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[halo]

In October 1977 the first games console was launched - the Atari VCS/ 2600. The first games console, a brick that connected to the TV and had 2 joypads coming out of it, had many limitations but the public had never seen anything like it before. It was poorly designed, difficult to program for and the world loved it. Hundreds of games were produced for the console and millions sold during its lifetime until it eventually died.

In May 2003 the latest gaming accessory was released for the modern gamer - the Atari Classics 10-in-1. This brand new piece of machinery, that is simply the old Atari VCS joystick with buttons on the front and a TV cable coming out of the back, had the same limitations as before, the same games as before and the extremely poor graphics in comparison to the modern games console. The huge library of games cartridges were gone - replaced with 10 "classic" built-in games emulated inside the small plastic base of the joystick. But again, the public loved it. People who owned an Atari before bought it and showed their kids what games used to be like in "their day".

Despite the near 25 year gap between the launch of the VCS and the 10-in-1 the games still hold their original appeal. People are prepared the pay money for games that are "out of date" and "simplistic". People long to relive the feeling they did when they first played that classic game. Ten years ago, at the height of the SNES, you would have been laughed at for wanting to play these old "out-of-date rubbish" games. And what do I think has caused this sudden shift in the popularity? In my opinion it is because of emulation.

In 1993 you couldn't play an Atari VCS, Intellivision, MSX or thousands of arcade games on your PC. With your VCS firmly in your attic or long sold you were unable to take it out at any time you wanted - you had to play the games you had avaliable right in front of you. If you wanted to play an an old arcade game you had to find an arcade that had it. Couldn't find a copy of a game? You couldn't play it. Many people, wether they wanted to or not, simply could not play on their old games console. However, in 2003, I can simply fire up my copy of Stella and start playing within seconds. Want to play an old arcade game? Download MAME and chances are that it supports it.

And nostalgia spreads quickly. Those people who discovered Stella are reminiscing with their friends about classic Atari games and then they remember the good times they had with them and want to play them again. And the gap in the market is filled by the Atari 10-in-1. People who discovered MAME are reminiscing with their friends about classic arcade games they used to play together, and classic game compilations appear on modern platforms to fill the gap in the market.

The success of these "retro compilations" is shown by the fact that many already have sequels. The Atari 10-in-1 has already spawned two brothers - a Activision Arcade Collection and the Intellivision 10-in-1 - based on the same principle. There are now dozens of classic games collections avaliable for modern platforms - both for arcade games and retrogames. And in my opinion, this would have never happened without the success of modern emulation and the homebrew scene.

[apexad]

How pretty. I agree with you about emulation makes retrogaming popular. However, I draw the line with retail emulators like these 10 in 1 things you talk about. Those games are old, and while the may be fun, they have lost the privlage to earn money because of a nostalgic and/or new audicence.

I just can't agree with this. I am a firm beliver that one must innovate or die. Newer is better, and Older is cheaper in the case of vide games any system that is not currently being developed for is so cheap it is close to free.

nevertheless, excellent point.

[katon]

I just can't agree with this. I am a firm beliver that one must innovate or die. Newer is better, and Older is cheaper in the case of vide games any system that is not currently being developed for is so cheap it is close to free.


really depends on what games...