3.) When you play it matters
When Final Fantasy VIII came out, I was impressed by how the characters actually looked the right size and the fact that they weren't pixelated blocks anymore. I thought that it was such a beautiful game and I still do. However, I bet I'll get a different reaction if I show it to my nephew who never even touched the first PlayStation.
It's hard for him to appreciate it since he didn't experience the leap firsthand. All he knows is photorealistic graphics, so FFVIII is pretty much crap to him.
It's the same thing when you look at games that were lauded as the "first of it's kind" or "innovative." I'm sure that people won't describe those games with those labels if you show it to them now, but back then they were a big deal. Therefore, when you play the game bears a significant amount of weight too.
