This is an idea Anandxxx and I were throwing around a bit, I want to see if there is much interest in doing it. Basically it would be a semi-regular (weekly? bi-weekly? monthly?) roundtable where we discuss one or another hot topics in the current game industry. The only major difference between this and half the other threads around here is A. it is posted publicly on the front page of the Negative World and B. it is focused and (I HOPE) people will try to join in every time so we can get a set of regulars contributing to it. We should probably post some questions in each roundtable to start things off but really, any on-topic conversation is fine, the questions should be looked at more as a mere means to spur on conversation.
And the topic for our first roundtable is
the industry's current obsession with reviving retro gaming. It is very clear that a lot of publishers are looking into their back catalogs to find franchises they can bring back, so much so that it is becoming not just its own little niche, but something at the forefront of the industry (especially on the downloadable services.)
Is "retro" gaming still valid on its own merits, or is it simply for the old folks to relive their youth? Are there certain qualities that have been lost over the years? Does the retro gaming revival have much to offer newer gamers?
The 8-bit Mega Man 9 was of course a very loved game, and some of that love came specifically FROM the decision to stick to the classic graphics and sounds, but how many franchises can actually pull that off? Do we care about playing an 8-bit Gradius at all (Rebirth,) or would we have preferred a more updated version of that franchise? Are there certain franchises that would work better in 8-bit (or 16-bit) mode and others than should be updated in a more modern way?
What about games like Space Invaders Extreme and New Super Mario Brothers that take the core mechanics of a classic but add in a ton of modern functionality? Do we want to see more games like that? Was NSMB lacking a bit because it went back to the original and built from there, ignoring certain innovations made in Super Mario Brothers 3 and Super Mario World?
Is the revival interesting only because these type of games have been gone for so long? Is it possible the industry will oversaturate itself with retro games, and kill the appeal? Does nostalgia lose its value once it becomes mainstream/current again?
Does the retro gaming revival actually help move the industry forward at all? Or is it a diversion, something we can grab some fun from but won't really benefit the progression of game development as a whole?
What do you guys think?
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