While the kids today crave for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, older generations might have big smiles on their faces as classic video games have just been uploaded by the Internet Archives. Gamers of yesteryears can enjoy the hottest video games they used to play on their old consoles, through their web browsers by visiting the "Console Living Room.".
The collection, launched Thursday, features hundreds of game titles that were rolled out during the time of the Astrocade, Magnavox Odyssey2, Colecovision, Atari 7800, and Atari 2600. The Console Living Room makes use of a web-based game JMESS emulator allowing users to play the games right in their browser, using the keyboard as their "joystick." While the emulator cannot play sounds at the moment, the Internet Archives promises to fix this issue in the near future.
"For a generation of children, the most exciting part of a Christmas morning was discovering a large box under the tree, ripping it apart, and looking at an exciting, colorful box promising endless video games," a post on the Internet Archives blog recalls. "Sadly, the days of the home videogame console being a present under a tree followed by days of indulgent game-playing are not the same, replaced with massive launch events and overnight big-box store stays."
"...the Console Living Room is in beta - the ability to interact with software in near-instantaneous real-time comes with the occasional bumps and bruises. An army of volunteer elves are updating information about each of the hundreds of game cartridges now available, and will be improving them across the next few days," it added.
While some may point out that a number of titles featured in the collection might still be copyrighted, somehow they are ignored by game makers since these titles are no longer widely available in the market. The Internet Archives also pointed out that access to these old games are meant to spark commentary and education, and of course enjoyment.
At a time of the year when families feel nostalgic reminiscing the old days, the release of the Console Living Room has been very timely.
