An anecdote that will probably sway no one: was in a family friendly barcade and noticed-- inexplicably--a gaggle of kids, all 8-14, gathered around the Pong. Sauntering up so I could overhear their conversation, it was all excited variants of "It's just a square! But it's real!","You're touching it!", or "The knobs really move it."

If you wonder why we no long we have "twitch" games, this is why. Old school games had a tactile aesthetic lost in the blur of modern lag.