Everything I like is retro
It's just something I noticed about myself.
I mostly like music from the 60s-70s or else bands that carry on in a similar style (e.g. stoner rock, that kinda thing).
The only video games I play are at least a decade old, most likely from the 16-bit era. Or else ones that aim for a similar style (AM2R, SMBX, etc.)
If I watch a movie, it's probably pre-2000. 80s-era sci-fi/fantasy movies appeal to me.
Out of the 200 or so books on my shelves, about a half-dozen were published within the last 10 years.
Am I just an old fossil or is there some deeper reason
I mostly like music from the 60s-70s or else bands that carry on in a similar style (e.g. stoner rock, that kinda thing).
The only video games I play are at least a decade old, most likely from the 16-bit era. Or else ones that aim for a similar style (AM2R, SMBX, etc.)
If I watch a movie, it's probably pre-2000. 80s-era sci-fi/fantasy movies appeal to me.
Out of the 200 or so books on my shelves, about a half-dozen were published within the last 10 years.
Am I just an old fossil or is there some deeper reason
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you like certain things, and things that fit your preferences were released much more often in certain times in the past and are rarer in the present
^sorta true, yah
In complete honesty, I really do feel that my tastes haven't changed while other people's tastes and the industry's trends did move away from me, and I don't feel bad about holding my ground when it comes to my tastes. If anything, I'm critical of the turn toward budget-breaking graphics developments and demands for hyper-realism (which are often coupled with violent, gory content).
It does get awkward when I'm thrown into a discussion with other gamers, though, since more "mainstream" gamers these days have likely played a bunch of games that I have barely heard the names of, and thus we likely wouldn't have much to talk about.
I was born in the wrong era :P
My family already watched it through Perfectly Legal Means, but the recording sucked and I figured I'd watch that one legally anyway because DreamWorks
now I just wanna make my guitar sound like that
Well, I'll keep trying
Anywho, I think there is nothing wrong with preferring certain media over others, so long as you do not act elitist about it or talk about how the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s etc. were so much better than today.
I also do not think you are in bad company. Plenty of people like classic music if radio stations are any indication and games like Shovel Knight seem to show that there is a demand for retro style games.
I agree with you about focusing too much on graphics being a bad thing for games. I am not wild about the budgets for some "AAA" games being so high that anything less than millions and millions of sales is failure. That said, I feel like companies care a lot more about independent developers now than previously, so I am not sure if the modern gaming environment is really as bad as this comment makes it out to be.
Honestly, I think you and Imipolex G might enjoy New Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country Returns/Tropical Freeze, Super Mario 3D World, and other modern releases that harken back to the SNES days. Of course, there is definitely a chance that our tastes differ here, I tend to prefer newer games to older ones after all.
I agree that the world of gaming is much more diverse than the picture I painted there, even the world of commercial gaming. And the rise of indie game development has only helped matters. There's a lot of drama and turbulence going on, but the indie games (including -- but not limited to -- both "casual" and "retro" sorts of games) as well as digital distribution are gradually causing a change for the better for the industry as a whole.
One interesting hunch I have is that a lot of us who grew up on 8- and 16-bit games have gradually been coming of age, and now that we're adults, we have incomes and can spend our money on games that make use of those older styles that could have so many more interesting developments that people haven't done yet.
As for NSMB, DKCR/DKCTF, and SM3DW, I would likely have gotten those games if I had the systems for them. I don't, though, and am basically a PC gamer now albeit with stereotypically "console" tastes (specifically "old console")...so I guess I'm thankful that there are a profusion of indie devs that have made interesting PC games, as well as companies like Falcom whose work for the PC is gradually being translated and released in the west, and whose games are basically top-quality incarnations of classic genres such as the Zelda-like 3D platformer (Ys Oath and Ys Origin) and the turn-based JRPG (The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky).