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Smith: Coveting the classics

I’ve covered dozens of classic car shows over the past decade, and to be honest, it’s one of my easier assignments.
All I have to do is point my tape recorder at one of the car owners and let their exuberance flow into the story. Even the shyest car guys can’t resist relating tales of the hunk of junk they found in a barn and lovingly restored to pristine condition.
Now imagine the look on their face if I said, “Why do you waste your time on these old cars? The newer ones are so much better.”
Midwest politeness would save me from suffering a punch to the mouth, but I would deserve it. For many, including me, cars are nothing more than a means of conveyance.
But for millions of car enthusiasts around the world, classic vehicles are works of art. It’s about time old video games garner the same kind of respect classic cars and movies do.
For the most part, they do — at least on the internet. There are countless websites and forums aimed at specific periods of video game history. YouTube shows such as “The Angry Video Game Nerd” are dedicated entirely to old video games, gleefully lampooning their limitations while paying reverence to their groundbreaking ideas. Like it or not, video games are art — something many hardcore gamers have known since they were 5 years old.
So you can imagine how disturbed the video game community was when Sony’s global sales chief, Jim Ryan, tried to explain why the PlayStation 4 isn’t backward compatible with previous iterations of the console. Currently, you can’t play PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 or original PlayStation games on the PlayStation 4.
“When we’ve dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much. That, and I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?” Ryan said.
Ouch. I like to pretend I’m above internet rage, but Ryan’s statement really irked me. That’s like deriding “Citizen Kane” for being in black and white and featuring outdated special effects make-up.
Ryan does makes a valid point, though it only strengthens the argument old games should be preserved rather than forgotten. For children and non-film buffs, the over-acting in “Citizen Kane” likely is laughable. The uninformed don’t know that was the acting style at the time. There’s no way they could know how it inspired the movies that came after it, in everything from story structure to camera work. If someone doesn’t tell them, they’ll never know.
Video games age at an even faster pace. The blocky polygons and low resolution textures from mid-1990s PlayStation games are laughable by today’s standards. But for those of us who played those games, those deficiencies are part of the game’s beauty.
Artists are artists, no matter which era of video game history they worked in. Looking back at those old games and understanding the technical limitations that constrained those artists only deepens your appreciation for their work.
But video games aren’t movies — especially when it comes to time investment. Watching “Casablanca” for the 20th time costs you less than two hours of your night.
Playing though “Final Fantasy VII” again will take a couple months.
Hence Ryan’s argument backward compatibility is much requested but little used. While that’s true, he’s misconstruing the context. Hardcore gamers like to play a lot of games, including old ones. I’m often rotating between half-a-dozen new titles, in a woeful effort to keep up.
But games are also comfort food — just like any hobby or form of entertainment.
Sometimes, usually around my birthday, I like to play the emulated copy of the Sega CD classic “Snatcher” from 1993. If I’m flipping channels and run across “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” I can’t help but rewatch a portion of it — despite it being one of Mel Brooks’ weaker films.
I was obsessed with both as a preteen.
Art — even in its silliest and most crass forms — is designed to bring out emotion, which means it always will be tied to nostalgia.
These games mean something to us, and that’s something an empty suit with no passion for gaming never will understand. I can’t judge Ryan on one errant quote (he was trying to make a point after all), but it sounds like he views video games as nothing more than a disposable product. A new razor or toothbrush that will make you question why you ever tolerated the old one.
Trust me, I doubt Ryan is as upset about this as we are. Since Sony doesn’t currently offer backwards compatibility, it was his job to defend that. Since Microsoft does offer backward compatibility for the Xbox One, it gleefully put out a statement in the wake of Ryan’s comment reaffirming their dedication to preserving games.
It’s nothing but posturing from corporations vying for our money. Thankfully, those corporations are filled with people who care about games.

Playing old games as if they were new

I’ve mostly been focusing on revisiting old games for nostalgia purposes. To be honest, those trips down memory lane only last an hour or so.
But Sony’s backward compatibility holes present an even problem for gamers who want to catch up on old titles. I know from experience.
Earlier this year, I fell head over heels for the PlayStation 4 exclusive “Yakuza 0” — one of my leading candidates for Game of the Year. Despite being a prequel, the game is the latest in a line-up of “Yakuza” games that stretch all the way back to the PlayStation 2. Thankfully, a remake of the first game is due at the end of the summer.
Unfortunately, I gave my PlayStation 3 to a friend a couple years ago, leaving me with no way access the pivotal “Yakuza” games I missed. Each sequel is part of an overarching story featuring decades of family history, and I had to know it all.
Since Sony long has stopped selling the PlayStation 3 in America (they recently ceased production in Japan as well), my only option was to find a used one on Ebay for $110. I won’t go into the cumbersome process, or the fact I initially ordered the wrong system and had to sell it back.
Of course, I couldn’t help lament the lack of backward compatibility. If these games had come out for the Xbox 360, I could have saved myself some time and money by playing them on the Xbox One.
While I don’t expect modern consoles to be backwards compatible with 20-year-old games (the technology demands are trickier than you would think), having access to the previous generation of console games is vital for ongoing series and franchises.
Imagine not being able to watch the first “Harry Potter” movie because it’s only available on VHS. That sounds absurd in this modern age of streaming, yet gamers deal with it every day.
In all fairness, more than 400 PlayStation 3 games are available on Sony’s PlayStation Now streaming service (which requires a subscription), though it’s completely unusable for me. My country internet just can’t handle it.
Even if it could, paying to play old games I already own is the very definition greed. But that, too, is a large part of the video game industry.
This column was originally published in The Hawk Eye, a GateHouse Media publication
Smith: Coveting the classics | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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