“When Gaming Was Magic”

There was something magical about gaming in the early 2000s.
Opening a new game box, reading the manual on the way home, that smell of fresh print and plastic. No massive day-one patches, no 100 GB installs just you, your console, and pure excitement.
Sometimes I miss that slower, simpler experience. Don’t get me wrong, modern games are masterpieces, but that sense of wonder when booting up a cartridge or CD for the first time? It hit different.