I recently read an article about how the Nintendo Entertainment System's popular game Duck Hunt really worked. Pretty amazing really, considering this was in 1985.  Which made me think of how different "video games" are today. You have more choices of systems, obviously much better graphics and sound, and amazing control and game-play. But one of the biggest differences might be connecting your systems to the internet. What if in the golden age of video gaming we had online capability? For the kids growing up today, playing games against friends (or complete strangers for that matter) on an online network like XBox Live, is no big deal. It's just how you played the game. However, for those of us who earned our first thumb cramps via an Atari and/or NES, we had to play our little brothers and sisters (or even worse, the "computer.") What if that wasn't the case? Imagine playing a classic run in Contra with a friend... who was playing from his house.  (Not having to rely on his mom to bring him over for an hour and a half after school, then be picked up just as you got to a final boss. So frustrating.) I am sure that there is probably a way to actually play these retro games on an online network today, (if someone hasn't figured it out, they will) but it won't be the same. Kids don't know how good they have it.