gaming Have old arcade games aged horribly?

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

Today, Bandai Namco has decided that they haven't milked their own cash cow enough and they have re-released 4 of their old arcade games on modern systems: Galaga, Pacman, Ms. Pacman and Dig dug. These games are all beloved for their place in gaming history, but I want to challenge this nostalgia and see these games as they are today.

 

My question is this: Have these games actually aged horribly over the past 30 years? I went ahead and bought these games because I thought they would be a fun little classic romp, but I found myself not enjoying these games anywhere near as much as I used to. The stiffness in the controls, the constant cheap deaths that were obviously the ploy to keep making that money back in the day (Remember kids: In the arcades, don't design a good game, design a cheap one), and the fact that there just isn't much to them at all anymore makes them...kinda boring. I am not saying that classic games are bad because they are old, I can still pop in Super Mario Bros. and love it, but these classic arcade games? I don't feel that they have aged as well as Mario or Zelda, not even close. 

 

What do you all think?

[PiratePony 8,491]

I feel this is pretty broad - and a lot of old arcade games I think have aged well, whereas some have not. Also, I've never been one to enjoy the home ports, even if they're perfect, because I feel standing at an arcade machine gives you an experiential level of gameplay that you cannot replicate at home. Look at how popular arcade-bars are (google "Barcade" in New York....and if any of you plan to open one in central Texas, I'm going to voodoo curse you because that's my plan!).

 

Ms. Pac-Man is #1, and I still love playing it and cannot pass them up while in bars, airports, whereever they may be.

Galaga has gotten a little stale. Dig Dug I never enjoyed.

 

I love Tapper though...especially if you can find the original Budweiser version. And now that's a port I enjoy as well. 

 

And these games were hardly cheap - they cost hundreds to thousands of dollars back in the 80s...which you recoup 25 cents at a time. My dad also bought and flipped some back in the day, so I actually had a couple Ms. Pac Man machines IN MY HOUSE back in 1989 or so. 

[The Crimson Cross 7,533]

Well, Arcade games were traditionally played in an 'arcade'

And although I haven't been around for long enough to really see that and notice the difference, while they are good for a play every now and then, the gaming industry has really grown.

 

That said, I see more appeal to having, say.. Pac man on my iOS Phone rather than the Xbox One.

Edited April 20, 2016 by The Crimson Cross

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,306]

I still enjoy Galaga.  As far as I'm concerned, Galaga is just a good, fun game.  Relatively simple by today's standards, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I probably enjoy it more now than I did as a kid, because I have a better chance of not seeing my spaceship explode.  Or at least a better chance of its exploding less frequently.

 

Not gonna talk about Puck-Man; never liked that guy.

[Megas 28,139]

It really depends, I think most Namco "arcade classics" have held up fairly well, I still enjoy booting up Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, every now and then. The thing people need to realize is that they aren't meant for long term play, but rather quick bursts for a quarter each time

[Moony the Cat 3,707]

I enjoy Arcade Games, there is a Galaxian and Galaga Mode at the beginning of the Games Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution i think and it was fun playing this little arcade mini games.

 

I also enjoy a lot of older arcade games, like Rally X or Baraduke. 

I also love playing Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior and Mario Bros, which in believe, were all arcade games.

 

I still find newer Versions better, but its still fun to play the original ones.

But i dont play them longer than 2 days, than i get bored. 

[Castle Bleck 19,453]

(google "Barcade" in New York....and if any of you plan to open one in central Texas, I'm going to voodoo curse you because that's my plan!).

 

Why not be pragmatic and just become an investor in it instead?

 

That way, not only is most of the work already done for you, but you can implement any additional ideas of your own as well.

[PiratePony 8,491]

 

 

Why not be pragmatic and just become an investor in it instead?   That way, not only is most of the work already done for you, but you can implement any additional ideas of your own as well.

 

 

True - that's one of the other options we've (wife and I) been considering. Investing rather than straight up being the sole owners is something that I'd be down with. 

[Shanks 10,817]

It depends on which arcade games you are talking about, there have been thousands of them over the years and plenty of them have been meh or have outright sucked but there have also been plenty of good ones. As a matter of fact arcade gaming was once the main innovators in the video game industry and back in the 8 and 16 bit eras the arcade version was often better than the console port.

[LHfunk 422]

Like people have said, it's a broad topic. I enjoy Pac-Man a lot and am not too bad at Galaga. One time, during our special summer vacation with friends we stayed in a cabin in Tenessee. They had some arcade machines on the top floor, and I got close to beating the high score on Ms. Pax-Man because the games were all free. Anyway, I don't think it's the games necessarily, just how we feel and think of them.

[Leave a Whisper 703]

Depends on the game. Old doesn't have to mean bad

 

I still enjoy greats like Pac-man, Xevious, Hogan's Alley and Galaga.

 

I'm actually excited about the Q Bert reboot and fighters like MK and Capcom vs. Marvel is always a joy.

 

I never liked Centipede or Donkey Kong or Labyrinth.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Leave a Whisper

[Rainbow Dash 1,473]

Well, Sonic hasnt aged well at all. Mario has had its ups and downs as did Legend of Zelda. I dont really think the others have aged well at all...in fact, they are all extinct. Pole Position had real potential to be what Super Mario Bros. is to platforming in the Racing genre. Pong also could have been good. Cant imagine it? Pong could have added players we could chose from and have a special skill set. It could have gone a tennis route, or it could have gone sci-fi.

As for how they stood the test of time in terms of play ability, I think all the old arcades have still have play value in them. Especially when you go to an arcade and they are the only games that are 25 cents per play.