5 elements that have dissappeard from modern gaming

Gaming has been greatly enhanced by new technologies. It wasn't that long ago that we had to go all the way to the store, rely on the advice of a geeky salesclerk and spend hours playing games alone (Ok, so most of us still do that). Today, however, we can research games, download demos, buy games, get hints, and connect with others from all over the world without ever leaving home. Because of these abilities, some once-common sights in the gaming world no longer exist. Some of these disappearances are a good thing, while others are sorely missed. Here are 5 elements that have disappeared from modern gaming:


5. Complete and perfectly working gameplay (without the need for patches)

There are far too many examples of modern games shipping buggy or even broken. Some game producers seem to rush games out the door with a "we'll fix it later" approach. Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new game, installing it and finding out it doesn't work without hunting down a patch. Before the internet, game developers had only one chance to get it right. Console gamers have even been caught in the phenomenon with many PS3 owners being surprised to find their newest games like Call of Duty 4 or Heavenly Sword won't run until a mysterious mandatory "update" is downloaded and installed.


4. Really overpriced 1-900 hint lines

Before the advent one stop game walkthrough sites like GameFAQs, early gamers without access to the internet really could get stuck in a game and render their $40 investment useless. That's why most (especially adventure) games included a standard page near the end of their manual that read something like "...for recorded tips 24 hours a day call 1-900-555-1212 ($0.95/min) for live help call from 8am to 5pm EST 1-900-555-1213 ($1.95/min)". Today you'd be hard pressed to find a company still offering a live help hint line (or anyone willing to call at those rates for that matter).


3. Big boxes with lots of things in them

Instead of the standard size boxes nearly all current computer software comes in today, game boxes used to come in a wide assortment of shapes and sizes. While these boxes didn't fit quite as neatly on a shelf as today's games do, they did allow for some pretty cool stuff to come in the box. Wall-sized maps, laminated reference cards and big thick manuals with lots of pictures all easily fit into these boxes. Perhaps the best example was the "feelies" included with classic Infocom text-adventure games. One could find humorous references to their game such as postcards, sunglasses or even a genuine zorkmid.


2. Registration Cards (And cool stuff for filling them out)

Long before nag screens that prompted you every 10 minutes to register your game over the internet, most software included a physical card to be filled out and mailed back to the game creator. In return for providing this valuable marketing data, game companies would often offer valuable physical incentives. Gamers could expect to get disks with bonus content, free shareware titles, coupons, subscriptions to in-house magazines, (another relic sadly missed) and even clothing like cheap t-shirts and hats. While this may not sound like a lot, getting something in the mail was always exciting for young gamers. It is certainly better than the "special promotional offers" (spam) that most companies provide today.


1. Shareware Discs

In the early 90's, you could easily find rotating racks filled with dozens and dozens of games and software shareware floppy disks. These displays were found not only in computer stores, but also in bookstores, grocery stores and even gas stations. For a dollar or two one could pick up a floppy disk containing a (usually quite crippled) piece of software that would require sending a full payment by check or money order through the mail in order to get the full version. If you didn't like the game you could pass it on to a friend or erase the disc and then load on a pirated game for a friend. At any rate, these disks could be an easy way to buy a single floppy disk without having to shell out for a whole box.