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Has the lack of brands make computer gaming less exciting over the years?

besada

Banned
There was nothing wonderful about 70‘s/80's computing in comparison to modern PCs. It was lovely at the time, because it was so new and exciting that we were willing to spend hours crafting the perfect autoexec.bat just to get the game to run, but getting nostalgic for that, in an era where it's as easy as clicking a title and playing is just goofy. If you really want to experience the joy of early computing, go get yourself an old computer and play with it. Not having brands to fight over is just another bonus of the commodification of PCs.
 

Overside

Banned
The lack of brands in terms of franchises has hurt the excitement of gaming for me.

E3 is mostly a procession of the same old games, with a lick of paint and a bit of polish. Even games I love become boring by the 4th instalment. My excitement for UC4, Gears 4, and Halo 5 is luke warm right now.

I think it is the reason I lose interest in so many games before they end. I've seen it all before and I'm becoming jaded and much harder to impress.


I have been through every gen, and I have seen every transition and paradigm shift thats happened.

I can honestly say I didnt see games as anything more than an amusing time waster until around the 3rd gen. And I didnt like the fifth gen all that much...

But this has never been true for me.... Until the gen 7. Now, I completely identify with this.


AAAAAAAA business culture has turned the hobby into a homogenous factory line.
 

petran79

Banned
There was nothing wonderful about 70‘s/80's computing in comparison to modern PCs. It was lovely at the time, because it was so new and exciting that we were willing to spend hours crafting the perfect autoexec.bat just to get the game to run, but getting nostalgic for that, in an era where it's as easy as clicking a title and playing is just goofy. If you really want to experience the joy of early computing, go get yourself an old computer and play with it. Not having brands to fight over is just another bonus of the commodification of PCs.

Difference is that back then it was much simpler to come up with solutions since the OS were simpler. If you knew some programming language, the better.

Windows today may look simple and made for 'dumb' people, but pray that no problem appears.
Below the simple user interface layers lies such a complex, messy, disorganised and bloated software that even experts struggle to find the solution.
At least Linux is much more open to that, reminding of the older computer OS in a way.
 

PantsuJo

Member
I remember the old days: Trying to run Quake 3 on the majestic S3 Savage 4 lol Good old times...

No, really: Now everything is more accessible, more cheap, powerful and easy to obtain. I have nostalgia for old brands but not for the old problems ^^"
 
All my stuff is Alienware including my mouse, keyboard and monitor because I love that 80s computing feel of having everything match up design wise :)

I know, I know, hatin' & rollin'
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
8 year old me wouldn't really call "which IRQ port do I need to use to make my sound card work?" magical.

This was my first thought as well. Makes me wonder what planet the OP is from. Homogenization was anything but a bad thing.

I also don't think the US has the same perspective on this in general as the OP does. I'm 31 and I've never seen an Amiga, Commodore, or Atari computer in person. It was just IBM compatibles and Macs for me back in the day. And even though I've never been a huge PC gamer specifically, I was tinkering with PCs at home before I could even read.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
This was my first thought as well. Makes me wonder what planet the OP is from.

I also don't think the US has the same perspective on this in general as the OP does. I'm 31 and I've never seen an Amiga, Commodore, or Atari computer in person. It was just IBM compatibles and Macs for me back in the day. And even though I've never been a huge PC gamer specifically, I was tinkering with PCs at home before I could even read.

Definitely had the same feeling as a Canadian. North America has been Windows vs. Mac since the beginning and it continues to be so.

I remember the alternative computers in mall stores in the early 90s... Amiga, Commodore, etc. But they were hyper niche, and I don't know a single person who ever owned one.

The existence of competing computer platforms was largely a UK thing, I believe.
 

petran79

Banned
Wasnt the cheaper Commodore 64 popular in North America, just like in Europe?
Though it did not target the niche computer users that owned 3000 $ machines.
 

AmFreak

Member
Wasnt the cheaper Commodore 64 popular in North America, just like in Europe?
Though it did not target the niche computer users that owned 3000 $ machines.

The C64 was very popular in the US, but everything that followed wasn't.
After that it was PC or Mac.
 
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