what would you say you find compelling about these experiences? are you into score attacks and find simpler graphics appealing? Trying to figure what advantage the 2600 has over say an egret II with relatively newer arcade games in it. for me I've been unable to play a 2600 game more than a couple times because it just can't hold my interest, so I'm curious what keeps you coming back!

Your guess is that it seemed different enough to separate the two.
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Posted by exodus on December 28, 2023 at 13:56:52 EST in reply to Yeah, ha, I guess it's for weirdos like me! (n/t) from Jeurja.

what would you say you find compelling about these experiences? are you into score attacks and find simpler graphics appealing? Trying to figure what advantage the 2600 has over say an egret II with relatively newer arcade games in it. for me I've been unable to play a 2600 game more than a couple times because it just can't hold my interest, so I'm curious what keeps you coming back!

n/t

Follow Ups:

I have an Egret II (mini one), too, and love it! I just ordered the volume 2 of the expansion cards.

Anyway, Atari! I think first and foremost it reminds me of my youth, as the 2600 was my first system and I was REALLY into it. Long story short: my sister had sold my Atari and all the games, so a lot of what I'm playing seems fresh after all these years. But it's fun to play something that is very twitch, score-based, and charming to look at and listen to knowing all the limitations the programmers had. For instance, Demonfire is killer! That treasure is so fun to collect and the games last a handful of minutes for me -- at this point, anyway. Maybe I'll get better and they'll last longer.

Short version: The games are snappy to play, charming in their presentation, and bring back good memories of being a kid. :)

For modern games, I think these reasons are similarly why I like Splatoon online play so much. The matches are 3 minutes, fast, fun, and essentially score-based. Splatoon doesn't remind me of my youth, per se, but it feels like the short bursts of games I enjoyed in my younger years. I also love the Arcade Archives releases and look forward to seeing what hits the eShop every week.

Not sure if I'm making sense with this...? But today is my last work day of 2023, and I'll be enjoying some coffee after work tonight and playing games in my "Bunker" (cellar) this evening. I have Centipede, Demonfire, and Asteroids set out to enjoy until I move on to playing Switch.

(Jeurja)

(20:29:38 12/28/23 EST)

ah, I see. I think for me I had the 2600 as my first console too, but the NES was already out, and I knew there was something better, so it never really took with me. When I played 2600 and intellivision games it's because that's all I had, not because they captured my imagination. I kind of figured one had to play those in total isolation to get them, basically being a child of the early 70s. So that's an interesting perspective! I think finding the visuals charming is another key point - they're too rudimentary for me to get into but I can see how someone else might. I also get being intimidated by the time requirements of actually-modern games. Just to me the arcade archives type stuff seem to fit all those bills a little better in my view.

The reason I'm asking is I've always found atari nostalgia interesting, particularly among people who weren't 8 in 1979 (or maybe you were? I thought you were younger than that though). But then my favorite atari console is the jaguar, which really truly has one of the worst libraries for a major console, so who knows!!

(exodus)

(17:02:44 12/29/23 EST)

I was born in 76, so I’m pretty old. I only had an Atari growing up, including a 7800 because it could play the 2600 games I had. “We’re not getting a new system!” - My mom. I had Atari only until I got a Game Boy then a Turbogrqfx-16. I had friends with NES and Master System and had pretty good access to them, but it wasn’t the same as having them at home.

(Jeurja)

(15:48:09 12/30/23 EST)

that's only 5 years older than me but I guess it's enough! my 2600 and a bunch of games came from the thrift store for 20 bucks but that was like... 1989? so nobody wanted them by then.

(exodus)