(Retro)Gaming has gone insane

[TechnoWolf]

Okay, I've always been wanting to post something about retrogaming for some time.

 

 

Retrogaming & the whole entitlement thing around it has become a total mockery. I'm not kidding, and neither am I being hyperbolic. Everything related to retrogaming and even gaming itself these days has turn

into a big phenomenon that makes me wanna roll my eyes in despair and sigh. While the situation I'm about to describe may apply especially to my country, I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing was hapenning in your place...

 

But before I start ranting all over my case, maybe you'd need to read the beginning of my story, so you can all get where I'm coming from. 

 

I don't want to hate on ancient games, I'm an avid gamer, I've always been interacting with a computer or a console since I'm two years old. The NES was in my house when I was two, and was this new thing I couldn't get enough of. It is at a point my parents believed I was being possessed somehow, and had me examined. I'm not inventing stuff.

 

 

In 2010, I had lost vast majority of my games, some were sold, others were stolen (sh*t happens). And until now I never had the feeling I needed to have those games back, since I could get my hands on it through emulation. I was working this summer of 2010, and after acquiring an Xbox 360 last year, I was going for the Nintendo Wii. But this year, upon discovering some new french youtuber (which led me to discover the AVGN), I started to have some nostalgia for my old consoles, and proceeded to get those back eventually. It wasn't that hard : I could find a copy of Starfox for the Super Nintendo for 1?, a copy of Mega Man X for 4?, same thing with Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2. And I even bought Super Metroid for less than 10?.

 

It was just natural to me. Those games were old, they were cheap. Nobody was interested in them. And some times, at flea markets, I could find near to mint games for less than 5? (Mortal Kombat IV for the psone, for example). I rapidly got what I wanted and as time went on, I tried to extend my collection more and more (targetting my favourite series like Megaman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania, Metroid, etc...).

 

As the year passed I ended up working in several different places, always waiting for my salary to come so I could decide which game I was acquiring and which game I would choose to buy another time. Today, it's clear to me : I'm not buying anything retro anymore, good Lord.

 

The "retrogaming" culture really established itself, and now, you can find plenty of people on the Internet that are gonna tell you how retro had it so right and how these were the good days, and how nowadays game are so the same blend crap again & again. Though I'll admit this generation of gaming has seen a lot of classic franchise fall into the abyss (like the Resident Evil franchise, or Final Fantasy...), and has a lot of game that tries to be a clone of Call of Duty (which, in itself, is a rather mediocre FPS) ; how many games "back in the days" were bad clones of Mega Man, Mario, or Sonic ? How many games starring cute Super Deformed animals have we seen rising on the Super Nes or Sega Megadrive/Genesis ? I can think of good ones, like the Rocket Knight Adventures (which, coincidentally, failed miserably when it tried to come back during the HD era, like the "mode phenomenon" it had always been ; and I loved this game) and I can think of pretty bad ones too.

 

As for the FPS clone, they always existed, since the very day Doom was on shelves, there were countless bad clones of this game, some of them being sometimes the very same map from Doom, only slightly modified.

 

So, I made my case on how the retro games were plagued by the same problems today's games have ; but there is an even bigger problem in this all mess. See, as I stated above : there are plenty of idio-I mean, people, that are gonna tell in their videos that "oh it was so much better before"; and this has finally come to the ears of your typical consummer, which now believes his attic is filled with gold and diamonds.

 

You're familiar with yard sales, right ? well, back in my (""""very much beloved"""") place, people seem to have mistaken this term for "additionnal ebay". Last time I went at a yard sale, it was around 8:30AM, which is already an early hour to be dressed up and in the streets on the week ends, there was almost to nothing, especially game wise. I made the test the next time and arrived at 7 o' clock, and what a disastrous show it was : all I could see was people not even finished to unload their stuff from their cars that already a pack of total leeches were already utterly charging them. And when I finally arrived at the man selling, oh god, the prices. Let me explain you how the dialogue went :

 

Me : How much for the Super C (= Contra II on NES) ? (condition of the game : cartridge only)

Him : This one...? ... Hmm.... 30?

Me : 30 ...?!

Him : Yep. T'is a classic.

 

 

"A classic". As if he was telling "I know this price is a complete joke, but calling this game a classic will instantly make it more acceptable".

 

 

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/NOTICE-DE-SUPER-PROBOTECTOR-POUR-SUPER-NINTENDO-EN-BE-/371114720816?pt=FR_Jeux_Vid%C3%A9o&hash=item5668293e30

 

(Look at this : that's how much people are able to ask you for just the manual. I know these especially became harder to track, but seriously, you could buy the whole game fully mint with this money !! also, yes, Contra is called Probotector in Europe, don't ask me why.)

 

 

Another day, it went like this :

 

Me : How much for Mario Kart Double Dash ?

Him : ... 10?

Me : ...

Him : It's Mario !

 

 

Oh, it's Mario, therefore it's at least worth double the money of any other game, I suppose.

 

 

Back to my store where I found Megaman X for 4? ? well I saw another copy of this game several years later. 30?. Cartridge only, of course. What was the reason for more than five times the price raise ? I don't know, probably : "Well it's Megaman, he's being ignored by Capcom, buy this game if you support this". Donkey Kong Country 2 ? 40?. What ? It's Donkey Kong. Boxed ? you mean to tell me you really think boxes are this cheap ?

 

Change my store ? of course : the other one had a copy of a US Mega Man 6 (cartridge only) for only 100? (nice, considering I got mine from less than $10)

 

So prices have become completely undecent; but wait, there's more.

 

With the Internet being........ well, the Internet : a place where a french nerd can write stuff about video games and have some people from United States, Asia, Europe, Africa or anywhere else to read it and react to it, I had to get this out of my system. And the reaction were ... mixed... to say the least :

 

From "yeah, I kind of agree" to "Well... what's the harm from selling this expensive, if there are people (stupid enough) to buy ?"

 

The harm, well I think the harm may come in the form of an auction sale based on video game where people could be able to buy a copy of Goldeneye 64 for the cheap price of 9 000?. And, yes, it hapenned.

 

My problem with this is that the trend has now become this : you find something you like in a yard sale, the guy tells you the price, you find it completely over priced (especially since the condition isn't guaranteed), and the guy will tell you "You know, it's two times more expensive on ebay". So if I can be cool with a man buying an N64 cartridge for 9000? (and somewhere, no I'm not cool at all with that, think of what you could do with this money !!!), I would be very less cool if I saw one day someone telling me : "This Super Mario Kart cartridge is 4500?.............. what ? I saw on the internet someone buying it for 15 000? last day".

 

 

The store overprice their old games. The sale yards are taking their old antiquities for an ebay account. The Internet is full of people defending that. And of course, you still have those people on their webcams that are gonna tell you countless time that "it was better before" and that "if you don't buy these old games, then you're just not a real gamer, and should stop claiming yourself as such and return to play your shitty new games."  I clearly remember how my schoolmates were seeing me when I was 13 "ERMAHGERD ! he plays videogames ! what a weirdo !!! looser !!! get away from me !!". Today, I see these same people telling me "what ?! you don't have this game ?! what do you mean "too expensive" ?! you bought components to build your own PC, you f***ing weirdo !! looser !", then going back to spend their afternoon watching videos of the YouTubers that will sometime, "mysteriously", defend the last game from some company we don't need to name. Some backbiter may say that the YouTuber himself kinda sold his integrity to the publisher but then- "SHUSH ! How dare you insult the great ?!"

 

(note : just to clarify : I don't think every YouTuber is a sold out, I just want to address something in general).

 

 

Gaming always was a counter-culture. It's become a fashion trend these days, and will eventually fade away, but it doesn't change the fact that this has always been a counter-culture that many people despised, and seeing how things turned always gave me a bitter taste in my mouth. More than just frustration, I felt that people have become crazy with it, the way they price their stuff, and the way they can sell them with a straight face. I know that if my Mega Man X copy really was worth 1 000?, I wouldn't sell it. Not because I love the game so much that I don't want to separate myself from it, but because if it really was this worth, then I'll keep it as legacy. The fact they can sell it that much shows they don't really care about it, and are just trying to gain an indecent amount of cash from it. This whole ambiance isn't something pleasant to live into, and I'd very much like it to stop.

 

 

 

But wait.................... there's more.

 

 

Do you know about cartmodding ? it's a practise that consists of taking an old cartridge, for example a SNES cart, and erase the data on it (i.e : the original game) so you can replace it with other datas (i.e : another game). People have been using this mostly to "create" game that never came to existence : such as Seiken Densetsu 3 translated in english or french (as the game only came out in Japan ; FYI : Seiken Densetsu 2 came out in US & Europe under the name "Secret of Mana"). Legally there's nothing prohibiting you to do such things and even sell. Since the practice wasn't ongoing during the selling of SNES games, the Law never asked itself the question ; but today, again thanks to the Internet, anybody can buy himself an EEPROM (which is something basically supposed to electrically erase the memory of the Programmed ROM, i.e : the game) and start customising his games and "creating" his own Chrono Trigger - French version.

 

And now for the last problem with it : people have the nerve to sell those cartmods. Even professionnal stores. I could see one in Paris selling a cartmod of Chrono Trigger in french for 90? (I got my US cart for $60, in a store based in Miami (the same I found my copy of Mega Man 6 mind you), FYI. In my honest opinion : I'm very happy to know english enough to avoid even having to consider buying a "fake" for such a price).

 

 

So I must consider this today : Super Metroid for > 130? with its box, and maybe it's not even the real thing but a replica sold by some random douchebag on the Internet.

 

 

 

 

Who's to blame ?

 

 

YOU >:< !!!!

 

 

no, not you, guys at Mighty N?9 Universe. I mean "you", You ! with a capital "Y". Which in fact includes me, so I blame US. We let that happen. We let people take over our games they mocked in the past, and turn them into cash cows. All I can do now is keep on gaming, and wait that this stupid trend stops so that prices can go back to a more decent level. Guess that'll give another reason for young gamers wishing to get to know old stuff (like, hem, Megaman) to do it via emulation. I can't blame them for that, at this rate.

 

 

 

 

TL;DR

 

 

- Retrogaming is stupid

 

- Old games sucked as much as new games do.

 

- There are good & bad everywhere

 

- The trend of "It was better before" led people to sacrilize their old games

 

- Some jerks are taking advantage of this to make money : Youtube videos or selling stuff at prices even Bill Gates' jaws would drop off

 

- Stores are doing the same now...

 

- ... Even cartmods are being sold, wtf

 

- We're to blame for that

 

- Life sucks.

 

- Can't condone the big "E". Won't stone anybody though.

 

- Worship TechnoWolf @_@

 

 

 

 

Next time, I'll tell you what are my ideas for new Mega Man games.

 

 

 

...

 

 

I'll leave you with this track : What I'm Made of - Crush 40 (from Sonic Heroes)

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnOtW_yMmzo&index=102&list=PLd5jwel3SDJ0Qw3oBZeXxM_XqHKpqS80l

[MechaGS]

I know exactly what you mean TechnoWolf. I will admit to buying games at those prices and higher (especially my recent Mega Man purchases) which have all been way over what I'd have expected. Most have cost me the same as new games and a few have been double that price.

 

The issue that I'm seeing though isn't the price, it's the lack of titles leading to the price. Especially when we talk games that are pre-PSX era, then we really start hitting some crazy pricing but people don't want to sell their retro games any more. I'm happy that I've kept most of the games I grew up with as many are very expensive to get a hold of now.

 

I love retro gaming though, much more than the current generation and personally I preferred the days of buying a complete game. I hate having to deal with today's DLC, Season Passes and whatever else publishers will do next just to take advantage of people's wallets. Even today's games cost more because of the "add-ons" that developers and publishers are pushing (anyone remember horse armour?).

 

You'll have to lump me in with the people that believe that the retro years were better (at least for consumers). No beating around the bush, just a finished title that the whole family could enjoy. If Microsoft got their way this gen, we'd all have been paying to let people watch us game, let alone play the damned things.

 

That's my thoughts anyway. The industry is less consumer, more main-stream money grubbing. Either way, whether people are into retro or modern, it's a low blow all around.

[TechnoWolf]

On a consummer/gamer level, I can get it.

 

I do have friends that think the same, and while I believe that some practices (DLCs) are misused, I always try to show them that recent games have tons of quality title, even though I like sometimes going, myself, to older games.

 

 

It's okay when it's just you & me discussing the matter.

 

 

But whenever you start being famous and having an audience, you should always think twice about saying what you think. And of course, some of the YouTubers I was targetting have proven to be completely sold out to a company, which should have totally discredited them, but resulted in very minor damage. Coincidentaly, these are the same youtubers that always ask "please deactivate your adblock so I can have money " which just furtherproves my point that they are sold.

 

 

And as for the price of the old games, well... I really can't approve any of what I described above.

[TheRaven]

Yeah the price of many retro games are simply ridiculous. Especially when it comes to the Mega Man Legends series, my god people are asking for the disc only for $70! And yeah I agree with you, there has always been shitty games regardless of what generation of gaming we're talking about. I can think of a few boring and poorly executed games for the Genesis/Mega Drive, including the SNES and Playstation. I think more people simply state that retro games "are better" because they grew up playing those games, and nostalgia plays a factor in this. I love retro games and modern games as well. But damn those prices, especially when they sell loose copies minus the cover/case, and manual it's just insane. I'm glad I got into video games back in '94, and started collecting games in '98 when prices were a bit more reasonable for retro games and consoles too. 

[TechnoWolf]

I was mistaken : the Chrono Trigger bootleg was 190? not 90?.

 

I'll let the idea sink : almost the price of a Wii U for a game that's not even the real thing.

 

 

My point stands : I'm glad I can understand at least english. And when I see the prices of imports, I'm really considering learning japanese.

[NotSpiderBread]

To be honest I've always had pretty good luck when it comes to Retro collecting.

 

Most of my rarer games I got for $2-$5 a piece. Some of the other ones I wanted I got for way less than market value, or through trades. The only thing I paid close to market value for was a copy of Pocky & Rocky with a messed up label. I think I spent around $39-40 on it, it's now worth around 70-80. In it's condition I could sell it for $50 easily, but I never will.

 

Thing you gotta do is just be patient. Go to different flea markets, yardsales, swap meets, goodwill/thrift stores, every weekend. The earlier the better. I don't know how your situation is i europe but the area I live in, in the states, has been a gold mine for me. Either no one around he collects, or I've been very, very lucky.

[TechnoWolf]

In my place people are rushing at like 6 in the morning, not even waiting that the sellers have unload thzir truck. And they try to buy for the cheapest possible, mostly so they can resell that at the highest price on the internet or in their mother country if they are from another country...

[Quattro Bajeena]

Blame the west who sees it like classic car collecting

 

video games are not rare limited production items, they are mass produced things.

 

I'd love to visit Japan just for their retro game stores which sell retro video games and equipment for cheap