With another Christmas coming I realize how much video games have changed over the years in my life. Being 35 now, (old enough to be President of the United States, lol) I look back on my past Christmas's and what I got from Santa. I first remember the 2600 and Intellivision and how awesome it was to play games like Adventure and Fishing Derby. Playing Warlords, Asteroids, and Yars Revenge for hours on end. Looking back, the games on my cellphone are about 10x more powerful and graphically better. Now as I see my son (6) and my daughter (3), who have been influenced by my video game addiction, ask for games for Christmas I wonder what games will be like in their lifetime.

I think younger gamers have no appreciation or understanding of how far video games or electronics in general have come. They will never know how odd yet acceptable it was playing basketball or baseball with a square "ball". They won't know the simple fun of moving a slider to make a "ball" bust some bricks or a clown to bust some balloons. Now they have realistic graphics on HD tv's that bend the fantasy from reality. Explosions, flames, realistic characters, water effects and things that only would be in the dreams of programmers back in the day. Playing against someone on-line is the standard.

These things are just an accepted part of their lives. Like cell phones, cable, and microwaves. They have always been there. Ask a teen-ager today what BetaMax is and they will say "what?". Little do they know they are seeing the same thing with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray that we saw with VHS and BETA.

Probably what I am writing about now was written or thought of 50 years ago when someone saw Rock-n-Roll and TV becoming so main stream. And I am sure that in another 50 years someone will be speaking of the changes then. Regardless, change is inevitable and humans evolve constantly. Remember the past, you don't have to live it, but it will help you appreciate how far things have come.

Merry Christmas