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Videogame Nostalgia Isn't What It Used To be

Posted by simoniker on from the when-everything-was-black-and-white dept.

Thanks to GameSpy for its 'Pixel' column discussing the dangers in letting videogame nostalgia run unchecked, as the author explains: "Number one: Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's particularly good. And number two, loosely based on Sturgeon's Law: 90% of all video games ever made are either mediocre or crap." He gives an example: "Case in point: A little PlayStation game called Gunners Heaven. It was a very early Japanese release by Sony... [and] the American import magazines covered it a bit and described it as a Gunstar Heroes clone", but the game, once acquired, "was thoroughly mediocre", showing "the dangers of unchecked nostalgic anticipation."

5 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. True, true... by ersgameboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a big retro-gamer, but I agree. I love the NES and most of the other systems from that time period, but I admit that many of the games that were made then are for historitcal interest only. (Deadly Towers, anyone?)


    However, I still think retro-gaming is important for the industry. Older games, like old movies, should be respected, studied and preserved for future generations.

  2. Lemmy get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    One guy gets hyped up about some old Japaneese game he'd never even played before, solely based on the fact that people - including paid reviewers which are probably the worst source of info on the planet - compared it to a similar game he enjoyed. A couple years later, he buys it, finds out its crap... and suddenly nostalgia is a danger to everyone.

    Excuse me while I go hit my head against a wall for an hour.

    1. Re:Lemmy get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Man, I remember when I was a kid, I used to hit my head against the wall all the time, it was so much fun.

      When I read your post I wanted to try it again, so I banged my head against the cinderblocks and hurt myself.

      I tell you, nostalgia can be a dangerous thing!

  3. Damned wipper snappers by Asicath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Holy case of RTFA batman. The reveiwer is compaining about some japanese game that he had never played. This is a case of over-hype, not nostalgia. For Nostalgia distortion to take place, you must have had at least played the damn game once. And for the record a game that was made for the the playstation cannot inspire nostalgia yet. Now Contra, there was a game, they just dont make em like they used to.

  4. If it's broke but generating adviews, don't fix it by BollocksToThis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This article is about the level of uselessness I've come to expect from a Gamespy article.

    Claiming that nostalgia is somehow to blame for lame knockoffs is as retarded as claiming Richard Simmons is responsible for bombing Iraq (well, maybe he is, that PRICK).

    The "90% of everything is crap" rule certainly applies to old games, but we didn't waste our childhoods on the crap games, so we don't get nostalgic about them.

    --
    This sig is part of your complete breakfast.