RetroGaming

Introducing kids to old games is great, but restricting them from experiencing their own generations culture, not so much

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.

We have a whole retro game station complete with CRT that they can play. They love Mario, Duck Hunt, some of the other games and are now gravitating to Gameboy, SNES and PS One. They like the Switch too, but usually go for the older stuff first.

As long as we all raise our kids this way, they won't be out of touch with their peers!

"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.

Nah... it's okay. She won't be out of touch. Nintendo is going to release these games for the Switch 2 for $80.

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 think the trick is to just let kids play what they want

as a kid I grew up with basically every generation of nintendo consoles up to the Wii U, as well as a PC (well, a mac really but whatever) and I turned out fine

i missed out on some of the big sensations of the moment, like fortnite or COD, but tbh I didn’t care, these games never interested me and they still don’t

i caught my 5yo playing golden eye the other day and i was not disappointed!

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.

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