Jordan Mechner Compares Karateka For The Apple 2 And Karateka For The iPhone

Jordan Mechner has produced a clip that compares apples to apples. Specifically, the Apple 2 and Apple's iPhone 4S. Along with their associated versions of his game, Karateka.

As Mechner points out, Karateka was just a few kilobytes big back then, came on floppy discs, and had to be purchased either at a specialty shop or via mail order. Depending on the method, it could take upwards of seven days before one could actually play the game.

But today, that same title is 1 GB big, can be technically purchased anywhere, provided you have a device that can connect to Apple's App Store handy, and is almost immediately playable as well, depending on one's connection type and speed. The entire thing can be up and running in just 2-3 minutes.

Though the biggest difference is price: what was once $34.95 is now just $2.99. So, all in all, it seems that the world of video games has definitely advanced in many ways. Though the real question is which version is better. I'm all for progress, but I actually prefer the original myself.