Videogames: Pt. 1 (Retro Videogames)

If you read my previous blog, you would know that I talked a little bit about retro/vintage videogames. And I apologize for the huge gap between the posts, that's because, well, uhhh...I completely forgot that Blogspot is an actual website let's continue that conversation. Cerca 1981, you walk down to your local arcade and see a new game. Any idea what it is? Pac-man? Galaga? Battlezone? Well, your guesses might be wrong, or right. But, my instincts are telling me that... I'm feeling hungry. I want some... BANANAS!!! Yup! That's right! We're talking about Donkey Kong. One of the most revolutionary games in the history of games.

The game is about this giant gorilla who steals somebody's girlfriend, or a crush (clue: it's a-me MARIO!!!!)

So, Mario was rolled out as a separate franchise altogether. And was (still is), pretty fun to play. With newer and newer games intended for the family, games like Mario Tennis, Super Mario Maker 2, and Mario Kart make Friday Night Family Time much more enjoyable and memorable. But let's also talk about how these games were the threadrippers at the time of existence.

Although the rage was to go to the local arcade, the main-selling point to handheld consoles was the portability. Not that they were inexpensive. Probably the only place the Nintendo DS Systems were selling were in the Americas (explains why Japan wants to maintain a further relationship with the USA). But, the main selling point of consoles (like the OG Xbox) was that you could have jaw-dropping, barrier-breaking, record-making videogame boxes at home! That literally means today, that you could be playing GTA V in 8K graphics, on your TV, via the PS5 (when it comes out). And, again, nowhere did I say that this was inexpensive. All this equipment cost a lot of money. And I mean,  a lot. 

In the summer of 1989, when the Gameboy was fresh on shelves, it cost around $89.99, which would equate to around $170 if someone were to offer it to you at an inflated price (considering that the American economy boomed by around 80-90%). 

And the PlayStation cost $300 when it launched in September of 1995, which would equate to an inflated price of around $570 in today's world. 

Performance-wise, playing DOOM on your Gameboy, you would be maxing out the limit of the graphics, and continuously raise the bar of how modern gaming is (that's sarcastic). But technically speaking, in accordance with the Gameboy Advance's specs, when David A. Palmer productions released DOOM for the GBA, there were a lot of changes made to the game. The main cause was because the main platform for the game was actually the PC. Because with 133mhz, the Pentium 1, and 16mb of RAM, you would be getting a decent 30FPS, and your PC would be heating, but with adequate cooling, the PC's thermal specs would be fine.

Galaga, ladies, and gentlemen. It was one of the best games ever to be made, it revolutionized how people play space games such as Rebel Galaxy today. If it weren't for those arcades that cost around 10 cents per token, and let the middle schoolers stay till 8:00 in the evening, I honestly don't think that people would be able to work on these kinds of games to make them better. The amount of money that the companies must have piled would be huge, huge, huge deposits. So much so that these companies would probably have their pockets overflowing if they gave each employee an equal share.

But, the best part probably about these games, were the feel you got from them. The glory you would get from knowing that you were one of the best among your friends. Like for examples, take the Fortnite World Champion; Bugha, a 16 yr-old from Pennsylvania who played for Team Sentinels. He was so proud of himself. He was legit looking like he was high on something and was shouting out, "I love my life much more than my girlfriend"!

 But on a more serious note, I actually feel that retro games were the stepping stones to games like The Witcher, Assasin's Creed, and maybe even some battle royale games. In my next article, you're probably going to read about modern FPS games, and how they have changed. Or something new.