How far back in time could you go before the video games of that era would be unplayable for you?

[Deleted member 1659]

We're not talking about playing HD Remakes or emulation, we're talking the games in their original form. If it's the NES era for instance, it means hooking them up to a CRT TV, switching to channel 3, putting in a cartridge and playing the game with no save states.

Not just some or even most video games. But literally all of them. I'm especially interested in reading what younger people on Era would have to say. For me personally, despite growing up with an NES, I cannot go back to playing NES games in their original forms.

 

[panama chief]

36 here. Started with Atari and I would never go back to it. NES and Tiger Electronic games are as far back as I'm willing to go.

Edit: but then I think of the stress of Alcohol, blowing cartridges, double stacking them, the NES overheating mid game. Ugh. Maybe I'll stop traveling at the 16bit era.

 

[fourfourfun]

Depends, are you consciously aware of a future where games are better? If you are not, a NES game is one of the most fantastic things you could ever play. I have fond memories of playing one in Hamleys as a kid, hoping I'd get one with Mario and Duck Hunt, before being given an A500 instead.

If I was aware of the future, I'd not really want to go back past the SNES, or PC/Amiga of those days.

 

[Deleted member 5491]

NES time, if you don't consider the true classics. But same could be said for SNES/MegaDrive aswell.
Otherwise, everything before the NES-era. That's just cluncky and antiquated

 

[Chivalry]

Everything before SNES.

 

[pagrab]

I guess that the 8-bit era is the threshold for me. Funny thing is I was raised using 8 bit machines but I cannot really go back anymore. The only exception are some of the Nintendo games and most of the arcade games (on MAME). These games were so polished and accessible, that I can play them anytime. The rest is simply too difficult (most console games), too obtrusive or too unresponsive (most computer games).

 

[WellbornWarrior]

Depends, can I skip the PS360 era?

 

[Deleted member 35204]

Everything from the NES/Famicom onwards is a-ok, everything before it's legitimately a chore to play.

 

[ivb]

I could go as far as the dawn of time, I think the first video game prototypes are fascinating, even played pong on an oscilloscope (28 years old here).

EDIT: Yes, I also find the PS360 era mostly barren an uninteresting XD

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

16 bit era because I currently have no way of hooking my Mega Drive up.

If we're talking gameplay, it's hard to say. Most 8-bit games aren't very playable but some are so I suppose I'd have to say the gen before that.

 

[Fizzgig]

Some of my favourite childhood memories are playing on the Atari 2600 with my cousins when we would visit my grandparents on a Sunday. I could go back to that quite easily, despite the clunky controller.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I have great difficulty enjoying games from the NES era and before, so that's probably my threshold.

My first console was an N64 in 1999. I played a couple of games on it but then got a SNES at a yard sale and ended up playing that much more often and much more deeply. Because I liked the SNES so much, I was thrilled to pick up an NES as well around the same time period. But I found the majority of its games very difficult to play. I know they are not literally unplayable but that's sure how it felt at the time.

I've never been able to play NES games to any satisfaction. They feel like prototypes to SNES games. I have no idea if I would have enjoyed them in the era itself with no notions of the future.

 

[Kanito8a]

39 here. I can play anything. From Atari games to the newest releases.

 

[Deleted member 4262]

Anything before the SNES. I really don't like 8-bit stuff.

 

[Patitoloco]

Exactly the same thread as last Sunday:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/do...be-the-limit-for-games-to-be-playable.150939/

I'm surprised two different users come to the same idea, in the same week, in the same forum lol

 

[Luke88]

I played some NES games, I would have to git gud, but I could find enjoyment out of them, , anything before is hit or miss with similar difficulty

 

[Barberetti]

Back to the early 80s if we're talking arcade games like Defender, Tempest, Battlezone etc. As for early computer gaming (UK here) it depends on the game. I could fire up an old BBC B and play something like Sentinel or Chuckie Egg no problem, but probably have a hard time getting into Revs or Double Phantom. I played Elite on an emulator a few months back and quite enjoyed it.

 

[Deleted member 1659]

Exactly the same thread as last Sunday:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/do...be-the-limit-for-games-to-be-playable.150939/

I'm surprised two different users come to the same idea, in the same week, in the same forum lol

Click to shrink...

That one only considers console games though. Like I can't really play SNES era console games to be honest but I love mid early to late 90's PC games. Once I hit the 80's though, PC games become unplayable for me so I tap out then.

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

I don't have a problem playing anything.

 

[superNESjoe]

I spend probably half of my gaming time playing NES games on original hardware on a CRT right now so I think it's pretty safe to say I could go back to NES and still absolutely love playing games.

 

[bit8baracus]

Pushing it I could go back to the 8 bit generation of the Master System/NES. Most of the games are still really fun but short experiences.

Comfortably I could go back the the 16 bit generation of the SNES and MD. With the ability to save games being more common and games being much longer and me having a more fuller experience with them. I still find my self today playing them for hours.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

SNES is about as far back as I can go before it's just too much for me. I know because I've been going back and playing games of this era. My first console was an N64 in 2000, so I'm not ultra mega young or anything.

 

[Chromie]

I swear this was asked earlier this week.

close enough.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/do...-limit-for-games-to-be-playable.150939/page-3

Well this is my answer.


I really wish I could stomach playing some real old RPGs like Darklands, Pools of Radiance, or any of the goldbox D&D games.

Darklands is a role-playing game set in 15th century Holy Roman Empire, which at that time encompassed today's Germany and several surrounding countries. Unlike most other role-playing games, it is set in a concrete historical environment that is accurately depicted, including geographical outlines, social and cultural backgrounds, authentic establishments and items, and so on. The game's supernatural elements are strictly based on the popular beliefs of that time and region and include fantastic creatures such as kobolds or dragons, curses, witchcraft, alchemy that actually works, etc

Click to shrink...

Oldest I can go back to is PC games from 1998 like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, or Planescape Torment.

 

[Jamesac68]

I grew up in the arcades of the 80s. I can do from Asteroids onward, but nothing before it.

 

[MarcelRguez]

I mean, if we're talking about all games, then I'd say the limit is somewhere around the middle of the 6th gen, if not 7th gen. Many games have just not aged well at all. If we're going by most, then I can play most 16-bit games without an issue. Game Boy games are fine too, but the NES is where things get weird, between the arcade design philosphy, flickering and stuff.

For reference, my first consoles were the N64/GBC.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I can't do games without save files anymore. Unless it's an emulator/mini console with save states. So even at super Nintendo there are titles I can't play anymore.

 

[L176]

Don't know about completely unplayable but for me some games in the NES era are hard to handle cause of the lack of buttons we have nowadays. For my background, my first gaming experiences are from the N64/PSX era.

 

[Rotobit]

there are only a handful of NES games I enjoy playing (Super Mario Bros. 2 + 3, Kirby's Adventure, Mega Man 2 onwards). Even then I'd have a hard time playing games that require passwords or whatever.

I started playing games with the Genesis and Game Boy though and have a much easier time going back to those (you'd think the GB would be in a similar place as the NES but I have a lot more fun with those games for some reason)

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

Atari. One of the things I hear is that 2D ages better and still looks good, but whenever I hear that, I feel people are specifically talking about the SNES and at least some NES games that had years and years of technological advancements before it got to that level. Early 2D stuff looked ragged. So I wouldn't play this on even a standard TV, but if you did give me an HD remaster of this:

Or even this:

I'm still not playing it. =P

NES at least some some games that are still fun and look good, though many of those games look sketchy.

 

[Eoin]

Going back as far as the Atari 2600 would be an annoyance. Even the best games on that system were very simplistic (unavoidably and understandably so). Controllers were often unreliable and would break or wear easily, and audio was abysmal.

After that things improve significantly though.

I think this question would be better if the baseline was you get 20 random games from that era. As the question stands people are probably considering only their favourite games from each era, but the question becomes a lot more difficult if you're going to get landed playing random stuff.

 

[Ruruja]

Anything before NES.

 

[danmaku]

I started with the Atari 2600 and I could go back and play it even today (not for long though, the games were way too simple). I probably couldn't go back and play some very early games like the first version of Oregon Trail (the one that ran on a mainframe with no monitor that printed every output on paper!).

 

[Sword Familiar]

I generally have a hard time getting into stuff from older generations than the NES. They can be interesting to watch, but I rarely enjoy playing them.

 

[Lant_War]

Exactly the same thread as last Sunday:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/do...be-the-limit-for-games-to-be-playable.150939/

I'm surprised two different users come to the same idea, in the same week, in the same forum lol

Click to shrink...

Maybe we're not different users.

 

[Greywaren]

As back as it takes for games to not have save files. I can't handle that.

 

[DRULYBXA]

NES. Was my first console but it's hard going back.

 

[Master Alucard]

i guess before nes
unthinkable to me that people may find super mario 3 and megaman unplayable

 

[Patitoloco]

Maybe we're not different users.

Click to shrink...

Nah, I gotchu bro, you can handle NES games, DGP can't. I read your OPs

 

[5pectre]

For Console, NES is as far back as I can go. Pre-NES like the Atari 2600 is just too old for me. Sure it has some gems like Kaboom! and Yar's Revenge but the graphics just takes too much imagination for me.

I grew up with arcade games, which I still play regularly, and here I can go as far back as 1979 with Space Invaders, that I still enjoy,

 

[Deleted member 7148]

I'm 35 and the farthest I'll go back is the NES era. I can't play Atari-era stuff anymore.

 

[rude]

PS2/GBA era honestly

 

[Encephalon]

I will very occasionally play 80s games, but not often.

 

[bane833]

Wouldn't touch anything before the SNES era with a ten foot pole.

 

[Serein]

My first thought was the NES/Master System as I'm not as familiar with stuff before that and not as interested either. That said though, thinking about it a little more I played an original Tempest arcade machine with the dial control a few years back and enjoyed that so there definitely are older games I would still enjoy even if I don't know what they are lol.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Though NES was technically my first gaming experience, I was born at the tail end of the 80s and most of my childhood gaming was done on the SNES and Gameboy. I could go back to SNES as it was in the 90s no problem and have a lot of fun. Game Boy would be a little tough to go back to. Most of its best games have aged like milk. NES would be rough too. I don't think I could do it for more than a couple hours.

 

[tenderbrew]

I could go back to Atari 2600 pretty easily. Ms. Pacman never ages baby.

 

[CHC]

SNES is about as far back as I can take, with some very rare exceptions. That said, some SNES games like Chrono Trigger and Link to the Past still actually feel good to play and are relatively undated.

 

[Deleted member 7883]

I'd be willing to go back a few weeks in time prior to the NES launch in that NYC toy store. Lemme buy hundreds of Atari games along with intellivision and the like, play them for only two hours total before I get bored or frustrated, and then I get to put all that shit aside for some muhfuckin GYROMITE WITH MY BOY ROB.

 

[sweetmini]

Games with a CPU are alright for me. Logic boards games (pong et al) are of little entertainment value for me.

 

[SoftTaur]

28 here and my first consoles were Sega Game Gear and Nintendo 64. Not sure if I could go back past the SNES, honestly. While there are some NES games I enjoy (SMB3, Kirby's Adventure, Dragon Quests) most of them are too "simple".