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Steve_OS · 08-14-2007, 09:20 AM

Terry Crouch has just posted an article entitled, Whatever Happened to the Good Times? Make sure you give it a read and let us know how you feel about it.

"For those of us old enough to remember, gaming as a kid in the ColecoVision and Atari 2600 days was nothing but fun. Whether it was Pitfall or Real Sports Football, Circus Atari…you name it, it was really fun to fire up a console and cut loose a bit. Early versions of football on ColecoVision were simply small sprites on a green screen, but somehow they brought the game alive because you were actually controlling something that you couldn’t hope to do in your own life. The Nintendo Entertainment System really ushered in a whole new era in gaming, and games like Tecmo Super Bowl and Baseball Stars will forever live on as milestones in gaming, particularly sports gaming, because one included real players and teams, while the other included features that were so far ahead of their time, it was ridiculous."

Steve_OS · 08-14-2007, 09:22 AM

I remember not being able to sleep at night after calling Electronic Arts every few hours to see when my Genesis Madden would finally show up. I waited for that UPS man on the front porch in agony. When it finally showed up, I unwrapped it and actually read the manual from front to back and played non-stop for god knows how long. It was "FUN", no question about it.

Fun to me was playing 10 Yard Fight or Real Sports Football and creating my own stats sheet.

ExtremeGamer · 08-14-2007, 09:28 AM

I used to play the Genesis Madden's with a note book next to me and a copy of a NFL preview mag for the player names. Since the old Madden's didn't have real teams or real players, it did have real numbers. I'd keep all my stats in the notebook, and play every single game of a NFL season. I think it only had playoffs, so I just did a bunch of exhibition games. Kept my stats and finished that season. Never had so much fun.

Bacardi151 · 08-14-2007, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExtremeGamer


	I used to play the Genesis Madden's with a note book next to me and a copy of a NFL preview mag for the player names. Since the old Madden's didn't have real teams or real players, it did have real numbers. I'd keep all my stats in the notebook, and play every single game of a NFL season. I think it only had playoffs, so I just did a bunch of exhibition games. Kept my stats and finished that season. Never had so much fun.

did that for every sports game i would get my hands on. Some stats were more detailed than others.

I remember doing it for tecmo bowl, bases loaded, and first genesis madden.

Good times...

Great article Terry

Bobolini · 08-14-2007, 09:45 AM

Great article! Yes, I believe with the internet, patches, updates, and technology we have become spoiled brats that look for every imperfection and losing the reason we purchased the game, to have fun! I remember when my Father came home with an Intellivison game system and having a blast playing Bump and Jump! Yes, the good old days of mindless fun.

JohnDoe8865 · 08-14-2007, 10:15 AM

TCrouch you couldn't be more on the money with your article. Fun is what is really missing these days in gaming, atleast for me. I never get that kind of fun out of the new games now, maybe because they are so expensive, hardware concerns, internet previews/reviews, etc. But every once in a while, I get a bit of that feeling back - like when I first fired up NCAA on 360 this year. I was having awesome fun at that point ... and honestly every other game I've bought for the 360 so far I have not been able to "get into it" really.

I think maybe back in the day when you had to use your imagination (like writing out your own stats), things were as fun as you wanted them to be. Now we all know the technology, developer, etc. behind our games and we can critique EVERYTHING.

ComaFaction · 08-14-2007, 10:48 AM

I used to play full seasons on paper with NHLPA '93. I would keep my teams stats and also, the scores that showed the highlights between periods would count toward the standings.

Did the same thing with Roger Clemens Baseball for NES.

born_bad · 08-14-2007, 10:49 AM

I think that because the graphics have progressed so far in the past 20 years (I started out with an Atari 2600), people assume things like AI have, too. The games *look* so real now that people expect them to play realistic, which just isn't possible (for reasons mentioned). When you see a baseball game that looks as amazing as MLB2k7, for example, you kind of expect the way the game plays to be as realistic as the way it looks, which isn't the case.

I do try to keep these things in mind and enjoy my games. I don't nit-pick over little things. I actually had fun with Madden 07 for the 360. I don't buy a ton of games; I tend to stick to games that I know I'll play for more than a month or 2. I think people buy so many games now that they make quick judgments and then move on. It's not like back in the day when I could only get a few games a year and then played the hell out of them.

08-14-2007, 09:20 AM	#1
Steve_OS Editor-in-Chief OVR: 77 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: OS Eastern Office Posts: 31,655 Blog Entries: 556	Whatever Happened to the Good Times? Terry Crouch has just posted an article entitled, Whatever Happened to the Good Times? Make sure you give it a read and let us know how you feel about it. "For those of us old enough to remember, gaming as a kid in the ColecoVision and Atari 2600 days was nothing but fun. Whether it was Pitfall or Real Sports Football, Circus Atari…you name it, it was really fun to fire up a console and cut loose a bit. Early versions of football on ColecoVision were simply small sprites on a green screen, but somehow they brought the game alive because you were actually controlling something that you couldn’t hope to do in your own life. The Nintendo Entertainment System really ushered in a whole new era in gaming, and games like Tecmo Super Bowl and Baseball Stars will forever live on as milestones in gaming, particularly sports gaming, because one included real players and teams, while the other included features that were so far ahead of their time, it was ridiculous." __________________ Steve Noah Editor-in-Chief http://www.operationsports.com Follow me on Twitter

08-14-2007, 09:22 AM	#2
Steve_OS Editor-in-Chief OVR: 77 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: OS Eastern Office Posts: 31,655 Blog Entries: 556	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? I remember not being able to sleep at night after calling Electronic Arts every few hours to see when my Genesis Madden would finally show up. I waited for that UPS man on the front porch in agony. When it finally showed up, I unwrapped it and actually read the manual from front to back and played non-stop for god knows how long. It was "FUN", no question about it. Fun to me was playing 10 Yard Fight or Real Sports Football and creating my own stats sheet. __________________ Steve Noah Editor-in-Chief http://www.operationsports.com Follow me on Twitter

08-14-2007, 09:28 AM	#3
ExtremeGamer Extra Life 11/3/18 OVR: 70 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 35,320 Blog Entries: 32	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? I used to play the Genesis Madden's with a note book next to me and a copy of a NFL preview mag for the player names. Since the old Madden's didn't have real teams or real players, it did have real numbers. I'd keep all my stats in the notebook, and play every single game of a NFL season. I think it only had playoffs, so I just did a bunch of exhibition games. Kept my stats and finished that season. Never had so much fun. __________________ Mixer Stream XBox - ExtremeGamer PSN - ExtremeGamer Switch - 4640-8613-7710

08-14-2007, 09:45 AM	#5
Bobolini Banned OVR: 10 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cville, Va	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? Great article! Yes, I believe with the internet, patches, updates, and technology we have become spoiled brats that look for every imperfection and losing the reason we purchased the game, to have fun! I remember when my Father came home with an Intellivison game system and having a blast playing Bump and Jump! Yes, the good old days of mindless fun.

08-14-2007, 10:15 AM	#6
JohnDoe8865 Hall of Fame OVR: 59 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Mount Airy, NC Posts: 9,612 Blog Entries: 40	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? TCrouch you couldn't be more on the money with your article. Fun is what is really missing these days in gaming, atleast for me. I never get that kind of fun out of the new games now, maybe because they are so expensive, hardware concerns, internet previews/reviews, etc. But every once in a while, I get a bit of that feeling back - like when I first fired up NCAA on 360 this year. I was having awesome fun at that point ... and honestly every other game I've bought for the 360 so far I have not been able to "get into it" really. I think maybe back in the day when you had to use your imagination (like writing out your own stats), things were as fun as you wanted them to be. Now we all know the technology, developer, etc. behind our games and we can critique EVERYTHING. __________________ Favorite Sports Teams NFL - Carolina Panthers NBA - Charlotte Hornets MLB - Cincinnati Reds College Basketball - Wake Forest NCAA Football - Appalachian State

	MLB The Show 24 Review: Another Solid Hit for the Series
	New Star GP Review: Old-School Arcade Fun
	Where Are Our College Basketball Video Game Rumors?

08-14-2007, 10:48 AM	#7
ComaFaction Pro OVR: 7 Join Date: Feb 2007	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? I used to play full seasons on paper with NHLPA '93. I would keep my teams stats and also, the scores that showed the highlights between periods would count toward the standings. Did the same thing with Roger Clemens Baseball for NES.

08-14-2007, 10:49 AM	#8
born_bad MVP OVR: 11 Join Date: Jan 2005	Re: Whatever Happened to the Good Times? I think that because the graphics have progressed so far in the past 20 years (I started out with an Atari 2600), people assume things like AI have, too. The games look so real now that people expect them to play realistic, which just isn't possible (for reasons mentioned). When you see a baseball game that looks as amazing as MLB2k7, for example, you kind of expect the way the game plays to be as realistic as the way it looks, which isn't the case. I do try to keep these things in mind and enjoy my games. I don't nit-pick over little things. I actually had fun with Madden 07 for the 360. I don't buy a ton of games; I tend to stick to games that I know I'll play for more than a month or 2. I think people buy so many games now that they make quick judgments and then move on. It's not like back in the day when I could only get a few games a year and then played the hell out of them.