While browsing through this forum, I remember reading a post from a user that asked the question ""Why would you want to play the older games for?""  Now these weren't the exact words, because I'm sure it was basically a graphic whoring related question, which made me want to block it out of mind.

However for a while I did think about it.  A lot.  Why do I collect and play older games/systems?  Why do I still put down money on steam to get my friends more older games than the newer stuff?  Is it nostalgia?  Or is something else in the works here?

Short answer.

Content, older games have way more content, more game play and require less loading times, less cinematic, pick up and play controls.  There also tend to be more enjoyable because of this.  Games today have become more complicated and too much effort goes into cinematic or graphics than actual game play content.  People wouldn't be buying or talking about these older games or demanding them to be downloadable on there current systems which shows a testament to there simplistic design still reigns supreme well over two decades.  Most games today you can't even bother finishing.

Long Answer.


I went back and played one of my favorite games and compared it to its sequal.  Based on enjoyment alone was all that I was basing this test on.

Vgchartz- ""Let me guess, its going to be Sonic, or Mario or ...Waku Waku 7 some nippon shit...""

Grand Theft Auto San Andres.

*Collective gasps*

Vgchartz- ""But but but GTA 4 has better graphics!""

I don't care.  Yes the graphics of GTA 4 engine is probably the best you can get out of a video game easily.  Great physics engine, Excellent lighting engine, well synched cut scenes, incredible car destruction.

But San Andres is simply a more enjoyable game.  Huge over world, the amount of vehicles you can use is staggering, RPG like customization of your character, territory control, excellent soundtrack, tons of weapons, great variety in missions.  Overall a much more enjoyable experience.

The difference?  San Andres I want to go back and play, which I did SEVEN YEARS LATER.  GTA 4 and its expansions I have no further interest in or will play at all.  After you get over the wow factor of graphics you relies you bought a game with much less content vs one that's available now for much less money.

Older games should you still be playing them?  Hell yes, that's like saying you shouldn't watch older films because they are old, or listening to older music because its old. Just because its old doesn't mean its bad at all.  Most spirits and wine are appreciated that there old so why not here?  We always demand new all the time instead of looking at something that already works.   

Your also robbing yourself of an experience that may never be redone again due to the changes of technology and development.  Isn't that what gaming should be about?  Preserving the greats so more can enjoy them instead of turning this hobby into a throw away when done habit?  

i always saw it as a taste type thing. you like the older GTA over the new one. great. you like older games in general more than the newer ones. great. but some people just dont. i have a friend who hates the very idea of playing older games over newer ones. he doesnt understand what people see in these "primitive" games. it is justr a taste thing. some people like the older games, but others far prefer the newer ones.

I personally like them both equally. i love new and old games alike. i would likle it if more people tried the older stuff, but if they dont want to, than whatever. their loss i suppose

Yeah because thinking San Andreas tops GTA4 is such a controversial opinion around here.

Anyway.

I like playing old games - and often - but I'd rather stick my finger up the ass of a wildebeest than have someone tell me what I should play, or why I should play.

If you are going back to San Andreas, you might as well go for the best in the series. I am speaking of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

As for me, buying older consoles is like buying antiques. Their main selling point is their oldness and they are overpriced because of it. Sure there is content there, but at the price ebay and others are asking do you want to pay more to play it now than it was priced the first day it was released?

For example, mint conditions of Earthbound regularly Ebay in the $400 plus range. I first bought and played Earthbound in 1995 for $70. Take into account inflation and I recommend ZSNES and a google of "coolroms" to get the experience at no cost.

Sure this can be considered "pirating," but not really. Nintendo and Sony no longer support nor do they make a bottom line off of content from the early 2000s and 1990s. Sure they care about the copyrights and creative control, but they could care less so long as you are not using it for commercial use.

Henceforth, I rid myself and I recommend you do to of any guilt associated with emulators and roms :)

"Content, older games have way more content"

But that's very false. If anything, they have a lot less content (By the way I don't consider last gen as being old).

And the gameplay isn't any better than it is now.

I agree though that many older games are just fun to play every now and then because of their simple controls.

Graphics can be a real turn off and that's very normal for one to feel this way. The human is attracted to pretty things that's a known fact so there's really no shame to admit that you can't play a game anymore because of its graphics. A great art style can give a game more years of freshness but it can only last so long.

Its true, final fantasy VIII looks like dick on my HDTV

Sounds like something James Rolfe would say.

Who would play old games? I mean, what do games like Chrono Trigger, DKC, OoT, Sonic, and others offer us other than endless amounts of fun? Graphics are better now, so we should ignore  the past games despite them having arguably, better gameplay.

IMO this gen is pretty boring, plenty of same old shit with pretty graphics. Of course there are gems but not a fraction of what last gen had to offer. Of course there is plenty of gen to go, but I find myself playing a lot more Gamecube than I do anything else. I also should be playing a lot more PS2.

You are out of your mind! This gen rips other gens in half!