Retro games have been with us for forty years or more. The rise of video games was fuelled by these high-quality classics, and their mascots became household names.
Now Mario and Sonic are making a return to homes across the world in their original form, with classic titles and retro gaming consoles in high demand on auction sites and on online gaming platforms.
Why are retro games popular again? Well, let's find out. There are a few reasons for the increased interest in the classics of the golden age of gaming, but one thing is certain; these games are great to play and that will never change.
There Is No School Like The Old School
The biggest driver for the popularity of retro games is modern games. Today's triple-A titles have plenty of jaw-dropping graphics and complex and well-acted storylines, but they lack the charm and challenge of the classics.
Retro games are also aesthetically iconic. Go into any games room today and you will be greeted by an enticing wall of custom arcade machines, like the ones from Bitcade, that put retro hits at your fingertips. Nothing says gaming like an old-school arcade cabinet, complete with joysticks and lights, and all the classic sounds pumping into the room.
Retro Gaming Is A Cheaper Option
Though the quality of the gameplay in modern games may be pushing people to go retro, so is the price. Retro gaming not only offers a challenge to gamers, but it also offers value too. Setting yourself up for classic gaming is remarkably cheap, especially if you choose emulation over a classic console collection.
For the price of one of the big-name games on sale today you can get a retro gaming setup that gives you access to tens of thousands of classic titles. If you have a modern games console, you have access to plenty of retro classics as downloadable games. These can be a fifth of the price of their modern counterparts and give you hours and hours more play. As people find ways to cut back on expenses, retro gaming is reaping the rewards.
It's A Family Thing
Gaming's golden age was in the mid-80s to the mid-90s, as console gaming conquered the living rooms and bedrooms of the world and brought Mario and Sonic into the family. The children and teenagers that grew up bashing the buttons of the NES, SNES, and Sega MegaDrive now have kids of their own.
Retro gaming is bringing generations together in the home, as parents share their gaming memories with their children and bond over classic titles. The charm of retro gaming is not lost on the young children of today, with the bright colours and chip-tune sounds that fascinate little kids. The older boys and girls appreciate the challenge of the classics and the history of games. Retro gaming is educational, honestly.
Retro Is Cool
The is no denying that retro games are fashionable these days, and not just amongst gamers. Retro gaming apparel and accessories are everywhere. You can find t-shirts in high street fashion outlets with images of joypads and colourful mushrooms, and gaming-themed gift ideas in the big department stores.
Gaming, retro or contemporary, has become a huge part of modern culture and is growing in influence every day. Retro gaming has helped drive this interest, with old-school games becoming popular to watch on streaming services like Twitch and YouTubes. As gaming social media influencers have looked to retro games to help keep their subscriber counts rising, it has helped introduce younger gamers to the classic titles the industry was built upon.
Single Board Computers (SBCs)
Looking back through the recent history of retro games, it is hard to separate their spike in popularity from the birth of single-board computing with the epic Raspberry Pi. This tiny computer packed a lot of power into a circuit board that is only a little bigger than your debit card.
The Raspberry Pi, and all its endless imitators, have lots of different applications. Gamers being gamers, one of the most popular uses for these powerful pocket PCs is as a retro gaming platform. The boards got even smaller and more portable over the years, and now gamers can easily and cheaply build a custom GameBoy that plays all their retro favourites wherever they go.
When the SBCs hit the market, interest in retro gaming, and hours played on classic games, skyrocketed as they became easy to access thanks it this pocket-sized wizardry. Now they are the number one choice for gamers building an emulation station, and arguably inspired all the ‘classic mini' consoles that were released by the big boys like Sega and Nintendo a few years ago. Even the titans of retro games had to get in on the SBC action and capitalise on the trend.
There are plenty of reasons to play the classics, but these are the biggest factors that are driving older generations back to the old school and making young players pick up pads that are older than they are.
| Culture Brats is intelligent, witty, and insightful commentary on pop culture from the '80s to today. The children of the '80s are reclaiming pop culture! |
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