I can't stand these arguments.

An article at XYZ Computing puts forth the not-so-new idea that the SNES was the "apex of gaming."

What is so great about the SNES? First of all there is the system itself. The SNES came packaged with two controllers and Super Mario World. Many systems, including Genesis, included just one controller and consumers had to buy another one if they wanted to play against one another. As for Super Mario World, the included game, it is one of the finest video games of all time.

Of course, the Sega Genesis actually did have a pack-in game -- Altered Beast -- and so did the Turbo Grafx 16 for that matter, but hey, when you're writing an article through rose colored glasses you can remember things however you want.

The author goes on to explain all the wonderful features of the SNES, and how it allowed for such new and varied gaming experiences. And from the perspective of 1992, this was true. I've long held that the 256 color palette, both on the SNES and on the PC in the form of VGA graphics, was a major turning point in game visuals. It crossed the boundry point past where graphics had to struggle just to look like what they were supposed to and actually allowed a certain amount of artistry. That era is when video game graphics first were able to really look beautiful.

However, soon the author gets to the crux of his argument, and -- surprise! -- it's the same one we've been hearing for the last ten years.

The main problem with the Xbox and the PS2 is that the games themselves are dropping in quality. While complexity is increasing and graphics are becoming more impressive, many current games simply have nothing more to offer than eye candy. Most of them are completely bereft of a plot, character development, or the indescribable characteristics which made early games so great, which, for lack of a better term, has often been labeled as "soul".

Man he's right I got so teary-eyed when we learned about Haggar's deep and involved past in Final Fight. Today's games are bereft of a plot? I don't recall sitting through damned story segments in Top Gear 2000, and yet that's exactly what I'm doing in Need for Speed: Most Wanted. If anything, they've started adding plots where they weren't needed.

Breaking this guy's argument is like shooting fish in a barrel, but my point is to warn any and all reading this about the dangers of this type of thinking. It confounds me to think how people can be so blind as to the relative quality of the past versus the present, and yet I see it all the time; "Evil corporations are ruining gaming! I wish we could go back to the pure and sweet days of the SNES!" What, so you can play not one, but two different games starring the Cheetos mascot?

Maybe I need to write up a little reminder of this for the first article for this site..

Source: XYZ Computing