Are Video Games Still for Young People?

The Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the 1983. At the time, I thought it was just the greatest thing to watch Mario run and jump across the screen. I can even remember drawing pictures of my favorite game characters. There were millions of kids just like me. Many of them still enjoy playing games like Final Fantasy today. But in 2007, how much has changed? What games are being made for the younger audience to play?

Well, my own experience with Nintendo, from 1987-1990, was great. As I got a little older the video game characters started showing up on breakfast cereals. They became cartoon characters. You could always find them in the latest issue of Nintendo Power! Surely my parents never experienced anything quite like it when they were kids. My generation was lucky...

Then Nintendo did something new. In 1990 the Super Nintendo came out. The company would no longer make regular Nintendo games. I initially thought this would be great. The Super Nintendo had to be even better. It had more power. I mean they called it super for a reason, right? How could it not turn out better?

Sega had already come out with the powerful Sega Genesis gaming console. Nintendo needed something with the power to compete.

I have to admit, I was impressed with the Super Nintendo. It was just about as good as the original. Sega Genesis was a monumental flop. I think the general consensus is in agreement. Many of my favorite characters returned for the Super Nintendo. Mario was back, and there were new heroes to enjoy. The games were still very lighthearted and colorful.

The first popular role-playing games showed up courtesy of Square and the Super Nintendo. The Final Fantasy series showed gamers something new. It was playful, and colorful, but had a very involved storyline with an underlying sense of seriousness to it. Final Fantasy was not necessarily for five year olds. No one could have predicted how it would all catch on. In fact the man in charge of the game called it Final Fantasy because he believed it would be the last game he ever made.

When the Sony Playstaton came out in the 1995's, the boys at Nintendo would have to really step up their game. Sony wasn't like Sega. Nintendo finally had a competitor that could keep up. Playstation would usher in a revolution to game making. For the first time games would come in cool little disc formats. Playstation could play music CDs. It was thin and cool looking.

Most of all, Playstation did not release childish games.

Sony catered to the growing video game audience. The audience was growing, both in maturity and in numbers. Even girls were very much attracted to the deep stories involved with role-playing games. Playstation had secured a contract with Square, and with it the next Final Fantasy title. That happened to be Final Fantasy VII, which to this day may still be the most popular of them all.

The war was about to get dirty though. Nintendo released heavy hitting games as well. Zelda: Ocarina of Time competed strongly against Final Fantasy VII. But Nintendo also released the hand-held hit Pokémon. With the Pokemon stadium accessory that allowed gamers to play Pokémon on their Nintendo 64 consoles. It was revolutionary, and perhaps an even better idea than the role playing game. Pokémon swept the nation. Trading cards, movies, cartoons, and toys of all kinds kept that franchise on top for a good long while.

Along came the next generation of video gaming consoles. Playstation 2, and Nintendo game cube would square off as their predecessors had. Nintendo would keep many playful games coming, but they had switched to using discs that were even smaller than the Playstation games. Also they had games like James Bond: Everything or Nothing. It wasn't your usual Nintendo game, and featured a lot of shooting action, realistic characters, and crazy violence.

Playstation held onto the Squarecontract, and released many more Final Fantasy titles. The video gamers of my day had grown up. Video games seemed to have matured a hundred fold as well. Many of my generation seem to still enjoy playing every now and then. But are games still for kids? Well, Nintendo manages to remain colorful, even with all the power Nintendo Wii is generating every time you turn it on.

Still, there is something more mature about the most lighthearted of Nintendo games, these days. I think for the most part it takes maybe a little more maturity to fully comprehend most of the games than it did in the 1980's.

Playstation on the other hand never really had much youthful charm. The Playstation 3 may have good games, but nothing I would really buy for a five-year-old boy or girl. So what is a parent to do if they have a five year old, now that the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System are gone?

The answer is simple. There are still working original Nintendo Entertainment Systems out there. Look for them on eBay. You can find old Nintendo games at almost any video game store. That doesn't mean at Target or Wal-Mart. I'm talking about video game specialty stores, where they sell nothing but video game related products.

Your kids can grow into something like a Playstation 3 with time. Although by the time they're that old, the playstation 6 may be out. Who knows what Nintendo will be calling their console by that time? I'm scared to even think about it!