We’ve officially reached the point where we’re depending on remasters to play games we loved in the past. Owning an older console and picking up games for it can be an expensive endeavor. I haven’t even tried to rebuild my Dreamcast collection. One look at the prices and I decided I was fine for now with my copies of NFL/NBA 2K and D2 (Deep cut right there).
And that’s part of the problem. It’s become so hard to keep and build a physical collection. But with services like Game Pass, NSO and PS Plus, the avenue is there for the older games to exist. Ideally, we’d be in a world where the Virtual Console remained a thing. To me, that was the perfect way to handle game preservation absent of owning the cartridge or disc.
Now with the Horizon: Zero Dawn remaster and rumors of Nintendo looking to remasters to bolster the end of the Switch lifecycle lineup, it’s become apparent that this is the only way we’re getting older games.
REMASTERs are just one piece
Gamers asking for remasters is nothing new. We’ve been asking for Def Jam: Fight For New York and the NBA/NFL Street series for years. What is striking is that it seems that the companies are more willing to dig into the remaster bag than ever before.
And that’s got more to do with the money aspect. People will buy these games when they come out because the idea of games we love now modernized with a new coat of paint is a lot to pass up. I know for a fact if a Need for Speed: Underground 2 remaster is announced, I’m getting it the first day.
But here’s the thing. I also still own a copy of that game. And it shouldn’t be so hard for other people to do so as well. No one is throwing these games in the trash. There has to be a way to make it easier for people to purchase older consoles and games without them feeling like they have to do all this leg work to do so.
BRING IT ON HOME
My physical collection of games means a lot to me. It’s a reminder of my childhood but also an avenue for me to truly go back and remember what gaming was like in earlier days. Remasters just don’t hit those same notes. It’s cleaner, sure, but nothing will replace actually firing up the original console.
Whatever the solution may be, it’s important to remember that these games did exist at one point. Lack of game preservation is becoming a real problem, and remastering games isn’t the fix, it’s just another way to make money.
The post Remasters Are Becoming Necessary and That’s a Problem appeared first on VICE.
The post Remasters Are Becoming Necessary and That’s a Problem appeared first on VICE.
