8 Reasons Why Old Games Were Better

In this video, I'm going to explain why classic gaming was better than modern gaming. I'll discuss the various aspects of classic gaming that I think are superior to modern gaming, and why I believe that classic gaming is worth your time and attention.
Whether you're a long-time gamer or you just started playing video games, I think you'll find this video interesting. Old games are better than new ones.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:24 My Gaming Background
05:56 Generational Leaps
11:31 Ownership & Finished Product
16:19 No DLC & Microtransactons
18:00 Cheat Codes
19:18 No Handholding
22:39 No Empty Open Worlds
25:00 Demise of B-Games
28:31 Outro
Featured channels in this video:
AL82 Retrogaming Longplays: / @al82retrogaminglongplays
iPlay Retro: / @iplayretro
World of Longplays: / @worldoflongplays
Game Sack: / @gamesack
Restore64: / @restore64
Classic Gaming Quarterly: / @cgquarterly
Sega Lord X: / @segalordx
#classicgaming #whyclassicgamingwasbetter #oldgames #oldgameswerebetter #whyoldgameswerebetter #retrogaming

[@supersharpgamer]

Thanks to everybody for watching this video! I never thought one of my videos could get over 200k views on KZbin. I'm glad it was this video I put the most time and effort into making so far. It rarely works like that on this platform. Thank you!

[@roxaskinghearts]

a good game can be enhanced with graphics ever played mabinogi a whale trap of a game that keeps itself alive in interesting ways

[@leonrue7045]

The first thing that came to my mind was COMPLETE gaming experience. No DLC,updates,micro transactions. Full games,plus cheats. I miss this.😢

[@sigmaramen]

No censorship either, with all the freaks on twitter

[@juanrodriguez9971]

@@sigmaramen my dude, my friend, my estimated, older games suffered the most from censorship, mainly religious censorship, they were barely even allowed to show blood in M-rated games, and lets not talk about the dozens of controversies for series like GTA and Mortal Kombat. If anything we are in the better time in terms of what's allowed in a game, people on twitter crying and executives listening to them are a whole different story.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

@leonrue7045 not really, many games had to cut content from the game because it was rushed and then completed in a "definitive" edition, and then we have games like Street Fighter and Pokemon releasing new versions with minor tweaks to the content and balance in new full priced editions, or what about game guides sold separately to tell you the solution to some necessary puzzles, such as leaving gold in a random spot to attract a gnome to get the key to enter the next area, or save a random mouse to not end up soft locked in jail. I hate DLC and microtransactions as much as anyone, but let's not over praise the past just because their sins have been forgotten

[@kylespevak6781]

Not only did we have a full game but we also had built-in unlockables for

[@roodick85]

Full game for 39 bucks no patches. It was a golden age

[@ps2gamingforever364]

Agreed. I gave up on modern gaming many years ago because of all the nonsense going on. There are more than enough PS1 and PS2 games to last my lifetime, and they will always be playable in the future.

[@NoThing-wc3cs]

Do you play on emulators or original hardware?

[@zid9611]

I wouldn't say give up. But if it's part AAA space. Better to just not care about it. You will see something good come out. But it's the anomaly not the standard. Inde space is great. Just need to sort.

[@deanlowdon8381]

There have been some amazing games released since the PS2 days…

[@damin9913]

I never liked modern gaming they removed what video games is all about Inspiration and fun now its woke and fulled with fake hype social media crap!

[@deanlowdon8381]

@@damin9913 My God, what are you on about!? 😂

[@MIVV2253]

For me is the fact that the more tecnology advances the more they try to assimilate reality in a way. Videogames are supposed to provide a free space to disconnect from reality. The lack of internet made the experience more personal and the fact that you would have to play to unlock things made it more rewarding (no paying extra)

[@hurricane7727]

Ps3 games are when games Started to Look Realistic. I just played Resident evil Revelations on the ps4 i got in a Sale and it looks Realistic!

[@UltimateTS64]

​@hurricane7727 Technically, it started on the Dreamcast and PS2. Shenmue on Dreamcast was one of the first games of its kind where they tried to really make a game world as realistic as possible. It was to the point where the developers took whether patterns from the time and place of the game's setting to make the weather feel even more realistic. After that, the PS2 killed off the Dreamcast and came with other franchises that started stepping into realism like Metal Gear Solid 2, Gran Turismo 3, etc.

[@hurricane7727]

@@UltimateTS64 Since Sony and X box are now Weak i hope we get a Dreamcast 2

[@Cyno7]

Same with movies

[@KnucklesWTD-uu3ps]

*These comments are absurd. You have the CHOICE between cartoony games like Mario and Sonic, or Call of Duty Games.* There is Minecraft, and there are sports

[@lazygamer4746]

Old games are better because of one word. FUN

[@Diogo85]

Games are still fun.

[@VixXstazosJOB]

Curent games are still fun though... notust AS FUN (there's a difference) a person who's currently 3 years old is telling you this, i've been throught many consoles though

[@mredizon00]

And freedom

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@Diogo85 They can be, but fun back then was a much higher priority.

[@Diogo85]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade Nah.

[@Raycloud]

Something else great about gaming as a kid in the 90's was that games still had mystery and surprise to them. Unless you were subscribed to a gaming magazine or could buy them regularly you often had no way of knowing what the ending to a game was or what secrets it had. There was something to discover where as now everything is data mined instantly.

[@hurricane7727]

True. Every Spyro Ps1 game had a Secret Level after getting 100 percent and Even Spyro Enter the Dragonfly had a Secret phase to the Ripto Boss Battle after Finding every Dragonfly and Gem

[@_MsLady]

Exactly this! & One game that comes to mind is the first Digimon World. As a kid, I did not fully understand the game. Every once in a while, I will go back to playing it and I still learn new things about the game all these years later. We had so many gems back then.

[@brianmeen2158]

Very true! Plus when you got stuck in games back then you just had to figure it out - you couldn’t just get on KZbin and find out what to do.

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

Creativity. Uniqueness, imagination. Games took risks back in the day. Plus you don’t need to wait for older games to install

[@V-95K]

Depends on what platform you played, on PC you always needed to install games

[@gazster]

big game updates too oftern lol i dread going in on ps4 now, i play my ps3 more recently and have the ps2 set up aswel to play every now and again 👍

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

@@gazster my current set up is PS4 and N64 in my main Tv den and ogXbox, 360, genesis is downstairs in the rumpus room

[@gazster]

@@TheNaturalPatHarris i remember my friend had n64 and i stayed over and we played 1080 snowboarding and goldeneye, that was so much fun back then. i used to love tony hawks pro skater 1 & 2 on ps1 and my friend introduced me to final fantasy 8 and that's how i got in to the rpg games.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

I think that's a lot of it. You didn't need to have as many developers to make a game. The entirety of iD software in the early '90s was pretty small, they started with 4 people and grew from there. It's virtually impossible to do that now, at least not if you want to complete the game in a reasonable period of time and be competitive with the larger studios.'' Consequently, with so few developers, there wasn't as much of a need to play it safe with the games.

[@davidhelman3045]

The easiest explanation as to why old games were better is the formula for commercialization and profit hadn't really been explored or perfected by large investment firms, or AAA studios because no one knew what 'good' games would actually make money vs be a 'good' game for the sake of being a good game. Developers back in the day were mainly concerned with making 'good' games that were fun and well thought out. The thought was that good games would make money, but modern investment firms and commercialization has found out things like DLC, pay to win, season passes, cookie cutter design assets/engineering is what can really make a lot of money, aside from if the game is 'good' or not. Once capitalism figured out there was a sizable market to make a lot of money on, the gears of the machine started turning to figure out how to transform the gaming industry from one that makes games, to one that makes money.

[@GamingTranceSeer]

There's literally a vid of devs saying they consulted with psychologists as to how they can manipulate customers to make more money. That shameless greed and inconsiderative actions towards their customers is what brought dlc and more.

[@HP-in8pl]

I refuse to support any games that have microtransactions

[@severussin]

Exactly. Well said.

[@imsentinelprime9279]

​@@HP-in8plmicrotransactions aren't bad. You could just not buy them. It ms optional.

[@mr.pavone9719]

Old games were GARBAGE. Straight up. Of the over 700 games for the NES, fewer than 50 are worth playing. Of the THOUSANDS of games on the C64 and Speccy, most are shit and only 100 are worth playing. The vast majority of games for any system aren't worth a weekend rental. The people pissing and moaning about DLC, micro transactions, political correctness and other BS need to expand your fucking horizons, take a chance and play some games from some genres and developers you've never heard of. Like FPS games? Try Dusk, Ultrakill or Strafe. Like games with deep and intricate stories? Try many of the indie CRPGs that are available like Undertale, Wasteland 2, Martial Law, This War of Mine or even Knights of Pen & Paper. Action? Hotline Miami, Enter The Dungeon, Dead Cells, Katana Zero, BIOTA, Mark of the Ninja or Sir You Are Being Hunted. Get out of the A, AA and AAA ghetto and go try some of the incredibly cool shit that's out there. I grew up in the days of the Atari 2600 and I can't play any of those games for more than 3 minutes these days cuz they suck so much. Games for the C64 are so clunky, ugly and slow compared to anything made by an indie studio today. Even old PC games suck so hard. There are old games I'll always play and enjoy but it's only a handful. I'd rather try a dozen indies looking for a good game than haul out my PS2 to play any of the games I have for it.

[@TheJadeFist]

The ability to update the game would be a positive (and sometimes still is to be completely fair about it), if the publishers didn't use it as an excuse to release games before they're finished.

[@Onepieceistheworstfuckinganime]

What I genuinely hate are these modern gamers who keep buying these dlcs and microtransactions.

[@V-95K]

Modern gamers are the problem, buying unfinished games, pre ordering games 1 year in advance before any pre view/reviews are out etc.

[@Onepieceistheworstfuckinganime]

@@V-95K I wish I could like twice

[@christiandauz3742]

Modern gamers should have been conscripted into the Ukrainian army back in 2014. Have them pay for their own gear!

[@V-95K]

@@christiandauz3742 but they are getting western money because Kiev Bandera regime sold ukrainian people for a proxy war lead by USA/UK/NATO 🤷🏼‍♂️ Back in 2014 ukrainians didn’t know that they would be forced to fight. I’m saying this because back in April 2022 Russia and Ukraine wanted to make peace, but then came Boris Johnson and Blinken and gave an order to Kiev Bandera regime to fight until the last ukrainian. Western politicians didn’t say “We will fight until the last ukrainian” not for fun, they meant that.🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Or4ANGEpm]

I think indie games are way more interesting than 90% of Triple A games nowadays.

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

The music in games was so much better back then too! Limited space meant they needed to make a good loop. Even early disc based games had great soundtracks since they had to share space with the rest of the game's data. Often times the music was played via midi which saved a crap ton of space. But the recorded audio was good too. The early 2000s was an era where many genres of music hit their stride or were newly invented. It introduced me to DnB, metal, techno, J-pop, ect.

[@MrKingkz]

Yea the game music had purpose back then and boss music what happened to good boss music sometimes the tune was so intense it made you panic and die The good old days miss my mega drive

[@Xa1234qazwsx]

Don't forget the human sounds. Did you ever wonder how did they include some dialog and music in those cramps cartridge? For example NBA JAM for sega or snes, stilll great to play until this day, and the commentary gave that games feel so real

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

@@Xa1234qazwsx JAMS IT IN

[@ismaeljrp1]

I feel this is a bit insulting to the musicians working on games now. The old stuff has charm for sure. But I’m not letting rose tinted glasses fool me.

[@necrosteel5013]

​@@ismaeljrp1 music is the only thing that hasn't worsened significantly. But it still has become worse simply because the games associated with them are way worse. Music is an amplifier of the game they are put in If the game is repetitive drivel, the music can't improve that much. The music also gets dragged down since it cannot go as intense or as resonant since the theme, story, and general feel is also weak. The musicians can only do soo much when the stuff they have to make music for is dogshit.

[@Narding5566]

One thing that I love about old games is they are finishable. Nowadays, one new game needs to be 200+ hours to beat. I dnt have the time and patience for that. One game that I always come back is Onimusha 2. Even though you can finish the game in one sitting, replaying it unlocks you nee stroy routes and key scenes and secrets. I want short but replayable games, not long boring games and slap multiplayer for replayability

[@nathanielmills4678]

Old games were better for multilayer too. Co-op or 4 players. The 16 bit and 32 bit pixel art was exceptional too. Full of character.

[@theadvocate4698]

We have to go retro for multiplayer, now they have to be online for that, what about getting a couple of buddy at the house and play?

[@danielkowalski7527]

@@theadvocate4698 just use hamachi

[@supers0nic77]

I had a few games where you could link up 2 systems on 2 different TVs. Genesis and ps1. I still have the link cables. Ultimate fun

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

I remember you actually had to sit in the same room with a controller each. Crazy.

[@alexmendez3681]

If you are interested in multiplayer games I suggest the Nintendo Switch. Most of the modern games are built for 4 player and there are many games that can have up to 8 players. Another bonus is that you can take your portable switch and put it in your friends Switch Dock and instantly show off your own games.

[@josephbradshaw6985]

Yeah, I've been showing the kids NES games. 2 buttons, pick up and play, many of them meant to be played together on the couch with a friend. No waiting for updates or internet connection. The kids are surprised when the game just starts up and we are playing in seconds. At first they asked, what do I do? Then they realized there are only 2 buttons and we were off to the races! Modern games can be fun, of course, but there is a whole different thing going on with the pre-internet games.

[@MrKingkz]

I loved makeing my super gamer younger fortnight playing cuz play Ghosts and ghouls he rage quit and then was humbled and couldn't believe how hard games use to be

[@TheIronRafael]

I guess somebody described it better than I ever could: "back then, instead of huge corporations that hire psychologists to learn how to exploit the customer for every penny they've got, you had nerds that were just looking to have fun and share that fun with the world while working on what they loved".

[@MrKingkz]

@@TheIronRafael That reminds me of the best music as well I think most things are made better when people love what they do and are having fun

[@andrewvigeant8018]

What kills modern games are the 5 to 10 years production time. I remember playing sequels every year or other every year. It was awesome.

[@Baldbutstillhuman]

It’s because they are so massive that it takes longer to produce another one. The amount of people and coding a modern game needs is astronomical. Not to mention a marketing team, retailers, and publishers.

[@oscarg332]

@@Baldbutstillhumanbetter graphics doesn’t make a game good

[@robbylebotha]

​@@Baldbutstillhumannot necessarily, back in the day, games needed much more code and custom engines versus these days. Literally 4 man dev teams can make an impressive game in 12 months using UNITY and free assets. Sure the games are bigger now but that's not the sole reason, I much more suspect it's a business move that slows production, these days because of online reviews, studios cannot afford to make a mediocre game so they hold back to make sure they add the right elements of what's popular at the time. Before this, studios were not as afraid to experiment, the gamers jist would find something to enjoy in the game instead of instantly steaming to millions of people that the game sucks.

[@Baldbutstillhuman]

@@oscarg332 I never said they were good. I was explaining why it takes so long.

[@heroesismid8694]

There are a billion games on Steam and Switch released every day with 6-9 month production spans

[@Jaytastical_TVReacts]

I was born 1997, I’m 26 now and I’m so glad I grew up on the peak of gaming in the 2000s with my dad man! Gaming isn’t the same like it used to be… it’s all about what makes the most money now and all the passion is gone it’s so sad. There are still good games out there but not like the various variety of games we had back then!

[@exelmans8855]

Peak of gaming was mid 90s. What the hell are you talking about?

[@Jaytastical_TVReacts]

@@exelmans8855 bro why you gotta be negative? If I made a mistake, just be cool about it and instead of doing all that extra stuff. Damn….. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@keylanoslokj1806]

1)More passionate indie teams with designers who were Gamers Themselves. 2)had to compensate the lack of graphics with genius gameplay and storytelling. 3) no corporate greed and woke culture. That's why we will never have good games again.

[@theintrovertedaspie9095]

@@Jaytastical_TVReacts I feel like the peak of gaming is subjective depending on when you were born. So for you or anyone born in the mid or late 90s, of course the 2000's would be the peak. How about the early 2010s, i.e Minecraft?

[@vergil1155]

PS2 was definitely peak. 2000s wereth best time. That era continued until like 2014 before it all went woke and corporate.

[@MTCTpl]

My favourite game to this day is still Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The best thing about it is that you can play the entire game from start to finish with almost no loading screens or transitions between locations. And that was impressive considering how big the world is in this game. And despite this you never feel like you're walking in empty land; there's always something interesting nearby.

[@curriculummechanics1147]

It was the only game similar to Jet Force Gemini my all time favourite game.

[@bimbibenny]

amazing game...

[@patinho5589]

It was a great game. I was really impressed how they made platforming segments appear in an open world. It also had a great feeling of world exploration as you went to different biomes.

[@colin8802]

That's probably in my Top 3 games. I love the sense of adventure you get from the interconnected game world. It's both perplexing and really sad that there hasn't ever been another game quite like it, at least at that quality.

[@comradeweedity1648]

That game and Jak 2 were my jam as a kid lmao. The jump to the "dark" theme of Jak 2 was sooo cool to me as a kid 😂

[@Reds-Retros]

When you talked about how games in the same genre could still feel completely different, that hit hard. I really miss that level of experimentation these days. One example I can think of is the way a series like the classic Tomb Raider games could still technically be in the same genre as platformers like SM64, but feel completely different is unheard of now. These days, if something takes a little while to learn in terms of movement, it's just considered bad because it's not a copy paste of something else. To me, Tomb Raiders 1-5 have some of the most satisfying gameplay I have ever experienced and most of it comes from of how the grid based movement system works. Today's kids would never understand, they'd just play it for a second, think it's bad because they can't figure it out and then miss out on some of the best games ever made.

[@skycloud4802]

I love how dangerous the platforming of Tomb Raider is. One misstep or bad timing and Lara crumples to the floor in a dead heap down below. That sense of risk and danger just isn't present in modern games. I don't feel any sense of height or vertigo. And it's all because of how effortless climbing and jumping is on modem games. There's no calculation from the player, no skill involved.

[@LordDeBahs]

semi- automated platforming in tomb raider reboot was ridicilous . i blame games like assasin creed that casualized this type of platforming

[@Reds-Retros]

@@LordDeBahs Yeah, people can complain about classic movement all they want, but at least it followed it's own rules! Lara did exactly what I wanted her to do 100% of the time once I got my head around the system, unlike the newer games where it practically randomizes how far she's allowed to jump every time.

[@yeez13]

It’s pretty crazy how much of a mish-mash modern AAA Games have become: “Cinematic” First/Third-Person Shooter and/or Hack & Slash with Stealth and Light RPG Elements (NOW WITH MANDATORY LIVE SERVICE ELEMENTS!) Ass. Creed since Origins, Horizon, the inferior God of War reboot games, the Insomniac Spider-Man games (and possibly Wolverine), CoD ever since MW reboot (and even as far back as Black Ops 1 Zombies), Battlefield 3-2042, Days Gone (an actually underrated Open World CoD Zombies experience that’s ALSO A REBOOT OF THE SYPHON FILTER SERIES! And…was buried by critics for being late on “the Zombie craze” and therefore by braindead players that believe critics wholeheartedly…), etc. Been revisiting PS3 & 360 games on my PS3 Slim and Series S lately and despite it beginning with games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion…they AT LEAST UNDERSTOOD BACK THEN that DLC had to MATTER and the core experience was what sold the game before the DLC/Microtransactions were even advertised. People trying to rationalize that being a thing truly don’t understand how inherently scummy it is. It’s quite literally the “Just Consoom Product And Get Excited For Next Product” mentality…and from what I’ve seen in the comments, you see people OLDER THAN ME with the GALL to defend it. And the AAA-Overcostificarion of gaming. Because “InDiEz ExIsT aS aN aLtErNaTiVe SoOoO…0/10 Little Chungus Packwatch” 🤨

[@Ronsilk-pu5hr]

For me the biggest jump in graphics was from ps1 to the Dreamcast. I could not believe how incredible the Dreamcast games looked when I first seen them in EB games. I needed to get one

[@devbagsmusic]

EB Games! The good old days…

[@FamousAaron99]

Always wanted one. Spent countless hours at my cousins house playing Sonic Adventure and Spawn. Now I got one, them games are really expensive now 😅

[@ps4games164]

I feel sorry for you

[@damsen978]

Sadly the Dreamcast has no good library of games. Just Sonic games and a couple more lol. If the console had a better library, there wouldn't have been a contest compared to PS1.

[@FamousAaron99]

@damsen978 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢💀💀💀 Dreamcast had a big library of hidden gems that you won't find anymore these days because they weren't ported Dreamcast wasn't competing against the ps1. It pretty much came out when the ps2 dropped...

[@A-1-Sawce]

It's difficult to properly explain to some of my younger employees how mind blowing it was watching games progress. My jaw literally dropped when I saw that first summon in Final Fantasy 7. The strides were incredible for a long time, I'm playing Resident Evil 4 remake now and the fidelity of these games is amazing but we've absolutely reached massive diminishing returns.

[@markaven5249]

Well graphics these days shouldn't be everything, but the best part of Final Fantasy and Square games from the 90s for me, was that ever since FF4 the story became like a cinematic experience, so much so that once we got to like FF8 it was like a huge adventure tv series with a game tacked on even.

[@keylanoslokj1806]

It's also the age pill. Your dopamine receptors wither out with age, and you get nostalgia syndrome

[@wallacesousuke1433]

Well I've been playing games since the late 90's and still don't find leaps in graphical fidelity that relevant, nor do I look forward to it, in my opinion PS4 graphics are great enough, no need to go beyond that, what is massively lagging behind is the gameplay, innovation, attention to detail, atmosphere, better NPC AI.. (better physics and environmental interactivity would be nice too, along with day-night cycles that massively change the experience, etc)

[@keylanoslokj1806]

@@wallacesousuke1433 exactly. The studios just don't care to make fun and replayable games anymore. Only recycling the same recipes

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Indeed. I remember when Quake II came out with rotating sectors and all the 3d accelerated graphics built in. I think the switch to 3d graphics acceleration was the biggest change. It looks like garbage now in most cases, but at the time it was a quantum leap in technology.

[@heavenlanes5598]

I had a PS1 when I was growing up, and a couple of good racing and sports games, that was the only console I ever owned because I missed out on the PS2 a lot. I now play as many old games as my heart desires even in my adulthood, including the PS1/PS2 games. I always realize that there's something missing in modern games and the current gaming industry is opting for features that makes the majority of gamers go back to 90's and 2000's games when they were actually good and were made to be a complete package.

[@UmVtCg]

Thats bullcrap, you had just a couple of games. Nowdays the gaming industry is bigger than any other entertainment industry. Way more games are developed you are referring on the bad ones stating they are missing something magical. The only thing magical here are memberberries. Think GAAS games with lootboxes suck? Play something else. past me playing Need for Speed 2 on the PS1 would have dropped it like a brick for something like Forza Horizon 5 or Gran Turismo 7.

[@heavenlanes5598]

​@@UmVtCg Yes, but functionality is the key in the developing process, something that recent games don't have. Older games are a way to go if you're going for emulation and physical copies in your library, though.

[@mr.nihilistic]

@@UmVtCg most games now a days are microtransaction simulators every now and then you have good game that is complete but thats a rarity now a days, you would drop a game because of the graphics, not its gameplay, those titles you mention are trash compare to burnout and midnight club

[@keylanoslokj1806]

1)More passionate indie teams with designers who were Gamers Themselves. 2)had to compensate the lack of graphics with genius gameplay and storytelling. 3) no corporate greed and woke culture. That's why we will never have good games again.

[@rawflour6757]

​@@keylanoslokj1806play for the gameplay fam not the societal bs being put into it, if you keep thinking like this you will enjoy your experience more instead of focusing on unnecessary stuff thats barely or shouldn't affect your gameplay will make you depressed

[@retroguyst8132]

Agreed, and it's not just about being better. The PS2 generation has so much replayability. I could go back every two years to metal gear solid 2 sons of Liberty and it feels like a completely new experience. How many PS5 generation games can claim that and I mean original IPs?

[@andriodman1]

Original IP's in modern gaming... Name one! There's almost zero original IP's anymore. That's the worst thing in general.

[@retroguyst8132]

@@andriodman1 a great point to make! The same problem that Hollywood has.

[@watchmehope6560]

Smart of you not to include PS4 Because red dead 2 would easily do that.

[@retroguyst8132]

@@watchmehope6560 I will grant you that. But the problem with the PS4 generation of games is that's when they started the forced updates and online only games and so on. Don't you just miss a little bit the time when you could pop in a disc and it didn't matter whether you were connected online at all? I know not all PS4 games require that and Red Dead 2 was truly excellent but I would call it the exception to the rule. Same with the Xbox 360. It had so many great games that would never require future updates. Did you ever play Max Payne 3, totally underrated it was fantastic

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Part of that is that it's more frequent for the games to be more or less interactive fiction and for there to be plot twists that you can really only fully appreciate once.

[@buckroger6456]

Still love gaming and I do find some great games on today's systems, but 90s is still the golden age of gaming for me, and it's where my heart is for gaming.

[@ps4games164]

the 90's were terrible wtf

[@NYCHeavyHitz212]

@@ps4games164To you. Nobody’s perfect.

[@ps4games164]

@@NYCHeavyHitz212 The golden age was 2006-2011. Combined with few MegaDrive games, few PS1 games and few PS2 games you get most of the cool games you can have today.

[@ps4games164]

@@RealToonV Yeah, some people still believe the golden age of cars was before WW2 when they were exclusively for the rich.

[@ericsmith718]

So you are an xbox fan?

[@rodneyabrett]

There was more aggressive QA during the PS1 and PS2 era because of the fact that once a game was "gone gold", it meant that whatever was burned to that disc was the final iteration of the game no matter what. This forced the publishers to not release a game unless it was pretty solid.

[@Manic_Panic]

There was a few exceptions to this. Spyro Year Of The Dragon released a bit broken, you could potentially be softlocked out of 100%'ing it. They eventually released a revision (Greatest Hits or Platinum in Europe). Though, 97% of the Greatest Hits releases were the same as the black labels. Vice City on PS2 for example had 4 revisions , the last 2 were for censorship reasons.

[@britishwordplay4335]

Grew up on Nes/Snes/Game Boy/Mega Drive. Many of those games are better than alot of the last two console generations

[@Lastjustice]

Game budgets have bloated, so this caused many developers not to want to take risks. The 3rd party support we used to see just isn't there like it used to be as a result. They can't afford to be wrong, as a game that has poor sales can easily end a company now. This ironically causes them staganent even further, as they pick make things that appear be successful, and it gives people more of the same. No every game concept should be a 60 dollar game with 100 + hours of content. Some games are meant be somethnig you can plow thru in an afternoon, and that's as deep as it gets. They need to budget them accordingly. (Such as beat em ups, as they tend be shorter games you can play thru multiple times, so you get your gameplay in it's replay value rather than one bloated single run thru the game.) When games could be made by a couple people for a reasonable amount of money, we saw far more variety and people took more risks. Since you only had so much space and resources, you had actually make choices in what your game was actually about. With these limitations it forced developers to focus on something unique. You couldn't just make these massive games where it was trying be everything but doesn't do anything well enough to truly be enjoyable. Most open world games try cram too many kinds of gameplay into them that they never create a hook that makes the gameplay unique enough to stand out. Most older games that stand out have a hook to them that feels very different than similar games in the same genre. (Say Megaman and Mario are both 2 platformers, but both play completely different. Mario is jumping weaponized to defeat enemies and navigate obstacles as it's hook, while megaman is shooting and stealing weapons in methodical manner to make the perfect order to lay waste of your enemies.)Newer games rarely give this feel of the game having an identity of it's own.

[@magrathean0]

The creative process is over-managed, which means there is no creative process. My biggest gripe with modern games is there is literally no spark at all now. Nobody involved in the creation of these games has the remotest interest in them and it shows. Playing them feels like you are operating some corporate website and have merely purchased which set of fancy graphics are added. It is so depressing.

[@xxxxWYLDSTALLYNSxxxx]

Old games were complete and had unlockable content which is now paid DLC in most games. Also no update. Go rent a game or buy it and it plays right away.

[@skycloud4802]

The genre most hurt by DLC in my opinion are 2D fighting games. No unlockable costumes or big rosters anymore - have to pay for them. Makes me feel sick.

[@xxxxWYLDSTALLYNSxxxx]

@@skycloud4802 I felt that way about Samurai Showdown (newer one) on PS4. DLC is high even when on sale. Now I wait for complete editions. Did that with MK11 and the Injustice games.

[@mrwess1927]

@@skycloud4802 tekken is guilty

[@TheRecklessMetalhead]

@@skycloud4802 Reading that comment makes me miss playing Super Smash Bros OG, Melee, and Brawl. The latest one, Ultimate, is great but paying for these Fighter Passes really ruins it.

[@RG-fp1lg]

PS2/Gamecube/XBox era really was the best. I'll never forget.

[@lukereeve9658]

Sega Dreamcast

[@Joshua_N-A]

2004, it was best gaming year for every platform.

[@414ruckuslifeMKE]

I grew up with Atari, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, the original Gameboy, and PS1. My friends had a N64 and PS2 that I got to play sometimes. I loved the PS1 games the most. I've tried playing more modern games since then but I just can't get into them. I feel like the more realistic the games became the less interesting they got to me.

[@Dragonfury3000]

It's not all bad because we do have independent developers helping to inovate the industry with B game quality stuff. Shooters like Robocop Rogue city, Trepang2 and Turbo Overkill for example. I do miss the days before ps4 when online play was just an extra feature and not the main component for these big games.

[@jedley01]

I find the combat in Robocop really disappointing.

[@nicholasjackson8709]

I find myself playing older games (2010 and older) because it an entire game. No microtransactions, battle passes, season passes, locked content behind paid DLC, year 1 passes, pay to win, premium currencies, dlc character, and the list goes on. Decelopers showed you what you were going to buy. It was a COMPLETE game.

[@jim-es8qk]

Gaming peaked in the mid to late 90s.

[@KEN-1991]

Early as well because of fighting games (Street Fighter II & Mortal Kombat) and FPS games (Wolfenstein 3D & DᴼᴼM).

[@johnfortnitekennedy8953]

Personally I'd say it peaked around 2007-2013

[@paddymalky1979]

GT3, GTA 3, vice city, San Andreas and then it became a bit pants.

[@Brekfastmachine]

I got to go to E3 in 2000 and the jump in quality between generations was absolutely huge. I definitely get nostalgic for being a gamer during that time. I also think a lot of that just comes down to age. I have a lot more responsibilities now and find it's a lot more difficult to get lost in a game.

[@Dacho_Shaki]

I'm more attached to games that are bit more older, mostly the games from the 90's and 00's. It's not just because I grew up playing them, it's mostly due to how they were less focused on photo-realism, cinematic flare, needless dialog interruptions driven by terrible writing, arbitrary checklist of mundane chores for the sake of completion and repetitive loop of increasing RPG stats that feel more like a gimmick than a natural progression. Back then, games were more entertaining, arcadey, trippy, interesting, creative, impactful, memorable, had tons of variety in levels and they haven't felt like they were stretching out the runtime. Nowadays, games do look prettier, shinier, more realistic and can be beaten in 20 or so hours, but they dropped the variety for repetitive fetch quests and creativity for playing it safe and writing bad fan fiction. Games were also simple to use. Just plug it in and you jump immediately to the game over waiting for the game to install first then wait for the patch to be downloaded before booting the game. It's still agonizing to wait for the game to be installed first. Switch is the only modern console that doesn't require long install times due to cartridges and its data size. Shorter load times on PS5 are helpful, but still requiring a long install process to play the game at this day and age is just apsurd.

[@markaven5249]

Yes, for me, photo-realism is a simulation not a game. Often times now, it's like, why not just make a hollywood film with that 300 million budget mr. AAA game studio, you're making a movie anyway.

[@Dacho_Shaki]

@@markaven5249 which is strange to me. Game studios are so obsessed and desperate in emulating the cinematic experience or grasping for some artistic merit and having their game to be recognized as some high art and yet video games are nowadays ten times more profitable than modern cinema. Just make a movie at this point if you don't want to make video games.

[@salami155]

@@markaven5249The modern sony third person exclusives aren’t for me. They’re more like interactive films than actual video games imo. So damn boring when you don’t care about the graphics.

[@markaven5249]

@guygrim7198 It's true, a 'game' means it has to have numbers, a score, points, xp, stats, etc... yet Unreal Engine simulations are often called games, and often people actually argue with me that immersion is more important than the GAME part. That's fine, but don't call it a game. There should be a separate category for narrative fiction, and a separate category for simulation, not simulator, but simulation.

[@X7393]

I remember that generation because I still have these old school games in my collection 👍🏻

[@sigmaramen]

Utterly based

[@jpstardom3375]

The passion, nuff said. Back in the early 90s- 2000s game makers make games with the intent on giving players their best masterpiece. Nowadays, its just visuals. Yeah graphics are important, but without the emotion behind it, its garbage. I remember old ps1 and ps2 games. Remember DQVIII, we had to search the whole continent for strong weaps, secrets, more importantly revealing outfits for jessica... We had to work hard for it. Not buy it online or get it via DLC. Like, come on, players today no longer find the joy playing the game. The games today are just that, money sinks. You can still find some rare hidden gems from time to time. But mostly, games nowadays are not made with love.

[@Lady.Luthien]

Old games are best because they really challenged you and made you use your mind to solve them; not like today where if the game does not provide tons of hand-holding, you can find solutions on the internet. The games from today might look prettier, but the older ones had more heart.

[@maulressurected4405]

Exploring was a thing and there were no tutorials.

[@RapturePlasmids]

I feel like i enjoy games from smaller studios more nowadays. You can feel the passion, and they try to release a full experience

[@wheatgrinder83]

Every generation says that things were better back in their day, that culture, with amazing fortune, reached its peak during their teens and young adulthood. It’s almost like those people were happier in their youth. 😂

[@MattSwain1]

I’ve played video games since the very early 80s, starting with a Commodore Vic20. I think my main issue now is that I feel like I’ve played everything already. When I was playing the Madden & FIFA games in the early 2000s I played them endlessly so there’s nothing exciting about the latest iterations. If anything there’s a layer of crud on top of the core gameplay and new shiny graphics are exciting for a few minutes. The gameplay was largely nailed 15-20 years ago. And when you dig back to when you didn’t have fancy ray-traced graphics and immersive sound, the best games were generally really simple with gameplay that was tight because that’s the main thing the developer had. It’s not all bad now but I don’t get excited for the latest Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed. I think you need to look to indie titles on places like the Steam store to find innovation

[@Viljarms]

Yes, now we have games like Oxenfree and Phasmophobia

[@RippahRooJizah]

Fun fact: I think the earliest form of Microtransactions I know of (not counting just playing arcade games) is Double Dragon 3 for japanese arcades. Which had in game shops that required real money to buy stuff.

[@mrnobodytheuser2950]

Most disappointing sequel ever, the Highlander 2 of videogames.

[@RippahRooJizah]

@@mrnobodytheuser2950 Even I think that's unfair to say. I think Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls is closer to that, haha.

[@buckroger6456]

Ridge Racer type 4 💪 still the best in the series. Really wished we would have got another ridge racer type 4.

[@keybearer26]

The composer put his soul into the soundtrack

[@realamericannegro977]

There was a ton of enthusiasm behind the development and games werent as mainstream as today so thats 1 reason

[@parthachem83]

Games used to be about passion and having fun, not business. It is obvious what is wrong with current gaming industry

[@SplinterInYourEye]

There's also the novelty of gaming. Back in the 80s through the 90s, video games were still new to the world. 30 years later, gaming has been around long enough that the new tech excitement around gaming has died down. I imagine it was similar to the time when affordable cars first became widely available. It was likely extremely exciting back then, but culturally the excitement around cars will never be like it was when cars first became publicly available.

[@jimiperlas3215]

As a long time gamer, nothing beats the era of OG gaming from late 80s to early-mid 2000's. Most games are well-developed & has its own swag to go with it. Even if there is no DLC, it's still satisfying to play. From stories, characters, contents, gameplay as well as graphics, video games is just pure & entertainment even trailers are way much hyped compare to modern video game trailers. Also, developers back then has a creative freedom in their projects. No force wokeness & PC agenda. With today's social climate, it's impossible to create games like Rumble Roses, Manhunt, BMX XXX, Bully, Thrill Kill & Conkers Bad Fur Day. Modern gaming just doesn't give me that kind of vibe anymore. I feel most of video games today are overrated, overhyped, rushed & underdeveloped. I have no problems with modern remakes or remasters as long as the game that will be remade needs a real improvement & have aged badly, not just copy-pasting the same game with the same content with minor improvements like TLOU Part 1 on PS5 & PC. Also, video games today just rely on the same formula, Third-person, action-adventure, QTE, emotionally-driven story with same-sex kissing scenes & I'm talking about Sony exclusives. I'm not hating on Sony exclusive games it's just that the games are just overhyped, overrated yet the story is not that even engaging. I'm not hating on modern gaming as a whole it's just that gaming today is not as fun as gaming back in the day.

[@glennross85]

Sometimes you just grow out of things too, I think thats my biggest problem with gaming.

[@Iamwolf134]

It's really more about money than anything. Games companies know this, so do their investors across various boards of directors. Progressive ideology just happens to be popular at the moment, so that's what some of the games are geared towards, to considerable monetary success.

[@seansmith472]

I totally agree with you

[@Xykaru]

​@@glennross85Yeah you really have to sit down and let yourself slip away from reality to engage games the way you did as a kid. Otherwise as an adult you always have nagging concerns in your mind that make it difficult to let go and relax. Gaming should be like meditation, not an escape.

[@glennross85]

@@Xykaru That is hard to do as an adult with responsibilities and limited time.

[@TheAdam159]

Early 80s through to early 2000s was THE golden age. There's still a few amazing games now but I miss when there wasn't DLC and microtransaction BS

[@barryklinedinst6233]

The gaming industry is like Hollywood . They ran out of ideas. So they keep remaking old stuff. I play old 2d games more than new ones. I do enjoy Spidermans latest and new Robocop

[@MG-wk2eh]

Neither Hollywood nor the gaming industry have "ran out of ideas", it's just the reality of the market. Remakes, reboots, and countless sequels are popular because of name recognition. They cash in on the nostalgia of the consumer and there are fewer risks and less effort required than creating something new. It's like Hollywood does not always cast the most talented and suitable actors. There are no shortage of them yet they still cast old men like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, hell even Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone because they were sex symbols and leads in iconic movies and franchises from decades ago. Even though their performances look ridiculous, unrealistic, and even painful in any kind of 'action' genre (like playing soldiers, fighter pilots, mobsters etc), their movies still do well, because people still want to watch the guy from Rambo, Top Gun, Fight Club, The Godfather, etc.

[@Snuffles679]

I think nowadays developers care more for the graphics rather than the gameplay

[@rethabilemoloi3490]

True

[@PolarGuy]

It's also rather sad that physics aren't as present as they used to in the 2000's. Not only were they impressive, they served the gameplay well. I remember players having a lot of fun in GTA games because of the physics. The Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 is still very satisfying to use as it allows you to use almost any item as ammo (even a toilet), and near the end of the game, it makes you feel like a Jedi using the force as you draw your enemies towards you and throw them at their allies

[@wallacesousuke1433]

And today's "gamers"

[@Diogo85]

I don't believe that.

[@Tetsu9701]

I always say that after we got into the HD 3D generation of consoles that gaming leaps and bounds started to flatline. It really just became a refining of something we already had.

[@Tetsu9701]

@@AlexMit-yj7rp Yes, exactly what I think. I always find it weird when they call PS3/360 "retro" consoles & they get remakes. They are already HD! For me, the cut off for retro is when HD resolutions were implemented.

[@xcrack6364]

I really miss the original Xbox and early 360 days of playing online. Older games are great. You get what you got and you enjoyed it and maybe even hoped for another in whatever series you were playing and dreaming up how things could be with your ideas. It's wonderful when you can load to a main game screen and not have a mandatory splash screen, trying to sell you expansion and fake money.

[@MakisKotzampasis]

Internet went wrong, suddenly dlcs and microtsanactions came and ruined everything.

[@SuperZombiepimp]

Most old games were great but the last 2 Zelda games are basically what I wanted the games to be as a kid so sometimes modern games are amazing just depends on the developer

[@SturmAH]

People often get angry when I say this, but to me: PS1 > PS2 > PS3 > PS4 > PS5

[@frankhalgas3798]

PS1 FTW!

[@majamystic256]

PS1 = PS2 > PS3 >> PS4 >>> PS5

[@frankhalgas3798]

@@majamystic256 Gamers FTW! I imagine games as art. I don't want to spend all my time on one art piece. I want to enjoy as many works of art as I can.

[@GrumpyCat97]

nah, ps2 is best

[@skycloud4802]

I think that's pretty fair to be honest. The PS1 and PS2 can be swapped from person to person. But I think the list order is pretty good.

[@CragusMaximus19]

I do remember the shattering glass in goldeneye totally blowing my mind! I was so impressed by it. And of course, the sheer scale and atmosphere/ music/ swordplay of Ocarina of time

[@TheAdam159]

I loved CD quality music on ps1. But these days i have a real passion for chip tunes, and the amazing things those composers were capable of with the technology at the time

[@Pulsed101]

I have a lot of love for the Amiga 500. I used to watch my older brother play as I was too young. There's something about the sound and graphics that I still love.

[@soulblade2099]

Completely Agree... Gamers today are getting messed with and that's all they know. Games used to let you earn extra costumes, upgrades to weapons, new levels, characters etc from playing. Now companies are greedy and want to use real money to translate to in game currency where you can get the costume you want... if you act now... hurry up... the clock is ticking down

[@docsavage4921]

I actually had a PS1 well into the PS2 era, was enjoying Final Fantasy 8 while everyone else had X. By the time I got a PS2 it was time for the 360, which suited me fine because God of War 2 was big then. Now I have a Gamecube, a PS2, and a 360 hooked up, never traded up (A co worker did give away an Xbox One, but it constantly overheated and I gave up after a week). Out of my systems, I'd say right now the 'cube is the most played, but was doing Shadow of Colossus, God Hand, Contra Shattered Soldier, and Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits, and Burnout 3 just a year ago and for many years. By far my favorite system, the PS2. The 360 I mostly like for the Arcade games, Geometry Wars 2 and Pacman Championship Edition are legitimately great and nothing new really compares to those.

[@Lastjustice]

Nothing wrong with being behind the curve. it's all new to you, and you probably got to experience the games at a cheaper price. I was behind the curve for most my youth as I always late to the party when came to getting the newest system. The one time I was one of the earliest adopters for a gaming system was the PS2. I reserved my months before it came out. I got it when noone I knew had it, but the game system barely had anything to play on it. The PS 2 ended up being a great system, but I could have waited a year or two to get one and missed out on very little. I think i used it more as a DVD player in the first year than a gaming system. (Since I didn't own a DVD player at the time.) While I enjoyed Tekken Tag, I could only play so much of it. This was when I decided I didn't need be the first person I knew own the lastest gaming system ever again. I get there when I feel like it, and enjoy the journey. I own a ps4, and feel little reason to shell out for a PS 5. I bought a Switch recently, which I've played the crap out of with my youngest nephew. I don't need prettier, flashier games. I need good ones that I actually enjoy. Not to say more powerful hardware is a bad thing(I noticed the PS 4 version of Team Sonic racing runs much better than the Switch version. I uninstalled on my switch despite playing hell out of with my middle niece on my PS4. We just chill and race together when I see her.) but it's not the earthshattering game maker or breaker it used to be.

[@ethancadle937]

Ghost of Tsushima ，or red dead redemption 1/2 my friend, I’m telling you

[@docsavage4921]

@@ethancadle937 RDR1 is awesome. Enjoyed that more then GTA V (And maybe about as much as Sleeping Dogs)

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

Old games didnt have to load Everytime for updates, no dlc bs to make more money, complete games, the music look and sound were on point and in sync

[@necrosteel5013]

I always thought it was because of two reasons 1. Games were made for a specific audience with norms unique to the game. Thus providing a perfect roadmap for what to improve and how to do so. 2. games were less restricted by tropes and conventions from an overarching mainstream culture that restricts controls, styles and presentation methods sans a set of approved paths by said mainstream culture. Modern gaming has both, a general audience and a strong mainstream culture restricting what is allowed. If a game is too based, not allowed Too woke, also not allowed. Too difficult, usually not allowed Too unique in visuals, not allowed Too last gen in visuals, not allowed Too unconventional in story, not allowed Too straightforward in story, also not allowed. If your game is an FPS, it is expected to have tonnes of ammo, a streamlined story, Aim down sights, visual rrealism alone, simplistic gameplay with one gun type dominating everything else. Anything going off this path is left in the dust or may be lucky to only get mediocre support compared to the games that do follow these conventions.

[@kylespevak6781]

We went from games with original ideas that pushed fun to the safest generic product that can make the most money

[@bubba842]

I totally agree. The 6th generation was the last great generation for video gaming. Since then the corporations took over, and you can see the passion has disappeared to be replaced by the never ending hunt for more profits.

[@rez9386]

Sometimes i wonder if the 2008 crashed killed the video game industry. Ever since that happened, they resorted to dlc and not giving you the full experience.

[@gijane2cantwaittoseeyou203]

If you want the full experience you will pay a higher price and you will have to wait for years. Plus people who make games are humans and need their money ASAP. Releasing an uncomplete game was always the aim, they didnt have the technology back then.

[@nycmaster]

All very accurate points. I missed those days of gaming. My opinion 1990 to 2010 was the golden age of video games.

[@carrera2320]

THE PROBLEM WITH NOW A DAYS IS, COMPANY TODAY ONLY CARES MORE ABOUT THE MONEY AND LESS ABOUT THE REAL FEELING OF GAMING AND FUN

[@danigar]

There's many things about older games that makes them very special no matter how clunky or outdated they may be. The fact that they were full and complete experiences is a big one. The way they had to be creative to overcome technical limitations. The way they challenged the player in ways modern games don't dare because of trends and to have more wide appeal (Looking at you Tomb Raider). And the list goes on...

[@gflah]

Also the collectibility & packaging. There was something about Japanese PS1 game covers along with side labels and full-color booklets.

[@therabidpancake1]

I think it boils down to being uncomplicated.

[@constipatedparker5879]

One reason I could think of is the limitation not just from the graphics hardware of consoles but from the disc storage devs had to cramp into. Challenges like that push devs to be more creative/ innovative - with no extra DLC (expansion pack doesn't count since some are sold standalone/ different editions).

[@viki803]

- no micro - no DLC - no updates - no early access - no alpha beta - no highgraphic but gameplay/story suck - no spoiler - no ads - no cashrgab - no fun + gameplay + simple + story + less bug + playable + freewill + sfx, QoL + memorable soundtrack and event + made with effort, love and FUN

[@dangavsterGAMES]

Course another great thing about the Golden era of video games was demo discs! I couldn't wait to see what demo discs were available in the magazine rack back in the early 2000's. Not to mention that gaming magazines themselves of kind of died out, what with everything being online these days. Great video by the way. I got some MLiG/DF retro vibes with this one!

[@philovermyer6166]

Don't worry, they have almost stopped making new games entirely outside of annual franchise drops like CoD and Assassin's Creed and are just cleaning up and porting all of our favorites to new consoles so we can buy them again!

[@BasicSneedEducation]

Yessir

[@TheRecklessMetalhead]

I feel like Call of Duty needs to die already, and it's been enough. Haven't played a single installment since Black Ops 1.

[@philovermyer6166]

@@TheRecklessMetalhead COD and it's ilk of annual launches just needs to stop playing and just make it a live service game. The problem with other live service games that failed, was they weren't the flavor of genre that the model worked for. A shooter that isn't going to change up gameplay loop but needs a couple graphical updates and some new maps? perfect for the monetization method.

[@HM71787]

This is why as an adult I got myself a Nintendo Switch I have the best of both worlds the games I played when I was 5-6yrs old and also try out more recent games.

[@noahboat580]

The whole benefit of having a videogame collection is that its your own self-tailored library that you can call your own. It goes from your "childhood collection" to your own personal netflix, which is hilarious with how netflix wants to get into the videogame industry

[@jinty83]

Great video! I also started with a C64 and had fun sharing games with my friends using my double cassette deck 😂 I played 16 bit consoles at my friends houses as I didn't own any personally. The first console I bought with my own money was the PS1 at the end of 1998 not long after I had started my first job as a responsible adult. PS2 was next and what an era that was. I did eventually buy 2nd hand PS3 and PS4 consoles years later and enjoyed those games too but things had changed very much by then. My xbox one went to my brother as a gift one Christmas as I'd moved onto pc gaming by that point. I always waited a couple of years until prices came down and lots of cheap 2nd hand games were available. I'll need to go and watch more of your videos now.

[@Jeremiah59]

If you look into how Deus Ex and the original Half life was made, they were made by geeks who loved gaming. They took creative risks, didn't know what they were doing, they took risks with respect to what the game was going to be. I suspect today, because of the costs (or presumed costs) of making games, they just make cookie cutter games, or invest time and effort into linear outcomes. e.g. graphics, better graphics, better game. There is predictability as to what they are going to get for their investment of time. Whereas, as shown in the recent half life documentary, there was no restrictions on the creativity. In the making of Deus Ex, they went with an existing engine. I think they then spent most of their time and effort into making the game: story, gameplay and general world building. Graphics aside, Deus Ex and Half life are still awesome games. HIdeo Kojima also took creative risks when he made the first metal gear as to what was standard at the time( shoot em ups). Also there was the technical restraint of the hardware leading to creative solutions inspiring the game play. e.g. Resident evil and the fixed camera angles. Metal gear solid also did amazing things with fixed camera angles. Perhaps today because they have no limitaions with respect to hardware, they have nothing to force them to be creative? I think we need a happy compromise between creative investment in making new and novel games and the production quality(graphics, voice acting, animations). Todays industry is too weighted to the boring side as you say in this video. There was a time when we had a variety of new, novel games. That really needs to come back.

[@AllieRX]

The generational leap is THE biggest reason why gaming was better back then. Lack of B games comes a close second. But the big generational leaps that us 80s, 90s and early 2000s gamers grew up with is the thing that is dearly missed the most. It's like gaming has stagnated a bit since the 2010s. What happened? In regards to the lack of B games, one thing I miss, mainly from the 6th gen (PS2/GameCube/OG Xbox), is big publishers like Capcom, Konami, Namco, Sega, and even Sony making weird, wacky and experimental games. Because game development is so expensive now (Seriously, look up how much Spider-Man 2 cost to develop. Yikes!), you don't see a major publisher taking risks and trying something wildly different from the status quo. Gaming today is too safe now. AAA, open world, sequel, remake, reboot, indie game that looks like a 2D or pixel art game, the landscape today is stagnant. This is partially why I don't get games at MSRP anymore. It's a miracle we even got something like Hi-Fi Rush and Lies Of P this year. Stuff like microtransactions, incomplete games, Games As A Service, rushed out and broken AAA games, and day one DLC are, ironically, the least of the problems of gaming today. Because they're all done by specific publishers with a bad track record. Many developers and publishers, even the big ones, avoid doing that. Nintendo definitely doesn't do that for the most part, even though they have their own onset of problems. And other people wanna say, "Oh, you're just blinded by nostalgia." No. There's something about gaming today that just feels off.

[@ThruTheMatrix]

I played games since the 80's and around late 90's on to the 2000's I slowly lost interest. Then in 2012 I talked to a younger avid gamer and told him "I'd love to play a game, but honesty - they all just hold your hand and I like a challenge, is there anything like that anymore?" He suddenly got this spark, and grin on his face and told me "you have to play Dark Souls". I was instantly hooked as it was like the old traditional game : punishing, unforgiving, and challenging. It brought me back to my old days.....I ignored the internet and any information pertaining to the game and just jumped on it, trying to base on my own knowledge. It was the most addicting game I think I've ever played....... Anyways - haven't found another one like it really.......hope something like it comes out (or maybe there is something like it that I don't know of?) I finished that game and it felt like one of the biggest accomplishments when it came to gaming.

[@jesusmarmol5835]

The PSX/N64 was a revolution due to the 3D based games, I think it is why it is held as the best gen for a lot of ppl. Another factor to consider is that games were still pretty niche back then, and usually developers focused on making a good complete product vs squeeze all the money you can from the players with day one bonuses, dlcs, you name it. This being said, I find it hard myself to play some retro games due to the gameplay mechanics being very clunky. Some games have aged really well, but most of them not so much. However, to me the real reason some people love retro games is because they are pretty much a time machine: you're not only playing an old game, you're also experiencing a product of a world that no longer exists before the advent of social media, it was another way of thinking which I'm sure all of us miss.

[@0rdyin]

I really like your ascent... Anyways great video man..

[@imthebestthingsinceslicedr5400]

I like how also back in the day the games dont give you badges for completing something like a participation trophy. The reward is you deep down actually finding out the hidden content and figuring it out thru trial and error how to solve those.

[@shadowsenpai7151]

Really thankful for that era, i only started exploring it like 2 years ago and through it i found my favourite franchise (silent hill), first i experienced sh1 on the emulator then when i heard the hype about sh2 i had to experience it so i bought a ps2 and played it and it did not disappoint. Then i went back to ps1 and experienced many great games like parasite eve, metal gear and dino crisis. of course with some funny ones like spierman and Pepsiman. + A hidden gem which became my fav platformer (klonoa). and I'm still experiencing more and more i don't think we'll ever reach that point in gaming again, it was the peak but im glad we're still able to experience it again through emulators

[@turismofoegaming8806]

I’m 38 years of age and I wholeheartedly agree “that older games were better” and it is because of this that I have been playing nothing but older games!! In fact, the newest games I played, went up to RDR2 and cyberpunk and everything before that, but I think the Witcher3 wild hunt was probably the best game I had played in a long time and that red dead redemption2 was the last good most recent game I played, aside from things like the resident evil2 remake ? I’ve not even played none of the new remakes because I don’t have neither one of the new consoles because I’m a poor person, you have to be rich just to be able to eat every day nowadays…

[@losnamerales3403]

Got the witcher 3 cant wait to play for the 1st time thank god for batocera 💯

[@turismofoegaming8806]

@@losnamerales3403 learn it, read the Beastiary, learn how to make the potions, learn how to play Gwent, and get good at it because all of these things make the game so much more enjoyable! It really does have a lot of love and genuine, fun and immersion locked in every single inch of it just about !! It’s my favorite game of all time !

[@starshineraiser6729]

Games industry is over. I was shocked when I got the PS5. It looks exactly like PS4, not enough of a leap. And, it has already hit the 30fps compromise wall. I’d be happy if they just released lots of retro games, Tekjen 3, MK2, Timesplitters 2, Shinobi, lots of collections, old Sega games…

[@pawhunter340]

You should of got a pc if wanted to see a big leap

[@TheSnoopyclone]

In the past you had to sell your product or else go out of business. Today, you don’t make products to sell but to be creative. You had arcade machines, which was the standard to see if a game is a hit or not. None of that exist today.

[@parker_chess]

I picked up a Retroid Pocket 2s recently to emulate old system. And I'm having a blast playing through the old Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. Truly no platformer made today reaches its level of brilliance. Also been playing Pokemon Colloseum. Better than all the Pokemon games made in the past 10 years.

[@pinkelephantz286]

Ah ! The good old days, before you had to hold the X button down for 3 seconds to trigger every action

[@gamernaut8864]

I agree with every word you said. Excellent video. Now I know I'm not alone in thinking something is missing in this modern era of gaming.

[@zid9611]

What missing is passion. The AAA space just pushing out products. You can find some of that feeling in inde games. But the problem is it's a mixed bag. Seen plenty of games where there a very good well told story but the worst gameplay or the reverse.

[@gamernaut8864]

Well said. And here enters the era of corporate gaming. I don't think this will end well.@@zid9611

[@OxysLokiMoros]

Soul. They are all pretty, but empty.

[@gamernaut8864]

Well said. And when Gen A.I. starts programming games on a mass scale, we will be in a whole new dimension of soullessness.@@OxysLokiMoros

[@EmergencyChannel]

The older I get the more I appreciate arcade games and simple Atari 2600 games. Trying to beat your own scores, getting slightly better every time you play. They are easy to pick up but extremely hard to master.

[@reptilemark7346]

Yeah same 😂. Im like the only person in this gen who even heard of the name " burger time " or " jumpman jr. "

[@fzcbh4698]

In my opinion 1985 to 2005 is the golden era of video games.

[@joshelguapo5563]

One thing to consider is the time and energy it took to make a game. Games had a much smaller scope than today. Which is why there are more good games back then than today, if you don't count indies. If you count indies well then today is a better time than ever to be a gamer. But if you think about the time and effort it took to make BG3, well imagine that in 1999, it probably would have made 10 different games. All at a much smaller scope, but 10 different games none the less

[@man_made_marsupial]

The fact that it's played on a cassette type leaves me to believe this is literal magic.

[@UmVtCg]

Yes in contradiction to figurative magic.

[@WideOldDan]

Madness! I thought i was hallucinating when he was telling us about that. They only play sound, surely! Evidently not

[@losnamerales3403]

Yeah the 1st time I saw that was in the early 2000s I don't know what I was more shocked about... the insanely long loading time or the fact that it wasn't on a cartridge, 3.5 floppy disk or CD/DVD rom, imagine if they had tried to put a game on a 12 inch vinyl LP fr 😅😂

[@calchedz]

It used to take ages to load

[@blazingsonic]

All I want from Overwatch 2 is just maps with enemies to shoot down and a boss fight at the end of that mission, I would have paid 60 for it, I'm so tired of live service games and this drive to make a game last forever and ever, I still come back to Majora's mask, in fact I still play Super Mario world.

[@MrKrewie]

The ironic thing is , if they instead focused on designing a fun game, they would in a way live forever

[@elfofcourage]

Just plug in an NES, SNES, and Genesis. Problem solved

[@life0093]

I always say games age so much better these days because ps1 and ps2, and even ps3 console games raised the bar in a way that ps4 and 5 games haven’t. Besides graphics and load times , video games haven’t gotten much better. There aren’t many games that blow ps2 games out of the water. The pre-dlc games also had more incentive to put their best foot forward. They only had one try. New games can just put out a bares bones game and follow up with pre-planned dlc. And fans keep falling for it.

[@turismofoegaming8806]

My favorite generation in gaming is also the Sony, PlayStation, Sega, Saturn, and Nintendo, 64!!!! Things just felt so genuine and authentic back. Then, everything you got when you went to the store and purchased a new game, felt special and valuable. ?? It was so different to watered down. Things would become like they are now…. Jewel cases? Big boxes?? Nintendo 64 games? It all felt so genuinely valuable, precious and authentic and everything was so imaginative!! Edit: I also really loved the Dreamcast, PS2, GameCube & Xbox also! But the good old days were definitely the best-

[@turtleanton6539]

Ended wirh xbox 360 and wii DS imo

[@turismofoegaming8806]

@@turtleanton6539 yes, I agree on that. Also, the first time I got to play Mass Effect on my brand new Xbox 360, I really felt like gaming head finally “made it” to the point where games were the best in video media you could experience!!! Not to mention, I had to put together my first Xbox 360 from broken Xbox 360s of my more well off friends who were throwing away Xbox 360 their children had. “ran through..” Yeah, I’m super nostalgic for that time. Also, it seems like things just kept getting more and more homogenized and watered down and all catering to the vast majority now which are all the types of people that don’t really play video games, they like fancy shit and what’s popular but it’s obvious they are a big reason gaming is getting worse… argue that it’s been getting better and better and better and better all the while, but the truth of the matter is, is that the really good games for us hard-core players are so much few, further and farther between now… It’s why I still play my Vita and my 3DS both loaded with Game Boy color, Game Boy, Advance, DS, 3DS, as well as PlayStation, PS P and PS Vida games … and I still play my PS3, my Xbox, and my Xbox, one to run a lot of my 360 games! my Xbox 360 is sitting behind my TV ready to be hooked up at any moment lol

[@supers0nic77]

Big agree

[@ProjectChaos77]

Mario Kart on the N64. The amount of fun my friends and I had playing that game couldn’t be matched. Can’t forget Golden Eye.

[@turismofoegaming8806]

@@ProjectChaos77 Mario kart 64, Mario party, goldeneye, perfect, dark South Park, 64, NFL, blitz, San Francisco rush and more for some of the titles that me and my friends spent all afternoon after school and all night and all day the next day if it was the weekend? And I can’t forget Mario 64, pilot wings the first Star Wars game and 64 as those were the first games that me and my buddy got to play on it when it came out the year in 96!

[@nategreatgames78]

I think what’s happening is we are starting to see the phenomenon of the first generation of gamers who never stopped gaming. I’d venture to guest the majority of people commenting on this video are in their late 30’s and beyond. Our formative years in gaming are still the foundation of how we like to play. And the industry and the way people game have evolved just as every other aspect of our lives have since. Many of us grew up before smart phones and social media. Yeah it cool and convenient to send sombody a text message and there are tons of different and creative things you can do with text, but nothing ever feels as good as just calling somebody you really care to talk to and conversations the way we use to. The taste of this younger generation who grew up in the post 2001 world have different taste and different habits when it comes to games, which is why games like Fortnite have been massive successes. Us older gamers have the dilemma of wanting to stick with our hobby and be current, but they aren’t making games for us anymore.

[@li0nhart4477]

I tend to play retro games or arcade style games. They tend to come complete on disc. I've gone off AAA games now and i'll only buy a very select few titles like the Zelda, Resident Evil ,Halo franchises etc. If it's not on disc i don't buy it. It's a good job i have a vast collection of retro games and systems because when/if all goes digital / cloud, i can start playing those and start going through my back catalogue also.

[@Mikewee777]

Handholding has always existed in video games but some manuals gave you bad information or the game would lock you out if you did not read it 19:25