Many of us played our first video games while huddled around the living room TV, tethered by short controller cables to an Atari, Nintendo, Genesis or Playstation. As technology advanced, these outdated televisions were rendered obsolete by newer, lighter, bigger, high-definition models that offer way more features and a vastly superior picture.

But for retro games, these TV's aren't always compatible. I'll be blunt, if CRT TVs disappear we'll no longer be able to play games like Duck Hunt.

Don't throw out that Zenith!

---

As bulky and outdated as traditional tube televisions are, they use display technology that many types of games relied on to work properly. The worst hit would be light gun games. The Nintendo Zapper and Super Scope, Sega Menacer, Konami Justifier and Namco GunCon are all reliant on using the CRT technology to function.

In a nutshell, light guns displayed a single frame on the screen where everything went black except the targets, which are represented by white rectangles. If you were aiming the light gun at the white target rectangle, it registered it as a hit.

Newer televisions don't work the same way as older tube televisions, so everything from Duck Hunt to House of the Dead will not work on them. Period.

Additionally, games like Gyromite and Stack Up on the NES that used R.O.B. the Robot also used similar technology and will not function on anything other than a CRT television (not that R.O.B. worked that well in the first place.)

Upscaling is nice and all, but...

---

_{^{Image Source: Warosu.org}}

In recent years, clone consoles have hit the market that push old 8 and 16 bit games up to 720p resolution, a vast improvement from their humble 240p native resolution. This results in a much nicer, much clearer picture.

Its not how these games were designed to look though.

I love my upscaling Retron5, but games from this era were designed to work with the limitations and quirks of CRTs, from exploiting scanlines to create richer images to creating intentionally muddled sprites that blend together beautifully look great when rendered by the dots on a CRT but look jagged on a modern LCD set. Some games look better upscaled, while others are better with the scanlines option turned on to mimic the look of the game's intended output monitor.

The CRT is dead. Long live the CRT!

---

I suggest anyone who is currently or has any interest in someday picking up retro gaming as a hobby to purchase the best CRT television you can find. Its not hard, as many people sell them for a few bucks or even toss them to the curb. I saw a tasty 25-inch console TV on the curb on my way home a few days ago.

Its unlikely these monitors will be manufactured ever again, so if you want one get one now while they're still available. Landfills are full of them, thrift stores won't take them and they will soon be very hard to find. There might even be a spike in prices once hardcore retro gamers realize they can't get them anymore.

I have a couple stashed in my garage, but I'm always on the lookout for a really good quality set. Sony Trinitrons are the favorite for many retro gamers due to their fantastic picture and availability. If you really want to get hardcore, CRT monitors offer the best picture but were used to TV studios, video editors and other professional environments.

The bottom line is to get one now if you want one, while you still have the chance.

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

^{Cover Image Sources: Digitalimage4k & Nintendo Life}