I'm pretty sure most younger people think we are lame.

But it's a mistake to assume that because "millenials" grew up with more advanced technology that they have a better understanding of it. Modern electronics are so complex they might as well be magic.

Better hand-eye coordination from using wii-motes? Bigger waist lines is more like it.

Oh yeah, and keyboards are not going obsolete. Voice commands will NEVER replace mechanical keyboards, and touch screens won't either until they find a way to give better feedback.

DO old school comic book collectors look lame to the younger generation? I don't think so. While the comics they are interested in may be different I think there is mutual respect.

Gaming is a bit different as its become more mainstream but I'd say the younger generation has grown up watching the older playing games so don't see anything wrong with it, and for the most part hardware hasn't changed THAT much yet. I mean both the new PS4 and Xbox One still use controllers, just like the Atari did.

There has always been that small group within the computer enthusiasts group that think anything not latest generation is old and lame, but I'm not counting them as there is no intelligent arguments for their statements.

chinny22 wrote:

There has always been that small group within the computer enthusiasts group that think anything not latest generation is old and lame, but I'm not counting them as there is no intelligent arguments for their statements.

Everything new looks a little lame to me, hehe 😀

The modern generation thinks everyone but them is lame. What's the big deal?

Modern online gaming is odd, generally not a fun place anymore, in that there is no respect given by players to other players mostly.

I mostly blame the popularization of games with drop in dedicated servers for this.
With P2P services for games, like the MSN IGZ and Heat.net\Mplayer. While you could constantly rename yourself, and be a jerk.
Like in a forum you want to generate respect and goodwill with others usually so people that did that were rare.

When you have to form a lobby then socialize in chat, with that lobby of players or expect noone to game with you, people behave more like they should.
The lack of keyboard Chat and lobbys has removed the knowledge of how they are even playing the game even....
An example many modern generation gamers don't even know what on when a Peer to Peer lobby is in use, for example in a game like Street Fighter IV, they think Microsoft or Sony is hosting all the matches, when its really P2P lobbys without keyboard chat and no socialization incentives, you know KINDA the point of playing online......

So... Really they don't have an opinion on OLDER players as most of those older players when they encounter, them. They DON'T know they could been of been gaming since the late 90's and have no way of knowing as socializing in an online game, that isn't a MMO is very foreign to them.
Its sad.... and I really miss the IGZ, the only thing Microsoft ever did right, until which of course they ruined by turning it into a FLASH gaming site.

I know there are some younger people on here who are curious about old games and hardware. But gamers are pretty diverse and certainly many are not into old stuff. Especially if they didn't have the chance to play it in their youth and develop an emotional attachment to it.

I do not care what other people think. 😀

Anonymous Coward wrote:

I'm pretty sure most younger people think we are lame.

But it's a mistake to assume that because "millenials" grew up with more advanced technology that they have a better understanding of it. Modern electronics are so complex they might as well be magic.

I KNOW that the youngsters (under 40) who I am with daily believe that I am a "useful" kind of crazy. They have a steady stream of sarcastic admiration for my hobby... but when they have a computer problem, I am still the first one who they call on. Just goes to show that what I have believed for a long time is true. GUIs are the greatest contributing factor to the dumbing down of computer literacy there has been in this decade. Knowing a computer "program" and knowing "computers" are two very distinct things. What is an IRQ? What is a memory address? What is a beep code? You know the deal.

Truth is, I believe that for the most part, excluding that slim percentage who study computer science, the younger they are, the crazier they think I am. - It's alright with me.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Better hand-eye coordination from using wii-motes? Bigger waist lines is more like it.

Agree totally, in a "general" kind of way. Although I do hate blanket statements.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Voice commands will NEVER replace mechanical keyboards...

Really? You used the "N" word?? 😎 Really... you ought to be old enough to know that you should NEVER use the word NEVER. 🤣

It goes far back. I remember the condescending against PC vets when the PS2 was almost ready for launch because PCs were made for Bejeweled and nothing else. DC however wasn't, but this was more amplified after its discontinuation as if it's a magic little box that wasn't unveiled to prove it's more powerful than anything and never got a chance despite the PVR2 chipset lacking some important features PS2 had 😜

I'd imagine it's not really that different today with the new generation with Xbonestation4, especially with the SaintsRow2-quality PC ports of these 'next gen' titles that seem lazily done, that sure doesn't help matters.

@joecorrado
I agree with you about GUIs dumbing people down in computer literacy, but I don't think every youngster would see an older program-cli oriented person crazy nor more useful.

As for wiimotes giving bigger waist lines... That makes me lmfao.

...

How does the "modern" generation view 31 year old gamers and pc enthusiasts?

Trust me, in seventy years it wouldn't matter one bit. ;P

Holering wrote:

So do older PC enthusiasts and gamers look dumb to the current generation? Can't help but notice that perhaps keyboards might become obsolete and replaced by voice input and touch screens. I mean when you think about it, all a computer enthusiast is capable of, is knowing everything a PC does, and the parts available to build it. It doesn't take much brain power for that. How much math would the current generation be capable of in comparison? With stuff like the Wiimote Nintendo controller they're probably better coordinated.

I'm not sure why you care. I used to get pretty hung up about stuff like what people think about my hobby, this that or the other thing. I find the older I get the less I care about stuff like that.

I'm not an uber nerd/geek like some folks, and while plug and play has made things a lot easier, you still have to have some knowledge beyond "buy these parts and put them together" to get the most out of your system. Wanting to custom build your own system at least speaks to a desire to do more than just buy a box from an OEM, even if you don't become a programmer or engineer. There's a lot you can do with a modern PC that requires more knowledge than just sticking some parts together. You can do as little or as much as you want.

While there are things that I may never be an expert in (security being one of them) I value being able to fix my own stuff. I can solder, I know a bit of basic electronics, I enjoy researching things and being able to get a technical manual for stuff I own. I've been able to fix some things that other people would just pitch. It has been a long time since I've done any sort of programming but want to start getting back into that.

You don't really need that much math even to start programming, depending on what you want to do. Basic algebra is probably enough for a lot of things.

When you think about it, there are a lot of things in our modern life, let alone computers, that might as well be magic to most people. I miss the way Radio Shack used to be before it turned into a cell phone store, but we're probably never going back to a time like that. I do think people having a deeper understanding of a tool that they will be using the rest of their life would be a good idea, but requiring everyone to be engineers/programmers beyond what they do for a living is a bit unrealistic.

I know I Hit on MP above earlier... and heres why, most of the newer generation, despise games that are rather difficult, and skill based, with primitive 2D graphics. It shows in multi-player and current gen games feed this, without promoting anything else.

Most of them do not care for retrogames.
Even simple ones like Megaman (most old PC games far exceed the patience they would need, they don't have the wonder of seeing something new for the first time, like we did. Its also why that series of games has died off the 2 modern squeals 9 and 10 they did produce did bad monetary wise.) you think anyone could play and like. Its very hard to believe that but its mostly true, you have to look no farther then mainstream game reviews\sites\mags, who must cater to this crowd or go under.

As a consequence, most them defiantly do not understand the point of collecting old hardware, or running, buggy terribad gfx, to them, I'm sure its just old junk. Modern PC's and Consoles do not even promote their own unique sound now, thanks to compressed audio, so they don't understand why you would want an OLD soundcard either 🙁

The old generational debate.

The way I see it: Every generation has their time. I know many around my age who don't like games like Call of Duty. I don't mind and played Black Ops II quite intensity on the PC. It has the same "magic" formula as the old games: Easy to learn, hard to master.

Going the other way, who of us seriously plays pong or frogger? These games were "before my time" and I find them interesting for historic reasons, but that's about it.

I grew up surrounded by hard, and mostly 2D, games. E.g. C64, Amiga, NES, SNES. Me and my brother talked about this. We had all these C64 games but we would never get further than a level or two. For me it was when the PC came out with adventure games, and games that allowed to you save your progress, that I really started to enjoy gaming.

And you might say games are easy these days, well I play Killzone 4 on the PS4, on easy (I always play on easy, life is too hard, no need to more challenges...) and still die all the time 🤣

I get bored fast, if a game doesn't have something to challenge me.
But that is me, Arcade 360 degree Space sims,(can't wait for Star Citizen to get finished) 2d Arcade style Shumps, and Fighting games that require fast combo inputs challenge me the most.

I still play Frogger too 🙁. Asteroids also, at-least some of the PC remakes.

"Why, this game looks ugly and outdated. It doesn't support multiplayer, and its size is even less than a CD!"

Probably something like that?

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

I grew up surrounded by hard, and mostly 2D, games. E.g. C64, Amiga, NES, SNES. Me and my brother talked about this. We had all these C64 games but we would never get further than a level or two. For me it was when the PC came out with adventure games, and games that allowed to you save your progress, that I really started to enjoy gaming.

Same here. My passion with PC gaming started with such games - games that are more complex than simply "advance to the next level"-things typically found on Nintendo or Sega games. Had I've never been introduced to PC games, I probably would never be a gamer at all. It was games like Quest for Glory, Ultima 6, F-16 Combat Pilot, Sword of the Samurai, and Chuck Yeager's Air Combat that shaped my interest instead of another iteration of Mario Bros.

If modern games are just modern iteration of "advance to the next level", then I won't bother playing them - the same reason I played Ultima 6 on PC instead of Mario Bros on Nintendo.

or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMy1zO8m8sM

I was never a big console gamer in the 8 an 16 bit era and still am not, although console games are becoming more PC-like and vice versa. I think the only old school console games I ever beat were Donkey Kong, Super Mario and Rygar.

The main reason I hated old-school console games were that some didn't really have any ending as such, they just sped up or repeated levels until you got sick of playing. Ones that did, like Contra, were so brutally difficult you practically had to cheat to beat them. And don't get me started on no save points.

My fondest memories of PC gaming were with games like Tie Fighter, X-Wing, Falcon 3.0, Doom, Quake, Descent, Diablo, Ultima 7, Pool of Radiance (and the countless SSI gold box games), Extreme Pinball, Command and Conquer and many more from the early and mid 90s. I like modern PC games but I just don't have time for a 100 or 200 hour epic RPG like I did when I was a teen, I've got too many other things to do. I also don't have time for crippling difficulty if I can't save, and random encounters are BS too (while I loved the Goldbox AD&D games at the time I'm not sure I could stomach the endless random encounters now).

I think everyone is going to have their own definition of what the "golden era" was for them, as well. For some people, that might be Nethack on an amber or green monochrome screen. Or maybe 16 color EGA games, or 320x200 256color 2d adventure games. PC gaming has such a long history that everyone is going to have their favorite era, as well as a favorite genre within that era.

Hmm, the topic of fondest memories of games seems attracting:

Golden Axe
Civilization
King's Bounty
Dyna Blaster
Dune II
X-COM: UFO Defense
Heretic
Duke Nukem 3D
The Incredible Machine
Ugh!
Krypton Egg
Warcraft II
Heroes of Might and Magic II
Diablo
Rage of Mages
Quake II
Starcraft: Brood War
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
Dune 2000
Evil Islands
Divine Divinity
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War

I'm 20 years old, and I hate touchscreens and motion controls. I also grew up a little behind the technical curve, so I gained an appreciation for older games and hardware. I don't really understand the appeal of modern games other than their graphical quality.