Another suggestion could well be the case where strong gameplay was always present at the time. It had to be, as graphical sheen wasn’t really available on the menu then. Spectrum owners had to contend with more clashing colours than London Fashion Week, but everyone made do because the software was so endearing. We’d forgive the primitive visuals, the plinky-plonky sound, even the consistency of games crashing… all for the fun they produced and the good times had by all (unless you were the parent always running through with another chorus of “TURN THAT DOWN!!!”

Believe it or not there is a third reason. Mascots. Sounds crazy, I know, but when you look at it, the older generation had figures so strong that they still maintain a big presence to this day. The biggest platform stars we have nowadays are STILL Mario and Sonic, who were going at it hammer and tongs when Lara Croft was still jumping from her nursery climbing frame and no doubt doing a backward somersault in the process. Now before people go on with the argument of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and the like, think about this. If two new games came out, one with the purple dragon, the other with the permanently overweight plumber, which one would you choose? I know it’s obvious that not everyone will pick Mario, but the vast majority would.

Now, I’m not taking anything away from today’s cyber-active society, I’m a fully subscribed member of it, but the olden days had a purity, somewhat trodden on in more recent times. Then again, it could simply be the case of childish naivety. If you look at what happens these days, as soon as one company gets an idea that is ahead of everyone else in terms of originality and scope (the Wii being a prime example) then a mad rush will begin as everyone else grabs their wagon and heads for the hills to get a piece of the prospective gold, with both Microsoft and Sony doing the whole will they/won’t they knock off products, just to make sure of some monetary injection heading their way.