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- AGH EDITORIAL -
CLASSIC GAMES - NOSTALGIA, GREAT GAMING OR JUST HYPE?
As John, myself and a host of others burn the midnight oil
while coordinating the annual
Classic Gaming Expo '99
event this August in Las Vegas, we've been asked many times
whether CGE will eventually incorporate the late 80's games
and systems (like TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis) into the event
down the road. While it's too early to speculate on what will
have become of the show in five or ten years hence, it's fairly
certain that as time goes by, the definition (at least ours,
anyways) of classic will expand to include some of the later
generation games -- and in doing so, CGE will grow in size,
importance and relevance.
This year's event generally embraces the era of electronic
entertainment that, in my opinion, was the most colorful and
significant in the history of our hobby. Sure, current teenagers
will feel the same way about Super Nintendo, Playstation and
Mortal Kombat that we do about Pac-Man,
Atari and Nolan Bushnell. But there's something that's arguably a
bit more special about gaming in the 70's and early 80's than any
other time in history.
What's that, you might ask? You're probably expecting me
to talk about how the simplistic and addictive games of yore
have infinitely more fun and replay value than the texture-mapped
polygonal games of today. Nope, and I wouldn't necessarily agree
with you on that point. I'm just as much of a fan of Gran
Turismo or Zelda 64 as I was of
Enduro and Adventure. Besides,
comparing anything from different generations is pointless.
Try telling vintage car enthusiasts that Porsche 911s or
Acura Integra VTECs of today are superior to a Corvette Stingray
or Datsun 240Z, and vice-versa. You won't get very far either
way, and truth be told, it's really a matter of preference.
We've also been warned by people that CGE will die off once
the nostalgia factor wears off. Currently, there are a vast
array of classic compilations and remakes on the likes of
Playstation and Windows PC's. The Midway and Namco Museum
volumes, Pitfall 3D, Hasbro's Frogger
and Centipede along with a slew of classic game
revivals on the Game Boy Color has no doubt rekindled interest
in the originals in which they're based on. And while I guess
we cannot expect this trend to continue forever, this doesn't
diminish the fact that many of the classics are still a blast
to play.
Sure, to an extent, CGE'99 will be riding the wave of the
classic gaming revitalization while also capitalizing on the
80's-era nostalgia-ism that's sweeping across the country
in the minds of many twenty-and-thirtysomethings. But more
than that, this event is aimed at celebrating the most
enchanting and mysterious period in electronic entertainment's
illustrious history. People who grew up with the 2600,
Vectrex and Asteroids were a part of the first
generation of video games, meaning it was an unprecedented time
with respect to gaming. Every move made by marketers, designers,
engineers and executives were calculated risks; there was
no luxury of hindsight. When Atari first rolled out its
Video Computer System in 1977, their plan wasn't to have it
sell over 25 million units before all was said and done.
On the corollary, the company certainly didn't foresee
the market crash of late 1983 (hindsight is 20/20, folks!)
In contrast, today you have an industry that's much
better understood. Retailers, distributors and analysts
pretty much know that the console market is cyclical, that
a successful game machine has a life expectancy of roughly
five to seven years maximum. Consequently, plans for a
"next generation" system are well underway long before
the current system has even peaked. We also know that it's
nearly impossible to start a software company out of one's
basement with the guy programming a game by himself (unlike
Atari or Apollo, for instance). Nothing against the
bright minds who make the hobby enjoyable today, but without
the contributions -- and failures -- of this industry's
pioneers, the electronic entertainment landscape may be
vastly different than it is today.
There's no doubt that electronic gaming - in one form
or another - will continue to flourish and entertain people
for generations to come. But one thing that can't be said
for any other era is that the "Classic" era (1971-84) was...
and always will be... the first. There's nothing more magical
than living through the dawn of any great new invention. If
you'd like to enjoy a weekend in Las Vegas mingling with
industry pioneers, playing your favorite games from yesteryear,
purchase classic games and memorabilia at cut-rate prices and
personally check out a museum exhibit that has arguably the
most impressive repetoire of items ever assembled, we
encourage you to mark your calendar for August 14-15 and
make your way to
Classic Gaming Expo '99.
See you in Vegas!
- Please send comments or questions to Keita Iida
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