# Remember the good old days of video gaming, when you could just insert a game and play it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 7, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964 "2017-08-07T01:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/21 "2017-08-07T22:14:08Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > What? > > how slow is your hard drive? You do know, you cna just copy your steam folder to your new device and you’re set, right? I don’t know. I just did what Steam told me to do. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/22 "2017-08-07T22:35:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > As it is that you have a PS4, I would think that you were aware that the games are much better. It is progress. On the other hand, I have an Xbox 360 and an Xbox One and it is not at all clear to me that Xbox One games are much better. They certainly require a lot of downloading, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/23 "2017-08-07T23:15:55Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > You do know, you cna just copy your steam folder to your new device and you’re set, right? > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I don’t know. I just did what Steam told me to do. Pretty sure Sims IV is Origin only, anyway. Maybe Origin games transfer easily; I dunno since I never tried. Anyway, downloading patches (or full games) never bothered me much but that’s benefits of reasonably fast internet, I guess. Or else I learned patience in my rogue days of downloading C-64 games off BBS’s at 1200 baud speeds. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/24 "2017-08-07T23:34:03Z")
wow that Atari place has some of the rare as heck ones… although I think he might be using a 7800 emulator that reads 2600 roms … wonder if thell add more … Like I said before I have a an 2600 flashback and they’ve screwed with a lot the games … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/25 "2017-08-07T23:37:18Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Pretty sure Sims IV is Origin only, anyway. Maybe Origin games transfer easily; I dunno since I never tried. > > Anyway, downloading patches (or full games) never bothered me much but that’s benefits of reasonably fast internet, I guess. Or else I learned patience in my rogue days of downloading C-64 games off BBS’s at 1200 baud speeds. I lerned I hated coding in the ti 4a and vic 20 days after I found out that to get new games I had to pay 9.95 for a 20 page book and had to type it in my self …and hope no one screwed up in the writing … (me or them or both ) if I was going ot make a game I was going to write it and make pretty pictures and say to the code monekys heres what it needs ot look like … try to get close as possible … ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/26 "2017-08-07T23:41:02Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > I lerned I hated coding in the ti 4a and vic 20 days after I found out that to get new games I had to pay 9.95 for a 20 page book and had to type it in my self …and hope no one screwed up in the writing … (me or them or both ) Amen. And after typing in t a game for a few hours, you noticed you were only halfway through it with no way to save your progress. Then we finally got a tape recorder to save it on cassettes. But that only worked like half the time. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/27 "2017-08-08T01:39:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Step 1) Order your game on Amazon and save yourself the round trip. > Step 2) Install the game the day before you plan to play it. When it starts downloading the update, put it into rest mode. It’ll keep downloading. > Step 3) Enjoy your game whenever you like. My experience has been: 1. Get the game on Amazon. Wait 10 hours. 2. Install Game and Updates 3. Game doesn’t load, just a blank screen 4. Spend three hours trying fixes from the manufacturer, steam and the internet in general 5. Re-download and install game, based on advice from above. No difference. 6. Play a different game and curse the manufacturer to the ends of the earth. My exact experience with Assassin’s Creed IV. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/28 "2017-08-08T01:48:00Z")
Why can’t I stop playing [Krull](http://2600online.com/krull.php)? It’s just about as good as the movie (i.e. terrible), but I keep playing. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/29 "2017-08-08T17:51:33Z")
Did you count the time it used to take you to ride your 10-speed down to the mall to the game store to buy the cartridge and ride your 10-speed home in your comparison? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964/30 "2017-08-08T18:40:28Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I remember every Nintendo, even if they were manufactured several years apart, had the same problem where the springs wouldn’t hold the cartridge in the right position, so you had to put the cartridge in, jiggle it, pull it out, blow on it, do a little dance, put it back in…etc. for several minutes before you could play your game. > > Plus, god knows PC gaming has gotten easier. When I was a kid, you used to have to reconfigure the memory layout of the computer for each game. I’m so happy virtualization has put an end to that. I used to have boot disks for specific games to get the memory right. Wing Commander Privateer was one of the worst. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-the-good-old-days-of-video-gaming-when-you-could-just-insert-a-game-and-play-it/792964.md?page=1)