One reader reveals why he only plays retro video games after realizing that modern titles aren't for him anymore.
I read your recent article about the London Gaming Market with interest. I'm currently planning on going to the Birmingham Game Market while it's on. I've always liked replaying old games and have several retro consoles and computers (some of them “mini” versions), but I've never particularly considered myself a retro gamer. was. But that started to change as this generation progressed, as I realized that new games were no longer appealing to me.
I'm not completely against new games, as I've enjoyed Elden Ring and most of Nintendo's products, but I don't plan on playing anything online, or at least live service games. there is no. Gameplay is very limited and often doesn't even have a very good story.
I'm a father of three and don't have a lot of time to play games, so older, shorter titles are immediately more appealing for that reason alone. But that's not all. The simplicity of older games, and lack of padding, means they fit into my modern lifestyle much more easily. There's an element of nostalgia, but for me it's a relatively small part, especially since I like finding games I've never played before.
There's a certain collector mentality to retro games that I enjoy. Rare imports from Japan (I just picked up a copy of Blue Dragon Regiment on my Saturn) and games with limited releases in the West (one of my holy grails at the moment is Ninja Cop on the Game Boy Advance) It's expensive and difficult to get into, but it's fun to research and allows you to appreciate games more deeply and understand the developer and format better.
For me, owning the actual physical product is also a joy. I'm not interested in collectibles or action figures, but looking at my game collection on my bookshelf makes me feel very satisfied. I am sure that in the near future it will not be possible. Many digital-only versions already do so. game.
Compared to just sitting around playing EA Sports FC forever, you can look for new games you haven't tried yet, read guides, and catch up on games you already own and thought you were playing. I find retro games to be much more exciting and varied because you get to see what's out there. I knew it well. Everything worked great back then and nothing was held back as DLC, so there's always something.
I'm afraid I sound like an old asshole when I say this, but I truly believe that old games are fundamentally a completely different form of entertainment than modern games. At least, the kind that most major publishers except Nintendo are pushing.
It's been a pretty slow evolution since the days of the Xbox 360, but I think of it as the dividing line between retro and modern, and I'm definitely most interested in everything that came before it.
With the exception of indie games, which are only available digitally, most of them are just homages, and in those cases I usually play and enjoy the original. If an indie game were something a major publisher would put out, I'd definitely be interested in their work, but that's clearly not the case.
I have nothing against this. I'm not mad that mainstream games are no longer to my tastes, but that's far from the case. Luckily, that's not a problem if you stick to retro games.
From reader Rosebud
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More information: Retro games are much better than modern video games – Reader Featured
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