10 Ways Gaming Was Infinitely Better In The '90s
Back when Sega were on FIRE.
Growing up with a particular generation of consoles breeds brand loyalty.
You'd buy Popular System X, most likely because your buddies already had one and you could borrow and lend games, and there was nothing finer than weekend multiplayer sessions on the couch, be they competitive or co-op.
In 2018, games that mimic these classic time periods are everywhere (and have been for a few years). Cuphead, Celeste and Undertale are all very modern examples with deliberately retro graphics, the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was the biggest retro game of 2017, and thank the gaming gods, we're also getting a sequel to retro-inspired Spelunky.
Retro gaming is as popular as it's ever been, and you'll have a hard time convincing a 90s console gamer that the Super Nintendo has been bested, or that the SEGA Saturn isn't still worth buying.
With all that said, gaming was way better in the 1990s. The 2000s brought the technology, yes, but the drawbacks often outweighed the benefits.
Let's take a stroll back into the past to a simpler time, when it was all about the games.
10. DLC Was Called "An Expansion"
DLC is such a big part of games that it's now usually announced before a game is even released. It's also morphed into season passes. Games are bought with the expectation players will pay more further down the line.
Back in the '90s though, DLC wasn't even downloadable. Dial-up internet meant hogging the phone line, and that only offered speeds of 33-56 KILOBYTES per second. Imagine scrolling through Instagram and having to wait around 5-10 seconds as an image loads, centimetres at a time. That's what dial-up meant. You'd have no chance downloading several megabytes' worth of content for your favourite game.
Developers had to fill floppy discs or 700MB CD-ROMs, meaning expansion packs were a sure fire way of getting quality content for a game you loved. No buying a season pass for DLC not even made yet.
This led to classic add-ons for games like Rainbow Six (Black Thorn), GTA (London 1969) and Throne of Bhaal for Baldur's Gate II.
Generally speaking, '90s expansions were just that: Expansive.