Electronic Gaming Monthly lined up a bunch of ten to thirteen year-old kids in front of 80’s-era arcade games. Here are some excerpts (try not to hear the children in Whitehead’s voice. I dare you!):
[Pong]
Tim: My line is so beating the heck out of your stupid line. Fear my pink line. You have no chance. I am the undisputed lord of virtual tennis. [Misses ball] Whoops.
John: Tim, how could you miss that? It was going like 1 m.p.h.
[Donkey Kong]
Tim: Mario dies way too easy. Oh, grab the umbrella. Those are cool. Unfashionable, gay, but cool. Oh, 300 points. That’s it? All you get is points? That’s lame. Can’t you do something with the umbrella?
[Handheld Football]
Brian: What’s this supposed to be?
EGM: Football. It’s one of the first great portable games.
Brian: I thought it was Run Away From the Dots.
[Tetris]
John: I just lined up six of the same color. Why didn’t they blow up?
EGM: Nothing blows up.
[Space Invaders]
Kirk: I’m sure everyone who made this game is dead by now.
You can read the entire interview here.
As someone who grew up on Nintendo and still loves video games, I see a lot of people my age lamenting modern games for their lack of the classics’ elegance. They’re wrong. Games these days rule. Games have always ruled. Older games were fun, but they never came close to the level of immersive gameplay that new technology can provide. Still, Tetris rocks, and I think getting a good score on that will always be harder than finishing a glossy forty-hour adventure on a modern system. What games have now are length and complexity, but not necessarily difficulty. And I still love me some Dr. Mario.