When I first started playing games you had a set number of lives to achieve your goal, and if you lost.. you had to play the entire game all over again.

There was the occasional game that had a save system but mostly RPGs that were nearly impossible to play in one sitting...

the ones that weren't more often then not have overly complex passwords that were a pain.

I mean has anyone tried to continue a game of River City Ransom?  It's password is like a paragraph long!

Videogames now are an eventuality.  You WILL beat the game.  There is no doubt about it.  It's a matter of time... and it's pretty easy.

Yeah.

I didn't like this design philosophy very much. It belonged in the arcades, where difficulty was really just a way to eat more money. Back when it actually made some modicum of sense.

Eventuality is a nice thing.

I totally agree with you. I loved to showoff in front of my friends at the time (now, they don't really care because they mostly play MMORPGs/RPGs and FPSs...)! Luckily, Gradius, Mega Man and Contra still exist. Thank you Konami and Capcom!

Achievements/Trophies are quite nice though. Some of them are actually quite hard to get.

Yeah, i used to think the same thing... but i kinda miss games being hard.  I don't know.  Even with the "infinite lives" I find i just die way less.

When i'd expect the converse to be true.

I think too many people would have a fit if they couldn't beat a game.

I think the expectation of "Infinite lives" have also lead to the expectations of just easier games.

Your right. Things have changed.
But thats probably because the targetted age has changed as well. Many games are aimed at 9, 10 year olds: they don't like the start the whole thing over, so they make it easier to win so the age group will come back for more.

Kasz: http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=868 Try this on for size, if you can find it. Play it on Hard. It will make you hurt.

dsoverpsp: That's silly. Children have been the primary gaming audience since the mid-eighties. All the hardest games were beaten by kids.

I remember having a hard time in Roger Rabbit on NES for some odd reason, Friday the 13th on NES, Iron Sword: Weapons and Warriors 2 and Legacy of the Wizard.

I don't think I even beat any of those games. I would always lose my passwords.

Hell NO!
Im not one to have fun by beating the last 3 levels all over again because I didnt reach a save point. I like a challenge sure. I think the most challenging thing in a video game should be the bosses.

But when a game demands you do everything little thing right. Fuck that. Its not fun its a chore. I dont feel satisfaction after beating a game that made me frustrated the whole play through I still feel frustrated and pissed that I wasted my time on it.

^ Last time I felt that way was in FFX while doing the damn chocobo portion where my reward was an item required to make Tidus ultimate weapon. I literally tried pulling my hair out because I was getting so pissed off.

As a kid, I used to enjoy beating games that GLaDOS would say were impossible. Now, I can probably die playing Super Mario Bros. 1. My powers have diminished like Obi Wan Kenobi in Episode IV!! What I do recall though is that a lot of those classic games that were so long and hard could be beaten in 2-6 hours once you master them. Some of them (like Battle Toads) are much much shorter than that.