Old School Gaming...

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Kent

Kent

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This is for any gaming systems, games, or accessories from days gone by.

My reason for posting is simple... My 8 year old niece and nephew came over today and I broke out the old Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Wayne Gretzky Hockey, and Star Wars Rogue Squadron (btw, golden eye, perfect dark, wwf, and a few others were too adult for them but still in the box).

They love it.
I couldn't believe it still worked, none the less how good it looks (considering how the age of the system). I can see why retro gamers in their 30s (like me) who are making decent money as adults might be willing to pay a few hundred dollars for the system and a handful of games.

So are any of you fans of the old systems?
Any of you still playing on them?

Tell me your stories, relive your days of youth! Or be introduced to the age of gaming when it was about the game and not simply the graphics. :sly:
 
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(Sigh) I still remember the first time I played a video game. I was about 2 or 3 years-old, and with my huge interest in cars, my uncle popped GT2 into his old Playstation and taught me the basics. I recall him having all gold licenses, had most every race won, and a bunch of the faster cars in the game in his garage. He then instructed me to go to Suzuki and buy a new car (I chose a Monaco Blue Wagon R), and take said car to the test course. Of course, being young I thought it was the fastest and coolest thing ever. However, soon after that I must have deleted his save file some how, because when I booted the game later everything was gone. In the end I suspect that I erased the GT save to make room for some terrible Dora the Explorer game :lol:.
 
Kent
Or be introduced to the age of gaming when it was about the game and not simply the graphics.
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I don't think it'll mean much to anyone who hasn't experienced it itself because, frankly, nostalgia's a huge factor here. And lest I forgot: Remember how Sega advertised the Genesis when it was up against the NES? The graphics and technology did play their part, even back then, or so I like to think ;)

I don't have access to my old systems any more, these days. Kinda sad, but really, the only one I actually miss is the Super Nintendo and my PlayStation somewhat. Lots of great memories associated with the Super Nintendo in particular, mostly playing Super Mario World with my cousins as a kid and trying to manage our way through Lufia II with my (back then) best friend. Fun times.

As for the games themselves... Eh. The majority feels pretty dated - which isn't that big a deal for me, as far as graphics are concerned, but many old games just feel very clunky and clumsy in terms of gameplay and mechanics, too. There are few titles I still hold in high regard. I do play those from time to time, or at least attempt to. Mostly via emulation. However, I generally drop them again long before finishing them. Can't put my finger on why, but one of my all-time favourites is Final Fantasy IX, but I just can't find the will to play through it. It was a masterpiece in 2000 and one of the games that definitely solidified my love for video games in general. It doesn't look bad, at least not when played on a phone and, the combat system aside, doesn't even feel that clunky or old; and yet, it always gets tedious about halfway through. Same with Lufia II, really.

Sigh... I think a lot of what makes me remember these games so fondly isn't about the games themselves. It's more about the carefree live I got to live during my childhood that these games remind me off, I guess. Gotta thank my parents for that.
 
(sigh) I still remember the first time I played a video game. I was about 10 years old and my buddy had this box plugged in to his TV with fake wood paneling on it and the word "PONG" printed on top! :D A couple years later, I had my own Pong machine...only it was called an Atari2600 and it could do more than just play pong.

I remember when the idea of playing video games against people who weren't actually sitting there next to you in the same room was an utterly unattainable fantasy. Now, I look back fondly on the days when great games were designed totally for one person to play and enjoy and they had to work reasonably correctly right ootb - no updates/patching allowed! :)

I remember also the days when you could walk in to a computer store and see a huge wall of absolutely killer flight sims in big boxes stuffed full of huge printed instruction books that weighed about 3 pounds.
 
I had a Genesis, but cant recall. This is awesome though....


Online gaming pioneered by sega channel

Talk about ahead of its time....nobody had internet (except a very few tech nerds). sega channel allowed you to play 50 different video games through your cable tv provider. it would be a long time before anything topped it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Channel

Sega Channel was an online game service developed by Sega for the Genesis video game console, serving as a content delivery system. Launching in December 1994, Sega Channel was provided to the public by TCI and Time Warner Cable through cable television services by way of coaxial cable. It was a pay to play service, through which customers could access Genesis games online, play game demos, and get cheat codes.

In April 1993, Sega announced the Sega Channel service, which would utilize cable television services to deliver content.[5] National testing in the United States for the service began in June, and deployment across the United States began in December,[6] with a complete release in North America in 1994.[7] By June 1994, Sega Channel had gained a total of 21 cable companies signed up to carry the service.

After making the initial purchase and paying the activation fee, Genesis owners would receive an adapter that would be inserted into the cartridge slot of the console.[7] The adapter connected the console to a cable television wire,[8] doing so by the use of a coaxial cable output in the rear of the cartridge.[6] Starting up a Genesis console with an active Sega Channel adapter installed would prompt for the service's main menu to be loaded, which was a process that took approximately 30 seconds. From there, gamers could access the content they wished to play and download it into their system, which could take up to a few minutes per game.[7] This data would be downloaded into the adaptor's on-board 4 MB RAM, and would be erased when the system was powered off.[10]

Programming and transmission of the Sega Channel's monthly services started with a production team at Sega, which would put together content every month and load it onto a CD-ROM. It was then sent to a satellite station,[11] located in Denver, Colorado.[12] From the station, the signal was transmitted via a Galaxy 7 satellite, which uploaded at 1.435 GHz and downloaded at 1.1 GHz, to the local cable providers.[6] In Canada and across South America and Europe, however, the satellite transmission stage was bypassed altogether in favor of direct uploads of the Sega Channel CD-ROM via a cable television headend.[11] In order for the signal to function properly, it had to be clear of noise in order to prevent download interruptions. To ensure no issues, cable providers had to "clean" their broadcast signal.[

The Sega Channel service (also known as "Sega On The Line") hosted up to 50 Genesis games at any one time. Titles would rotate monthly;[13] however, some updates happened on a weekly basis.

In addition to games and demos, Sega Channel also hosted other features. Cheat codes were directly accessible from the network, as well as game hints.[14][13] The service also hosted contests, such as a promotion with Electronic Arts' Triple Play '96, and a 1995 event where players who completed Primal Rage during a brief 24-hour period where the full game was accessible were given a phone number to call, making them eligible to win prizes.[

Retrospective reception of Sega Channel praises its innovation and role in the development of online gaming, but criticizes its high subscription fees and timing into the market. IGN writer Adam Redsell notes how Sega Channel caused many cable companies to clean their broadcast signal and its role in the development of high-speed internet, stating "...the very fact that you’re enjoying broadband internet right now could well be thanks to SEGA."[10] Levi Buchanan, also writing for IGN, credits Sega Channel with its role in the development of modern gaming and content delivery services, such as Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, stating "SEGA and the entire industry learned important lessons from the SEGA Channel. SEGA was still committed to the idea of downloads and online, as evidenced by the Dreamcast's SegaNet... You can also see the DNA of early services like the SEGA Channel in modern portals like XBLA and PSN, where demos are now a staple."[7] The staff of UGO Networks also credits Sega Channel with being an important step in the development of both services.

some clips of games:

 
Have played video games with relatives since I was like 3 or 4 and of course, my main console that time was none other than the PS1. Games like Driver 2, Walt Disney Racing, Carmageddon, Toy Story 2 and Tekken are the games that we've mostly played there.
 
It's not the first system I played, nor is it the oldest system I own. But I've always been very fond of the Nintendo 64. Recently decided to dust mine off and start using it regularly again. Planning on getting some games that I missed out on back in the day (got a list of about 25 - 30) but they are going to have to be cartridges only. Some of the prices for complete boxed games are insane.

DSC02703.JPG
 
I believe there was a Commodore 64 which had a cassette player and games on cassettes.
 
Mr Grumpy
Anyone remember this :)
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HA! Yes, I remember this. Forgot what it was called though, but used to play it a lot around my mate's house. I remember that there were chickens that you used to chase & catch, as well as other weird stuff. I remember collecting lots of vehicles & putting them all in one place. I have no idea what the game was about, but I liked exploring in it.
 
I still game with the old stuff. I have a few bits of real hardware hooked up to a CRT Sony PVM monitor, as well as some devices emulated and running through an HD TV setup. I am looking to buy an Analogue system or two, or Polymega soon, replacing most of the physical hardware that I have to run through various converters to get that perfect picture, and simply having superior hardware designed to function on HD televisions.

My real hardware is as follows;

- A Japanese Supergun (Consolized Arcade motherboard that I run CPS2 hardware on)
- Consolized Neo Geo arcade hardware (home versions of Neo Geo titles are way more expensive than just buying the actual arcade carts)
- Japanese Sega Saturn + Action Replay. I would like to but the USB drive mod for this, but that thing is expensive.

In contrast, I also set up a PlayStation Classic system + soft mod. I created a few ISOs of my rarer PS1 titles, and run them on there in glorious HD.
 
I have been known to retro game on occasion.

I own:
  • 4 Sega Megadrive
  • 2 Mega CD
  • Saturn
  • Dreamcast
  • Atari Lynx
  • Amiga CD32
  • Amiga 1200
  • ZX Spectrum
  • Gameboy Advance
  • PS1
  • PS2
  • PSP

I also have many things that allow me to play old games, like the SNES Mini and an Armiga and also all the old Capcom, Atari, Midway collections for the PS2.
 
I still have...
Super Nintendo, mainly for the Donkey Country games.
Nintendo 64....Mario Kart 64 was probably the best game ever. So much fun with friends and family.
PS2, and games, can't get rid of it, even though I haven't touched it in ages
PS3, and games, I have fired this up a few times to play GT5 and 6

Still have a ton of PS1 games, but regretably sold the console a long time ago.
 
daan
  • 4 Sega Megadrive
  • 2 Mega CD
Click to expand...

I've got a Mega Drive and Mega CD buried away in the bottom of the wardrobe. Sadly it doesn't work and all the games were sold off years ago. Tempted to get it fixed one day and buy a few games. I'd love to use it again.
 
Bought myself an odriod retro console.

I used to think I was getting older and that's why I was playing games as much but since getting this I've been addicted.

It's the quality of the games on the old systems. Quick easy fun games that you don't need to grind and them spend more money to experience it all.

Its mo surprise mobile gaming and the likes is bigger than the consoles. Give me fun gameplay over fancy graphics any day.

I would highly recommend getting one as it the best 200 I've ever spent
 

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