On principle, I don’t play videogames that cost more than a quarter or require reading a book to understand. In other words, I haven’t played very many videogames since 1987. New games are too complicated, too expensive, and require an investment of time that few who don’t live in their mother’s attic can make.

Thankfully, I’m not alone in my longing for the days of Spy Hunter, Punch Out, and Space Invaders. Classic videogames are making a comeback. Home systems like Intellivision, Colecovision, and, of course, the Atari 2600, as well as arcade-style machines, are hot on Ebay and other online purchasing sites. Nintendo is launching a classic version of Gameboy, and will be releasing a series of vintage cartridges like Excitebike and Xevious: The Avenger. There’s even an annual convention for aficionados of old-school arcades and home systems--it needs a larger meeting space this year.

“There’s a phrase that's used a lot in marketing—‘easy to learn, hard to master’—that describes most classic video games,” remarks avid player Rob O'Hara.

Unlike the movies, videogame sequels often outdid the original. Ms. Pac Man was definitely the highpoint of the feminist movement, as it clearly proved women could outdo men. Millipede bettered Centipede. Donkey Kong begat Super Mario Brothers, which was the most popular of the second-wave videogames.

So many early television and radio shows were blatant rip-offs of other programs. On TV, one could watch the The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and One Step Beyond. The king-of-all-radio-shows, The Shadow, launched so many copycats that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Early videogames were no different. Galaga and Galaxian are essentially the same game. They’re both awesome though. I think Galaxian came first but Galaga is the better one. Perhaps someone else can fill me in regarding the history. The far superior Mr. Do ripped off Dig-Dug. Atari, the makers of Phoenix, actually sued Imagic, the makers of Demon Attack in 1982. Atari lost, but I can’t spot too much variation between the games. What’s the difference between Breakout and Arkenoid? Tekken and Street Fighter? Berzerk and Venture?

But creativity generally trumped imitation. Some games were too original to copy. The computer-geeks designing games on eccentric themes in the early-‘80s were either really creative, or really into hallucinogens. What other explanation can there be for Q*bert, Burger Time, or Paperboy (I was a paperboy for five-plus years and I don’t recall ever having to undergo a paper-route obstacle course when I finished delivery.). And I know it’s not a videogame, but seriously, what bizarre mind dreamed up the concept of Whack-a-Mole?

So why the resurgence in vintage gaming? The twelve-year-olds of 1983 are the thirty-three-year-olds of 2004, and they have a lot more quarters. Just as they might watch a rerun of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Outsiders, or turn up the radio to The English Beat or The Psychedelic Furs, Gen-Xers find in classic videogames yet another way to relive good times past.

Do you have any news on the release of the greatest video game ever.............Mr. Do!!!!!!

i take umbridge to that remark about only people who live in there parent attic can play video games. i play a foolish amount at the age of thirty and can only imagine how bad of a beating my kids will get in the future!!!hahaha By the way Battlefield Vietnam is one of the best pc games ever made, pick it up if you would like to close the gap on all the critics who say the U.S didnt win the Vietnam War.

Ah the old days...I remember still that fateful day when I got an Atari 2600...changed my life. Since then I got into Nintendo, Sega, etc...and later in life, PC games. They sapped the life out of me and the money out of my bank account. I've got better things to do with my time now than to "master" a video game.
I play a game now for inspirational purposes (I write) or once in a blue moon to let out some aggravation - (Marvel vs. Capcom - use Wolverine)
or to listen to the music.
Back in the old days me and my friend would spend hours recording and listening to video game music. We were scorned for it and guess what? The video game music industry is a booming industry...it's a shame we didn't start something up or we probably could have been millionaires.