I noticed things have changed in the gaming world. It is very hard not to notice this change. I may be only 23 years old as of this writing but i started gaming on a Mattel Intelevision. I loved that thing. I moved on to a Atari VCS (2600) then to the NES, and then the SNES, Playstaiton, PS2/Gamecube, now the PS3. I have also been a PC gamer for the past six years. Because of this I have witnessed four major changes to the way gaming is played in my lifetime.

The first change happened when Nintendo saved the industry from death with the NES. Instead of Pong, Combat, Joust, and B-52 Bomber we moved on to Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Thes games were fundamentally different from their predecessors in ways I will not bother to talk about now.

The second change occoured with the move to 3-D gaming. Although both Nintendo and Sega had 3-D games for their SNES and Genesis respectively, and the Sega Saturn launched before the Playstation, I mostly give the credit for this change to Sony with their Playstaion. I do this because it harbored more adult oriented gaming then what came on Nintendo 64, and was far more successful then the struggling Saturn.

The third rode the wave of the second change, but was marked by the proliferation of online gaming. For the console world I have to give this one wholly to Microsoft, although it existed on PC and console games by non-microsoft companies long before the X-box came to town. Things like Sega Channel, X-band(who else remembers those piles of crap), Battle.net, GameSpy, and things like the old BBS (Bulletin Board System) games started this trend, just Microsoft made it standard for console gaming.

Now we are at another change. I have to point to Nintendo as the star example of this one, it is a feat that is actually shared by may in the industry. New ways of interacting with the game are upon us. With the Wii it is in it's motion control. With PS3 with the Playstation Eye (I expect big things from it). All the companys have to benefit from the other games like Rockband (my new obsession) and Guitar Hero. These games are very different from what we have seen before.

Now I look back and think about how I miss the old days. Combat was simple, but I had fun with it. Super Mario Bros. is still a classic I enjoy today. So although I look to the future with eager anticipation as to what the next bend in the road might bring, I feel we should be cautious. Although the new advances are something we all should pay attention to it seems like the world is all too willing to abandon the old as soon as they feel something better has come along. What happens when a great game series like Metal Gear fades to obscurity because of the Wii Fits, and Guitar Heroes of the world rein supreme? I like these things (although I feel Wii fit is a stupid idea) but I don't want them to eclipse more traditional gaming.

Call me the old fool if you like. Some people may see this view as a nostalgic or outdated. You may think that people like me hinder the progress of the industry. I seem similar to those people who still believe that Laserdisc is superior to the DVD or that 33 RPM records are better then compact discs or my Zen Vision:M. I say this to that: progress is good. Keep moving forward, just don't forget where everything came from, don't forget that there is still fun to be had in places where we have been. As I write this I wish someone would release a good new sidescroller. All we have for that are the Castlevania games. Wow there is something from my childhood which as survived with some resemblance of its former self. Maybe there is hope for this world yet?