I'm 60, and a former videogame programmer. I got started with arcade videogames in 1975. I still love games and get excited over new hardware.
Let's take a brief look at history. In 1986, the typical home computer was an 8 bit CPU with limited sprite capabilities if you were lucky. I had a Timex Sinclair 2068 which had no sprite hardware, but I was still able to write games for it. In 1986 I bought an Atari ST for a ton of money, and it had no special graphics hardware either, but I could write games for it because it was a 16-bit system.
Most arcade games in 1986 were 8 bit, but they had sprite and other graphics capabilities that allowed them to have good games. Arcade machines cost $2,000 to $3,000 and this kind of hardware did not exist in consoles nor home computers. If you wanted to play the best videogames, you had to go to the arcades or your local 7-11 to play them.
Let's take a brief look at history. In 1986, the typical home computer was an 8 bit CPU with limited sprite capabilities if you were lucky. I had a Timex Sinclair 2068 which had no sprite hardware, but I was still able to write games for it. In 1986 I bought an Atari ST for a ton of money, and it had no special graphics hardware either, but I could write games for it because it was a 16-bit system.
Most arcade games in 1986 were 8 bit, but they had sprite and other graphics capabilities that allowed them to have good games. Arcade machines cost $2,000 to $3,000 and this kind of hardware did not exist in consoles nor home computers. If you wanted to play the best videogames, you had to go to the arcades or your local 7-11 to play them.
The hot new arcade game in 1986 was Super Mario Brothers. Along came a new videogame console, the NES, which for about $100 could play the same game. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it. For a relatively low cost, this system was almost as good as any 8-bit arcade game. No home computer was as capable, except maybe the Amiga, which cost $1,600.
My point is that home consoles used to have capabilities that we could not get on computer hardware, at least not for a reasonable cost. This trend continued throughout the 1990s. BTW, the introduction of arcade-quality consoles pretty much killed the arcade videogame industry.
Now the new generation of consoles is exciting because they do have hardware beyond what most people have on their computers. If you are willing to spend 3 times as much for a gaming PC then you can do as well or better, but the new consoles give you an amazing amount of power for the money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gBzfTOLlQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gBzfTOLlQg
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