With soo many new games coming out in the near future it got me thinking do I really want these new games that are promising us hours and hours of fun?? When I can enjoy myself as much if not more going through the games I played in my child hood? Catching that first pokemon or racing through the acts as a blue hedgehog on speed or defying the laws of physics with no arms or legs but floating balls that are ur hands and feet and can punch very far ? the last one was ray man a wonder if its on vizzed I will look for that after I have posted this. But what do YOU think dont let me do all the talking guys
Thanks

I like Retro games a TON, but I like modern games a little more because they have more violence and they're a bit more addicting.

I'll move this to Video Games. If any mod there finds something really similar to it, close this.

(moved)

i would say umm well, RETRO! i am truly a kid from the 80's (not really) when it comes to retro games i love one and all except the ones that suck

well, id say that most the people would say retro due to joining a site with a Retro Game Room i like retro games more, with the exception of new Mario and Sonic games [but not games with them in the same one, unless its an epic fight, i hate the Olympics ones], the new games are horrible now to me.

It really depends on the game. Some old games are better & some modern games are better. Some of the older Zelda games are more challenging & therefore more fun for me.

As for Kingdom Hearts, in my opinion, the second one was better than the first. Granted I know they're both technically modern games, but since the second one was better to me, the more modern one was better than the older one.

So it really depends on the game for me. Both modern & retro games have something to offer.

It’s a debate we hear all the time. The experienced old-timer talking about how they did it in their day and how things were so much better “back then”. Even when it comes to video games, there are people who prefer the way things were back in the old blocky, 2D days.

There’s a good reason I like going back and examining the good and bad of video games past. That’s because deep down, I still really enjoy playing some of the old stuff. But, at the same time, that doesn’t make games back then better. While several old games helped to define genres and trends in gaming, nostalgia goggles can do a lot to alter one’s perspective on what was good and bad. Hell, when I was a kid, I thought Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was an excellent film, but that was a freaking peace of crap in retrospect. In the end, the “things were better back then” argument can sometimes boil down to fond memories as opposed to whether something was actually good.

Games Were Harder Back Then

To be honest, you can’t really argue with that. Games back then were harder, or at least appeared to be. Comparing the 8-bit Megaman games to the Megaman games of the 16-bit era or Super Mario Bros. in comparison to Super Mario World, there’s a tendency for the 8-bit stuff to be more on the difficult side. But then again, this isn’t a really a surprise when you think about it. After all, with every passing generation of the so-called “Console Wars,” video game technology has improved, meaning things don’t have to be as limited as they once were. Once you start removing some of the gameplay limitations, such as the amount of shots that can be fired onscreen in some old shooters, the games stop being as relentless. That said, there’s a reason why games have a hard difficulty setting.

On top of that, remembering old games as “being hard” doesn’t necessarily mean they were actually hard, or at least harder than things today. Though there were games back then that were controller-breakingly hard, that doesn’t mean all retro games were hard. Just like many other things out there, gaming is a skill and you get better at it the more you do it. Personally, I have begun to feel as games today have been getting easier as time goes on, but at the same time, after playing video games for almost the last twenty years, maybe it’s all that experience I’ve gathered from playing so long. Perhaps I’ve leveled up, along with several others who have realized that the normal difficulty setting just isn’t enough these days.

Still, with gaming having gone quite mainstream in recent years, who’s to say that games haven’t gotten easier? After all, not everyone is obsessed with being number one at a video game. In fact, game difficulty can turn people away from games and, as we all know, the gaming industry is just that; an industry. Developers and publishers exist to make money and if a easier difficulty setting will appeal to more customers, than it’s not all that surprising that games are somewhat easier. But, just because there are easy games doesn’t mean that there aren’t hard ones. Though I do love a good challenge, I play games that are fun, regardless of difficulty. So to say retro games are better because they’re harder doesn’t really make sense when you think about it. In fact, some of those retro games can be downright frustrating, especially some of the older arcade games. Though, given that they’re designed to take your money, their level of difficulty shouldn’t be surprising either.

People These Days Care About Graphics As Opposed to Gameplay

That’s another argument that gets tossed around when comparing modern games to games from gaming’s “golden age”. With graphics technology continuously improving, the belief that focusing on graphics detracts from gameplay development is a common one, especially when there are several games that look good but are ultimately very flawed, either having horrible gameplay or being glitchy. It’s no surprise that gamers would want improved graphics, but there are those who feel that it is costing gamers good gameplay. Still, just because a game looks good doesn’t mean it can’t also be good gameplay-wise. Inversely, a 2D game isn’t guaranteed to be a masterpiece. In fact, many were garbage, including games like Cliffhanger, Jurassic Park and Fester’s Quest to name a few. Many people may blame graphics for the decline in video game quality but that being said, there were still many s***ty video games even before graphics looked good.

On the other side of the spectrum, the improvement in graphics can be a good thing. A good game doesn’t rely on graphics, but that doesn’t mean that graphics can’t help a good game look good as well, especially given that video games are a visual medium. It’s easy to say that a game that looks nice is all flash and no substance, but that isn’t always the case. Still, some “purists” will still consider good graphics a bad thing and, as I’ve said before, you don’t need graphics to enjoy a good game. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be welcome though.

Gaming Is Getting Too Complicated

It’s hard to argue with this one, simply because it is quite true, especially when it comes to console gaming. It used to be you just placed the game in the console, picked up the controller and played to your heart’s content. However, now that we’ve got built-in hard drives in every console, except for the Wii, which uses flash memory, console gaming is quickly becoming more like PC gaming in terms of complexity, especially when you look at the PS3, which requires that some games be installed onto the hard drive. With gamers requiring an internet connection to receive updates for games and keep them current, keeping up with system updates (though there aren’t usually that many), and online play being almost a necessity, the “simplicity” of console gaming as compared to PC gaming is slowly fading, and gamers who once turned to consoles due to the ability to just pick up and play can wind up being turned off by just how complicated things have gotten.

Also, with HD gaming being all the rage these days, developers are starting to cater more to that crowd. Though that hasn’t been that big of an issue, there have been a few cases in which HD gaming has caused a few problems for those who aren’t HD capable, such as issues with blurry text in Dead Rising and Mass Effect 2 when playing in standard definition. While HD technology is quickly becoming popular, a problem like this wouldn’t have been an issue in earlier gaming days, unless someone had a particularly crappy TV. Like I said before, it’s hard to argue with the fact that console gaming has become rather complicated. Still, even in it’s simplest form, the video game world has always been technologically driven, so is it really a surprised that things wound up this way? Probably not, but some people like to keep it simple, and compared to today, gaming back then was definitely simple.

The Verdict

Gaming is a continuously evolving thing and, while there are people who would prefer to stay in gaming’s past, I feel that there are still great things to come when it comes to the future of gaming. I’m still a fan of the retro stuff, always have been and probably always will be. But, when it comes to both old and new video games, while there are those who will favor one over the other, you can’t really say that one is better than the other. After all, it was the old stuff that helped to lay down the foundation for the games we have today. Sure, some games, such as the Sonic series don’t always translate well as tech becomes more advanced. That, for the most part, will always be true, but it’s not something that holds true for everything and I think there’s more to modern gaming than just pretty graphics, otherwise, I would’ve given up years ago.

I think Retro is better, most great game were on the NES, SNES, and 64 imo. Today, the Wii has some good games here and there, but really some of them are nothing compared to certain games from the Retro consoles. I also have a serious issue with the difficulty level, games today take me a week at most to finish. Now I admit SMG was a great game, but really, most great games were in the 90's to me. Some games are very hard to forget, most of them are from my childhood. Anyways, Retro games all the way for me.

i love all and any types of video games. they make the world turn. without video games the world would come to an end.lol.j/k.my favorites are modern games mostly from the ps3.but if im playing a modern game that is a sequel i like to go back to the retros and start from the beginning to the end. thats the only way to play games for me.

I think it depends on the games. I have a wii, and I hardly ever play it. Meanwhile, my SNES still brings me hours of enjoyment at a time. On the other hand, I have spent many hours playing new pc games. But if I had to pick one or the other, I would pick retro.

There are a some modern games that are better. Though I think for the most part that retros are better.

Thanks for all the responses so far I personally am torn between the two. On one hand we have the brilliance of modern technology making games that everyone would love to see as a film, like halo, gears of war, metal gear solid ect and then we have the retro games, simple fresh which many have went on to make films like super mario lol shame it was a disappointment. But I really really respect the retro games because they were revolutionary to the gaming market. Imaging sitting here play cluedo or keplonk for the rest of ur life instead of shooting someone's face off on cod or running about the derelict world of fall out. But that was then, now the trends in the market are showing we are on the brink of another revolution with things like kinect and which could change the way we play these games. Imagine not having to use a handset in a game like call of duty, I have no idea how it would work and a would not like to be marching on the spot for a few hours thats for sure but maybe Im not the man for the job maybe the person who could make this work is doing it now ? WHO KNOWS but the future is very promising don't you agree?

Both Retro games and Modern games have they're good parts and bad parts. Retro games I feel had great story but obviously new graphics, and I find alot of newer games I laking on the story.

Well with storys like halo and gears of war I think that they could easily have made a film instead of a game and it would have been a blockbuster the problem is when people try and make a film out of a game doesnt always stay true to the original fans. Storys in games these days couldnt have been better. Even some of the retro games have bad storys but brilliant game play like mario if am honest a never understood what was going on on the retro mario games unlike the new mario games which are just as good.

the classics old school games are the best although the modern game are pretty cool the classics will always be my favorite cuz it has creative things in them

Newer games are NOT as good as the older ones because the newer games do not offer as much fun as the older ones. Newer games all about technical prowess and lack the fun and the gameplay of older titles I got a playstation 3 but I have to say I do not play it much I would rather play the older games because I think they ARE a lot better.

To be completely honest, I like retro games more than newer games. A lot of people always hype newer games and it's really annoying, and most of them aren't that great. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of newer games, but I prefer playing older games.

I have only liked playing retro games my entire life, so I'm gonna have to say retro games are better.

I like modern games like Red Dead Redemption and LittleBigPlanet and other titles but they get bpring after awhile that's why I play the classics.

I like both. They both have their charm and strong suits, but I tend to prefer modern games, if only the fact that I don't have to emulate.

My opinion doesn't hold too much merit, since I don't really play modern games... We're including Nintendo 64 in retro games, correct? And Playstation 1 era? If so, then retro takes the pie. Maybe there are some new games I'm really missing out on, but stuff like Wii Sports and Rock Band (the most modern games I've come in contact with) don't hold any interest to me. All the Wii games my sisters have seem like dumbed down Mario Party mini-games (and I was never a fan of Mario Party in the first place). As far as Guitar Hero and Rock Band go... playing a real instrument is way more fun. I mean, it's like playing a one-stringed ukulele. The only part I can stand are the drums, probably since I'm not a real percussionist.

The old classics sit on a high throne in my... domain of respect. I have not encountered a modern game that's been able to usurp them. Like I said, maybe there are just some that I've missed, but... not even sequels are ever as good/better than the originals. A few years ago, for gameboy advance, a lot of the better games they came out with were remakes of old retro games (Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green, Metroid Mission Zero, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, etc... Even Zelda: Twilight Princess could be argued almost as a remake of Zelda: A Link to the Past)

Really the only "modern" game I play is Oblivion. And even then, I prefer Morrowind. If you count the first Halo game as modern, then I think that gives the newer games a good amount of points. I personally didn't like Halo 2 or 3 though; maybe Reach or whatever new one came/is coming out is better. I'm just not in the loop. Overall, however, I don't think that anything that came out since 2000 beats the gold that came from 1999 and backwards.

Does anyone else actually like that older games had kind of rubbish graphics? For me, I prefer to have to imagine things more. With newer games and the new terrific graphics, it doesn't really leave anything to the imagination; everything is right there for you to see. I guess I'm just weird that way. And my categories aren't really fair on how I define "retro" and "modern". My retro category (the first video game-1999) has almost twice the time span of my modern category (2000-present day). And I will admit that I'm extremely biased, especially since I can't play/afford modern games. While a lot of modern games beat the lesser of the retro games (Zelda: Link's Adventure, anyone?), I can't name a modern game that beats the best of them.