(On ’80s Video Games)
If you were a kid or a teenager in the late ’70s or the mid-’80s, then you were surely one of those who spent countless hours in that era playing Atari video games like Pac-man, Space Invaders, Pitfall!, Missile Command, Asteroids, and Galaxian. I myself belong also to that generation. I still vividly remember how I and several classmates would spend after-school hours at our home or the house of another classmate to play such video games until our respective parents started looking for each one of us. And we did this even during school nights! So, don’t tell me that “kids nowadays…,” for even in the past decades, children and teenagers “just wanna have fun.”
That is why I’m excited for the forthcoming new Atari console, named Ataribox, which, according to Atari, one of the original manufacturers of game consoles, would be released in the market soon. Apparently, the company is still polishing every aspect of it; so, not much details are currently being divulged yet to the public. I’m just hoping that the joysticks that would come with Ataribox will be similar to the original ones, which had long and slender control sticks.
I still have a well-functioning, and in good condition, Atari 2400 console (along with a good number of Atari video game cartridges), which I bought at a thrift shop several years ago. The only drawback for me was that it’s not compatible (of course) with the new types of T.V.; I had to buy also a used analog television just so I could use the console.
Considering the advancement that the video-game technology has achieved over the years, the old-version Atari games are comparably simple and could be dragging to play after several hours even to an original Atari fan like me. I play it only when I’m in a nostalgic mood or when my eight-year-old son, Evawwen, out of the blue, will take the fancy for playing Pac-man or Donkey Kong with me. After all, it remains an additional fun and leisure activity for ’70s/’80s babies like me as well as their children.
Sa Madaling Salita
Kung ikaw ay kabilang sa mga kabataang noong dekada otsenta na nahumaling sa paglalaro ng video games gaya ng Pac-man, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Pitfall!, at Asteroids, e siguardong kaabang-abang din para sa ’yo ang Ataribox, na malamang e maging available na in time for the coming Christmas. Kaya yung mga gaya kong Atari baby, mag-ipon-ipon na kayo ng pambili nitong bagong laruan, na maaaring paglaruan di lamang ng mga dating bata noong 1980s ngunit pati na rin ng mga bagong kabataan ngayon na mahilig din sa vide games, dahil, ayon sa Atari, pagsasamahin nila ang mga original, classic Atari games at mga bagong games na kagigiliwan rin ng mga bagong kabataan.
