I’m only 27, but I remember seeing a video game for the first time. I didn’t grow up with them, my dad actually pushed back on me getting an Xbox insanely hard.
But my uncle had one and I saw NCAA Football 03 in action when I was at his house one day. I couldn’t believe how real it looked. (For reference, this is how it looked on a typical 480p tv back then)
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And with that, my dad never heard the end of it leading up to that fateful Christmas of 2002. I got an Xbox and NCAA 03, March Madness, and All Star Baseball 2003 (which still has the best stadium selection of any baseball game I’ve ever played.)
Since I lived in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t have high speed internet until i was 18 in college. So, naturally I only played sports games for years until Halo 3 came out when I was 11-12. I had to go to my grandmas house to play Xbox Live pretty much every weekend from ages 12-18.
I have all the new systems, and I still think there hasn’t been a graphical upgrade from generation to generation as massive as the one from PS1-PS2. I also long for the good ole days of my childhood where there were several options for your sports gaming fix.
Just looking at baseball.. we had MVP Baseball, All Star Baseball, MLB Slugfest, MLB 2k, Triple Play, and what would become The Show.
Now, there’s only the Show. Only Madden. Only NBA2K. The lack of competition in sports games, coupled with the ultimate team cash pits has utterly ruined them.