29 replies to this topic

[BydoEmpire]

I popped a game into my Xbox 360 for the first time in ages last night. It's probably been a year and a half since I've used my 360 for anything but DVDs. Anyways, I put the disc in:

Oops, need to download the patch…
Okay, booted up again.
Oops, the email I registered w/ publisher is old and out of date. Enter new email & password.
Okay, that’s done. I hate the keyboard popups.
Okay, let’s get the game going...
Oops, need to enter my 16-digit "Online Pass Code."
Okay, now I'm at the main menu...
Wow, the menu music is awful, let me go to the settings and disable 70% of the tunes...
Saving profile... waiting... saving profile... waiting...
Okay, now I’m ready to start playing a game!

Uh oh, my kid is finished with his bath. I have to go…

[TheGameCollector]

BydoEmpire, on Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:15 AM, said:

I popped a game into my Xbox 360 for the first time in ages last night. It's probably been a year and a half since I've used my 360 for anything but DVDs. Anyways, I put the disc in:

Oops, need to download the patch…
Okay, booted up again.
Oops, the email I registered w/ publisher is old and out of date. Enter new email & password.
Okay, that’s done. I hate the keyboard popups.
Okay, let’s get the game going...
Oops, need to enter my 16-digit "Online Pass Code."
Okay, now I'm at the main menu...
Wow, the menu music is awful, let me go to the settings and disable 70% of the tunes...
Saving profile... waiting... saving profile... waiting...
Okay, now I’m ready to start playing a game!

Uh oh, my kid is finished with his bath. I have to go…

That's why you need to only play the Xbox 360 offline like me

[disjaukifa]

Thats me for the exact same reason, except put in PS3 instead of Xbox 360. Playing a "quick" game on modern consoles is almost impossible now and days. The thing I hate the most are mandatory updates, you don't even get an option if you want to take the update now or later, you have to do it right then and there.

[fdurso224]

Hi guys,

Because the 2600 is so damn good!

Anthony.....

[Algus]

My favorite:

Uh-oh, the servers for this game are shutdown despite the fact that you are paying $60/year for online already. Enjoy buying the new version for $60

*shakes fist at EA*

[Armonigann]

Thats why I only play games offline and they are 99% schmups or arcade/old console compilations.

[vanderveen88]

My friend recently purchased an Xbox 360 and decided to purchase a couple of games through the online marketplace. For some reason, however, he couldn't get them to download properly. It took him several dozen tries, a few weeks and maybe half a dozen phone calls to finally learn that it was our wireless router causing the problem -- it simply refused to download files so large (2 GB and up). No error message, no clues, just a download forever hung at 1%.

For their part, the Xbox support team did help him get it figured out and now he's happy playing Tropico 3 and Civilization Revolution. But I like the fact that I can pick up a game for essentially any of my older systems -- even the ones that are 30+ years old -- bring it home, and it will just work, no troubles at all.

[disjaukifa]

Realized this over the weekend as well . . . loading times, I don't have load times on the 2600 . . . well I guess you do in Berzerk when the room is transitioning to another room, but its really more of a much needed break on your hands and eyes and just enough time to get a breather for another on slaughter on evil robots that are out to get for no other reason than they were programed to do so, but because you weren't given a kit with even basic tools, you can't just taz one to sleep, take its chest plate apart and reprogram it to follow you and act as a metal shield should you lose focus, then you very easily build an army to take down Evil Otto eventual, or have enough robots attacking him that he might get distracted and show you the exit, but then you would the morale dilema of not giving the robots free will, then you are just the same as Evil Otto, so does you just as Evil as Evil Otto?

Sorry I think I got off on a bit of a tangent . . . yeah load screens are minimal on the 2600 and its rocks

[Vic George 2K3]

I've been on the computer more than I have playing the Xbox 360 or any game console recently. I'm still miffed that I don't have a PS3.

[Rex Dart]

BydoEmpire, on Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:15 AM, said:

I popped a game into my Xbox 360 for the first time in ages last night. It's probably been a year and a half since I've used my 360 for anything but DVDs. Anyways, I put the disc in:
Oops, need to download the patch…
Okay, booted up again.
Oops, the email I registered w/ publisher is old and out of date. Enter new email & password.
Okay, that's done. I hate the keyboard popups.
Okay, let's get the game going...
Oops, need to enter my 16-digit "Online Pass Code."
Okay, now I'm at the main menu...
Wow, the menu music is awful, let me go to the settings and disable 70% of the tunes...
Saving profile... waiting... saving profile... waiting...
Okay, now I'm ready to start playing a game!
Uh oh, my kid is finished with his bath. I have to go…

Your 2600 goes online without all that fuss, huh?

[Chuck D. Head]

Rex Dart, on Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:34 AM, said:

BydoEmpire, on Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:15 AM, said:

I popped a game into my Xbox 360 for the first time in ages last night. It's probably been a year and a half since I've used my 360 for anything but DVDs. Anyways, I put the disc in:
Oops, need to download the patch…
Okay, booted up again.
Oops, the email I registered w/ publisher is old and out of date. Enter new email & password.
Okay, that's done. I hate the keyboard popups.
Okay, let's get the game going...
Oops, need to enter my 16-digit "Online Pass Code."
Okay, now I'm at the main menu...
Wow, the menu music is awful, let me go to the settings and disable 70% of the tunes...
Saving profile... waiting... saving profile... waiting...
Okay, now I'm ready to start playing a game!
Uh oh, my kid is finished with his bath. I have to go…

Your 2600 goes online without all that fuss, huh?

Actually back in the day, my uncle's Gameline would download a game into his 2600 faster and easier than that. But He couldn't watch Netlix on it..........

Edited by Chuck D. Head, Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:03 AM.

[disjaukifa]

Chuck D. Head, on Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:02 AM, said:

Rex Dart, on Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:34 AM, said:

BydoEmpire, on Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:15 AM, said:

I popped a game into my Xbox 360 for the first time in ages last night. It's probably been a year and a half since I've used my 360 for anything but DVDs. Anyways, I put the disc in:
Oops, need to download the patch…
Okay, booted up again.
Oops, the email I registered w/ publisher is old and out of date. Enter new email & password.
Okay, that's done. I hate the keyboard popups.
Okay, let's get the game going...
Oops, need to enter my 16-digit "Online Pass Code."
Okay, now I'm at the main menu...
Wow, the menu music is awful, let me go to the settings and disable 70% of the tunes...
Saving profile... waiting... saving profile... waiting...
Okay, now I'm ready to start playing a game!
Uh oh, my kid is finished with his bath. I have to go…

Your 2600 goes online without all that fuss, huh?

Actually back in the day, my uncle's Gameline would download a game into his 2600 faster and easier than that. But He couldn't watch Netlix on it..........

What about Netbyte?

[BydoEmpire]

Rex Dart, on Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:34 AM, said:

Your 2600 goes online without all that fuss, huh?

No, but it does get me to having fun playing a video game without all that fuss.

Obviously, this post is a little bit tongue in cheek - I am enjoying the game and of course you don't have to do all that stuff every time. Still, I wonder what percentage of development dollars are spent on things totally unrelated to the actual game, but instead all the modern infrastructure - pass codes, email registrations, ad streaming, sdk updates, handling disk eject bugs, handling friend invites, etc. 75%? 50%?

[pce_collector]

I have to say, I also hate the load times on these modern consoles. After about five minutes of load time, if you screw up (crash on the first turn, get fragged immediately, etc.) and want to restart the level, it's another five minutes of load time. Cartridges may have been expensive, but I still find them both reliable and responsive (quick to boot, load) to this day.

Edited by pce_collector, Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:33 AM.

[Jono]

I'm not too bothered about load times, I can deal with those. The hardware itself is my main problem. I bought my first 360 in April of 2009 and it was dead by Jan of 2010. We played the crap out of it, sure; but we didn't play it any moreso than any other console that came before it. Those all still work, why cant the Xbox? I bought a new one but I shouldn't have to do that! I don't even know why I did, it's not like I play it anymore.

[DJT]

For me, I haven't picked up my xbox 360 controller in months since I just got my Atari... the problem is that I find that the longer the gaps are between times spent playing the 360, the longer it takes me to re-learn the control schemes and catch up on where I left off in the stories.

I guess with the 2600 there's so much more left to the imagination in terms of stories. All at once you're thrust into the action and the controls really couldn't get easier to pickup (although sometimes you need to brush up on the manuals)

Plus it's just so casual, perfect for playing in short bursts.

That's all I have to say about that.

[disjaukifa]

Jono, on Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:43 AM, said:

I'm not too bothered about load times, I can deal with those. The hardware itself is my main problem. I bought my first 360 in April of 2009 and it was dead by Jan of 2010. We played the crap out of it, sure; but we didn't play it any moreso than any other console that came before it. Those all still work, why cant the Xbox? I bought a new one but I shouldn't have to do that! I don't even know why I did, it's not like I play it anymore.

Thats the reason I don't own a 360. I bought one, 3 days later it was RLOD. I returned it, got another same thing, got another and the hard drive died and I lost all my game data. After that I just gave up, was not worth it to me.

[PsychoKittyNet]

I've had better luck with 360's than PS3's. That being said my NES, Atari and INTV all get more play than my 360.

[pce_collector]

Jono, on Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:43 AM, said:

I'm not too bothered about load times, I can deal with those. The hardware itself is my main problem. I bought my first 360 in April of 2009 and it was dead by Jan of 2010. We played the crap out of it, sure; but we didn't play it any moreso than any other console that came before it. Those all still work, why cant the Xbox? I bought a new one but I shouldn't have to do that! I don't even know why I did, it's not like I play it anymore.

Since you mentioned it, I can recall that the only consoles that I've had die on me were the Xbox 360 (RROD), PS2, and CD-I. The first two I fixed and the CD-I got trashed. My Ataris, Intellivision, and SNES, still work like champs.

[Animan]

I once brought my Saturn to a Halo LAN-party, and hooked it up to the projector as something people would play when it wasn't their turn on Halo. When I loaded Fighting Vipers, some people were impressed at how fast it went straight to the game.

Sega had the right formula down with most of their games:

1. Saturn Boot-screen (skippable).
2. A few seconds of game-disc whirring.
3. "Produced by or under license by Sega etc." screen (lasts 2 seconds).
4. 6 second loading screen.
5. Title screen, ready to go.
6. Attract mode shows company logo's and intro.

All modern games should be like that. I know who made the damn game, I don't have to be told that everytime I turn it on.

To be honest, I play Fighters Megamix way more than any other modern game, period. The multiplayer still manages to get every single person I've shown it to hooked (even my grandparents, believe it or not). It's become a staple of every party I plan or go to.

Oh, and I have a ton of other older games I play more than any of my modern games. Don't get me wrong, I love new games too, but the older ones get more playtime from me.

Edited by Animan, Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:47 PM.

[HatefulGravey]

Its easier then all this for me. My VCS works perfectly after all these years. My 360 has been babied for 2 years and only works when it wants to.

[cimerians]

What I hate before even starting a modern game is that we all have to see what the hell the game was develeoped on or affiliated with before we play ALONG with the publisher and dev logos. Multiple pages of Bink Video, Unreal Engine, Gamespy etc. Then you get the game logo then you get possibly if your unlucky...an unskippable movie or title sequence and then the main menu. Not to mention submenus and click-to-confirm prompts. Loading times can also be thrown in for added time wasting.

By the time you get around to PLAYING you need to do something else.

Great topic Stargunner!

[ChrisMach152]

I sold all my newer games (basically anything after SNES) to buy NES, ColecoVision, SNES, Genesis and last but not least Atari 2600 games.

[trey s]

I play my modern systems as much as my old ones, depends on the mood I am in. I dont play online tho, and have only brought a few add on packs off Xbox live. I was furious last winter when I found I had to buy a 60 dollar Xbox Live Gold Membership to watch Netflix on my 360. No problem, I wanted a Blu Ray player, so I went and got a Sony Blu Ray with a network connection. Watching Netflix for free (not counting the Netflix subscription) on my tv now.
I must have gotten a magic 360 or something, I got mine in January of 08, and its still going strong. I play it a fair amount as well.
I am getting sick to death of the constant barrage of "Halo of Duty" type games tho. Red Dead Redemption was a nice surprise, As are the Mass Effect games.
But yes, you guys are right, the quality of the modern systems are lacking. Companies are in too much of a hurry to get something on the market these days. A little less greed, a little more quality control?
trey

[GonzoGamer]

I will pay more than modern game prices for certain 2600 and 7800 games and a few other oldies because i am old and the games these days are just too damn complicated, like someone else here said you can't sit down and enjoy a casual game with these new systems (i will admit to putting in GTA on the PS2 just to relax and kill stuff) but that's about the only one i like on the any newer system (and that is the newest system i own, only because i picked it up cheap at a garage sale. i prefer to sit down and play some missile command, frogger, ms pac-man, galaxian etc., etc.