Hikaru.EXE Wrote:You don't know the half of it... My parents didn't get to play video games, they weren't allowed to because my grandparents thought that no video games brought a weathier life... or something like that... My parents think that way too, they are considering removing all my video games and my computer. Truthfully it's a little sad.

Oh man - that is sad. Very sad and tragic even.

Well, first off, you have to respect and obey your parents. Right or wrong, they are your parents and the ones who provide for you. Restrictions and limitations of this nature are tough, but in time, you will be free to do with your time as you please. Just make the best of things while you are living at home.

My parents were similar in some ways. When I was a kid, cable TV was just starting to take off and become wide spread. All these new channels and interesting shows - I was loving it! And then my parents had the cable removed because they thought I spent too much time inside and they wanted me to go outside and play with people. Well, they took away the cable, but I didn't spend a single minute more outside playing with other people than I did before the cable. I simply found other things to do to entertain myself. So I guess we both lost out on that - my parents didn't inspire me to get out more, and I was not able to enjoy all the wonderful offerings on cable TV... and it was JUST when MTV was starting out too! I was the only kid in school (it felt like) who didn't see and know every cool music video there was out there. Oh, that was when MTV was actually cool too, by the way.

Anyway my parents didn't allow me certain things I wish they had. To this day, I believe I may have followed my true career interests had my parents allowed me some things they did not. It's a shame too - because I would have made a TON more $$ as well! But in all honesty, who knows what aspects of my adult life would be different if my parents weren't so restrictive. I'll never know. And I am grateful for my parents being there for me and raising me, even if I didn't agree with the way they did things.

My advice to you, Hikaru.EXE is to figure out how to achieve that what you want out of life while you are still young and have many options... wait a minute. This may not make much sense to you yet. Anyway, be patient with your parents. Do not become too angry or aggressive with them should they limit your access to technology (like games and computers). Show them respect. In time, you will figure out ways to have access to games and computers, so don't give up hope. Hopefully, your parents will realize that technology is the key to "a wealthier life". Knowing technology, understanding it, learning it, using it, and MASTERING it. This will open many doors to you in the future and help you along the path to optimal income in your future career.

Remember - DaveTRON has used his love of gaming to get in to a great career in the gaming industry. And I think its safe to say his annual income is more than likely far greater than most of the people who post here at The Sector. Gaming can indeed pay off.

Just respect your parents and know that they love you and are only trying to do what they think is best for you. And remember - it is only temporary. In time you will fly away from the nest and make a nest of your own to be master of.

Good luck to you!
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TheReelTodd Wrote:Interesting. Really, I had no idea. I thought there were more gamers today because there are more games, more kids (young AND old) and it's more acceptable these days to spend hours gaming than it was back 25 years ago (or so it seems to me).

Check out this article:
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/nolan-bushnell/index.php
Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) stated that there are less than half as many video game players today, compared to two decades ago.

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redrain85 Wrote:Check out this article: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/nolan-bushnell/index.php Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) stated that there are less than half as many video game players today, compared to two decades ago.

Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read. I'm a little suspicious about the actual numbers of gamers then and now. I only say that because logicially, I really thought there would have been more gamers today than 25 years ago. I think those who are considered to be "gamers" is the reason for the drastic decline in number. I bet a lot more people play games but are not considered "gamers" in this study. I bet the number of people who play more than once or twice a week has probably dropped because of the reasons mentioned.

I don't agree with all of it though. I don't think today's games are "scary" or anything. And I don't think women are put off by "violence", but instead the violent games are simply more attractive to guys than girls just the way guys tend to play crash-em up cars as kids while girls tend to play house.

I will say this though. I LOVE getting lost in a great and "complex" (or as I like to call it - digital vacation from the real world) game. But I don't really consider myself a gamer, at least not a hardcore gamer.

I've never played Halo. Never played about 99% of today's 1st person shooter games. I don't own an XBox, and I don't care to own an XBox 360. The 360 games don't look a whole lot better than the Xbox ones in terms of graphics, and I see no difference in how the games actually play (only comparison made by watching games being played on TV). Didn't own a Playstation 1 or 2 and won't own a 3. I have a Game Cube... that sadly collects dust these days. My last new game for it was Metoid Prime: Echoes... which was only ok in my opinion. Beautiful game, but what a freakin' chore to get through. I'll never play it again. But there haven't been any games for my dusty Game Cube that interest me as of late. Same goes for the other systems. I see some slick graphics and cool effects... but the games don't really make me want to "get lost" in them. Why is that?

I don't have much free time, so that is a part of it. My PC is old and will more than likely not be able to play any of today's modern games - at least not without turning off all effects and lower my resolution to the lowest possible setting - yuck. Can't keep up with gaming. It's gotten too expensive for me and I don't have the time.

Now if a really interesting game came along, I'd find the time - I did that with Metroid Echoes, and Metroid Prime before it. But like I said, Echoes was a disappointment and I'm not sure I'd go for another Metroid game now... unless I knew it was not like Echoes and not so damn difficult to get through. To a hardcore gamer, Echoes may not have been a chore like that. To me, it was a pain in the ass at times and not even enjoyable to play, but more like a task - as in "I paid for this thing, I may as well get through to the end of it".

Well, I'm kind of all over the place on this subject.

I'd like to be more of a gamer, but the games out there (for the most part) do not interest me much. And I'm less than excited about the three new systems coming out... one of them already out.

Got my eye on the Revolution only because it is so different. But I doubt I'll own one. I can't see playing games with a DVD-looking controller. Looks very uncomfortable. Only time will tell on that. Got to see what it's all about before I know for sure.

I think gaming has another 1984 coming up - like when Atari fell, and it fell hard. I think gaming needs to crash in on itself so today's repetitive and less than interesting games (that's just how I see them) can all stop being clones of each other and new and innovative experiences can be put in to the mix. Notice the word "experie

josh.exe Wrote:today i bought some paddle controlers and Swordquest,Atlantis,battlezone,and some unlabled games it seems that if you use the conroer on the flashback go up 1 down 9 up 7 down 2 you unlock super breakout and warlords.... the only catch is you need to plug in a paddle conmtroler those things are expensive $6 just for 1 paddle cotroler (two joined) anyway its very fun

Really? That is so cool! I still have my original Atari paddles... but they don't work anymore. Not accurately anyway. They've oxidized... or something like that. They only worked for about 3 or 4 years before going bad and getting all shaky in their control. Warlords ROCKED though - I may have to get some new paddles... and someone to play the game with!

josh.exe Wrote:also today i got a SUPER NES and f-zero, super mario land ,and starfox

Starfox on the SNES was an amazing game! Well, back in '93 it blew me away anyway. The frame rate sucked, but the game was a whole new experience for me. It was my first real 3D like game and I played it VERY often!
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TheReelTodd Wrote:Thanks for getting me way off track, redrain85.

No problem! Hehehe.

I think those who are considered to be "gamers" is the reason for the drastic decline in number. I bet a lot more people play games but are not considered "gamers" in this study. I bet the number of people who play more than once or twice a week has probably dropped because of the reasons mentioned.

Yeah, exactly. I agree. What's the definition of a gamer according to Nolan? But I still think there is some truth to what he's saying.

I don't agree with all of it though.

Neither do I. I don't think symbols on gamepad buttons are "scary".

But again, I think he does make SOME good points.

I've never played Halo. Never played about 99% of today's 1st person shooter games. I don't own an XBox, and I don't care to own an XBox 360. The 360 games don't look a whole lot better than the Xbox ones in terms of graphics, and I see no difference in how the games actually play

You and I are a lot alike, then! I haven't played Halo, either. And I don't intend to get any of the consoles. A handheld, maybe. But no consoles. The PC will be my game machine.

I do have an Xbox, though. But basically, I only got it because of Killer App.

Happy New Year!

PS: I also got one of these Flashback 2 consoles for Christmas and love it! I even went to an 80's themed New Year's party and brought my Flashback! I plugged it into their projector and was playing it on a screen that was 15 feet across!! What a feeling to play Pitfall! and have to move your head to watch your guy go across the screen! A childhood dream come true, for sure!!! LOL And Yar's Revenge!! I never played that as a kid, but it sure was fun on the big screen!

The games do look, feel and sound just like the old Atari 2600 games! My main issue with the system is that it doesn't have a cartridge slot built into it. I mean, WTF? So will there be a Flashback 3 that we'll have to buy to play the next lot of 40 games and have two Flashbacks to store away? And then three, four, five flashbacks? Why not just include a bunch of games, but have a cartridge slot? That way they can re-produce/re-sell the games or allow us to play our old games.

Of course, I'm a bit bummed... and well, a bit p*ssed, that I lent my old Atari 2600, its games, manuals and controllers to my brother's ex-girlfriend about 10-15 years ago (for her kids to play with for a while), only to never see them again. Rumor has it she doesn't have this stuff anymore and I think she sold them, dumped them, or gave them to a thrift store. Gee, thanks. (Insert curse word here.) My dad had even written down some of the all-time high scores I had achieved on some of the game manuals, too.

I think my brother feels bad that his ex-GF did this, so he's the one who got me the Flashback 2, which was very nice of him. This does help me "cope" with the loss a bit, but I still long to get an authentic Atari 2600 again some day. Next time I have some extra spending cash, I think I will get one. I simply need to play Warlords, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Night Driver, Traffic, Star Wars, and many other old classics again. Jose.exe, thank you for pointing that out about Warlords on the Flashback 2!! That is so awesome; I will try that out! Unfortunately, I need to find paddles from somewhere now Note: I hear there's also a code you need to enter after doing that sequence of joystick movements: "The code is 1972. The year Atari officially became incorporated." I'm dying to play authentic Atari 2600 Warlords with paddles again.

Sadly, there is no Space Invaders or Atari Pac Man. Atari Pac Man was probably the most disappointing arcade port of a game ever. It looked REALLY bad and didn't sound at all like Pac Man. Me and all my friends just made fun of the game - it was laughable! And yet... I played it for hours and hours and loved every minute of it anyway!

That is sad. And I also immediately noticed these missing games. Although Pac-Man was disappointing compared to the arcade version, I actually ended up having a great time playing it. I was thoroughly happy to see Missile Command, Combat, Maze Craze and Pitfall! on the Flashback 2, though! I loved Maze Craze! What am I saying? I loved all these and more! Buried in the deep recesses of my mind were Adventure, Hangman, Chess and a few others! I had totally forgotten about them unitl I saw them again. Even after seeing the castle on the Flashback's main menu screen (the one for Adventure), it took me a few days before it clicked in my mind that I had actually seen that castle before. So then I thought I'd give Adventure a try (even though the game didn't sound familiar), and sure enough -- it all came back to me! I totally basked in the joy of re-discovering old Atari 2600 games.

The controllers that come with the Atari Flashback 2 look just like the original Atari controllers, only with an additional logo on the top. They seem a little more sturdy and easier to control than the original ones too

They feel very close to the old ones, but not 100% to me. I could be wrong, but they seem a bit "

redrain85 Wrote:You and I are a lot alike, then! I haven't played Halo, either. And I don't intend to get any of the consoles. A handheld, maybe. But no consoles. The PC will be my game machine.

Probably a good choice. I only wish I had a better PC so I could play some of today's more processor intense games... but it's just not in the budget. Well, TRON 2.0 plays pretty well though - and I love hitting the light cycle game grid as often as I can!

redrain85 Wrote:I do have an Xbox, though. But basically, I only got it because of Killer App.

I came close to getting one because of Killer App. I'm glad I did not after hearing what an awful job they did with it.

I forgot to mention before - there have been a small handful of games that seemed cool to me in recent years. BUT none of them were for my dust-collector... er, my Game Cube. And I'm generally a one-system guy because of $$ and because of time limitations. I tend to enjoy adventure games and games where you need to explore vast worlds. FPS's are cool too, but I mostly enjoy just playing around in a really cool and extensive cyber world. Can't remember any of the titles that seemed cool to me though - only that they weren't for the GC.

What pisses me off is that Perfect Dark just came out for the 360. That game ROCKED on the N64. Sure, the N64 could barely run the game, but it was still such a sweet game nonetheless! Waited for it to come out on the GC and nothing! Grrrr. Thanks for dropping the ball on that, Nintendo!

Traahn Wrote:Happy New Year!

Thank you! And Happy New Year to you too!

Traahn Wrote:PS: I also got one of these Flashback 2 consoles for Christmas and love it! I even went to an 80's themed New Year's party and brought my Flashback! I plugged it into their projector and was playing it on a screen that was 15 feet across!! What a feeling to play Pitfall! and have to move your head to watch your guy go across the screen! A childhood dream come true, for sure!!! LOL And Yar's Revenge!! I never played that as a kid, but it sure was fun on the big screen!

** drool **

Wow - 15 foot wide Atari games!

Actually, modern games would rock a lot more than Atari games on a 15' screen, but that's still so cool!

Traahn Wrote:The games do look, feel and sound just like the old Atari 2600 games! My main issue with the system is that it doesn't have a cartridge slot built into it. I mean, WTF? So will there be a Flashback 3 that we'll have to buy to play the next lot of 40 games and have two Flashbacks to store away? And then three, four, five flashbacks? Why not just include a bunch of games, but have a cartridge slot? That way they can re-produce/re-sell the games or allow us to play our old games.

Hmm - sounds like you're digging your Flashback 2! And yes, stupid not to put the cart port in the system. I'm NOT buying more and more Flashbacks. Thank God I still have my original VCS and I'll just go through the hassle of hooking that thing back up if I need more.

Traahn Wrote:Of course, I'm a bit bummed... and well, a bit p*ssed, that I lent my old Atari 2600, its games, manuals and controllers to my brother's ex-girlfriend about 10-15 years ago (for her kids to play with for a while), only to never see them again. Rumor has it she doesn't have this stuff anymore and I think she sold them, dumped them, or gave them to a thrift store. Gee, thanks. (Insert curse word here.) My dad had even written down some of the all-time high scores I had achieved on some of the game manuals, too.

Damn - that sucks! Major bummer! At least you've got your Flashback 2 though - not quite the same as what you had, but it's up there, right?

Traahn Wrote:I think my brother feels bad that his ex-GF did this, so he's the one who got me the Flashback 2, which was very nice of him. This does help me "cope" with the loss a bit, but I still long to get an authentic Atari 2600 again some day. Next time I have some extra spending cash, I think I will get one. I simply need to play Warlords, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Night Driver, Traffic, Star Wars, and many other old classics again. Jose.exe, thank you for pointing that out about Warlords on the Flashback 2!! That is so awesome; I will try that out! Unfortunately, I need to find paddles from somewhere now Note: I hear there's also a code you need to enter after doing that sequence of joystick movements: "The code is 1972. The year Atari officially became incorporated." I'm dying to play authentic Atari 2600 Warlords with paddles again.

Warlords ROCKS! I used to really kick butt on it too! Oh how I'd love to play that again! I with the Flashback2 had online multiplayer options! I don't know anyone who'd be interested in playing "old" Atari games with me. The wife will here and there, but not often and she's not nearly as in to it as I am. I'm a BIG nerd when it comes to Atari games!

Sadly, there is no Space Invaders or Atari Pac Man. Atari Pac Man was probably the most disappointing arcade port of a game ever. It looked REALLY bad and didn't sound at all like Pac Man. Me and all my friends just made fun of the game - it was laughable! And yet... I played it for hours and hours and loved every minute of it anyway!

Traahn Wrote:

TheReelTodd Wrote:Probably a good choice. I only wish I had a better PC so I could play some of today's more processor intense games... but it's just not in the budget.

Yup, I know the feeling. Last year I did some minor upgrades, but my PC is still pretty much the same one I put together back in Christmas 2002. But . . . it plays most games well enough, and I have no intention of doing any major upgrading until later this year.

Because honestly, I don't think there's been a whole lot of change or innovation for the last 2-3 years except for the graphics cards. Only now, is it slowly coming to the point where there are enough changes to make it worth upgrading my computer again. (Which will make it number 14! )

I came close to getting one because of Killer App.

Well, I think buying an Xbox was a mistake. For me, anyway. I've barely touched it. I guess for me, I want a box that does more than play games. (Even the Xbox 360 can't do everything I'd like to do.)

What pisses me off is that Perfect Dark just came out for the 360. That game ROCKED on the N64. Sure, the N64 could barely run the game, but it was still such a sweet game nonetheless! Waited for it to come out on the GC and nothing! Grrrr. Thanks for dropping the ball on that, Nintendo!

Well, I can't say this for sure (since I haven't seen or played it), but from what I hear: Perfect Dark for the 360 has turned out to be a major disappointment.

I've never met anyone who's gotten through the whole game.

I honestly didn't even think Pitfall had an end! It seemed to go on forever. Pitfall 2 had a definite ending, though.

You know, I should go out and get one of these Flashback units. They're certainly inexpensive enough. And somehow, I don't think I'll end up letting it collect dust like my Xbox did. Strange, isn't it?

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