Many of us look back fondly at the “good old days” of gaming; those halcyon days where games simply worked right out of the package and pre-order bonus nightmares were a distant concern. Although the pure simplicity of retro gaming may look better in many ways than what we have now, there are plenty of reasons to be happy that we’re no longer stuck in the old school era. In many ways, nostalgia has clouded our judgment and glossed over many of the less desirable aspects of old video game technology. “Games aren’t what they used to be” may be a common refrain on gaming message boards, but that’s really not such a bad thing in most cases. We’re so used to the conveniences of modern video games, that we forget just how frustrating things used to be. While there are still reasons to hold onto that love of retro gaming (it’s hard to think that some SNES games will ever truly be topped), there sure are a lot of things that are best left in the past.
*Note: For the purposes of this discussion, we’re considering the PlayStation 2 era and earlier as “retro.” The console did come out the better part of two decades ago, after all.
10. Controller Cords
As much as having to change batteries on our controllers (or in the case of the PS4’s controller, constantly plugging it in thanks to its less-than-adequate rechargeable battery life) is its own unique hassle, tripping over cords is not something we’d be keen on going back to. Wired controllers used to be the only option, but the advent of dependable wireless technology — beginning with the Nintendo GameCube’s Wavebird controller in 2002 — allowed for much more freedom than wired pads ever could have provided. That freedom didn’t just extend to having less clutter in the house; wireless controllers could effectively become wired just by plugging a charge cable into a console’s USB port, giving gamers the best of both worlds. Most of us take our wireless controller for granted now, but there’s no way we would trade them for those trip-hazard cords again.
http://www.mathpirate.net/log/2011/04/02/electric-curiosities-the-situation-is-under-control/ Source: mathpirate.net