By Christine Melgarejo

Just recently, The Simpsons arcade game was released on both Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network, to the joy of 20 something to early 30 year olds everywhere.  This side scrolling beat em up game with all your favorite Simpsons characters was pretty sweet back in the day and frankly, it still is. And it got me thinking about how I’ve pretty much successfully downloaded my entire childhood through console arcade releases.

Between the re-release of the classic Mortal Kombat arcade series, Street Fighter arcade versions, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time gracing our beloved consoles, I pretty much have my earliest gaming memories at my fingertips, there any time I feel like going back to my pre-pubescent self. And yes, those were much simpler times.  You just put a few quarters into the machine at your local arcade or even laundromat and played some of the coolest games ever.

A lot of these re-releases have spruced up graphics and even changes in music and such.  Whether you love or hate the changes, it makes them a little bit more accessible to the new generation but keeps them true enough to the original that the kids of the late 80s and early 90s are going to grin ear to ear when they see the title of their favorite arcade game.

And let’s be honest, it’s also a great way for these companies to make money. They aren’t dumb; we all love the nostalgia of when we were kids. Every generation thinks the things that were cool when they were little are still the coolest, so we buy into it, over and over and over. I’m OK with this.

Sometimes you just want to turn on your console and feel like you’re 7 years old again.

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