"Now and Then..."
If you were born in the 80's and lived through the 90's you know exactly what I'm talking about. Oh the years of cartridge videogames, controllers with 5ft cords, no saves, split screen and only a lingering hope that the next point will bring you an extra life. I really miss this! Where video games have increased in playability and graphics. The good days of your friends coming over and sitting down with you to play are really quite over. The sense of accomplishment as you beat your best friend finally in Mario cart and stand next to him shoving it down his throat! or get the highest kills in goldeneye that one night my cousins and I stayed up all night playing! What an overwhelming feeling!
Yes, we have multiplayer these days but I feel that with the inevitable lag time, people coming in that take over the game and make it a game of politics and a game of who can say the most curse words in twenty minutes, we lose the good old fashioned sense of brotherhood that came from Saturday night gaming get-togethers.
Those nights were some of the best I can remember of my seedling life. Staying up till six in the morning, my eyes bleeding and an entire twenty four pack of mountain dew gone! Something I will treasure forever.
With that I want to thank the early days of Nintendo and Sega and even the first few years of Sony for giving me these fond memories. When I see kids these days locked away on there iPad or smartphone with no recognition of what is happening around them. It almost reminds me of a hyena protecting his prey. You get near them and they growl and hiss. Not my childhood. I loved the idea of someone challenging me to a game of mortal combat. I feel bad for the kid that will never experience this. The kid that will never feel the type of social connection that is brought on by sharing the moment with your best friends. How do we bring back that interaction?
That's all I got for now! Thank you for reading another "Jakes Thoughts!"
