Buying Games Like It's 1989

[Tsubaki]

One thing I do know is that I have not had more fun with games than this half of this year.

You are in the minority ... or maybe the rest of us are? o.o

I for one hate modern gaming with its emphasis on "experience". Get that Hollywood (or Tokyo) crap out of here. I just want to play a game.

[YellerDog]

I for one hate modern gaming with its emphasis on "experience". Get that Hollywood (or Tokyo) crap out of here. I just want to play a game.

I utterly believe this news. I usually skip through cinemas only to find out there's not much "game" left to be had.

[Changeling]

I remember when SF2 finally came out for Genesis; I couldn't afford to buy it so I rented it 3 weekends in a row. I played SF2 at friend's houses on SNES constantly and played shitty Genesis imitators like Deadly Moves. I tracked the Genesis version's progress from the original awful-looking Champion Edition port in EGM to the reworked Special Champion Edition. Finally, when I saw the Genesis box on the shelf, it was sheer joy. It was probably unhealthy how obsessed with SF2 I was.

I was in the same camp as you, man. That game was 80 bucks when it came out and it was worth every penny. I remeber breaking the bank with that game and two 6 button controllers . My friends had the SNES version, and while it looked and sounded better, when it came for us to sit down and seriously play, it was The Special Championship Edition ! Such great memories !

[Wildkat]

I am 31, we had a 2600 when I was a kid, I remember getting it sometime in 82-83. We made due with what few games my parents would afford, and I waited for birthdays or christmas for my new ones. We bought Pac-man, it was the first time I was ever disapointed in a 2600 game.

But then, 1983 happened, and $.99 2600 games where all over the place, I went nuts. At one time I had something like 150 2600 games, and I would say maybe 20 of them got any real playtime, the rest where all crap.

When the NES started to become popular, I ended up with a C64, and pretty much had access to hundreds of pirated C64 games. I didn't get an NES until sometime around 1989 or so..

So I found my good games by volume, I just didn't pay for a lot of it.

[Cowutopia]

Yoshi: I only read the first post, but with all the goddamn hype I agree that it's much easier to fall into the trap, and wind up playing a game you convince yourself you like when you're really not enjoying it at all.

Hence: DEMOS. Demos are fucking on point. They made me realize that while The Darkness would bore me, Stuntman: Ignition would have to be a purchase.

Every single goddamn game should come with a demo, and if it doesn't I generally try to find a kiosk where I can try it, or a friend who has it before I throw down my cash.

[Nirvana]

But then, 1983 happened, and $.99 2600 games where all over the place, I went nuts. At one time I had something like 150 2600 games, and I would say maybe 20 of them got any real playtime, the rest where all crap.

Oddly enough, they still cost .99 each. I ran across a pile of used Atari 2600 games today. Tempting, but I want to dig out the box to see what I already own first.

I've been using demos as a good judge, but I have certainly been buying more games this year than in the past five. Partly for multiplayer fun either online or with the gf and the other part just because I find one for a really good deal.

[Melf]

It was horrible having to depend on holidays and parents for my gaming needs. My dad was pretty good about this, and he bought my consoles from the Colecovision up until the Genesis. My friends and I made up for the lack of funds by each choosing a different game and then swapping when we beat them. That way everyone got to play everything but only had to buy one game.

I remember coming home one day from school and seeing a post office slip for a package. Not knowing what it was, I walked down to the PO and was amazed to open a box my father had sent and find The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 2. Not having any money for games sucked back then, and we used to wait for HOURS at the local video store for someone to return a particular game.

Hell, I remember putting ESWAT on lay away and coming back to find a copy of Castle of Illusion on the shelf next to it. I went home desperate, and stole the money from my mom to buy both! I got whalluped good for that, but Mickey and ESWAT took the pain away.

I remember the process of buying games when I was a kid. I would get birthday/Christmas/babysitting/lawn mowing money and head to Toys R Us or Babbage's to get a new games. There was no internet to hype games months or even years before their release. At the most, there were a few magazines of varying quality (EGM, GamePro, Nintendo Power, etc.) On the surface, buying games seemed like a complete crap shoot. I'd spend a fair amount of time in the store, examining the screen shots on the back of the box, reading the description, and comparing the prices. That was research, or as close I got to it.

Hell yes! Buying a game back then was a total toss of the dice. I got burned a few times too, like when I saw that great screen shot of Fantasia for the Genesis and it turned out to be a turd. Jewel Master got me too, but there were some great buys, like Monster World IV and Ys Book I & II.

[Pineapple]

My dad finally broke down and bought an NES in 1988. I was 6. We would rent a game every two months or so, and many times I'd rent the same game (Megaman 3 and Iron Tank were rented about 12 times each). For the longest time all we owned was the game that came with the system, Tetris, Kung Fu, and Excitebike. Never once bought a game, but on my 9th birthday my grandparents handed me Zelda 2 while I was playing the first and I was the happiest kid ever.
It wasn't until we got an SNES 6 years later that I actually bought my own game, and I started with FF3 (or 6, whatever). After that, I honestly didn't buy a game until I got a modded PS1 off a freind and found Xenogears at a local mom n pop shop brand new for $39.99. I loved the cover and the thought of mech battles and played the shit out of that game. still one of my all time favs.
Now I work at a game store. I spend more money on fucking video games than I ever thought I would.
Many I enjoy. Some I buy because I read a good review. Some I buy because they look fun. Some I buy because of nastalgia. Some I buy to try and make me justify a system.
Basically I should just stop buying games. I used to finish every one, now I don't finish 95% of the games I buy.

[Josh]

I seem to think the sprites were bigger. And did you turn into a frog in Iron Sword if you fucked up somehow?

[PKBMax]

The videogame crash obviously sucked long-term but it was a cool time to be a young gamer.

I would go to the mall with $5-$10 and come home with two or three brand new 2600 games.

$3 Activision and Imagic 2600 titles ruled.