Gaming has become important for our current culture. It’s a widely accepted hobby and has a huge presence on our media. Many celebrities are gamers and talk show hosts like Conan O’Brian include video games as part of their segment.

It’s been about 7 years since we’ve had a new set of console iterations from Sony and Microsoft. They were the two biggest players of the previous generation’s console market. It’s no surprise that the release of the PS4 and Xbox One is a big deal.

Of course, no major gaming release comes without its hitches these days. Although the PS4 has mostly met positive press, there has been reports of some units not working. Instead, a blue LED glows in the console and it never makes a connection to the television.

The Xbox One has been plagued with bad press. When it was announced, some questionable features were announced with it. Features such as a mandatory internet connection and Kinect, a camera which was always on and recorded you, received tons of backlash. Some of these features have since been removed and the console sold quite well despite the harsh beginning. Post-release, there have been reports of failing disk drives.

There’s no denying that gaming has reached a great pinnacle. The graphics are amazing and production values have reached Hollywood levels. As someone who has been gaming since childhood, I feel that quite a bit has changed.

My fondest memory of gaming was holding a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) controller for the first time. I wasn’t told how to use it or how to play. I had to learn what button did what. Everything felt new and games were adventurous.

Today, games have started holding gamer’s hands with an overabundance of tutorials. Games also feel very similar. Many titles were sequels with rehashed game play. Even non-sequels felt like games we’ve played before. Developers and producers have been less concerned with new and adventurous products, and more with making a profit.

Quality assurance has also taken a hit. Whenever I plugged in my SNES I was confident that it would work. I didn’t have to worry about patching firmware or it turning into a brick. Developers had be extremely certain that the product they pushed worked and wouldn’t malfunction.

I’m very proud of where gaming has went. It’s jumped leaps and bounds above my expectations. With every generation I always feel like there’s no room for improvement, but I have been happily surprised every time. It’s just a little sad that part of gaming has taken a step backwards, or in some cases no step at all.