Hold on to something long enough, the theory goes -- a car, a tie or even a hairstyle -- and eventually it will be cool again. And so it goes with video games, where today"s fans can"t get enough of games that were popular when their parents were kids, and quarter-a-game arcade machines now sell for thousands of dollars each.
In a nod to the nostalgia boom for classic video games, the Electronic Entertainment Expo -- E3 -- the industry"s major trade show, a forum devoted to hyping the latest in game technology, last week also organized a tribute to old-school pixilated fun. Featuring classic arcade cabinets like "Ms. Pac-Man," "Popeye," "Donkey Kong," "Punch-Out" and "Space Age," and well-loved home consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis and 3DO, this year"s expo drew fans nostalgic for the days when playing a game meant little more than mashing one or two buttons over and over again.