Is the Next Generation of Gamers Spoiled?

As I sit here watching my friend play the game Dirt on the XBOX360, I admire just how realistic looking it is and how easily my grandparents could be fooled into thinking they were watching an actual race.

I'm reminded of the first console I ever had, which was a Super Nintendo. I played the regular Nintendo at my friend's house, but when I got to the age that my parents deemed appropriate to play video games, Super Nintendo had just come out. My friends and I would spend hours playing Super Mario, Double Dragon and Street Fighter. I also became a huge fan of RPGs thanks to the Super Nintendo's classic library of Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy III, Super Mario RPG, Lufia I & II and more that I can't think of right now.

My generation (people who are around the age of 21) was, as I see it, born in just the right time to experience the humble roots of video games and can see how far they've come today. My parents and their peers aren't included because they don't appreciate video games as much as us and didn't grow up playing them like we did.

This can apply to anything technological; I didn't get a cell phone until high school and there are kids in elementary school with theirs glued to their ears; maybe that's an exaggeration, but the point is I can remember life before cell phones and it involved a lot of collect calls made from the food court of the mall. Or when my family got its first computer; Windows hadn't even come out yet and the only interesting game was solitaire, which was more fun than trying to get connected to the internet back then.

People in middle and high school grew up after Nintendo and 32-bit consoles and played N64 and Playstation. Although those graphics can't compare to today's consoles, the jump isn't as big as it is going from Contra to Halo 3. Maybe spoiled is too harsh of a word, unappreciative might describe younger gamers a little better. But it will probably be even worse in the later generations that follow when graphics on the next consoles for Sony and Microsoft are the norm and games like NBA Jam and Frogger are going to be as ancient as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I can't wait to see what new advancements take place in the gaming world in future years; though it may sound strange, I approach this predicament of non appreciative gamers as a society would hope to preserve its culture, because like it or not, video games are a big part of many people's lives, and not in a bad way. So keep your old Nintendo games (except ET, that goes to the landfill) and every now and then pop in a copy of Battle Toads and enjoy it with your friends because it's up to our generation to make sure classic games on the old systems are never forgotten.

My name is Brendan and I am a senior at the University at North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I enjoy writing articles to improve my writing, pad my resume, and give my advice and feedback on different topics. Check out my website to find more of my stuff at http://brendanigan.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brendan_Durkin
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-the-Next-Generation-of-Gamers-Spoiled?&id=1370207