I suppose this is what getting older feels like.
Worse still, virtual reality headsets started around the 1960s with the sword of damocles and people still treat it like it’s a novel technology…
I had the first NES system with the original inclusion of Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. Actually it was the first console of the line but I don’t think the very first version because I think the very first version did not have Duck Hunt or the gun. Correct me if I’m mistaken. I was a little late to the NES and by then I think they added that element to it.
But also, I didn’t buy any console after that, because once I started gaming on PC I only ever gamed on PC. Although I regret not getting into Turbo Grafx 16 because years later I found troves of the games at a flea market and the guy dug up all of the ones he had and brought them over the following few weeks. By that time I was no longer really interested in them so I was just buying and reselling them on eBay. Massive score on that load. But I wish I had just collected the whole set and gotten a unit.
Why did I start rambling? Oh yeah cuz it’s Reddit. Anyway, consoles were a nice idea but to me, once I could upgrade a graphics card and always still be able to not only play the games that I had already, but continue to be able to get newer ones… I dunno, the console concept seemed to me a money pit, because first of all, the moment it hit the shelves in stores, there were already better graphics chips being sold for PC, and also, eventually as I had predicted, it would become a console war, combined with cutting off older units whenever they pleased, as well as all the rest of the shit they’ve pulled over the years with DRM, and online requirement so they could fucking cut you off when they pleased. I opted to not even bother stepping into that racket. PC gaming for me. Especially retro PC gaming.
Ok ramble over. Just wanted to share my experiences.
And that’s not even the first 3D Mario.
I feel like I’m the only one here who actually likes it when games I loved when I was younger become old/retro. I see it as a badge of honour, like them getting to enter the hall of fame.
Super Mario World isn’t a bad game just because it’s old, it’s just as great now as it was in the 90s. Same with Sunshine. And it makes me happy knowing I grew up with these games - no amount of aging or growing old could take that away from me.
I like it.
I just don’t like it when people much younger than me do it because I played their “childhood favourites” when I was already working for a living.
I agree. Xbox 360 now being considered a retro console now is amazing to me too.
Hey… Shut up.
Super Mario 64 is 29 years old.
STOP THIS
Why would you say this
The bottom picture is Super Mario Sunshine. Released in 2002, so will be 23 years old this summer/fall.
Galaxy was 2007 so unless I’m forgetting a game between the two then the post is still accurate
I consider that new. I’ve still got a few GC games on my “to play” list…
Have you played that crazy pinball game?
Yeah I’m saying that author with 20 years is optimistic. Given development time of video games someone saw 3D Mario 30 years ago.
I can’t believe SNES mario was only 6 years before that. I’m so glad I was around to have my mind blown when firing up N64 mario for the first time
I remember watching someone playing tekken in TV store in 1995. That was 30 years ago and I’m old as fuck.
I memba playing Battlezone in the 80s, twas my first 3d game, and fucking blew my mind!!
One of my University students asked me the other day if I was doing anything special for the 20th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith.
I told him he needs to remember I control his grade.
Should’ve told him you have the high ground.
It’s not an anniversary the Jedi would celebrate…
I remember in the early 3D days, 2 sequels with a 7 year gap would have looked vastly different. I just started KCD1 after finishing KCD2 and even though it is 7 years older, it looks identical.
To put into perspective: the gap between MGS1 and MGS2 was just 3 years.
tbf, MGS1 and MGS2 were different console generations…
although the same is true for KCD1/2.
it is insane how were reaching the end of the Moore law.
Moore’s Law has been dead for a long time.
Moore’s Law hypothesises that transistors in an integrated circuit will double every two years, primarily down to transistor density improvements.
Intel in particular really like to say it’s still alive, because it’s what investors want to hear, but in reality transistor density improvements have slowed quite a bit, and we’ve had to rely on other things for better performance.
there’s also the issue that Moore law was used as a development target, making it a self fulfilling profecy, there’s also the issue that if were less strict (rather than doubling transistor density we just consider computer power in general) computers are still improving ish, although it’s clearly slower than it used to be
Here’s Mario at nearly 30 years ago (29 years):
Mario 64
I remember everyone gathering around the TV to see this because it was so unbelievable.
A buddy of mine bought an N64 with Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 on launch day. We didn’t know that it would sell out so quickly. He worked at a retail store and got into talking to a customer about him having the N64. Apparently the guy was a father that was desperate to get an N64 for his kid. He offered to pay 4x what my buddy paid at retail. It was a lot of money for a young guy in his late teens. He sold it to the guy out of his trunk the next day for the cash. It would be 6 months before inventory returned in stores and he was able to rebuy an N64.
It still bugs me that your life count reset to 4 if you turned off the console.
Mario games have done that for a few episodes after this too. And also for 2D games that baffling thing where you can only save after finishing a castle or fortress.
Then Super Mario Odyssey just gets rid of lives completely, and nothing of value was lost.
This was Mario 40 years ago:
That’s what’s mind blowing to me. The difference between games used to be staggering. The original Mario Bros compared to Mario 3 was huge. And jumping up to Mario 64 in less than a decade was even bigger still.
Obviously games have continued to improve since then, but we’ll never have such rapid massive leaps again.
The original Mario Bros compared to Mario 3 was huge.
And that was on the same system.
Honestly, I believe technical progress has grinded to a halt. Moore’s law was broken with regards to hardware. I cannot think of novel tech after smartphones. Now, it feels like everything new is a wealth hoarding scheme by corporate greed.
We’ll know there’s been a new tech revolution when HL3 comes out
Fun fact: New Super Mario Bros turns 19 this year.
Yes, that means we’re close to the turning point where New Super Mario Bros gets older than what Super Mario Bros was when it was released.
Can’t wait for New Super Mario Bros (New)
It got worse after a closer look - realizing this is Sunshine, and not something earlier…
I love SM64 but Sunshine is actually a great game as well.
Agreed but did some reason I keep going back to SM64. Sunshine is a lot harder to get into in my 30s compared to when I first played it as a teenager. Probably cause the mechanics are more complex. Meanwhile I can jump into SM64 at any time and still remember all the controls.
I wouldnt call it significantly more complex, the gameplay is basically the same except with an added jetpack mechanic. I recently played through sunshine for the first time since the gamecube came out on my steamdeck and it was fantastic.
I nearly assumed I was looking at sm64, but that one is turning 30 next year…
Crysis is roughly as old now as Super Mario Bros 3 was when Crysis first released.
This year the original SMB will be forty years old.
I think what’s more interesting is Mario today doesn’t even look much different than Mario 20 years ago. The Switch just never bothered, plus graphics in general are flattening out.
On a still picture taken in the right place, maybe. Bright, cartoony graphics also help. The Mario style is probably not the kind that’s best to showcase graphic power.
Anyway, animation, lighting and physics is where you can see the gap between Odyssey and Sunshine. Also richer, bigger environments, even though Sunshine used a lot of tricks and already looked rather impressive for the time on that front. Well, until framerate dropped into single-digit halfway through Noki Bay.
There’s certainly some improvement. I’ve played Sunshine recently on an emulator and it’s not as refined as Odyssey and yes, the physics jump a bit from 64 to Sunshine to Galaxy to Odyssey. They’re all quite enjoyable, just the Switch admits to only being a slight step up from a Wii U, lol. They all use tricks to look better, same with Zelda BotW artistic blur, etc.
In any case, Mario doesn’t exactly need picture perfect ray traced lit graphics where you can see every fiber of his mustache or how his overalls reflect light just right so you can see the denim texture. Then again … Lol
In any case, Mario doesn’t exactly need picture perfect ray traced lit graphics where you can see every fiber of his mustache or how his overalls reflect light just right so you can see the denim texture.
Nah, the only thing he needed was nose jiggle physics actually.
I still can’t understand how that even crossed someone’s mind. It’s funny though.
We went from the Wii to two Wiis duct taped together to two Wiis in a tablet and soon to three Wiis in a tablet
