Gamers and the "old Days" - How Much of It is True?

[Ventus]

Mercedes made a really off-topic post that's pretty interesting to me:

Remember the days when gamers respected what games other player's liked? When gamers could tell the difference between a bad game and a game they just don't really like? And when we didn't just complain about everything?

Miss those days...

While I personally disagree with the idea, how much respect did you personally come into contact with back in the old days, assuming you played games and/or paid attention to the communities that existed back then?

 

[surferguy7]

The internet is now a thing.

People weren't nicer, they just didn't have a medium through which they could vent their rage to millions of other gamers. Not to mention nostalgia is now kicking in for people who ridicule newer entries in some series even though they haven't played them. (*cough* Pokemon *cough*)

 

[Salem]

The internet is now a thing.

People weren't nicer, they just didn't have a medium through which they could vent their rage to millions of other gamers. Not to mention nostalgia is now kicking in for people who ridicule newer entries in some series even though they haven't played them. (*cough* Pokemon *cough*)

Yeah, the only thing we had back then was magazines and school yards.

 

[Moonstone]

I somewhat agree with Mercedes. There were very few big games back in my childhood (Crash Bandicoot, Banjo Kazooie, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Mario, Sonic, Pokemon, etc.) and each had huge followings, and, most gamers, liked a bunch of them.

However, there were always people who hated on others' game choice. There were just fewer choices and, therefore, fewer chances to hate on certain games.

 

[Curmudgeon]

It's a wishful memory just like any other "good old days" story. By 1989, the console wars were in full swing, and it was ugly. [crotchety old man]I remember because I was there[/crotchety old man]

 

[DarkestLink]

I'm not going to say games were better back in the old days...because my Top 3 games all come from the 7th generation. However, we had MORE good games back then...and we had much less...well...cheap excuses to get money. Less sell outs. And overall our respect towards the developers has diminished because of this. This pay 2 win crap, cheap use of DLC...and when people defend it, I guess it really riles us up or something. The war's also bigger than before. Before it was Nintendo vs Sony. Before that, it was Nintendo vs Sega. The "war" definitely seemed more tame and respectful than they do now. They were more heavily founded on logic with each side having a legitimate viewpoint.

Now we have crappy wars with people raging over cheap money making tactics and others making comments like "Nintendo is 4 kids and it sux.", etc.

 

[Ventus]

The "war" definitely seemed more tame and respectful than they do now. They were more heavily founded on logic with each side having a legitimate viewpoint.

While I won't say they were anymore respectful, I have to say that they were definitely more tame and had more logic. SEGA vs Nintendo, for example, dealt with features of the games as well as hardware. They also dealt with price points. There's a commercial that I want to link to but don't hav ethe vid explaining this. I lied, here it is

[video=youtube;mK0OFsWWzu4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK0OFsWWzu4[/video]

See they're still jabbing at each other - it isn't really respectful - but their point of views are actually legitimate. "A whole lot more for less" indeed. Nowadays you have people defending BS money-making tactics and BS games all under the "omg we respected each other back then" guise. Well first of all, we never really respected each other (as kids we definitely played whatever system was available, but people in the real world did not repsect each other), and second of all I don't recall being satisified with crap for games. :I

 

[Mercedes]

Oh how I hark back to the glory days of the old PCG forums...

Back then, we were happy with what we got. And we were too busy playing games to sit on internet forums and do nothing but complain and argue about who did this, what happened here, this game, this console, this feature, this thing. But, that's just the world we live in, now. People have changed. This dynamic has changed considerably and it's such a shame, too. The gaming community, at large, is just different now. And it's a sad sad sad state of affairs. We used to be able to concede that a game was good even though we didn't like it. I don't like Call of Duty really, but it's a great game. It's got tight, refined shooter controls, fast-paced action, solid mechanics and a lot of content to offer, and people love it. Who am I to say what they love is ****? And why would I ever be so rude or disrespectful about it, too?

It was never perfect. There was always people who would be disrespectful and rude but, we used to laugh at them. They'd say Mario is for little children, Baldur's Gate is for nerds, and so on. I can remember the few people on PCG who were like that. We'd laugh. We'd tell them to get a life. And now look at what 'core' gamers do. They've become what was once the minority of the gaming community we all hated. The last few months I've been on forums again has seen me just wash my hands with numerous threads because of how people behave. How they talk, arguments. Used to be such a rare occurrence but now, it's common for threads to turn into that, everywhere. I frequent few forums these days. Even GAF.

Nothing'll ever change. But, it is a shame.

 

[misskitten]

I didn't really discuss the "good" and "bad" of games in the "old days" I just played the ones I enjoyed and didn't play the ones I didn't enjoy. I would play with friends or play alone, swap games with friends... there weren't really much conflict in terms of games in my experience back in the day.

 

[Curmudgeon]

While I won't say they were anymore respectful, I have to say that they were definitely more tame

I had two friends get into a fist fight over peripherals once. The lunch table arguing was every bit as childish and rude as you'll find anywhere on the internet. There just wasn't the volume due to notable absence of the internet. If you wanted to make fun of your friend for playing game X or console Y, you had to call them on the phone. You didn't see as much blatant slamming of products in adverting because it would have been considered rather uncouth by ad execs who were products of the previous generation that still followed the old rules (apart from political ads, which have always been borderline slander).

As an aside to your insightful point regarding facts and data (or at least items that were presented as such) in commercials, the video is indicative of the general evolution of advertising. Brands that target the 18-35 demographic these days are largely geared towards entertaining the viewer (Old Spice is a good example of this) rather than educating the potential consumer about the product. This wasn't always the case (as seen by the SEGA commercial)

Well first of all, we never really respected each other (as kids we definitely played whatever system was available

This was really the heart of the console wars. If someone had two consoles in the same generation, they were rich. The fierce brand loyalty was tied to the fact that most people had to choose sides. Making fun of the other option was essentially a personal attack.

 

[ILU]

I don't know. "Old days" for me is different from "old days" for others. Nostalgia goggles suck a lot of the time, but a lot of complaints about newer games and newer gamers are legit complaints. I don't think gamers in the 80's or 90's were any more respectful of fellow gamers than they are now. The difference is that, back then, the internet wasn't a thing, so gamers were probably more careful about their opinions because IRL trolling would get you a punch in the face. Now, the internet is a thing and people are less sensitive with their opinions.

Or I could be completely wrong. I dunno. Like I said, age differences make the "old days" different for everyone, so I can't really say I know what the person in the OP's quote is talking about.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Oh how I hark back to the glory days of the old PCG forums...

Back then, we were happy with what we got. And we were too busy playing games to sit on internet forums and do nothing but complain and argue about who did this, what happened here, this game, this console, this feature, this thing. But, that's just the world we live in, now. People have changed. This dynamic has changed considerably and it's such a shame, too. The gaming community, at large, is just different now. And it's a sad sad sad state of affairs. We used to be able to concede that a game was good even though we didn't like it. I don't like Call of Duty really, but it's a great game. It's got tight, refined shooter controls, fast-paced action, solid mechanics and a lot of content to offer, and people love it. Who am I to say what they love is ****? And why would I ever be so rude or disrespectful about it, too?

It was never perfect. There was always people who would be disrespectful and rude but, we used to laugh at them. They'd say Mario is for little children, Baldur's Gate is for nerds, and so on. I can remember the few people on PCG who were like that. We'd laugh. We'd tell them to get a life. And now look at what 'core' gamers do. They've become what was once the minority of the gaming community we all hated. The last few months I've been on forums again has seen me just wash my hands with numerous threads because of how people behave. How they talk, arguments. Used to be such a rare occurrence but now, it's common for threads to turn into that, everywhere. I frequent few forums these days. Even GAF.

Nothing'll ever change. But, it is a shame.

Most people can concede a game is good even if they don't like it. Its just raggers and trolls appear more common then they really are, because they are every where.

I can concede games like Tekken, Stree Fighter, and Soul Caliber and the like are good games, even if I don't enjoy playing them too much. Sorry Mr Dan, I'm just not big into fighting games.

But on topic of the good ol days?
Well if you mean the way games were designed, there has defiantly been changes, and not all of them for the better.

If you mean how we acted about games, I've always been critical of games I played, pretty much as soon as I was old enough to read and write. I could tell there were games I liked and ones I didn't, but I also thought about why I didn't like it, be it annoying level design, broken mechanics or broken controls. Of course I was alot more willing to give a game the chance it deserved (or perhaps didn't deserve) to prove to me if it was a good game or not.

And the good ol days for me include spending time with my cousin, where we'd play all sorts of games together, or try do better then each other. He lived like 5 houses down, so he was over all the time. There was also the times before that when I lived in WA state, and those were mostly me at home alone playing games. When you're 5 at home alone and not allowed to go out side when no one else is home, you're going to play that NES and SNES ALOT.

But I think of my good ol times mostly the times me and my cousin would play games together all the time.

 

[Dan]

I'm pretty sure these fabled old days are sadly not so. I think you were just in a good forum community Merc, more often than not different communities can have different atmospheres and attitudes. Little pesky whiners that constantly ***** and moan about a game have and will always exist, arguments about game consoles have and will always exist. It's not just exclusive to video games and consoles, it's the same with the latest mobile phones and what not. I feel it also depends age wise, we have some immaturity on this forum and sometimes the more mature will join in just because of that mindset.

I'm not saying most people on this forum are immature though, I think for the most part we have plenty of mature people that will respect each others view on games except for a save few that can't stop moaning about a certain game (geez give it a rest will ya we know you hate this game so hush yo gums and change the record) I think all these console war arguments and alike are mostly from youngish teens and I think you are simply picking out the worse bits of the gaming community and turning it into something bigger than it really is.

 

[Gamer Miki]

I'm one of the old-school gamers, and yeah, we complained about games just as much back in the day (e.g., NES TMNT). We just didn't have the Internet.