Coffee Talk #302: They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To

As I was mesmerized by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s promo on last night’s Raw, I was thinking, “They don’t make ’em like they used to.” Whether you’re talking about WWE, games, movies, or music, this is true.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, iPhone 5 rumors, President Obama’s plans for mini nuclear reactors, or the start of MLB spring training, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As I was mesmerized by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s promo on last night’s Raw, I was thinking, “They don’t make ’em like they used to.” Whether you’re talking about WWE, games, movies, or music, this is true. In this context, I was reminded that there hasn’t been a face with extraordinary mic skills in years. On the heel side, guys like Chris Jericho and The Miz have been outstanding. On the face side there have been good talkers, but I can’t think of a truly great one.

Naturally, I started thinking about games — specifically what I miss about gaming from 10, 15, and 20 years ago. As a fan of Japanese RPGs, I’ve spent thousands of hours of my life in turn-based combat. I absolutely loved those battles. Part of it was depth that wasn’t found in other genres, but part of it was that I enjoyed spending time to think about my next several moves. Sadly, turn-based combat is considered archaic in 2011. Sure, there are some niche titles and portable games that offer this style of gameplay, but it’s never used in mainline games with big budgets. I wish that wasn’t the case.

What do you miss about gaming, music, and movies from “the good old days”? Is there anything that creators don’t make like they used to but wish they did?

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

21 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #302: They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To”

  1. Music was worth buying back in the day.

    Movies were made with R ratings instead of mass market PG13

    Games: sequels out the ass syndrome really clutter today's market.

    1. I agree that more adult-themed movies should be R instead of PG-13 just to pander to the teenage market, although I do understand why producers do it.

      "Sequels out the ass" syndrome will stop when people stop buying them. (*glares at cult of Madden and CoD followers*)

      Unfortunately, I don't know enough about music to make an informed opinion, but I can tell you that (newer) music has always been marketed towards the younger crowds, so it's not surprising that you don't like it since you're old.

      -M

  2. My laptop is getting so pissed off at all this video editing and rendering. The CPU keeps red lining because of Adobe's crappy code and I have to keep rebooting. One day I'll have the iMac of my dreams. Until then, I'm hoping my laptop doesn't explode.

    1. @Ray

      Wait for the Sandybridge versions if possible. I have the i7 860 and it is great but it doesn't keep up with the new versions. I'm surprised at the difference honestly.

  3. Music was really worth buying back then i can't remember the last time i bought a CD and was able to listen to it from beginning to end and multiple times.

    I miss scary/horror/suspense movies being rated R. If you want to see a good scary/horror/suspense movie you have to make sure it's an R one. It's rare when you get a PG13 one. I think that ruined genres like AVP and Freddy vs Jason (which shouldn't have been made IMO) but these movies were rated R in their own franchises before they were brought together.

    I agree with SG, sequels are every year now or every other year. I liked it when sequels usually didn't happen until next gen and that was like every 4 or 5 years but i guess i really can't complain too much about it with consoles lasting longer out in the market. i'm looking at you PS2! Can you believe Sony has sold it's 150 millionth unit!

  4. remember back in madden 93, you could hurt a player…and then the ambulance would drive onto the scene, plowing through any players that happened to be in the way?

    that was awesome

    seriously, i miss the novelty of gaming…i miss being able to look at 16 bit graphics in awe…i miss blowing into cartridges….i think i just miss my childhood

  5. I usually like to look more to the future I think, or I just can't come up with anything right now. haha.

    What I really hate though is some people who go on and on about how good the Pokemon games used to be, and 'origianl 151 FTW,' etc. It gets really annoying because they are usually loud about it, and they haven't played a 4th gen. game. I think so far the 4th gen. is the best because of all of the options and abilities that we have. It is such a versatile game that is fun to play, and I think it is sad for those people who keep on telling themselves that Pokemon peaked with Red/Blue and the first 151 pokemon. I definitely prefer the future instead of the past for this series.

  6. Crap. I spelled N8R's name wrong in the credits of my Mike Capps interview. I SO don't want to re-render it. That'll just tie up my PC for another 30-45 minutes (I'm on my phone now). Maybe the I'll pretend that his evil clone "Nathand" did the music and graphics for this interview….

      1. Yeah, this video will be filmed by Nathan with music by Nathand. The upload and conversion is going to take over an hour, so this is the best thing to do. I love working with video, but I also hate it. I miss having powerful computers, a full crew, and an editing team at my disposal. Ha!

      2. that means it took the power of two Nate's to put your awesome interview together! i can't wait to see what the power of two Nate's wields.

    1. It doesn't bother me, shit happens.

      Besides, maybe it's actually the good one and I'm the evil doppelganger.

  7. I miss the concept of originality in music, but the more I learn about the history of music the more I see that only a great few are/were truly original.

    What I miss about most games nowadays is the lack of real diversity. Sure there are different games but for the most part it comes in the form of a shooter.

    Speaking of originality how bout them Hollywood films lol.

    1. You must be referring to the 17 (rough estimate) different alien invasion movie trailers I saw during the Super Bowl.

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