Most fun I had gaming last year came from parties where we played with an Atari Flashback and a Nintendo Classic Mini. In this day and age of mega-AAA titles that cost $70, have purchasable DLC on day one, and don't actually work until about six months after release, there is something about playing low-graphic games that aren't made to last more than 5 minutes or so. Get a group together and let the shit-talking begin!! Combat! and Excitebike are my two current favorites.
As for the bolded... I think you nailed it here. I was a product of the era when video games were born. They developed, matured and grew right as I was doing the same. Games will always be a part of my life. However, there is just so much competition today for kids. Between tik-tok, social media, school, helicopter parents planning every moment, the explosion of cellphones and held-held devices that offer connectivity, the need desire for a centralized gaming specific console for a pre-teen is probably much less than it was.
