V a u g h n Fry's 68-year-old grandmother can beat "Super Mario Brothers" in one sitting.She has mastered "The Legend of Zelda," and she knows Nintendo shortcuts like it's her job. This woman's talent is derived from her grandson's love of the original Nintendo system. Fry, a Derby senior, is a self-professed addict. He has played Nintendo since the mid-1980s and prefers it over the newer gaming systems like Gamecube or Xbox, although he's quite addicted to those too.
From video games to music playing through our iPods to one of VH1's many decade-obsessed television tributes, society embraces its past.
"I've been doing nostalgia research for over 15 years and I don't think it's just now booming. It's always been
around *says Robert Schindler, associate professor of business at Rutgers University.
Merriam-Webster defines nostalgia as a wistful
Merriam-Webster nostalgia as a yearning for an irrecoverable condition (say, your childhood) or homesickness. You might think nostalgia only hits at a certain age, when people are recalling "the good old days," but Schindler says nostalgia doesn't discriminate. "We have an index which measures how prone you
are to feeling nostalgia," he says, referring to nostalgia research he has conducted with Morris Holbrook, a professor of business at Columbia University. "We find that there's no age effect — young people are just as likely to be nostalgic as older people." This might explain why college students in their late teens and early '20s can't get enough of video game
"THE KIND OF ATTACHMENTS YOU HAVE TO THINGS HAS TO DO WITH STRONG EMOTION BEING PRESENT AT THE TIME YOU WERE EXPERIENCING IT."
— ROBERT SCHINDLER,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
OF MARKETING, RUTGERS
UNIVERSITY
systems that came out 20 years ago.
Fry, who began the "NES and Super Nintendo Loyalists" group on Facebook is not
alone in his love of '80s video games. Sure, many students wouldn't have as much patience as Fry did with his grandmother, but plenty of students are still stationed in front of the television for hours on end each week, game remote in hand. They're not all playing
the newest version of "Halo." Quite often, Sonic and Tales or Mario and Luigi are running on their screens.
"Video games were my childhood," Matthew Cramer, Overland Park junior, says bluntly. He is partial to "Duck Hunt" and "Adventure Island 3" and hasn't stopped playing since his 5th birthday.
Cramer claims that some newer games aren't
as simple and fun as the old games. His famed moment came when he played "Final Fantasy VII" nonstop for 15 days, only breaking for school, food and sleep.
Awesome jams
"First time was a great time, Second time was a blast, Third time I fell in love, Now I hope it lasts." These were the lyrics that shot out of a boom box as sophomore Matt Walker and his sister played in their Hutchinson yard as kids. They would sing as the New Kids sang on: "You got the right stuff, baby; Love the way you turn me on; You got the right stuff, baby; You're the reason why I sing this song." Walker wasn't exactly fond of the band or the many cassettes his sister owned, but they've imprinted themselves on his brain during childhood.
Whether it was a household favorite, or just a song you can't get out of your head, people can't seem to get enough of '80s music. "I probably have more
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10> JAYPLAY 08.31.2006