Console games, like other pursuits, have a culture. Because of the kinds of games that are so popular today, “PWNin’ n00bs” is a well-known activity. For the uninitiated, it means people who have dedicated tons of time to getting very good at the necessary skills in a head-to-head (usually combat) game, will often find enjoyment in mercilessly crushing those who have not dedicated such large chunks of their life to mastering the necessary game skills. With online competitive play being such a huge part of gaming, and games rewarding reflexes that are most often possessed by younger players, victory dances, trash talk, and rage quitting are a big part of gaming culture.
This aspect of play is the gamification of poking each other with sharp sticks. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but not everyone’s cup of tea.
And it’s not only the hyper-antagonistic pwnage that’s the issue, but with so many games being about hunting down and annihilating other players - usually looking down the barrel of a rifle - it just creates a certain tone of game. If that’s your thing, fine, but take a walk on the wild side, and try a completely different form of interaction.
This isn’t to say that competitive play and trained reflexes aren’t a big part of old-school video games, or that you won’t get trounced in an unbalanced matchup. But that shrill delight expressed when one player absolutely destroys and then humiliates another by rubbing their nose in it, is not a defining characteristic of the retro gaming culture the way it is with the “shooter game” -dominated landscape of today.
retrogamestart.com
https://retrogamestart.com/answers/why-retro-video-gaming-so-popular-its-much-more-than-nostalgia