6 ms·

Why don't they just make a modern version that emulates the function?

by BEEdwards 8y ago

sithadmin 8y ago
They exist, but they just don't have the same charm. You can find them pretty easily in places like Japanese arcades.
anigbrowl 8y ago
Because it would be fake, and nostalgia is an emotional quality that depends on authenticity.
- bartread 8y ago
  On one level I agree with you, but then I look at the retrogaming scene, and how much of a part emulation plays there. There's obviously good emulation and bad emulation, although for some neither is authentic enough. Still, one day all my discs will rot, and all my physical hardware will fail, yet I'll still be able to play and enjoy the games - and get that same nostalgia kick - through emulation. (There's also the fact that some games are now so unbelievably expensive in physical form that the only way I'm ever going to be able to afford to play them is emulated with ROM or disk images.)
  - anigbrowl 8y ago
    That's a good point and I'm OK with things like synthesizer clones. But those are semi-commodities, plus the originals will always have some special cachet. Maybe part of the appeal of this gambling machine is that the capability of failure is linked to the potential of paying out.
abootstrapper 8y ago
They have, but I don’t think they can resist trying to sex it up. Part of the charm of the old machines is their simplicity.
- BEEdwards 8y ago
  I guess this is what I don't get the most about the future that was, we can't just do things anymore. We have to "sex it up." Could we easily make horses race around a track, sure an arduino and a 3d printer will do it, but we need to add flashing lights and lcd screens that display bullshit.
  - chongli 8y ago
    Amen. One of my favourite movies is Labyrinth [1]. From 1986, the entire movie is live action with puppets and practical effects. Plus David Bowie, of course. I could imagine one day somebody might try to remake this movie. They'd shoot it entirely in front of a green screen. The music would be compressed and auto-tuned to oblivion. I'd see it and sigh at the death of another little piece of my faith in humanity. [1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/
anjc 8y ago
They do have more modern versions, and they're also in all the casinos in Vegas.

Why don't they just make a modern version that emulates the function?

sithadmin 8y ago

They exist, but they just don't have the same charm. You can find them pretty easily in places like Japanese arcades.

anigbrowl 8y ago

Because it would be fake, and nostalgia is an emotional quality that depends on authenticity.

bartread 8y ago
On one level I agree with you, but then I look at the retrogaming scene, and how much of a part emulation plays there. There's obviously good emulation and bad emulation, although for some neither is authentic enough. Still, one day all my discs will rot, and all my physical hardware will fail, yet I'll still be able to play and enjoy the games - and get that same nostalgia kick - through emulation. (There's also the fact that some games are now so unbelievably expensive in physical form that the only way I'm ever going to be able to afford to play them is emulated with ROM or disk images.)
- anigbrowl 8y ago
  That's a good point and I'm OK with things like synthesizer clones. But those are semi-commodities, plus the originals will always have some special cachet. Maybe part of the appeal of this gambling machine is that the capability of failure is linked to the potential of paying out.

abootstrapper 8y ago

They have, but I don’t think they can resist trying to sex it up. Part of the charm of the old machines is their simplicity.

BEEdwards 8y ago
I guess this is what I don't get the most about the future that was, we can't just do things anymore. We have to "sex it up." Could we easily make horses race around a track, sure an arduino and a 3d printer will do it, but we need to add flashing lights and lcd screens that display bullshit.
- chongli 8y ago
  Amen. One of my favourite movies is Labyrinth [1]. From 1986, the entire movie is live action with puppets and practical effects. Plus David Bowie, of course. I could imagine one day somebody might try to remake this movie. They'd shoot it entirely in front of a green screen. The music would be compressed and auto-tuned to oblivion. I'd see it and sigh at the death of another little piece of my faith in humanity. [1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/

anjc 8y ago

They do have more modern versions, and they're also in all the casinos in Vegas.