Is this site dead?

[thriftypickle]

The activity level of this site has been down since the new server went in to place. Is this the end of nfggames? Seems like it is on life support.

[NFG]

Seven threads with new posts in the last two days...  Seems about normal around here.

Sorry if it's not lively enough for you.  =(

[kamiboy]

Japanese PC's are a very small niche in the west with a tiny community of enthusiasts. If you want more action you can try adding the handful of Japanese PC focused fb groups to your mix.

[kendrick]

As the moderator, I read every last post that goes up on the forum. Not always in a timely manner, but I do eventually read everything. So while I agree with NFG's observation that the overall level of activity has been consistent and steady, I'm also sensitive to the notion that somebody who isn't into the x68000 scene might think that interest in the other subjects that the site covers has dropped off.

In another life I collected a specific brand of action figure toys, which was an expensive and time-consuming hobby. But it drove me to travel around the world and meet other like-minded lunatics, and in one or two cases formed some lasting friendships. It was one of those friends who observed that the group of people who were buying and selling these toys wasn't really growing, and that there wasn't really any motivation for new blood or new faces to get into the scene. You can observe the same broad trend among classic car enthusiasts, or Star Trek fans, or mobile phone hackers, or any sort of niche interest.

I said in another post here (that I'm too lazy to dig up) that a lot has changed in the world of video game hardware that makes our corner of the hobby sort of irrelevant. There's no need for region hacking anymore because the majority of the current systems are functionally region-free. There's no need to adapt video signalling because everybody uses HDMI, and they're rapidly settling on one or two 5 Ghz wireless video standards. Repair is less of a burden because of standardized components and fewer moving parts. And there's so much old game content being remastered, repackaged and re-released on current systems that it ends up negating mainstream interest in preservation or authenticity.

There will always be one guy who discovers a Neo CD, wants to add a region switch to turn on the blood spatter in King of Fighters, and gets led here by a search engine. There will always be someone who follows the history of a beloved game series back to its earliest 16-bit and 8-bit iterations and ends up here because she needs to get a Mega CD running. Fifteen years ago that was something that happened daily because it was contemporary and real. Today, that information and expertise is clearly and unambiguously historical, not current. And part of why that's true is because we're not really adding to our numbers as a group of enthusiasts. Someone who's now a teenager and wasn't even born when the Dreamcast was released isn't going to be motivated to open their PS4 because there's no benefit and no discernible value to doing so.

To be clear, I don't think of this in negative terms and I don't mourn what was that's now gone. Time that we used to spend tinkering and breaking things was always in service of being able to play, and now people are playing more than ever. And I'm sticking around until NFG turns out the lights and decides to shoot for Playboy full time.

[NFG]

Best. Moderator. Ever.  <3

[lukester]

Hi! I have joined recently and I hope to contribute to some discussion.

I'm far younger than most of the people on here (Junior in college), but I've always had an interest in retro games, especially the arcade ports PC Engine and Sega genesis.

I recently purchased a refurbished X68000 Super-HD and would like to get some RAM for it, which I have posted in the sale thread. But I do hope to talk with you all about these great games!

[Segasonicfan]

I've been wondering a lot, how can I contribute to make this forum more lively?
I've made some dedicated posts of some mods and upgrades I've designed, I could post more.  I could also make guides "exclusive" to this forum to encourage more people to come here.

Honestly, nfg was always my favorite gaming forum (along with Ben heck) for console modding and hacking going back 15 years.  The admins here have a good head on their shoulders and don't result to the trolling and nastiness of other forums (which will remain unnamed for now).  Or forums like assembler, which can't even add new members anymore since the mods abandoned the site or some weirdness.  And last time I checked, Sega 16 requires crazy post amounts to start a new thread (was it 50?)

This is a good form for adults and people eager to learn about modding and hacking without unnecessary drama.  I've always really appreciated that.

Maybe if a Marketplace Forum was added we would get more interest? 

[Segasonicfan]

Hello.....?  Is nobody interested in making the site more active?

[NFG]

Activity comes when people are active.  There are plenty of other sites people use (like Facebook) which is, I gotta say, the worst but most popular choice for things like X68000 sharing.  So activity here is ...  well, as you say.

Forums are oldschool.  It's a great system for the diehards, those of us who've been around forever, but it is difficult to use compared to many other available options.

I love this place, you guys have made it more than worthwhile for me, and I'm super happy it still has a place in this massive internet.  So it's not going anywhere.  =)

What else can we do?  What else, besides a forum, would help build the community?  I'm open to suggestions (the marketplace you asked about already exists on this forum).

[Segasonicfan]

Activity comes when people are active.  There are plenty of other sites people use (like Facebook) which is, I gotta say, the worst but most popular choice for things like X68000 sharing.  So activity here is ...  well, as you say.

Forums are oldschool.  It's a great system for the diehards, those of us who've been around forever, but it is difficult to use compared to many other available options.

I love this place, you guys have made it more than worthwhile for me, and I'm super happy it still has a place in this massive internet.  So it's not going anywhere.  =)

What else can we do?  What else, besides a forum, would help build the community?  I'm open to suggestions (the marketplace you asked about already exists on this forum).

Hey, thanks for the thoughtful reply. I agree 100%, but I don't think that using these forums is any harder than using Facebook, in fact I think using Facebook is about 10x more difficult with all their "you must have a phone to receive SMS text verification" and needing to upload your driver's license and other BS for image verification is absolutely nuts. My life has been much better since I stopped using that site.

I didn't realize for the longest time that you actually had a Marketplace! I think the title of it is very confusing, would you consider possibly changing it to just "Marketplace"? 

Another recommendation might be adding a subtopic forum for "Recent Finds" or a "welcome" forum or stuff like that that makes posting easy and lightweight for newcomers. At least I see those doing pretty well on other sites.

Anyway, I think you're doing a great job here and I'm so glad that keeping this forum going has been worth your time )

[mtn]

Hey everybody,

I used to just read along occasionally in the past, but finally got around getting my first X68000 with more stuff already in the mail coming from Japan I already had a lot of direct conversions with people around general X68000  stuff, but also game development. I'm currently focus on developing a new game for another platform (Neo Geo), but are very tempted building at least some smaller stuff for the X68000 as well and share actively share the progress with the community.

Btw, @kendrick, your response to this post is so spot on and greatly phrased. Good to see this kind of thoughtful moderation

[NFG]

Yup, any minute now.  Spammers all the way down.

Aaaaaaaany minute.

[Segasonicfan]

Yup, any minute now.  Spammers all the way down.

Aaaaaaaany minute.

Your efforts are appreciated!