8 Video Game Revolutions We Don't Need Anymore
You can change the industry but that doesn't mean you'll be here forever.
Technology marches ever forward. Gaming is, quite often, on the crest of the wave when it comes to the latest exciting technological twist and turn. It's certainly not above embracing something. Out with the old, in with the new.
Improvements in both video game hardware and general advancement with the likes of internet connectivity have massively changed video games from being a quaint industry full of weird experiments into a standarised behemoth.
As with lists of these types, it's worth saying that we should handle nostalgia carefully. There's a lot to love about gaming today, after all. Still, all the same, it's fun to look back on history and see how things evolved. In this particular instance, it's funny to see what was such a normal part of the gaming sphere that has faded into obscurity.
The following examples were massive at their respective heights but couldn't be around forever. Whilst we appreciate the importance in the never-ending history book that is gaming, they simply don't have a place in today's gaming landscape.
8. Multi-Taps
Video games have always been a communal thing, from the most humble days of the hobby until the present day. From the arcade to the lobbies of your favourite battle royal.
The earliest home consoles largely didn’t think twice to include the ability to play with a friend, sibling or potential mortal enemy… but largely multiplayer meant “two-player” maximum. As the PlayStation hit stores in 1995 and exploded, its contemporaries saw a chance to boast that their games were more multiplayer friendly. The Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast both came equipped with four controller ports.
It seemed like this was the one thing the PlayStation didn’t have - until it did. The company introduced an optional, boomerang-shaped peripheral that allowed gamers to play in groups in four. Or, if you had two Multitaps and a compatible game, even eight players.
In retrospect, Sony releasing the original PlayStation with only two controller ports seems incredibly ill-sighted but it must’ve worked. They had the confidence to repeat the process when the PlayStation 2 launched in exactly the same state, necessitating a new Multitap release for the new generation.
Of course, controller ports themselves tend to be a thing of the past now as systems ship with wireless pads - and so there’s no real need for a restriction at all.The Xbox Series X, if you so desire, can support eight controllers. Sony’s PlayStation 5, by some ironic and stubborn measure, can handle half of this… it’s better than two at least.