

Goverrat conspiracy theorist.

[Otaking]

Something I find difficult to understand is this strange discrepancy in retro game popularity where over the last 3 years collecting physical games and consoles in retro games has gone up ten fold but discussion has almost disappeared, to me it just doesn't make any sense??
The 10 or so retro games forums I used to read 3 years back are now practically dead, look at Digi Press nobody is on there that used be so busy. My thoughts were that everyone had just migrated from forums to Facebooks groups (I hate retro game Facebook groups), but I had a look recently and they're not even that busy comparatively.
Plus also retro games Youtube videos seems to be completey drying up, there is fraction of the content being made these days compared to 3 years back.

So the current situation is everyone wants to hoard huge collections 10 times more than ever before, but nobody wants to discuss retro gaming, this is a shit time to be into retro games.

Goverrat conspiracy theorist.

I suspect we've been infiltrated by retro game hoarding aliens that you can only see with special sun glasses.

[esteban]

I know this topic is a veritable "dead horse" ... but I stopped buying stuff over a decade ago... I only buy a few things a year now, and everything I buy is "modest" by today's standards.

So, I felt that prices on some things (like Sylphia) were too high a long time ago and realized that I would not be able to actually own as many items as I had originally planned.



In a way, this might have been a good thing for me... it forced me to play all the stuff I already owned. Similar cycles (of poverty) have forced me to listen to all my "old music" or spend more time listening to "free music" (freeform radio stations in NJ).

I recently cut out cable TV subscription and.... I didn't even notice it. Nobody in my house (except my wife) watched cable TV (obviously, we are not into sports, ha!)

So... it all works out, if you follow in Buddha's footsteps.

I still am frustrated about the state of things... and the trend will only worsen... but once I figure out how to use EverDrives I will be happy

[EvilEvoIX]

I hate the people on the Facebook Group who post shit like.....

".....Hey, I found a High Definition Graphics Sega Genesis, I hear it is the best kind and quite rare!  How much can I get for it?"

   People are constantly taking common shit and trying to flip it for mega bucks.  The NES retro classic is a huge example of this.  Crazy.

[Bloufo]

I recently cut out cable TV subscription and.... I didn't even notice it. Nobody in my house (except my wife) watched cable TV (obviously, we are not into sports, ha!)

We cut that shit out years ago. Our version of cable is called DSTV.
We got tired of the endless repeats and advertisements. I miss the Rugby and Cricket a little bit, but not enough to sign back on.

I still am frustrated about the state of things... and the trend will only worsen... but once I figure out how to use EverDrives I will be happy

Whether an enforced choice or voluntary, I feel this is the way to go. I'm told it's also very "liberating".

[bob]

I recently cut out cable TV subscription and.... I didn't even notice it. Nobody in my house (except my wife) watched cable TV (obviously, we are not into sports, ha!)

We cut that shit out years ago. Our version of cable is called DSTV.
We got tired of the endless repeats and advertisements. I miss the Rugby and Cricket a little bit, but not enough to sign back on.

I still am frustrated about the state of things... and the trend will only worsen... but once I figure out how to use EverDrives I will be happy

Whether an enforced choice or voluntary, I feel this is the way to go. I'm told it's also very "liberating".

i played cricket for the first time last week.  it was a fun time.  its funny how ingrained i am in baseball.

[geise]

I know this topic is a veritable "dead horse" ... but I stopped buying stuff over a decade ago... I only buy a few things a year now, and everything I buy is "modest" by today's standards.

So, I felt that prices on some things (like Sylphia) were too high a long time ago and realized that I would not be able to actually own as many items as I had originally planned.



In a way, this might have been a good thing for me... it forced me to play all the stuff I already owned. Similar cycles (of poverty) have forced me to listen to all my "old music" or spend more time listening to "free music" (freeform radio stations in NJ).

I recently cut out cable TV subscription and.... I didn't even notice it. Nobody in my house (except my wife) watched cable TV (obviously, we are not into sports, ha!)

So... it all works out, if you follow in Buddha's footsteps.

I still am frustrated about the state of things... and the trend will only worsen... but once I figure out how to use EverDrives I will be happy

I 1,000,000,000% agree with all of this.  It is like when you were a kid and you had that one game to appreciate all year till your next birthday no matter how good or bad it is.

[BlueBMW]

In my opinion this hobby really has gone downhill and is dying.  I'm basically done with it and I know many other old timers that are the same way.  It was fun in my 20s, but now in my 30s I want to do other things.  People don't seem to play much of anything anymore.  The goal now is to buy something rare, post on facebook, watch e-penis grow, rinse and repeat.  When people stop paying attention to you, switch over to another system.  Sell everything for max profit and go again. 

I'm in the process of significantly reducing how much stuff I have.  A quick count of the stuff I plan to keep puts me under 300 games total.  Still a lot, but far more manageable than before.  I'm tired of moving stuff.  I let my PVM go to a friend.  All I have left is a little 20" toshiba and a framemeister.  Everdrives let me play anything I let go of that I just have to play and emulators fill in the rest.

Its sad, but if we look back, we had a fun run over the last decade or two.  The late 90s through the 2000s were a great time to be into retrogaming.  Since 2010 though its been in an increasing decline.  Id say by 2020 it may not matter anymore.  I may be around then, but it wont be buying / selling / modding or anything like that anymore.

[Bloufo]

i played cricket for the first time last week.  it was a fun time.  its funny how ingrained i am in baseball.

I made SA schools in cricket many moons ago. I was wicketkeeper/batsman. I batted at no.6.
It was a choice between that or Rugby. I decided early on that I kinda valued my physical well being. So I took the "safer" choice. :p

[crazydean]

I think it will come full circle eventually. At some point, prices will go way down. The big question is how long it will take before that happens.

[SamIAm]

For years, I've had a mantra that I repeat anytime I go into a game store or look at online auctions: no shelf decorations. If I can play it via Everdrive or CD-R, that's enough, and anything else has to be something I have a concrete plan to use.

As I look at all of the crap in my game room - ugly metal racks with CRTs and systems, piles of controllers and a jungle of cables - I sometimes think about all of the time, money, and effort that's been sunk into just getting things set up and not even playing itself, and it all seems so stupid.

If emulation can ever get over its input lag troubles, I would be happy to get a Raspberry Pi, plug in a Saturn USB controller, and get rid of everything else. I'd have to be some kind of poser not to be able to enjoy that.

Yes, I do wonder if my pursuit of more/better equipment shows that I've lost my passion for actual playing and am only trying to fill the hole. However, I'm pretty sure that I still love the games.

Finally, even though forums have a lot of BS, there are sometimes real discussions of memories, history, and of course the games themselves that make it all worth coming.

Whenever the Xanadus get done, I really hope they give all of you a taste of that pure old gaming again, and I really hope we can have some great discussions about them here.

[johnnykonami]

It's tough these days, I regret not picking up a lot of stuff while it was cheap.  I remember NES stuff going for dirt cheap at Funcoland back in the day, and I only picked up a few things.  I buy everything with the intent of playing it - so only the games I'm really interested in, no complete collections or anything like that.  Life gets in the way of playing games and there are thousands of video games now so I don't sweat my backlog.  I'll never be able to play everything.  I do tend to prefer pick up and play titles vs. anything like a lengthy RPG to compensate.   I will keep trying to get the stuff I'm interested in, and if I can't get it, no biggie.

[BigusSchmuck]

Honestly, at least for me real life seems to get in the way more than anything. Now that I'm in my mid thirties (god I'm old) work, house, wife, etc seems to take a more of a priority than getting more games to play. Yeah every once in a while, if I see something I really want I'll get it, but god damn I literally have hundreds of other titles to play through first! lol I truly think some things will go down in price (like common shit), but the truly rare and unique items will continue to hold their value. What I really look forward to nowadays is homebrewn stuff (like Henshin Engine) and fan translations (too many to list). Its a shame I didn't get more of what I wanted when rental places like Blockbuster and the few local rental stores went under, but at the time I didn't have the income to buy up all their stock. Live and learn.