A lot of video games claim they were "the first to do it". Take that smug little Grand Theft Auto game. The kid thinks he's the cats pajamas because he gives the player, as he says, "a gaming experience they will never forget". Claims he was "the first to do it".
First to do itÉyou know what? I was the first -- EVER.
No 3D graphics, no storyline, no plot, no characters, no player guides, no intricate battle system -- none of that. I was the people's game. You didn't have to solve puzzles such as moving blocks around or shooting little eyeballs like in that Ocarina of Time game. Nope -- I was built to entertain.
With my two brackets, scoreboard, single cube and a light but firm "bleep" noise, I was the game that should have set a standard for all games. But did that happen? Of course not: once that stupid fat Italian guy hit the scene, I was pushed to the back of arcades, and Nintendo goose-stepped all over Atari. Atari, sadly, had to sell out.
Video games were quick to follow.
At thirty-two years old, I don't get the respect I deserve. Sure, they re-release me in one of those "retro gaming" systems that are supposed to appeal to Generation X, but that isn't enough. Not by a long shot. I should be enshrined in a museum, where parents can take their children to see the game that started it all. They would all gather around my sleek, clean arcade-style console, whispering excitedly and pointing. One man would whisper, "You see there? That is the greatest video game ever created," to his son. Do I get that kind of treatment, as much as I obviously deserve it?
Of course not. While Final Fantasy gallivants around the gaming scene, releasing worse games by the year, I rot in warehouses and basements, forever to pine away in the nostalgia of yesterday. While Nintendo keels over and vomits up a game like Mario Sunshine, I await the day when society finally comes to their senses.
Perhaps, just maybe, they will. Perhaps one day, a young boy will stumble upon a dusty old arcade console. Curious, he will dust off the machine and find the plug and plug it in. Pulling a quarter out of his pocket, he will slide it into the console. Then, he finds out what gaming is truly all about.
Two brackets and one cube -- that is all you will ever really need.
First to do itÉyou know what? I was the first -- EVER.
No 3D graphics, no storyline, no plot, no characters, no player guides, no intricate battle system -- none of that. I was the people's game. You didn't have to solve puzzles such as moving blocks around or shooting little eyeballs like in that Ocarina of Time game. Nope -- I was built to entertain.
With my two brackets, scoreboard, single cube and a light but firm "bleep" noise, I was the game that should have set a standard for all games. But did that happen? Of course not: once that stupid fat Italian guy hit the scene, I was pushed to the back of arcades, and Nintendo goose-stepped all over Atari. Atari, sadly, had to sell out.
Video games were quick to follow.
At thirty-two years old, I don't get the respect I deserve. Sure, they re-release me in one of those "retro gaming" systems that are supposed to appeal to Generation X, but that isn't enough. Not by a long shot. I should be enshrined in a museum, where parents can take their children to see the game that started it all. They would all gather around my sleek, clean arcade-style console, whispering excitedly and pointing. One man would whisper, "You see there? That is the greatest video game ever created," to his son. Do I get that kind of treatment, as much as I obviously deserve it?
Of course not. While Final Fantasy gallivants around the gaming scene, releasing worse games by the year, I rot in warehouses and basements, forever to pine away in the nostalgia of yesterday. While Nintendo keels over and vomits up a game like Mario Sunshine, I await the day when society finally comes to their senses.
Perhaps, just maybe, they will. Perhaps one day, a young boy will stumble upon a dusty old arcade console. Curious, he will dust off the machine and find the plug and plug it in. Pulling a quarter out of his pocket, he will slide it into the console. Then, he finds out what gaming is truly all about.
Two brackets and one cube -- that is all you will ever really need.