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Gaming History: How Much Should You Know?

February 08, 2010 in Blog comments 5

Mike Gingras is feeling a little nostalgic, unlike others of recent. At any rate, he's interested in a question and some answers. How necessary is gaming history knowledge in order to call yourself a true gamer? Check out the source for his thoughts.

As a historian, I try to know as much about history as I can. As a gaming fan, I want to try to experience as many "legendary" games as possible.

But to be a gamer, is it necessary to have these experiences?
Dark Arcanine via bitmob.com »
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  • 2
    Chad Feb 9, 10
    I don't think gaming history is really necessary to call yourself a gamer. To me, a gamer is someone who simply enjoys video games and plays them often. Knowing a little history about certain series, characters, and video games in general just adds to the experience.
    • 0
      Hideo1 Feb 9, 10
      Precisely. Someone who paints in their spare time even though their paintings aren't very good and even though they don't know of the history of painting, is still a painter (hobby-wise). Someone who plays drums for an unsigned band who sing songs about beer in the frat-house is still a musician. Someone who writes bad fanfics and knows nothing of great and historical literature is still a writer. Someone who plays games a large amount in their spare time is a gamer.
  • 0
    Dark Arcanine Feb 9, 10
    I'm a little iffy on this one. I can see what you guys are saying, for example I wouldn't say someone's not a gamer because they don't know anything before the naughties era. Having said this, what about a more specific branch of gamer? For example, those who are just starting on Pokemon (Third/Fourth generations) are quite different to the oldies (First/Second). Without playing and appreciating the first two generations, it's hard to seem them as true Pokemon gamers. They lack the appreciation, so I can see what he means in that respect.
  • 0
    Gotenks Feb 9, 10
    Nintendo doesn't need to release every big name or well known title to the Virtual Console every week. What would be the sense? Yes, we'd enjoy having the games we love a lot quicker but we'd be constantly shelling out money every to play the game. What Nintendo is doing now is perfectly fine. They are releasing these old games that some of us have never heard of so that they could possibly get some attention now that they didn't get before. It would be nice if they release one more familiar title once a month to the Virtual Console but it feels so damn nice after weeks of all of these unpopular games being released to finally have one familiar title.

    You don't need to know your gaming history to be a gamer. Chad is completely right on that. Some of us did grow up with the Nintendo, Atari and even when SEGA made their own consoles! But to be a gamer, you just need to enjoy playing games. No history needed. Obviously if someone plays a game like Mass Effect 2 or Bioshock 2 or any other game that is a sequel, they won't understand what is completely going on in that game and will either look up the previous game or buy/rent the game before to know the actual storyline and understand what's going on in the second game.
  • 0
    BANDITO ATTACK Feb 10, 10
    smb3 is the quintessential gaming experience. anyone who hasn't played it needs to. there is no excuse.

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