8-bit Melancholy

Was reading an article about how the new Nintendo 3DS can be dangerous to young eyes (later refuted) when a sad thought occurred to me: No youngster of this or future generations will ever...EVER have played an 8-bit video game system!  Ok, so, the occasional tike may get the opportunity to play some Excitebike on  Dad's consignment shop-bought NES (no doubt a $15 impulse buy brought on by a bout of nostalgia after reminiscing about the "old days of video gaming") or, more likely, from downloaded throwbacks on whatever version of the Wii is in circulation.

But, retrogaming aside, the kids of tomorrow (cool band name?) won't have the same experience we did as littl'uns in what was practically a society-wide beta test of the Nintendo Entertainment System when it hit shelves in the early 80s.  Today, at a BARE minimum, there is the Wii, Playstation, Xbox, portables, PC games, and...oh yeah, remember the iPhone?  But when the NES premiered in 1983, your options were basically Atari and playing outside (does anyone remember that concept, btw?).  Yes, there were a few other consoles out there.  But, c'mon, did anyone REALLY own a Coleco Telstar?

I got my NES for Chanukah.  I was officially the LAST one on my block to get one (no worries, Mom and Dad, I recovered.  Sans therapy, even!).  Like it was yesterday, I still remember the anticipation on that hallowed night as my parents handed me that wrapped box, shrouded in mystery...what could it be?!?  Was it a Nintendo?  DEAR LORD, LET IT BE A NINTENDO!!!!  In the preceding months, my similarly-aged neighbor would ask me day after day if I "got one yet???"  Lowering my head, eyes to the ground, downtrodden, I'd consistently answer, "no..."  He would then proceed to regale me with stories of his video game-playing adventures--stomping on Koopa Troopas, dodging Bullet Bills, and avoiding falling in seemingly bottomless pits that, from which, one always seemed to regenerate above ground at the meager cost of "one life."  I wanted that magic box so badly I could TASTE it.  On that fateful winter night, basking the warm glow of approximately six flickering Chanukah candles (give or take), I ripped open the wrapping paper to reveal none other than the video game console I had desired so much!  Oh, Happy Chanukah to me!  Joy of joys!  Latkes to Murgatroyd!!

So you can imagine my disappointment when, the very next day, I ran into my neighbor and he DIDN'T ASK ME IF I "GOT ONE YET???!"  I was so ready to belt out a "YES!" and beam with pride as if I were administering an overzealous Care Bear Stare.  But, he didn't ask.  I waited and waited until finally I just blurted out, unceremoniously, "SO, you haven't asked me something today..." to which he sighed and replied--in a tone reserved solely for people you think are really lame--"Did you finally get a Nintendo?"  It was anticlimactic at best.

But I digress.  Back in the day the Nintendo was THE console and the game with which it came was THE game to have/play/attempt to master in a week's time without meals or sleep.  Of course, we all know the legendary game of which I speak: SUPER MARIO BROS (that's right, always "Bros"...never "Brothers").  What a glorious creation!  So simple, yet so innovative.  So entertaining, yet so ridiculously frustrating at times.  When SMB came out there were no internet gameplay videos, no blog spotlights...only tv commercials, so we barely had an idea of what the game brought to the table, content-wise.  THAT, my friends, was a novelty of gaming that the kids of today will not be able to experience.  Nowadays, thanks to the intertubes, you can practically see an entire game played through AND get all the hints and tips you'll ever need to help you succeed before purchasing.  Where's the struggle??  Where's the earning of one's own stripes?

What I'm trying, convolutedly, to get at is that we were there for the BEGINNING; we got to see from where modern video gaming started--the first Mario game, the first Zelda game--we were there for all the great firsts and got to see the evolution unfold before our eyes!  I'm not saying it as a badge of honor as much as to express a sentiment that it's a shame the kids of tomorrow won't have that opportunity, and later, that memory on which to look back.  They'll have their own, yes.  But...well...I guess it's kind of like being on the first season of The Real World.  That show was truly groundbreaking and no one really knew what to expect...and it turned out to be awesome.  Then Season 2 came out...then 3...yadda yadda yadda the show is now a specifically-cast, predictable, drama-filled hot tub porn.  I'm not saying it's not entertaining; I'll be the first one to admit to enjoying a good drama-filled hot tub porn on occasion.  But there's no more journey.  No more novelty.  Those tuning in today for the first time can appreciate it for what it is, but those of us who were there for the first season can appreciate it for what it was...which, in my mind, is a lot more meaningful.

I'll save my confused musings over how in the hell the NES light gun actually works for another post.  Now THAT is a wonder of modern technology.  Hurts my brain just thinking about it.

Finally, for all you ol' schoolers out there, check this pic out!  The lack of sex going on in this bed must be staggering.  Then again, maybe if you entered in the Contra code...

Link to NES Bed Article