Is it worth over one hundred thousand dollars to never have faced the onslaught of “Lakitu” the smiling cloud monster?
The release of the first “Back to the Future” blissfully coincided with the NES entertainment system available to consumers through selected retailers, as the burgeoning gem of the year 1985 pulsated with the official launch of the modern video gaming era and the persistent policy of Glasnost strategically dissolving the defiant fabric of the Iron Curtain. In the 35 years since Michael J. Fox, the Mario brotherhood, and Gorbachev sparked a political global warming trend through tantalizing and entertaining logical reasoning, revisiting the fervor and intrigue of the latter half of the 1980’s is a priceless endeavor with almost limitless demand.
In stunning fashion, but not surprisingly, an untainted NES Super Mario Brothers video game cartridge exceeded the $100 thousand mark during a collectibles auction, a stirring figure that is both indicative that there still exists a market for subjective treasures, and the world is not entirely obsessed with reliving 1918 through toxic social network posts, and choreographed attempts to parrot the philosophy of Lenin.
The exact winning bid of $144 thousand, nets the recipient of 8-bit mushroom wonderment and aerial acrobatics in defeating Bowser and an array of eclectic enemies through the 6502 assembly programming language, with a net gain of $143,853, based on the consensus of various online inflation calculators. A quick search of eBay shows that original used cartridges are available for between $8 and $40. The craze for retro video game paraphernalia is a reality, and the worship of electronic memorabilia has overtaken the sporting world market, as individuals chase the past through experiencing history within the present.
For those who cannot afford the exhaustive auction circuit of pristine classic electronics, many of the traditional gaming system are offered through freeware desktop emulators and USB compatible joysticks and related hardware available through online retailers at a price point under $20. Again, the idea that the modern digital matrix possesses a perfect memory that can be deliberately manipulated is an unsettling premise, and the metaphor of legions of lugubrious fans unable to outrun the footprint of revered childhood video games is perfect in representing a specific condition of the information age.
While the gaming world has evolved as a biological entity, and the latest generation of titles barely distinguish between reality and fantasy, the younger generations are at the whim of innovative AI, as the lines have been completely blurred as to merit and an electronic participation trophy furnished by the creations of cutting edge programming, graphics, and sound. The availability of virtual reality options only exacerbates a slow and painful gravitation away from the strenuous rigors and accomplishments of life, and the deflating experience and humiliating aftermath of defeating a losing a hard fought sweaty battle on the concrete jungle of a neighborhood basketball court.
“Back to the Future II”, a compelling sequel to the aforementioned blockbuster features a telling scene where Michael J. Fox’s character, Marty, is showing off his classic video game skills at a retro diner in the year 2015. After absolutely shredding the Western style shoot ’em up arcade machine, a pair of nearby kids is underwhelmed by the performance with one of the boys remarking, “You have to use your hands?”
The soothsaying ability of pop culture should never be underestimated, nor the price one will pay to escape this pending future nightmare of a languishing world.
WATCH: Marty McFly Gets Owned By The Future Youth Congress of Technocrats
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