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In the red corner, wearing the black trunks with the Atari 2600 logo on the front is Retroooooooooo! In the blue corner, wearing the gray trunks with the Vectrex logo on the front is Claaaaaaasic! Let's get reeeeeady to rummmmmmble!
Throughout this article, I will refer to myself. In all but the first and last paragraphs, this encompasses all those out there who are like me and don't subscribe to the word retro and its descriptions below.
I've been into games since there were games. I had the first Pong system I ever saw, though probably not the first Pong system ever. I had a Fairchild Channel F and all the games released. Our family would spend hour after hour competing with the neighbors down the street who also had one. I had the Atari 2600 in 1977 and my family played that thing to death from the moment it came into the house with Circus, Outlaw and Combat. I built up a collection of about 100 games by saving money that I would have to deposit in a jar for each game I played. Eventually I lost interest in video games and turned my interests to other things. After three or four years, I got back into my old games. I got all my old 2600 and Fairchild games from my uncle in London who I let borrow them and really fell in love again. The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the terms I have heard used recently regarding classic gaming is the word retro. The word itself means backward or back, so technically, it is correct when referring to old games. Besides the dictionary meaning, this word also has other connotations. It connotes hip, trendy, in-style, fashionable, etc. It connotes Pet Rocks, mood rings, Ginsui knives and Beta VCRs. In short, it's here today and gone tomorrow. Used mostly in news reports on the web about companies trying to capitalize on the popularity of their classic games (Namco, Williams, and Atari to name a couple), this word drives a spike through the heart of what I am. It is indeed here today but tomorrow will never come for me.
The word classic, by definition, means serving as an outstanding representative of its kind and having lasting significance and recognized worth. The word really has no connotations, as everything it means is everything it is. It does a perfect job in describing what the hobby is exactly. It's collecting games that were an outstanding representative of its kind (without the 2600, there would not have been a Saturn or Playstation) and have significant value, not necessarily dollar value, but valuable to me. The games and the hobby are memories that I want to remember forever and will. I will remember opening the Circus game and playing it for 3 solid hours with my sister, father, and me all taking turns. I will remember going over to a friend's house on my birthday and him having London Blitz in the 2600 when I got there and saying, "This is your birthday present, happy birthday!". If this were retro, none of those memories would have happened and the games would just be graphically challenged dinosaurs at best. They, in short, would mean nothing to me.
Those that use, live and breathe the word retro will lose interest and be out of the hobby when the prices rise above their expectations or the supply of the games dries up or they will tire of having all the clutter in the house. I'll be here to buy their games from them and when it becomes retro again, they'll be buying the games back from me. I've been into it since it started and magazines (who will change format if or when the Playstation, Nintendo 64 or Saturn fades from popularity) tell me the hobby I have enjoyed for over ten years is hip, trendy, in-style, or fashionable is quite annoying and quite incorrect. It's not those things for me. Rather, it's been those things since it started. It's in my blood and it's a part of my life forever.
Throughout this article, I will refer to myself. In all but the first and last paragraphs, this encompasses all those out there who are like me and don't subscribe to the word retro and its descriptions below.
I've been into games since there were games. I had the first Pong system I ever saw, though probably not the first Pong system ever. I had a Fairchild Channel F and all the games released. Our family would spend hour after hour competing with the neighbors down the street who also had one. I had the Atari 2600 in 1977 and my family played that thing to death from the moment it came into the house with Circus, Outlaw and Combat. I built up a collection of about 100 games by saving money that I would have to deposit in a jar for each game I played. Eventually I lost interest in video games and turned my interests to other things. After three or four years, I got back into my old games. I got all my old 2600 and Fairchild games from my uncle in London who I let borrow them and really fell in love again. The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the terms I have heard used recently regarding classic gaming is the word retro. The word itself means backward or back, so technically, it is correct when referring to old games. Besides the dictionary meaning, this word also has other connotations. It connotes hip, trendy, in-style, fashionable, etc. It connotes Pet Rocks, mood rings, Ginsui knives and Beta VCRs. In short, it's here today and gone tomorrow. Used mostly in news reports on the web about companies trying to capitalize on the popularity of their classic games (Namco, Williams, and Atari to name a couple), this word drives a spike through the heart of what I am. It is indeed here today but tomorrow will never come for me.
The word classic, by definition, means serving as an outstanding representative of its kind and having lasting significance and recognized worth. The word really has no connotations, as everything it means is everything it is. It does a perfect job in describing what the hobby is exactly. It's collecting games that were an outstanding representative of its kind (without the 2600, there would not have been a Saturn or Playstation) and have significant value, not necessarily dollar value, but valuable to me. The games and the hobby are memories that I want to remember forever and will. I will remember opening the Circus game and playing it for 3 solid hours with my sister, father, and me all taking turns. I will remember going over to a friend's house on my birthday and him having London Blitz in the 2600 when I got there and saying, "This is your birthday present, happy birthday!". If this were retro, none of those memories would have happened and the games would just be graphically challenged dinosaurs at best. They, in short, would mean nothing to me.
Those that use, live and breathe the word retro will lose interest and be out of the hobby when the prices rise above their expectations or the supply of the games dries up or they will tire of having all the clutter in the house. I'll be here to buy their games from them and when it becomes retro again, they'll be buying the games back from me. I've been into it since it started and magazines (who will change format if or when the Playstation, Nintendo 64 or Saturn fades from popularity) tell me the hobby I have enjoyed for over ten years is hip, trendy, in-style, or fashionable is quite annoying and quite incorrect. It's not those things for me. Rather, it's been those things since it started. It's in my blood and it's a part of my life forever.
In the red corner, wearing the black trunks with the Atari 2600 logo on the front is Retroooooooooo! In the blue corner, wearing the gray trunks with the Vectrex logo on the front is Claaaaaaasic! Let's get reeeeeady to rummmmmmble!
Throughout this article, I will refer to myself. In all but the first and last paragraphs, this encompasses all those out there who are like me and don't subscribe to the word retro and its descriptions below.
I've been into games since there were games. I had the first Pong system I ever saw, though probably not the first Pong system ever. I had a Fairchild Channel F and all the games released. Our family would spend hour after hour competing with the neighbors down the street who also had one. I had the Atari 2600 in 1977 and my family played that thing to death from the moment it came into the house with Circus, Outlaw and Combat. I built up a collection of about 100 games by saving money that I would have to deposit in a jar for each game I played. Eventually I lost interest in video games and turned my interests to other things. After three or four years, I got back into my old games. I got all my old 2600 and Fairchild games from my uncle in London who I let borrow them and really fell in love again. The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the terms I have heard used recently regarding classic gaming is the word retro. The word itself means backward or back, so technically, it is correct when referring to old games. Besides the dictionary meaning, this word also has other connotations. It connotes hip, trendy, in-style, fashionable, etc. It connotes Pet Rocks, mood rings, Ginsui knives and Beta VCRs. In short, it's here today and gone tomorrow. Used mostly in news reports on the web about companies trying to capitalize on the popularity of their classic games (Namco, Williams, and Atari to name a couple), this word drives a spike through the heart of what I am. It is indeed here today but tomorrow will never come for me.
The word classic, by definition, means serving as an outstanding representative of its kind and having lasting significance and recognized worth. The word really has no connotations, as everything it means is everything it is. It does a perfect job in describing what the hobby is exactly. It's collecting games that were an outstanding representative of its kind (without the 2600, there would not have been a Saturn or Playstation) and have significant value, not necessarily dollar value, but valuable to me. The games and the hobby are memories that I want to remember forever and will. I will remember opening the Circus game and playing it for 3 solid hours with my sister, father, and me all taking turns. I will remember going over to a friend's house on my birthday and him having London Blitz in the 2600 when I got there and saying, "This is your birthday present, happy birthday!". If this were retro, none of those memories would have happened and the games would just be graphically challenged dinosaurs at best. They, in short, would mean nothing to me.
Those that use, live and breathe the word retro will lose interest and be out of the hobby when the prices rise above their expectations or the supply of the games dries up or they will tire of having all the clutter in the house. I'll be here to buy their games from them and when it becomes retro again, they'll be buying the games back from me. I've been into it since it started and magazines (who will change format if or when the Playstation, Nintendo 64 or Saturn fades from popularity) tell me the hobby I have enjoyed for over ten years is hip, trendy, in-style, or fashionable is quite annoying and quite incorrect. It's not those things for me. Rather, it's been those things since it started. It's in my blood and it's a part of my life forever.
Throughout this article, I will refer to myself. In all but the first and last paragraphs, this encompasses all those out there who are like me and don't subscribe to the word retro and its descriptions below.
I've been into games since there were games. I had the first Pong system I ever saw, though probably not the first Pong system ever. I had a Fairchild Channel F and all the games released. Our family would spend hour after hour competing with the neighbors down the street who also had one. I had the Atari 2600 in 1977 and my family played that thing to death from the moment it came into the house with Circus, Outlaw and Combat. I built up a collection of about 100 games by saving money that I would have to deposit in a jar for each game I played. Eventually I lost interest in video games and turned my interests to other things. After three or four years, I got back into my old games. I got all my old 2600 and Fairchild games from my uncle in London who I let borrow them and really fell in love again. The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the terms I have heard used recently regarding classic gaming is the word retro. The word itself means backward or back, so technically, it is correct when referring to old games. Besides the dictionary meaning, this word also has other connotations. It connotes hip, trendy, in-style, fashionable, etc. It connotes Pet Rocks, mood rings, Ginsui knives and Beta VCRs. In short, it's here today and gone tomorrow. Used mostly in news reports on the web about companies trying to capitalize on the popularity of their classic games (Namco, Williams, and Atari to name a couple), this word drives a spike through the heart of what I am. It is indeed here today but tomorrow will never come for me.
The word classic, by definition, means serving as an outstanding representative of its kind and having lasting significance and recognized worth. The word really has no connotations, as everything it means is everything it is. It does a perfect job in describing what the hobby is exactly. It's collecting games that were an outstanding representative of its kind (without the 2600, there would not have been a Saturn or Playstation) and have significant value, not necessarily dollar value, but valuable to me. The games and the hobby are memories that I want to remember forever and will. I will remember opening the Circus game and playing it for 3 solid hours with my sister, father, and me all taking turns. I will remember going over to a friend's house on my birthday and him having London Blitz in the 2600 when I got there and saying, "This is your birthday present, happy birthday!". If this were retro, none of those memories would have happened and the games would just be graphically challenged dinosaurs at best. They, in short, would mean nothing to me.
Those that use, live and breathe the word retro will lose interest and be out of the hobby when the prices rise above their expectations or the supply of the games dries up or they will tire of having all the clutter in the house. I'll be here to buy their games from them and when it becomes retro again, they'll be buying the games back from me. I've been into it since it started and magazines (who will change format if or when the Playstation, Nintendo 64 or Saturn fades from popularity) tell me the hobby I have enjoyed for over ten years is hip, trendy, in-style, or fashionable is quite annoying and quite incorrect. It's not those things for me. Rather, it's been those things since it started. It's in my blood and it's a part of my life forever.