A short story/rant
I’m about twelve years old. I just walk out of a Circuit City with my brand new copy of Golden Sun for my Game Boy Advance. I step into our Dodge van, buckle the safety belt, and tear into the plastic wrap as if it were the last game I would ever have.



I hold in my hands, a Brand New Video Game. I admire how I can feel the box in my hands the exact object I’ve been saving up for and looking at through the hard plastic protector to keep thieves out. I look at the box art and see four heroes I will soon control; their story will be mine to experience. I see the “ONLY FOR GAMEBOY ADVANCE” on the box and I realize “I have a Game Boy Advance, this game is for my Game Boy Advance and it’s only for the Game Boy Advance!” My excitement overwhelms me.

I have severe motion sickness when it comes to cars and reading, playing games, or paying attention to anything at close range, but who cares? I have a new video game! And it’s for my[i] Game Boy Advance and [i]only for the Game Boy Advance! If you don’t have a Game Boy Advance, you’re shit out of luck!



Despite my dizziness I carefully open the box being sure not to bend the tab that keeps it sealed. I pull out the game cartridge and manual and leave the plastic rectangle in the palm of my hand, immediately I feel a surge of power. Something so small has so much? I still couldn’t believe how they managed to fit a whole adventure into such a small cartridge, but that doesn’t matter time to learn about my new game.

The manual smells like what god would smell like and its contents even more precious. I pass the warnings, table of contents, and basic information. The manual, like foreplay before sex, was only a taste of what I was about to experience. I learned slightly about the backstory, how to access my inventory, the battle system, using magic and about the map. I was equipped for my journey ahead. I had all the necessary tools to venture into a new world and fight battles never fought before. It was time. The rest, as they say, is history.

I am now eighteen and much more into video games than ever before, but one thing has changed. I have long traded in my Game Boy Advance for a Nintendo DS. The next generation of handheld gaming is here. I buy a couple games, and again the experience is every bit as sweet as when I was younger.

I hear that there’s this amazing device called the R4. And apparently it will allow me to download games and more than just one. I can have a whole library of games in my pocket. No more dealing with cartridges, bound to get lost, chipped, and worn-out. I had to get one.

Ok, Advance Wars is out for the DS, time to get a new game. I log onto my favorite ROM website. Search for the latest ROM and locate my target. Like a sniper hitting his target I click on the download button. Boom Headshot. I am redirected to a file hosting website and await my place in turn. Kinda reminds me of waiting for those stupid toll lines in Grand Theft Auto IV. Finally! Time to download! The wait from zero percent to one hundred seems way longer than a minute and fourteen seconds. Seconds turns to hours when you want something to happen! Here we go, I’m done, time to un-rar this file. A familiar ritual starts all over again. Double click, open, extract, and place onto my desktop. Next is to rename the file to something more pleasing. The final step is to drag and drop the game into the “DS ROMs” folder on my micro SD card. I quickly slide the SD card out of its USB connector and pop it into my R4.

I switch on my DS, browse to the file and start the game. “Oh nice, this one has a story, that’s neat. “ After hours of playing my new game I feel content, but something is missing. My preparedness is gone, my beautiful box art is missing, and I seem to have misplaced my manual. I feel happy I have a new game, but not excited. In my hands I have nothing; no tabs, no papers, no cartridge. Oh well, time to move onto the next game!

Since I’ve gotten my R4 I no longer feel like an excited kid ready to spend days playing his band new game. The wonder and excitement has been stripped from games (at least on my DS). Now that I have the entire library at my disposal, one game no longer holds any value. It’s works in economics too: If the US decided to print more money and giving everyone in the United States a billion dollars, the dollar would be worth less than it is now. I find it more difficult to appreciate one particular game when I have fifty others waiting for me.



Sometimes I feel a bit regretful that I bought my R4 because it isn’t the same when I could bring home a game and be giddy about it, but on the same note, I have saved so much money and time and it’s awesome to have all the games on the DS at my disposal.

To those that have an R4: Am I just a complete and utter nerd? Or is there anyone else who has felt the same way?

To those who don’t have an R4: buy an R4 if you must, but know the dangers before you do.