So, here's the thing. I completely skipped the WII last gen. I wouldn't say I hate Nintendo or anything. I mean... I got the WII for one of my birthdays because it was something I wanted on my Amazon wishlist. I never used it other than that night when we played the WII sports game that came with it, though, and I played a few old Nintendo games on it as well.

I know what you're probably thinking. You could be thinking "That's crazy. There's so many good games on the WII what's wrong with you? Plus you can play Gamecube games which I psychically know you didn't play either. Shame on you Will Robinson, shame on you." Wow, how perceptive of you imaginary reader I just made up. You're also very handsome; have I told you that you're handsome? Is it ok if I tell you I think you're handsome?

You could also be thinking: "Good riddance. The Wii sucks." Well, you're awfully abrasive dear reader that I just imagined. You're a very blunt person. I respect your opinion. Do you bathe in acid? I'm mainly curious because I hear it's good for your pores.

I actually like Nintendo, but have for the better part of a decade and a half mostly just partaken in Nintendo stuff from the outside- watching other peoples reactions to it, or reading about it. I've had little to no interest mainly because of their controller hardware which could still arguably be called "gimmicky." There's also just too many games coming out, in general, these days.

The thing is, though, the Wii does have a normal controller. You could also use a Gamecube controller, but I haven't decided to plummet down that rabbit hole, too. I'm sorry if I don't get paid to do this insanity, but I don't so I have to find lines to draw for now.

I made several resolutions this year, and one was really stupid and crazy (especially considering a lot of good games that should be coming out this year). I'm not gonna buy any new games this year. At least... no, no I won't.

You may be asking yourself "Why? Why would you do this?"

I don't know. I haven't felt stimulated by very many newer games (not all, just most) and I felt my life is in the horrible place now where this felt like a good idea.

I should go back a bit, though. I actually already play old games on more than an odd occasion, and I still get that draw from them as if they were still new. It probably helps that I still have an old CRT TV (when it comes to things like my Genesis), but I'd say the best generation of games ended with the PS2 original XBOX era for me. While there is still new games that come out that I have interest in- I usually end up not wanting to finish most of them. Length is a big problem, but more than that most games (not all) coming out anymore feel like they are just adding a ton of padding to make the game longer with less actual substance. It's really draining and even games with good concepts and ideas are starting to just drag on when they absolutely shouldn't.

I don't feel like this when I play older games.

When I was younger we- I can't say we were poor because my Dad did make a decent wage, but I grew up in California which has always had a really high quality of life line and to top it off my Dad never understood how to spend money smartly so because of that even though we weren't impoverished I couldn't generally keep up with games like I'd have liked to. I had an original atari 2600 for years, that my dad got before I was born (I think), and I played that well into the Nintendo years. By the time I got a hand me down Nintendo people were starting to move on. I ended up getting the Genesis that I still own when I turned 16 (1998). For those that don't know this is 10 years after the Genesis actually came out (I have the series 2 model which is the one most people probably think of- there are three different models that Sega released if anyone is interested to know that). At some point in there I somehow also had gotten a Game gear. God, I wish I still had that brick of a handheld- mainly for nostalgia as I don't remember it being a good console.

Anyway, I played PC games for the most part because it was one of the few platforms I actually kept up with throughout my life. I mean, I played most PC games when they were new whereas with consoles I had not.

Anyway I loved, and still love, video games, and since I don't feel like I'm having fun with most of the main games right now- which I really should stop buying so many of- I started buying older games that I lost over the years. This in turn means I've been using my old ass Genesis even more than ever.

The problem with this is I don't want to wear out my Genesis. It is around 20 or so years old, and who knows how long it will continue to work. I just like the idea of it working even if I don't use it. Even though one day it will probably just stop working because it just can't pass electricity through it's circuits no more (still surprised it hasn't happened yet, to be honest).

So, since I've been getting some Genesis games that I had before but lost so I could play them again I ended up going down the rabbit hole of purchasing a Retron 5 (which should arrive on Friday- and sorry but that completely legit console emulation system for some reason doesn't seem to be on Giant Bomb). I did my research and found out why it had issues on the initial release. It is my understanding that the loading issues it had were an issue with the pins getting pulled out because of it being a little to tight on the cartridges or something. Anyway, they supposedly fixed this with their most recent release of the hardware (which apparently also caused the price of it to jump to $160) so I took the plunge- fuck it, why not? I mainly just want to be able to play these games without putting a ton of stress on my Genesis, plus pulling out my old CRT and my Genesis and hooking everything up every time I want to play a game is just a pain in the ass at this point because I just don't have a place to leave it all hooked up since it requires a separate TV (because, while I can use a Genesis on a modern TV it looks like shit for many many reasons).

Anyway, because I bought a Retron 5 I should now be able to play SNES games. I never had a SNES, but I played it all the time at friend's houses. I had always wanted one, but I really liked the Genesis too (probably more) so at the time I was fine with that and it was the one I asked for.

You would think at first that me only buying old games right now would mean I would be saving money, but it turns out I am actually probably going to spend more.

The crazy thing is apparently SNES fandom is much more hardcore than Genesis. I can purchase Genesis games for very reasonable prices and I've been happy with the prices I've found for the carts that are being described. It's been perfect I'd say for someone who'd want Genesis games (as I would).

There is a couple SNES games I really wanted because they're great games, and I'd like to have them in my completely pointless collection that I like having. It's insane, though, how expensive most SNES games are now. So, I only bought a couple (one which I may have paid a lot for and I'll just say because this is going really long that it's a Zelda game, but in relation to what it's generally going for I got it for a great price). I decided I wouldn't get anymore SNES carts because they're just insanely expensive. This is what made me think of my WII (of which I already have a few old Nintendo games downloaded on).

Anyway, I then went insane and decided to buy the WII "classic controller" and then because I was getting that I decided to buy the WII games that I have never played, but I actually want to.

I don't know how this insanity will turn up, and I don't think it's a good idea, but I consider it a spiritual journey of sorts. I need to find my video game center, and I guess a cleansing wash of something completely different may do the trick. Or it won't and I'll just have a great time. Who knows?

Thanks for reading.

This blog is dedicated to my father, Paul E Respass, who died April 21 2014. He didn't understand video games, despite having grown up around and loving pinball, but he always tried to be supportive of my writing and always told me to do what was best for me. He will never be forgotten.