Ode to Atari

I got a phone call from my mom the other day asking about the potential purchase of a certain video game system for Christmas. Now... most people that know me know that I do not value video games... oh no no... I'd much rather waste my time in other ways. I will admit that part of the reason I have never condoned them is the vast amount of time and attention that has to go into learning the system and game. How in the heck would I know to push A and the underneath button at the same time to get an invisible flower to appear and give me super powers... unless I was a dweeblet who read the cheats on the internet.

But I walked into Smith's Grocery Store the other day to find at the main entry display a re-release of Atari. That's a right... $40 for Atari and like 10 old school games, and it took me back to a simpler time. I remember begging my mother for Nintendo, but instead she bought Atari at a garage sale, and we somewhat gladly embraced the entertainment. These were the days when my little brothers were young and without toddler video game training so that I could usually count on my advanced motor skills to win. Realizing of course that we're talking about joysticks here... but the point is that I have a fighting chance to pick up the joystick and complete the game, no other knowledge needed. And they are not addicting, because it is pretty easy to win... so you leave it alone for awhile and come back when you have friends over to impress them with your skills, or just double-check that you still rock at Frogger... making the world a better place.

So mom... I approve of you getting Atari. All the rest of the video games are too ridiculous and follow someone's monopolistic marketing stance, kinda like buying hot dogs with about four extra buns... or like AT&T being the only ones with the iPhone... eventually you will have to cave to the way the market is set up. You want the Wii... then you need a new system, it doesn't work on the XBox, etc. Let's keep it simple people, Atari had it right... why fix something that wasn't broke?