Issue 24: Oct 2002
Features
- | Foreword
- | Tip of the day
- | Silver Bullet Blue Flame Edition
- | Atarinvader's 2600 series
- | Atari in the USA 2002
- | Okami
- | The 30 Ataris of the JosTosBond
- | Building my own MAME machine
- | Something for Nothing: GEM games
M@ilbox
News
| Will Luton kick starts Atarinvader's new series Although the Atari 2600 ended its career with a glut (the Atari system basically suffocated from an overwhelmingly large third party explosion, and most of the games were designed very poorly, ending Atari's career), there's been an increase of what is known as "retrogaming." For all those not schooled in this term, it means that games of the past have been coming back strongly, in one form or another. The reason being is this: Although we've all seen the new wave of games, the 3D graphics, the realistic sounds and effects that push the technology to its limits and beyond, many "older" gamers desire simple basics. Playability and fun. Granted, many of these new games on the market are enjoyable, many older gamers (and ones that have just discovered the retro games themselves) agree that nothing beats a rehashed version of some of the games we were playing in the early 80s. As such, a veritable cornucopia of classics have been given new life. In many of their forms, however, they come out as revamped versions of what they once were...beefed up for the 21st century (Asteroids 2000 for example). I myself, as an older gamer, groan with dismay and ask, "What happened to the game? Where'd it go underneath all this glitter and glamour?" The good news is many PCs and Macs emulate these games to a tee. You can find virtually any game made in the last 20 years somewhere on the internet, and you can play it in its original, unedited form. However, playing an old game on a new Pentium 4 processor doesn't seem the same to many. In fact, it's like it's been given a new face to wear. Many gamers turn back the clock to obtain old video game systems (Intellivision, Odyssey II, and so forth) and the great games they had for them in their heyday. Hence, collectors everywhere now have a new hobby: collecting these priceless classic systems and their games from wherever they may have taken up residence in the last two decades. Auctions (Ebay), flea markets, on-line stores, and everywhere in urban America have been turned upside-down in the retrogamers search for "that one particular game they remember playing when they were ten years old." I have been no different from the others bitten by this ancient bug, and if you're reading this, perhaps you're no different, either. Here's to your search for those bygone games and systems that may have gone by the wayside, but are very much alive with us retros as they once were. Have you played Atari today? You bet I have. ;-)
Useful link
Atarinvader's web site www.atarinvader.com
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