# I am a gamer...and apparently older than dirt. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 19, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285 "2003-10-19T01:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/21 "2003-10-19T11:42:11Z")
The kids were much too articulate, they all sounded like they had stepped off the set of a bitchy Dawsons Creek. However, I translated a market research study recently where kids got to test one of those new toys that are the 10-in-1 Atari games in a joystick (just connect to the tv). They seemed to have a ball, but some of the games they just didn’t understand. I was horrified that they let kids try that, that is for us mid-70s kids! Anyhow, I can say is thank you god for emulation, and I promise I will finish building my mame cabinet really soon! ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/22 "2003-10-19T14:21:27Z")
When I was six I pissed my mom off by being able to jump on the crocodile heads in Pitfall. Imagine my pleasure when, about ten years later, we rented the SNES version of the game that had the old Atari game hidden inside it…and I could still, on the first try, jump the crocodile heads. Hee hee. I saw that article too. My brother gets the magazine. I wanted to whack those bratty kids. They don’t know how good they’ve got it. I’m 27, so Pong was a bit before my time (though I think we had the Atari version) but I remember many happy hours with that machine. Just because it looks primitive doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. I want an Atari bad. I’m considering trying for one on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/23 "2003-10-19T15:13:29Z")
These “kids” seem more like amature comedians, always ready with a clever line: > [@](#): > > Tim: [Points to lava lamp on TV stand] That thing’s more interesting. > > John: Yeah, let’s watch the lamp. It’s more fun and less predictable. > > Tim: E.T. is unpredictable: You never know when you’ll fall into a pit or when a kid is gonna enter your body…I mean use your skin as his own. > > Nico: Didn’t they bury this game in Mexico or something? > > Gordon: Is that a woman? > > Becky: It’s Zeus. He’s taking you away to the Acropolis. > > Andrew: The point of E.T. is to see how bad they can piss you off… > > Nico: …before you turn it off. > > Becky: Maybe another movie company that didn’t want you to like E.T. made this game. > > Andrew: Yeah, it was some sort of corporate sabotage. As others have said, these kids just seem too articulate. They also seem to know more about video game history than you would think (millions of unsold copies of E.T. were actually buried - they just couldn’t sell the damn thing; I remember buying a copy for $1.99). Also, how can you spend that much time in a room with eight preteen boys and not have one of them crack so much as a single fart joke? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/24 "2003-10-19T15:26:37Z")
> [@](#): > > When I was six I pissed my mom off by being able to jump on the crocodile heads in Pitfall. Imagine my pleasure when, about ten years later, we rented the SNES version of the game that had the old Atari game hidden inside it…and I could still, on the first try, jump the crocodile heads. Hee hee. Well, maybe **whiterabbit** could jump on the crocodile heads, but who was it who made the KREMLIN take off as a reward in the original Nintendo Tetris, for scoring over 300,000? Who was it? Huh? Huh? Gee, do I hear mutters about “the old lady”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/25 "2003-10-19T15:32:33Z")
Go ahead, mock me right back. You were ALWAYS better at Tetris than I was. And yeah, the kids did seem awfully articulate. I wouldn’t be surprised if their comments were heavily edited, but I can also easily see a group of kids now being serious unimpressed with video games from about 1980. I’m waiting for Super Mario Bros. 3 to come out Tuesday for GBA. Oh boy! I haven’t played that game in years! ---
**Author:** ![Tremmie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Tremmie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremmie)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/26 "2003-10-19T17:09:33Z")
Its pretty funny, but i agree its very likely faked. How can this kids not know tetris? there are versions of tetris out NOW, the game still gets made for every handheld console out there. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/27 "2003-10-20T01:50:20Z")
I dunno, but I`ll assume that **whiterabbit** and **Mama Tiger** are daughter and mother, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/28 "2003-10-20T01:54:47Z")
Good guess, **whickfistle**. Although I never did compete too seriously with the young persons on video gaming – my age definitely shows. I was in college when Pong came out, and I was crappy at it even then. I can easily see **whiterabbit’s** younger brother, who’s now 19, being that articulate and sarcastic at the age of 13, however. And I’m sure these kids were hand-picked just for those characteristics. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/29 "2003-10-20T03:10:50Z")
Got it in one. It’s a good thing my brother is old enough to remember old school Nintendo games, or I suspect he’d be making comments about old games that would make these kids look like amateurs. He has the sharpest tongue I’ve ever heard. I’m impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Badger\_Racing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@Atomic\_Badger\_Racing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Badger_Racing)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/30 "2003-10-20T04:34:54Z")
You don’t need to be a smartass kid to make fun of old games. I always wanted a Sega Master System because I liked playing Sonic the Hedgehog at friends’ houses, I never got a real one but I found an emulator for my PS2. Here’s a quote that came with it, supposedly from the original box: > [@](#): > > Now SEGA explodes into your own home! With more games than ever. More levels of play. More responsive controls. Plus, SEGA has digital sound, and graphics that are so real, you’ll swear you can smell the burning rubber! > > Just imagine - the ultimate in arcade excitement loose in your living room. SEGA’s gonna blow you away! Oh, how I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/31 "2003-10-20T04:45:17Z")
_sigh_ And every month I’d get my Computer Games magazine, and it came with games… yep… printed there in the magazine… and I’d sit and punch them in… and try to get them to save to tape… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![shimmery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@shimmery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shimmery)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/32 "2003-10-20T21:06:35Z")
I just want to say that im 14, and I actually know of all these atari games that you are talking about. Most people who grew up with it think that people my age know nothing about it. Well, we do…And I also own an Atari 2600 in its original box…never opened ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/33 "2003-10-20T21:28:21Z")
I’m jealous, **shimmery**! I just picked up a bunch of Atari games for my PlayStation. Aside from the controls being different (I actually miss that spinny controller thing) it’s pretty cool. Most of the games I haven’t played, though some I had. And I can STILL jump on the crocodile heads, and plan to annoy **Mama Tiger** with that ability when she gets home. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MaggietheCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@MaggietheCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaggietheCat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/34 "2003-10-20T22:07:14Z")
I was 12 when Pong came out. When I was 29, my sister bought an original SNES for her kids & I said, “I gotta get me some of that.” I still have it. And a Sega Master System, a Sega CD system, a SuperNintengo, an N64, a Playstation, a Playstation 2 and stacks of games to go with them. When I find a hobby, I’m serious about. By the way, I’m 47 & 92 hours into .Hack (part two). ---
**Author:** ![Oy\_Vey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dbc845/32.png) [@Oy\_Vey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy_Vey)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/35 "2003-10-21T00:43:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apollyon \* > \*\*_sigh_ > > And every month I’d get my Computer Games magazine, and it came with games… yep… printed there in the magazine… and I’d sit and punch them in… and try to get them to save to tape… > > 🙂 \*\* Commodore 64 or Atari 400/800? I even remember that Miner Forty Niner and Football were at 128 and 674 on the little counter on the tape player ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285/36 "2003-10-21T04:29:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Oy Vey \* > **Commodore 64 or Atari 400/800?** The first machine we actually had at home was a [Spectravideo](http://www.spectravideo.org/) – not sure anymore which one – but my memory of trying (and often failing) to get games on and off tapes was mostly the machines at my high school – a couple of [Dick Smith System 80’s](http://www.webweavers.co.nz/system-80/) and one TRS-80. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-gamer-and-apparently-older-than-dirt/208285.md?page=1)