[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka You know more about that than me, I am more cautious in a more abstract sense: games evolve to new devices, VR, AR, and who knows what's next? One may fear that the current keyboard/controller+screen mechanic itself may at one point not be as popular, giving way to more immersive virtual realities à la
Ready Player One.

Then again, television is still going strong (as a method of content consumption) even after being around for a while, so maybe I am worried about nothing...

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch I think you are overly worried and there are people still enjoying NES games despite the platform being gone for years.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka You are right, but at a certain point, it gets hard to find the parts for repairs. Hopefully, such platforms will make a niche comeback, the same as Polaroid cameras did. The film for them was very hard to find before at one point, but now they have a market again.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch You don't need a NES console to play the games. Just your usual Windows daily driver and some software. I am sure there's stuff on Linux too. There's usually something for Linux, especially if it isn't a recent feature. 😁

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka That's true, but I wonder if you will get a truly authentic and accurate experience that way. You can launch one of the old games even now, but the little details like, for example, remembering old consoles with those yellow cartridges that games were stored on, and how you had to blow into them before plugging them in (just as an example), adds to the whole ambience of experience for some, and that part would likely be lost. Not that it's that big of a deal, but still, it is a part of the whole gamer history.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch I think those little bits depend on the person. For me, actually having to clear the contacts and such on a physical device is rather annoying.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Oh, it is annoying. But with time, in your memories, it can become one of those annoying things you need to do that are by a sugar cone of nostalgia. Like how in school having PE during the first period was annoying, or how Windows 95 took a while to boot was annoying, or how splitting a small rear-projection TV with your friend so you could play together was annoying. Annoying back then, but at the same time, now those things have a flair of endearment for some.

Of course, I would not want to have to clear contacts on a physical device all the time. But so long as I want to play something old from that time, I think I can appreciate getting the "whole experience", contacts blowing and all.

It's a bit like going to one of those village museums where life from different eras is recreated and you get to try out the everyday activities of that time. Of course, it would be annoying to have to use a Butter Churn every time you need some butter, but it could be interesting to try on occasion.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch To be fair you can still replicate the long boot time. Just install Windows 10 on a HDD. I remember when I had Windows 10 RC on my first Lenovo laptop that only came with a HDD. I had that system, because the laptop was without an OEM license and I got the beta for free. That was a nightmare. I got a SSD rather quickly afterwards...

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka That's true about Windows speed. I wonder if there is a way to access the DOS system these days. You know, that big blue table split in half which was used to run programs before the whole "window desktop with icons" concept came along. That would be nostalgic...

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch I think you are talking about Norton Commander, which was a file manager for DOS. DOS itself was just a command prompt.

I remember NC quite well.