RetroGaming

Counterpoint:

The reason they will be out of touch is that they will have better impulse control and better spending habits than kids raised on modern games with their FOMO MTX and gacha bullshit.

So basically, actual 'nerds' are rasing another generation of 'nerds', except this time, nerds 2.0 will probably actually be more socially intelligent than the brain dead zombies being raised on fornite, roblox and tiktok, who have negative attention spans and cannot fathom the concept of doing any actual thought-work, when chatgpt can just do their homework for them.

They'll also be more tech savvy, like being exposed to or having to learn at least some of how emulation works, which kinda de facto makes you understand things like a file structure, which an increasing number of kids (now adults too) raised on modern mobile UIs... have no clue about.

Oh, they'll also likely just be generally more literate.

Yeah, if she plays an N64, she won't be exposed to any popular series from today, and will instead play things like Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros., and Pokémon.

Shit this is what I'm doing. My kids are nuts about the niche indie games I play. My son has crazy good skills for Super Meat Boy and Super Hexagon.

The other one loves Mario games from the 3DS.

This is the responsible way to raise a child on video games IMO. Modern games have predatory practices like microtransactions.

The look on her face says everything to me though.

I think Guitar Hero was a good investment for my kids, as they came to love all the classics I grew up on.

I am “guilty” of showing my daughter classic movies including some black and white ones.

I think everyone should watch those, it is like studying the life and culture of the past.

As for games, my partner does not allow gaming at all.

God I tried. And it told me a lot out myself.

The VAST majority of that old stuff, the stuff that I remember so fondly, was only fun because it was the best we had.

My first game was Yars Revenge. By today's standards, it's about 30 seconds of entertainment.

Even Super Mario Brothers, the pinnacle of games for years, had no save button and you have to pull off a long series of perfect play with only a couple of lives or get sent back to level 1. It was almost all single player taking turns.

Compared to even old current systems, there's just no draw there and there's no social aspects for them.

I grew up playing games with my dad. I wouldn’t change a thing. I miss it dearly.

He never went easy on me in Soul Calibur.

"Cool" uncle (citation needed), did expose kids to games released 2 to 3 decades before their time occasionally.

I was a bit surprised that even rough 8-bit sprite graphics can capture their interest. An 8 year old trying to make sense of the pixelly mess that's a Metroid creature sprite can be funny.

There are plenty of games up to the PS3 era that every kid would do well to play at least once. Stuff that is objectively good, that aged well, or close enough.

The problem, as I see it, is that if they get too used to mobile games, they won't have the patience for typical console or PC games, because those, on average, aren't dopamine dispensers and won't be rewarding every second click or button press - more importantly, they should NOT nag the player with cash shops.

Also important: limit the amount of games available - this is valid both for current and retro games. The moment you have "all the games" at your disposal, several things kick in: analysis paralysis, appeal to familiarity (will only play what you already know or someone knows), seeing no value in the games^[If, when you were small, you only had a limited selection of games, which was common during the cartridge era, you would be very careful with choosing new games to ask your parents to buy, though renting was an option to see which ones were good or not. You had to make do with the little you had. When you got bored with one, you either looked through your collection and played something else, or did something else entirely; you never threw away a game (unless it really sucked) and you never got a new game on a whim. That is good.].

Others mentioned the social aspect, which is true as well and something they just can't experience nowadays anymore. Minecraft and Roblox are famous because they're easy for kids to pick and play with friends. Back in our days, we had to physically sit beside one another and play together, or pass the controller on death; we also physically lent and traded games, so the games also had value within our little social circles. While fully digital games are extremely convenient, the "scarcity" gave them a social value that they completely lack today and which I suppose boardgames now fill out (yes, you can play them online, but playing on an actual table is almost always better)

Honestly this is how my parents(‘ generation) got me into gaming, pre-NES, because I was playing their games on Atari and Intellivision. I don’t know if it was the NES’s marketing or what that made people associate video games = for kids, but they were all in their 20s at the time and they had a blast with that stuff. Actually now that I think about it my grandma was mean at Burger Time back in the day.

I am 50+, remember paying quarters to play Pong and Space Invaders.

Built my kids a game box using Batocera Linux and ROMs from the 80s and 90s (Atari2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, etc)

I was thereby able to show them the True Magic and Wonder of Computers

Cant force the shit, same with any culturally significant thing from your childhood. Think of it in reverse: if you aren't willing to engage with their zeitgeist in good faith, how could you expect them to engage with yours?

My 3yos two favorite games are Mario 64 and Rhythm Heaven (in literally any form, but 3ds most approachable). The latter is especially funny that the 1yo is getting in on the references; "Wabba dubba dubba, that true?" and they both go "Un." Might be a Halloween costume in the making.

And don't get her started on those Rock and Roll frogs.

Given all the child predators on Roblox, can't blame ya

Now my daughter brings her friends home to play Mario 64! Masterpieces have no expiry date!!

This one dad wrote an article about introducing his kid to retro gaming, starting with the old Atari console and progressing through newer generations every few months.

https://medium.com/message/playing-with-my-son-e5226ff0a7c3

(some of the image links are broken on the original article so here's an archive link)

out of touch? more like saving her from the absolute garbage fire that passes for 'games' these days. she'll actually learn what a good game is. this dad's doing god's work.

Games back then were made to be games. Games now are made to be addicting. Honestly I think it's a good idea to stick to the old school games for as long as possible.

I did this to myself because I only played games that my gpu could perform and that was the reason why pretty much all of the games I play are pre 2010.

Telling my five-year-old that if they can beat Ecco the Dolphin in front of me I will take them out for ice cream, but I'm not sitting down to watch more often than once a week.

When I was young my parents encouraged me to watch Marx Brothers, Three Stooges, and Abbott & Costello. These are easy things for children to watch because the physical comedy is universal.

As I got older my love for them remained, but also it gave me a love for media from any age. So long as it's done reasonably I think this sort of thing can be quite enriching.

I have had an N-64 plugged into the back of my TV for 25 years straight. The TV has changed. My kids were raised on this shit.

Why so salty about a dad sharing his interests and stuff from his life with his kid? She can play other games too.

My little guy just started Mario Paint this week and he’s loving it. He’s not reading yet so a game with easy symbols and painting is age appropriate. Plus that fly game is getting him a lot of practice learning how to use a computer mouse.

You can't replace the Roblox and Fortnite, you can only hope to supplement them.

One thing about old games (pre n64), is that you don't have to worry about controlling the camera. Younger kids like 5 or so have a hard time enough time timing button presses so making them also have to figure out how to control the camera is very frustrating for them. Isometric, top down, and point and clicks work best for younger kids.

I also think the super Nintendo controller is the best for children and people with small hands. 8bitdo makes a good modern one with more buttons and triggers so you can play modern games.

A well made game knows no age limits! My kiddo was super into the original mario when we showed it to him. I would have thought it would look dated, but he doesn't know!