There are few codes more sacred to old school gamers than the Konami code – a cheat code that originated on the original NES and has since made its way into many other games.
Old school gamers will remember Paperboy, an arcade game — later ported to home systems like the NES and Atari ST — that let you savour the pleasure of virtually breaking your neighbours' windows by tossing a rolled up newspaper through their front room as you powered past on your bike.
In November 2012, scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston conducted an experiment in which high school gamers, college gamers and medical residents competed to see who could perform better virtual surgery.
(In the case of the scarf, the messages are "Game Over" and "Insert Coin for Extra Life" — a little nostalgia for the old-school gamer).
I'd like to think they are because as an old-school gamer, I'm looking for them; but in reality a pretty sizeable portion of gamers seem perfectly happy just buying Fifa, COD and GTA games – watch GTA V break all records again this year.
If you're an old-school gamer, the Sega Genesis (known as Sega Mega Drive outside North America) sure does have a special place in your heart.
If your partner already owns an iPad, and they're an old-school gamer, then this April Fool's joke turned actual product will help them recall a lost youth in arcades.
In that sense, fighting games and sports games face similar challenges in the new video game market, where the audience is expanding, and where old-school gamers are becoming merely a constituency among many.
Warhammer Online is a property that is aiming squarely at the uncommitted World of Warcraft crowd (and there are plenty), tabletop RPGers, and old-school gamers.
The game is similar to a handful of games you'll find on Android and iOS (or, for your old-school gamers out there, The Incredible Machine).
