The More Things Change...

The first console I got where I called the shots was the NES. My dad brought home a 2600 in 1981 or 82, but it was for the family, not for me. I was a little late to the NES party, as I was still having fun with the 2600 and, gasp, non-gaming activities. I finally got one for Christmas in 1987. I knew I was getting the Action Set (Mario/Duck Hunt, Zapper, etc.). I had enough Christmas money up front to get three more games. My choices? Castlevania II, Contra, and Life Force. Those are probably still my three favorite NES games.

Fast forward almost 20 years. Four console generations later, I will again be in the market for at least two consoles this year. It is almost a certainty that those two will be the PS3 and the Revolution. Why? Because those are the two consoles where I can play games like those that got me back into gaming in 1987. What games do I want to play on my shiny new consoles?

2D Castlevania
2D Contra
2D Gradius
2D or 3D Mario
3D Metal Gear
2D Metal Slug
3D Panzer Dragoon
3D Resident Evil
3D Sega racers
2D Sonic
2D Street Fighter

That's about it. I really don't care about anything else when you boil it all down. Sure, I'll play good stuff that's not on the list, but it's not what makes me excited about gaming. The newest series on that list is 1995's Resident Evil. In a decade, nothing new has excited me.

If I am not mistaken, 11 out of my last 15 game purchases have been for portables. The console games during that span were Capcom Classic Collection, Gradius V, Sonic Gems Collection, and Mario Superstar Baseball. Looking at that list, I am not sure why I want new consoles at all. Maybe Nintendo isn't as crazy as they seem on the surface with their goal to change gaming as we know it. I just wish they'd change it back to the way we knew it.

There are a couple series that always sells systems for me, console or PC.

The Battlefield series- No matter the upgrade, I will gladly pay. BF2 has easily entered my top 5 games of all-time list.

The Unreal Tournament series- Ditto as BF2

Castlevania series(2D)- Bought a DS just to play the newest one. Nuff said.

Fighting games in general- I will buy anything with Street Fighter on it. Live play is a huge treat with friends! I will definitely own a PS3 just because Virtua Fighter 5 will be an exclusive on it

The NHL 2K series- Completely DESTROYS EA's shitty offerings this past generation. Again, good online play is going to be the system seller here as well(Microsoft)

Metroid(3D or 2D)- No Metroid games are bad. Even the pinball game did well. Prime was a wonderful game, and I will be buying a Revolution just to be able to aim with the wand. This will seriously open alot up for FPS's on console, IMO.

Good shooters(shmups)- You can keep your gritty urban realism games. I'll take Gradius, R-type , Treasure , whatever shooters I can get my hands on any day.

Racing games- Driving fast NEVER gets old. Give me more of a variety of racing games, not just Grand Turismo. I was big on Colin McCrae Rally racing the past few years. I want a REAL Wipeout game again, not some rushed piece of shit, and I'd like to see more obscure racing types. Downhill Domination was a good start.
Mascot cart games besides Mario can just die. They will never compare.

Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Konami. That still sums it up for me.

The only game that makes me buy a system is Zelda.

I'm all about value. If a console has a reasonable price, and reasonable selection of games ... that tips the scales.

Usually, it has to be less than 200 and have 6-7 games I want to play. That's the tipping point for me. So, this gen I will probably be buying a Revolution first .. then probably an X360 a few years later.

Sega no longer registers on my radar. They're dead to me ;_;

Well... You are a dinosaur... :p

I think some of the problem is that newer franchises have become more iterative. The sequels introduce a few new moves and new stages, but at the core it's more of the same, plus they usually only have a year apart from game to game. Burnout is inevitable (the phenomenon, not the game... although either could apply).

Not that the older stuff changed radically, but many are much more distinguishable from one another. No one could mistake SMB for SMB2 or 3. Castlevania mixed it up a lot. Resident Evil is a good contemporary example, the games all have a distinct identity. And these games are usually released when they're good and ready, not on a rigid timetable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

2D or 3D Mario
3D Metal Gear
3D Resident Evil
3D Sega racers
2D Sonic

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That's what you will actually see...

Games I have bought consoles for:

Super Mario Bros
Super Mario 64
Star Fox
Sonic
Virtua Fighter
Tekken 2
Nintendogs

Games I will buy a console for:

Halo

I'm at the point where I will pretty much buy a console at launch regardless of the games. Hence why I play my 360 so little.

Quote:

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2D Castlevania
2D Contra
2D Gradius
2D or 3D Mario
3D Metal Gear
2D Metal Slug
3D Panzer Dragoon
3D Resident Evil
3D Sega racers
2D Sonic
2D Street Fighter

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This really is a star-studded lineup of games... if it was 1995. Unfortunately for you its not 1995 anymore. The game industry has changed and so has the tastes of most people (I dont want to play the same horse shit I did eleven years ago). The fact is, most of these games are not coming out anymore. Instead of asking the game industry to go back in time a decade, something that is not going to happen, ever, I think its time you (and everyone else with similar wishlists) stop complaining and just go back and play your old games some more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by diffusionx

Instead of asking the game industry to go back in time a decade, something that is not going to happen, ever, I think its time you (and everyone else with similar wishlists) stop complaining and just go back and play your old games some more.

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Looks like Yoshi will definitely be picking up a Revolution then.