When We Retire The Old Guard

We live in an incredibly fascinating time. The rate at which technology is changing and integrating with what we consider standard day-to-day life is increasing at an exponential rate. This leads to an interesting thought; so much of what we live is "unprecedented". This plays a particularly intriguing role in our so called "gamer culture", that niche little section of society that most people reading this blog live in or around.

Gaming as a medium is still rather young, and as such, the first generation of children weened on this wondrous art have since entered adult hood. These men and women are now gamings "Old Guard". those nostalgia loving, console war surviving, 8 bit heroes who now control the b/vlog-o-sphere which our societal niche dotes upon. The problem is, gaming is no longer a niche hobby. Video Games are growing up, but the "Old Guard" of gaming isn't.

This really does boil down to being an opinion, but I am tired about hearing how games used to be more engaging, difficult, and all around better experiences. The reason this gets under my skin is because it is [for the most part] nostalgia. There is nothing wrong with nostalgia, I think it's awesome, the difference is I can admit to myself that the games I played as a child have evolved into something greater than the sum of their original parts.

I believe we will get to see this evolution first hand as the PS2/Xbox/Nintendohadsomethingright? generation gets older. I'm honestly curious to see how these kids fair amongst the hordes of now older and entitled Gen X'rs. The kids that grew up playing PS2 games are going to defend Jak and Daxter with the same furver that someone who grew up playing Nintendo defends Super Mario Bros 3. Further than that, children who are growing up with Xbox 360 now are going to defend their time and console.

My son's first (generational) console will probably be the Playstation 4 (or whatever the next gen is). I can only imagine how things will be when he is older. Defending the legitimacy of the PS4 against the nostalgia laden hipsters claiming 360 was the greatest console of all time. I just barely missed out on being a part of gen X. I remember playing NES, but my first console was a Genesis. So I went straight to 16 bit, and did my catching up a few years later. I was an odd duck, I never bought into the "Sega does what Nintendon't" console wars. That wasn't my prerogative, playing good games was (and still is).

Don't get me wrong, I love retro games. I even think they hold their own in the "games as art" discussion. But it just seems silly to me to act like the NES is the end-all when it comes to gaming, or that things aren't (at the very least) just as good as they were 20 years ago.