Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

32bit gaming

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    32bit gaming

    Does anyone else look back on these days with fond memories? For me this was the time when I moved from weekend button basher to fulltime gamer. There was nothing like getting a new game, only to skip school the next day so I could stay home and play. These were days when buying a game was much more rewarding than it is today. Maybe it was because when you’re at school money has a lot more worth, where as games today can be bought without a second thought. This was a time when gaming wasn’t mainstream nor “cool”, these are the days I want back.

    Now I understand as gamers we are spoiled today. 3 consoles, 2 online and libraries that extend into the thousands. But maybe it’s this saturation that’s killing the concept of hardcore gamer. As the mainstreamers purchase on cover art or an official magazine recommended it, gone goes those hard to find titles or retro games from the shelves of your local gameshop, only to make room for a thousand copies of Gran Turismo 3.

    Don’t get me wrong I’m still gaming everyday, I’ve just given up trying to find that gaming enlightenment I experienced 5 years ago, a void that’s not fulfilled in this current-gen era.

    The 32bit era, the final time hardcore gamers could claim the video gaming industry as their own.

    #2
    I know exactly how you feel. I too feel that the market has become too oversaturated, and this has caused a blurring effect, since so many games are very similar in design. And well too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing.

    The business-like structure that the games industry has taken on in recent years also helps contribute to that, because publishers just want to make money. Thus most people who are interested in developing games are pressured into churning out games that publishers want them to release (ie games that sell like licences and sequels).

    A part of it has to be nostalgia though. A lot of gamers look back to their teenage gaming years with nothing but the fondest of memories. There's nothing wrong with that, but believing that nostalgia has no part in your fondness for that time period is decieving yourself.

    Comment


      #3
      I also believe that the 32-bit era started the games industry on the track it is now, especially in regards to the Sony and the release of the Playstation. For example, look at the Saturn with it's not-quite-as-large selection of game.

      Imagine what it would have been like if Sony hadn't decided to get into the console business. The games industry would be quite different from what it is today. Without the commercialisation that Sony bought in, gaming might still be considered a niche hobby for "computer nerds". Whether this is a good or bad thing is completely up to you. On the one hand, the acceptance of videogames by the mainstream makes your enthusiasm toward videogames not as bad in the eye of most people, however the market has been oversaturated with too many titles trying to cater for everyone's tastes as a result of this.

      The 32-bit war would only have consisted of the 3DO, Saturn, Jaguar, and Nintendo 64 (and yes, I know the latter two are 64-bit, but they were part of the same generation). All of these companies would have had a much better chance of surviving, and who knows who the console king would be in in this day an age in this alternate reality. The 3DO never really had the games to keep the system afloat, and Sega probably would have ended up making too many add-on systems and run themselves into the red that way (and I'm a huge Sega fan). The Jaguar might have been able to become a profitable system for Atari, and they might still be around today (I'm dismissing the fact that Infogrames now use Atari's name for their company). And Nintendo may have been successful enough to win the console wars for a third generation. Although all of this is pure speculation on my part of course.


      I hope I haven't rambled on too much.

      Comment


        #4
        I play my Saturn more than any other current gen machine to this day but...

        <pedantic mode>The current generation machines are still 32bit</pedantic mode>

        Comment


          #5
          Also, remember that th e"32bit era" machines were around before we had NTSC-UK, or real mainstream web use so when the PSX was announced as it was and when the golden saturn prototype machines were glimpsed in Edge or similar it was truly exciting, an amzing time to be a gamer. Now everyone knows the latest news, the latest games are disected before they arrive on you door mat from japan, you read about new consoles and games in the sunday newspapers who also cover E3, the tokyo toy show. Some of the lustre has gone. This brings plusses, cheaper imported games, better buying knowledge, better help, less waseted purchases but some of the fun seems to have gone, not the exclusivity but the fun and excitment.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Tokyo Trash Baby
            Does anyone else look back on these days with fond memories?
            Oddly enough, it's exactly the opposite for me. This was the time when I lost all interest in gaming. Back then, none of the new consoles or games appealed to me...

            Originally posted by IcePak
            I also believe that the 32-bit era started the games industry on the track it is now, especially in regards to the Sony and the release of the Playstation.
            ...and I think this was part of the reason. I didn't like the hype and the way the industry was beginning to head towards the mainstream, and eventually just went off gaming (although there were other contributory factors).

            Since getting back into gaming, I've pretty much caught up on everything I missed on the PlayStation now and am just about to start on the Saturn (should be getting one with a few games in the next couple of days 8)).

            Originally posted by IcePak
            A part of it has to be nostalgia though. A lot of gamers look back to their teenage gaming years with nothing but the fondest of memories. There's nothing wrong with that, but believing that nostalgia has no part in your fondness for that time period is decieving yourself.
            Very true. Although it was before my teenage years, my fondest memories come from the late 8-bit/early 16-bit era. I still remember being fascinated with the PC Engine and Megadrive import reviews and wondering whether I would ever get a chance to play these games (and now I have, half of them aren't quite as good as I'd imagined them to be which has tarnished a few childhood memories).

            Comment


              #7
              32-bit gaming put me off games for a few years. It was while at university I started to get pangs for Gunstar Heroes...My brother sent me a CD with some emus and games on...a year later I had bought a Saturn and set about getting all those excellent games that I thought didn't exist anymore...

              Most friends of mine never went back to gaming after the MD/Snes days.

              The early gen stuff for the PS and Saturn put them off for good.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Tokyo Trash Baby
                This was a time when gaming wasn?t mainstream nor ?cool?, these are the days I want back.
                Are you crazy? The PS1 was probably the most mainstream and popular console to date! It was games like Tomb Raider, Wipeout and Resident Evil that started the whole "gaming is the new cool" crap in the first place.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I, personally hated the 32-bit era.

                  It killed gaming in me for a few years. Sure we got our SOTN and saturn shooters, but it felt.... wrong somehow.

                  The transition into 3d was a painful one for me.

                  Check my sig, favourite gaming era:
                  83-95

                  83 when the Vextrex was released, through the 8-bit and then 16-bit era's
                  Culminating with the SNES in a final blaze of glory. (also, the sega cd, turbo duo, negeo cart and cd's systems, as well as the jag and 3do systems)

                  For me, gaming was a gamers pass time BEFORE 32-bit
                  32-bit brought the playstation, and the sickening "coolness" of the after pub session, by people with "hip lifestyles."
                  <shudder>

                  Ill be blunt, I preffered it when it was insulated, and nerdy, and had bad press, a small community of obsessives isolated from everything, when you either played it because you were a collector geek, or a kid.

                  Also, 32-bit pretty much killed off sprite's, which I still mourn the passing of. Dodonpachi and metal slug can only satisfy my TV sprite longing for so long.

                  To summarise, I did not like the 32-bit, and subsequent era's for various reasons. The DC slowly rekindled my love for gaming, then it died.

                  I just dont get the buzz I used to get, say from living in 1993.

                  I am a jaded, cynical gamer, with rose tinted specs, who is mired in past glories, slowly going down with the ship. Sadly, I look to the past, so blinkered as to be unable to see what brilliance I already have within my grasp.


                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Max M
                    Originally posted by Tokyo Trash Baby
                    This was a time when gaming wasn’t mainstream nor “cool”, these are the days I want back.
                    Are you crazy? The PS1 was probably the most mainstream and popular console to date! It was games like Tomb Raider, Wipeout and Resident Evil that started the whole "gaming is the new cool" crap in the first place.
                    As usual, Max M comes to the rescue with an intelligent post free of ramble.
                    I second that.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      PC gamers are still playing 32-bit games. LOL.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Argh!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          The 32bit Era was a bit hit and miss for me.

                          Shmups got better, we had arcade games like Ridge Racer,Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop, Time Crisis, some classy Capcom fighters (zero 1-3, Vampire series, VS series)

                          But on the other hand we had piles of pap, 3D games with the worst clipping and camera angles around, and a huge decline in 2D games. And imo a huge decline in originality.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            16 bit please

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I hated 32 bit. Going from probably the best 2d graphics could get to horrible 3d efforts 'twas horrible.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X