Recently, my fellow user Dark Magician gave his thoughts on the rerelease of the 2 precursor games for Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: Marvel Vs. Capcom, and Marvel Superheroes. This particular line of thinking is one I have seen in a number of other settings, so I thought I'd share my thoughts in response. So, to Dark Magician, I say simply:

You snobby little shit.

Who the hell do you think you are, getting to decide how other people should be allowed to play games? Saying that these games should adhere to your idea of purity? What the fuck is wrong with you? To break down his argument, I've tried seperating into two main points, illustrated by two quotes from his article

Fine. Fucking do that if you're so fucking dedicated to antiquities that you'll throw away good money on an outdated console. But for people who don't have money to waste on collecting every decade old consoles just to play one game, thats not a fucking option. These people can't just plop down the (at the very, very least) $80 for a Dreamcast and a copy of Marvel Vs. Capcom, just on a fucking whim. These people exist in the real world, where money doesn't grow on trees, convenience isn't some kind of fucking sin, and playing crap consoles doesn't make you some kind of big fucking man.

You may prefer the original game over an emulated experience. Thats fine. You may even be disparaging to people who play the emulated experience - that makes you a snivelling self-important stuck-up stiff-neck, as well as just making you an all around egalitarian asshole, but thats your problem.

But you do not, I repeat, do not act like you somehow lose something because new people can share the exact same fucking experiences you had without having to jump through some bullshit hoops. If you cared about these games even a fraction, you would be overjoyed at the idea of gamers who haven't been able to get their hands on these games being able to enjoy the experience.

When the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus collection came out, was I disparaging to new gamers who hadn't tried it before? Fuck no - I was ecstatic that more people could experience what I experienced. My passion for that game is not something that was rationed to me - having more people enjoy it did not diminish the gammut of emotions this game made me feel, it made them all the stronger. My experience was the same as it had always beeen, but now, thousands of new gamers could enjoy those experiences. What kind of person would want to withhold those experiences from someone  just cause they didn't buy the game the first time around?

And what do you think this is doing, numbnuts? You think denying people access to gamings history is going to somehow deepen their appreciation for it? Imagine if any other medium worked like this - if some snootyy bastard railed against a DVD release of Bridge over River Kwai, on the grounds that people should just see it in the theatres. Would that be acceptable from any adult? Why is gaming any different?

Appreciation for history has never - I repeat, never - been deepened by restricting access to it.  In fact, restricting access to history is done only by people who don't want people looking into that history - it is one of the defining history of anAuthoritarian dictatorship, restricting access to histories to only the "approved" ways of experiencing it.

By making it inconvenient and expernsive to play any version of this game - not to mention blocking efforts to improve the original experience of the game - you are only driving people away from any interest in gamings history. The very thing you claim to be trying to do, and you're railing against the thing that would accomplish that.

Gaming is not something you need to "prove your worth"  through some arbitrary fucking test to enjoy- it is an experience we share, and by sharing our experience grow to love them more. It is inclusionary - always has been, and always bloody well should be. Anyone who loves these games should be overjoyed that they are being rereelased so a new generation can enoy them

But you don't, do you? Its not about the games in the slightest. Its about you getting to act like you're important cause "You guys, I totally had a 3DO growing up, that makes me a real gamer." Yeah, no it fucking doesn't. Being passionate about games, makes you a gamer.  Sharing tales of your proudest gaming moments, makes you a gamer. But saying that people shouldn't be able to play unless they plop down money on an outdated console, ignoring the convenient, legal ways that these people have available, just cause you had to do it that way?

That just makes you an asshole.